Will to Attack

Over the next week, Ichigo managed to learn how to cast two other common Kido – Hado 31: Shakkahou and Hado 33: Soukatsui. However, he still required the incantation, which was long and unwieldy in Ichigo's opinion. He was currently working on taking parts of the incantation away piece by piece to enhance his control over them, and be able to cast them at a moment's notice.

Ichigo had managed to work out a schedule that allowed him to train his Hollow powers with the Vizard one night, and train in Kido the next. He could now maintain his mask for four minutes and forty-three seconds, much to his satisfaction.

Out of curiosity one night with the Vizard, Ichigo had tried using Shakkahou while wearing his Hollow mask. Much to his surprise, it had blown up in his face. Hachigen took him aside shortly thereafter and explained what had happened.

"The Hollow mask enhances our reiatsu, makes it more potent," Hachigen told the young Vizard. "The downside to this is it makes Kido far more difficult. Low-level techniques will blow up much as yours did from too much power with too little control. The mask is best used only when you have a grasp on the higher-level techniques, as the extra power then only strengthens it. I myself had a great deal of trouble learning how to use Kido in conjunction with the Hollow mask myself, and even now I prefer casting without."

Ichigo had nodded, understanding. I should have known… Kido is a Shinigami art, so the Hollow mask would naturally make it more difficult.

Physically, Ichigo was getting much stronger quickly. He had begun training with the Vizard in human form, and while Zangetsu had been difficult to work with at first due to the weight, Ichigo was quickly building up strength and endurance. Of course, the day after, Ichigo's arms and torso were extremely sore, but it was a pain Ichigo was willing to put up with. He didn't dare have Inoue reject it – by rejecting the damage to his muscles, he wouldn't get any stronger.

At the moment, Ichigo was in class. He didn't know why he kept going to school anymore – he rarely paid attention, instead using the time to work on his fledgling ability to sense reiatsu, which was showing very little progress. He doubted he'd ever be a master of it, given how his own reiatsu created a haze that he had to work through, but Ichigo wanted to at least be able to sense people within a five meter radius of himself without much trouble. Perhaps this is why Kenpachi has such a poor sense of direction, Ichigo mused idly. He's got so much damn reiatsu he can't sense anyone unless their reiatsu compares. He paused. I wonder if he's managed to learn his Zanpakuto's name yet?

Ichigo shook his head, clearing it of the idle thoughts and turned his focus back on sensing the others…

Oi, King! Guess who's back!

… only to be interrupted by his Hollow side. Ichigo was a little surprised – this was the first time his Hollow had spoken up since their fight. I was wondering how long you'd take to recover.

You really pulled off a good move, King, stealing my sword like that and claiming it as your own. Really impressed me!

Ichigo looked out the window with his usual scowl. I've been wondering about that, actually. How do I use it?

The Hollow laughed insanely. Nuh-uh! Not gonna tell you that, King! You're gonna have to figure that out yourself!

Ichigo sighed lowly so his teacher wouldn't hear it. I figured you'd say that. I've actually been a little curious about something, actually. If you're a Hollow, why don't you look like the other Hollows? Almost every Hollow I've met was mostly black with only a white mask, and most of them had lost human shape. And I've never seen your Hollow hole.

Because I'm not exactly a Hollow, King. The demented white version of Ichigo sounded rather serious for once. Before you regained your Shinigami powers in that pit, you first began becoming a Hollow. So when you pulled Zangetsu out of that box, you had both Hollow powers and Shinigami powers, but the Shinigami powers took precedence as you stopped yourself from becoming a Hollow, so you got Zangetsu in your Inner World.

Ichigo was getting impatient. I already figured most of that out from our previous conversations, but if you're not a Hollow, what are you?

Can you not figure it out, King? Zangetsu is our Zanpakuto, but he takes another form in your Inner World.

You are my mask, Ichigo realized.

Bingo! Hollow Ichigo cackled. What you are, Shinigami or Hollow, depends on who is in control – you or me. A soul truly becomes a Hollow when the mask takes over.

Ichigo flashed back to one of his first real battles as a Substitute Shinigami. He had been fighting a Hollow and managed to cut off part of the mask, and frozen, seeing the face of Inoue's brother underneath. Rukia had explained things later, that when Ichigo finished off a Hollow, the original soul was purified of the sins committed by his Hollow self and sent on to Soul Society. At one point, when Ichigo was beaten, Inoue had gotten through to her brother, who broke the mask and gained control long enough for him to purify himself with Ichigo's Zanpakuto.

So if you ever win against me, my body will become that of a Hollow's? Ichigo asked, to clarify.

You got it!

But if I win again after that, then I turn back into a Shinigami?

Yep! Just remember, King, less than a week until we fight again!

Ichigo scowled harder. And you owe me some training in some of your powers.

I suppose I do. Come meet me in your Inner World, and make sure to focus on no time passing by.

Ichigo closed his eyes, pulling himself inward. When he opened his eyes, he was standing on a sideways skyscraper, with mostly clear skies. A quick glance downward showed him in his Shinigami form. Interesting… Instinct suddenly roared for him to jump back, and Ichigo did, narrowly avoiding a blast of black energy he almost hadn't sensed in time. "What the hell?!"

"Just keeping you on your toes, Ichigo." His Hollow self Shunpoed in front of him, wearing a large grin. "Glad to see you've kept your instinct strong. It's time for you to learn your first Hollow power."

Ichigo smirked. "So what is it?"

"High speed regeneration!" Hollow Ichigo revealed grandly, taking his version of Zangetsu and cutting his own arm deeply. It healed in seconds, leaving nary a scar.

Ichigo's eyes widened. "That would improve my effectiveness by, by, Kami only knows how much!"

"Yep! You really hit the jackpot with Hollow powers, Ichigo!" his Hollow self congratulated. "I'm rather curious what your Hollow form will look like actually…"

"You'll find out if you ever beat me," Ichigo told him sternly. "So, how do I do this?"

"Simply gather your Hollow reiatsu to the injured area and it'll get to work," the manifestation of Ichigo's mask replied. "The more reiatsu you send to an area, the faster it'll heal, but it's a bitch on the reserves. Go ahead and give it a shot."

Ichigo nodded, and summoned his Hollow mask. Drawing Zangetsu, Ichigo gave himself a deep cut in the same spot his Hollow self had done. He gritted his teeth at the sudden pain, but called on the Hollow reiatsu now at his command, sending a significant amount to the wound – about as much as he would for a Getsuga Tenshou while Zangetsu was in Shikai

His wound healed a little, but then stopped. With a frown behind the mask, Ichigo put in some more, enough for a Getsuga Tenshou in Bankai. This was a far greater amount, and the wound healed about halfway after about half a minute. Scowling, Ichigo sent in more, approximately enough for two more Bankai Getsugas. His wound healed over completely in about ten seconds. He took off the mask and nodded appreciatively at his Hollow side. "You're right, that is a bitch on the reserves."

Hollow Ichigo grinned. "You'll just need to not get hit very often."

"Yeah, yeah…" Ichigo smirked at his more insane half. "Thanks."

"Hey, a deal's a deal. I told ya I'd teach ya. Now make sure not to get killed before I can take over!" He chuckled, leering at Ichigo.

"You'll not take over as long as I have any say in the matter." With that, Ichigo retreated back into the real world, where his teacher was still lecturing. He stretched, feeling a bit stiff. I wonder how Inoue's doing… The dark circles under her eyes told him that she hadn't been sleeping well. Maybe we can talk about it… He had gotten out a sheet of paper when a both Inoue and Ishida suddenly stiffened and glanced at the window. Ichigo quickly scribbled a note.

What happened? What is it? – SS

There's something out there, SS. It felt like a Hollow, only somehow different. – Q

It's very powerful, and it's approaching fast! – R

Ichigo's blood ran cold. Fuck! He glanced at Inoue, Chad, Ishida – all of them were looking at him, waiting for instruction. His eyes hardened as he gave each a subtle jerk of the head, indicating they come with him. Ichigo stood up and began briskly striding out.

"Where do you think you're going?" the teacher asked.

"Family business," Ichigo muttered as he brushed past her.

"I'll go with him to make sure he's ok!" Inoue volunteered as she rushed by as well.

"I'll go make sure he doesn't hurt anyone," Ishida said as he also walked by.

"Do you even want to know?" Chad queried as he lumbered past.

"No, no I don't. Just go," the teacher said, resigned.

Once out of the classroom, everyone began running towards the exit. "The presence has stopped," Inoue told them. "It feels like it's in front of the school, waiting for us."

"What could it possibly want with us?" Ichigo asked incredulously as they turned a corner.

"Who knows?" Ishida replied. His eyes suddenly widened. "Shit! They're charging an attack! It feels like a Cero!"

"You've gotta be fucking kidding!" Ichigo groaned. He ran over to a window and saw two figures – one small, one practically a giant, but both apparently human. The larger one was holding his hand out at part of the school, charing an attack. Humans using Cero?! Ichigo's eyes widened and he quickly opened a window and stuck his hand out at them. "Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws! Hado 33: Soukatsui!" He used the full power version, knowing he'd need it against anyone who could use a Cero.

A large blue fireball shot out from his hand and struck the large man, exploding and creating a lot of smoke. Ichigo jumped out the window then, quickly followed by Ishida and Chad. All three used reiatsu to help their legs absorb the impact, quickly standing. Inoue jumped down, using her Santen Kesshun to reject gravity and land on the ground peacefully.

"Who the hell are you?" Ichigo demanded, evaluating the two of them. The large one was dark in skin color and extremely tall and muscle-bound, and had what looked like the bottom jaw of a skull attached to his chin. The man had long, bushy sideburns, but was bald up top. Oddly, he had a long, thin ponytail from the back of his head, and ridges on the top of his head. He was slightly burned from the attack Ichigo had sent earlier. "Yammy Rialgo," he greeted.

In contrast, the other was short and slim, looking more like an athlete than a bodybuilder. The shorter one also had extremely pale skin, as though he'd never seen the sun. There was also apparently a bone fragment on the top-left of his head. "Ulquiorra Cifer," he replied.

"You're Arrancar, aren't you?" Ishida asked accusingly, his hands itching to ready his bow. "The skull fragments, the Cero, the Hollow hole in your neck…"

"Yeah, we're Arrancar," Yammy agreed cockily with a grin. "In fact, we're Espada!"

Everyone blinked. "Espada?" Chad asked.

"The Espada are Aizen-sama's elite," Ulquiorra explained tonelessly. "There are ten of us, ranked according to power."

Ichigo saw red, but Chad held him back as Ishida continued. "Why are you attacking this school?" Ishida pried.

"I see no point in telling you this," Ulquiorra replied, his tone and expression never changing. "Yammy. Take out the large one."

"Chad, can you take him?" Ichigo whispered quickly.

"Only one way to find out," Chad replied lowly, moving away and activating his right arm's special ability. "El Brazo Derecha del Gigante." A mostly black armor ran up his hand up to his shoulder. Red lines ran up it as well, and the armor opened up at his shoulder.

"That looks pretty interesting," Yammy said. "Let's see how you do!"

"Quincy, move," Ulquiorra ordered. "I have no quarrel with you, only with Kurosaki."

"I've never met you before!" Ichigo protested, readying his reiatsu.

"That does not matter – Aizen-sama has ordered I test you."

"Kurosaki, move it!" Ishida told him sternly. "Get in your Shinigami form!" He turned back to Ulquiorra. "We're gonna need all the strength we can get."

Ichigo groaned. "I don't have the Shinigami badge with me today, Ishida! No one was expecting Arrancar to turn up like this!"

"Well isn't that just perfect!" Ishida growled, frustrated. "Listen, Ulquiorra, if you're here to test Kurosaki here, would you leave him until I go fetch a way to remove him from his body?"

"I have no problem with that."

Ishida looked at Inoue. "Keep Kurosaki from doing anything stupid."

"Hey!" Ichigo yelled. "Stop insulting me and just get going!"

"Back in a minute," the Quincy replied, before activating the Quincy high-speed technique Hirenkyaku, disappearing.

Inoue Orihime was struggling with her conscience at the moment. She had a really good opportunity to take out one of Aizen's elite members – she had been completely disregarded by Ulquiorra and Yammy. Tsubaki's words had been nagging at her for days. "Sometimes you have to retaliate, and hard, in order to protect yourself and your friends." Inoue recalled. These Espada… "Ulquiorra, why do you follow Aizen?" she asked.

"I have little better to do," Ulquiorra stated simply. "I also seek to understand humans and their reliance on brittle emotions, and he provides opportunities to learn."

Inoue cocked her head to the side. "Understand humans and their reliance on emotions?" she repeated. "If you want to understand us better, then why not live with us, work with us? While you're in Hueco Mundo, the only humans you see are Aizen and his followers."

Ulquiorra took a moment to respond. "Living in the human world… A prospect I have considered previously. The problem is that as an evolved Hollow, I must continue to eat other Hollows in order to maintain my strength and form. Hollows of the caliber that I must devour are lacking here."

"Can't you just go back to Hueco Mundo every time you need to eat?" Ichigo asked desperately. A potential ally! A strong one with information on Aizen's actions!

Ulquiorra slowly nodded. "I could." His facial expression had yet to change in the time he had been talking. "However, it would be myself and whoever I ally with, against Aizen-sama and his Espada. I have no wish to die yet. I will require evidence that your side has the ability to prevail against Aizen-sama and his growing army of Arrancar."

Ichigo looked at where Chad and Yammy were fighting, worriedly. Chad was not having a good time of it – even just watching the fight for a second, it was obvious Yammy was faster and stronger than Chad could keep up with. He was just toying with the human. "And if one of us humans were to kill your friend there?" he asked coldly.

"I might consider that sufficient proof," Ulquiorra replied matter-of-factly.

Ichigo nodded. He turned back to watching Chad, hoping he had another trick up his sleeve. A few seconds later, Yammy grew bored of playing with him. "Oh well, it's been fun, kid. Time to die!" He knocked Chad down, and raised an enormous fist, preparing to smash Chad's head into pudding…

"Santen Kesshun!"

… only to be stopped by a strong yellow barrier. Turning to his left, he saw an extremely rare sight – Inoue Orihime was PISSED!

"You knew from the beginning he was no match for you!" Inoue yelled angrily, making Ichigo's jaw drop. He'd never heard her angry. "You KNEW! You TOYED with him, anyone could see that!"

"Yeah, so?" Yammy asked. "He was going to die anyway; he should have known that the moment he faced off against me."

That was the wrong thing to say. "He is not going to die!" Inoue screamed. As a pacifist, she had been suppressing her anger for many years now. Ever since talking with Tsubaki, she had been struggling to get enough sleep at night, worried that she was holding her friends back, that she wasn't doing everything she could to keep them alive. Now, Inoue was too exhausted to push her anger away like she normally did, and instead kept it, and the perfect outlet was before her. "You need an example of our strength?!" she demanded of Ulquiorra. "Here's one for you! Tsubaki! Koten Zanshun!"

From her right hairpin, a black orb zoomed in front of her before forming a yellowish barrier to either side, resembling a very sharp boomerang and launching at high speed at Yammy. The Arrancar barely managed to move away in time to keep his head, and as it was, he lost his right arm. Blood began pouring as Yammy bellowed in pain.

Inoue's eyes glittered with satisfaction. "Again! Koten Zanshun!"

"Whoa!" Yammy ducked this time, with Tsubaki slicing off part of his long ponytail. He rushed at Inoue, who stood with her arms up.

"Santen Kesshun!"

Yammy couldn't stop in time and instead slammed into the shield that materialized in front of her. "Ow! How do you keep doing that?!"

"Koten Zanshun!"

"Damn it, bitch, stop it!" Yammy yelped, using Sonido – the high-speed Hollow technique – to escape the wrath of the crazy human. "Fine!" He used his remaining hand to swat Tsubaki… and lost a finger from the attempt. "Ow! Fucking whore!" He threw his fist up and charged a red energy, firing it at incredible speeds at Chad, trying to kill him first.

Inoue's eyes burned higher with rage at the insults. "Santen Kesshun!"

And once again, Inoue's divine shield appeared in front of Chad, holding strong against the bullet of energy, which blew up. When the smoke cleared, Chad was still fine. "How the fuck did you stop my Bala?!" Yammy demanded incredulously.

Inoue was quiet for a moment. "Trying to kill my friend again… was a big mistake, you cocky little bastard! Koten Zanshun! Tsubaki! Kill the son of a bitch!"

Sometime during Inoue's onslaught, Ishida had returned, and his jaw dropped, along with Ichigo's and Chad's. "Um, Kurosaki? What did I miss? Why is Orihime swearing?"

"I'm not entirely sure…" Ichigo confessed. "Chad was fighting Yammy and losing. Yammy was about to kill him. I was going to go stop him with Zangetsu, but before I could move Inoue had used her Santen Kesshun. And boy was she pissed! Her first strike cut off Yammy's arm, and it's been going on like this ever since. As for why she's pissed or swearing, I really don't know."

"Ichigo?" Chad began, walking over to his friends before sitting by a tree to recover. "I'm a bit scared…"

"Me too, Chad. Me too."

"I see," Ulquiorra mused. "Fear acts as assistance to survival instinct… And anger increases power at the cost of rationality. Interesting…"

After another minute of dodging, Yammy finally managed to pull off a Sonido that took him behind Inoue. His vicious backhand was caught by a partially formed Santen Kesshun, which absorbed most of the blow. However, Inoue was still knocked unconscious, which made her other powers fade and return back to her hairpins.

"Fucking whore took my arm!" Yammy stalked over, preparing to deliver the death blow, but froze in his tracks when he felt cold steel at his neck.

"I got no problems with finishing Inoue's job for her," Ichigo hissed, driving Zangetsu in at Yammy's neck. "But I want you to deliver a message for me to your master, Aizen. Don't fuck with us."

Yammy chuckled. "You honestly think your puny sword can cut me? Go on, try it, I dare you!" Ichigo slit Yammy's throat, and was surprised that only a very small cut appeared. Yammy elbowed Ichigo in the stomach, sending him flying back before turning around. "Surprised? All Espada have Hierro, our iron skin technique. Mine may not be at its best now that I'm away from Hueco Mundo, but you sure as hell aren't going to cut through it."

Ichigo scowled as he got up. Fuck that hurt! I forgot that I'm not in Shinigami form; my human body isn't as strong! Good thing I used my reiatsu to dampen the blow… "Maybe not as Zangetsu is now… but he won't be that way for long. Bankai!"

Reiatsu swirled around him, and his shirt was now replaced with the ankle-length coat his Bankai form normally wore. He gave a test swing of Tensa Zangetsu. "Want me to try again?" Ichigo asked with a cocky smirk. He remembered his first experience with Bankai – it began to tear his body apart, and that was when he was in Shinigami form. I'll need to keep this short.

Yammy laughed. "Go ahead! You couldn't –" he was cut off when he noticed that Ichigo was no longer there. Instead, Ichigo was behind him. Yammy blinked, and then noticed that he could no longer feel his left arm. He glanced at it, and saw it slide off his shoulder, cut cleanly off. Blood began to flow from there as well, and Yammy was now worried – he now lacked both arms, and with the amount of blood he was losing, he wouldn't be conscious for very long unless he ate a lot of Hollows and soon. For the first time, he envied Ulquiorra's high-speed regeneration.

"Is this sufficient demonstration?" Ichigo quietly asked Ulquiorra, though in the silence it was heard quite clearly.

"No," Ulquiorra stated immediately. "Currently, he is the weakest of the Espada. Defeat his Resurreccion form. At that point he is the strongest of us. Once you defeat that form, I will concede that you and your allies are capable of winning against Aizen."

"Resurreccion form?" Ishida asked, confused.

Ulquiorra gestured at his still-sheathed Zanpakuto. "The majority of our Hollow powers are sealed in our Zanpakuto. When we release, we regain it and take on traits of our original Hollow forms from before we became Arrancar."

Ichigo's eyes glittered maliciously as he heard those words and understood the situation more fully. "So you're saying we have possibly Aizen's most powerful Arrancar at our mercy right now?" Ulquiorra nodded without changing his expression. "Then why should we let him go?"

"You don't have a choice." Ichigo's eyes widened as Ulquiorra disappeared in front of his eyes, going much faster than even his Bankai speed. Yammy quickly used Sonido to follow suit. Ulquiorra opened a Garganta for Yammy and himself to escape before picking up Yammy's arms.

"Fuck!" Ichigo rushed at the Garganta, hoping to kill Yammy before he could escape, but his leg muscles tore painfully from the stress Bankai put on his body, sending him to his knees in pain.

Ulquiorra met Ichigo's eyes. "We will meet again… Kurosaki Ichigo." With that, Ulquiorra and Yammy were gone.

"Damn it!" Ichigo swore loudly as Ishida went to help Inoue. He released Bankai, returning Zangetsu to his Shikai state before letting his Zanpakuto dissipate into spirit particles again.

Chad got up with minor effort, releasing his own power as he approached Ichigo and offered a hand up. Ichigo took it, wincing as he put weight on his injured legs. "Ishida, can you carry Inoue?"

Ishida nodded, leaning down and picking up the unconscious woman, carrying her bridal style. "Yeah, I got her. She's surprisingly light."

Ichigo chuckled. "Just don't let Tatsuki hear you say that – she'd kick your ass for implying that you thought Inoue was heavy."

It wasn't that funny, but given what they'd just seen, it was enough to give the Quincy into chuckles of his own. "I'll keep that in mind," he finally managed.

"Chad, mind helping me? We're going to Urahara's," Ichigo ordered. "Actually, give me a minute, I might be able to heal myself."

Ichigo brought a hand up and tore the air in front of his face, summoning his mask. With his reiatsu now Hollowified, he sent a heavily substantial amount to both of his legs. Within seconds, they felt better, and Ichigo nodded to himself, removing the mask and crushing it back into spirit particles. "That's better."

"Why did you collapse earlier?" Chad asked as they began walking to Urahara's.

"And what did you do while you had the Hollow mask on?" Ishida continued.

Ichigo sighed. "Most Bankai, as you've probably seen, create some sort of huge effect, right? Like Renji's giant snake-like thing, or Byakuya's enormous cloud of lethal sakura petals?"

"OK," Chad acknowledged, gesturing Ichigo to continue.

"Well, their type of Bankai is called an expansion type according to Urahara. They're basically bigger, badder forms of their Shikai, but as a result they require an enormous amount of reiatsu to maintain," Ichigo explained. "Like Renji's Shikai is an extendable chain-sword type thing, and his Bankai has the same idea."

"But yours is different," Ishida pointed out. "Your sword actually shrinks."

"Yeah. I have a compression type Bankai. My reiatsu compresses on itself, making me stronger, faster, and overall a much more powerful fighter. It also doesn't take nearly as much reiatsu to maintain. However, the downside is that unless I train hard for it, my muscles rip from the strain of using that speed and strength," Ichigo revealed. "My Shinigami form is durable enough it doesn't happen anymore, but my human form is nowhere near that durable yet."

"That explains what happened," Ishida conceded, "but what about how you suddenly healed then?"

Ichigo smirked. "One of the benefits of my Inner Hollow. My particular Hollow has high-speed regeneration. I shunt enough Hollow reiatsu towards the injury and it heals itself up damn quick."

"That sounds useful," Chad commented.

"It is, but very costly on the reserves," Ichigo agreed. "I'm just glad I have such enormous amounts of reiatsu at my command."

They walked in companionable silence to Urahara's. A few minutes later, Inoue was awakened by some smelling salts that Urahara happened to have lying around, and Ishida filled her in on what happened after she feel unconscious. When he was done, he sat back. "How do you feel, Orihime?"

"I'm feeling… refreshed," Inoue replied after a moment of pause. "Sorry for snapping back there."

Ichigo gave her an incredulous look. "Sorry?! Don't be! You kicked ass back there, Inoue!"

Inoue blushed and poked her fingers together, looking down at her feet. "Yeah, well, I was tired and felt really, really mad…"

"I'll say!" Tsubaki manifested himself in front of her and looked exceedingly pleased. "Man, that was a rush! Keep that up and I might evolve soon!"

Inoue blinked. "Tsubaki? What do you mean, evolve?"

Tsubaki was in too good a mood to smack her for the question. "Did you think your Shun Shun Rikka would stay the same? Nah, the more we're used, the more powerful we become, and eventually we start doing more. Like your Santen Kesshun might start reflecting attacks instead of just blocking them. You already know your Souten Kisshun's ability – since you keep using it to heal, when you use it now it tells you more details on what's inside so you can be more specific on what you reject. Got no idea what the next one is though. As for me and your Koten Zanshun, who knows? Anyway, nice job back there, call me out again sometime!" With that, Tsubaki returned to the hairpin.

Chad was the first to speak after Tsubaki retreated. "Well, that was informative." Everyone nodded in wholehearted agreement. "Urahara-san, I need training," Chad suddenly said. "I couldn't even touch the weakest Espada, and he was here, away from Hueco Mundo."

"Hmm," Urahara considered. "The fastest way for you to improve would be to train against a Bankai."

"What about yours? Or Ichigo's?" Chad inquired.

"Mine?" Urahara shook his head. "Benihime is… not nice. No, my Bankai is not suitable to train you. Ichigo's Bankai is also not exactly suitable, as it makes him incredibly quick, your primary weakness." He paused. "On second thought, Ichigo's Bankai might be exactly what you both need. Ichigo, you mentioned that you need to train your physical body to be able to tolerate Bankai without falling to pieces, and Chad wants to increase his speed." He nodded. "Yes, that will work, especially as Ichigo is learning Kido as well. Tessai-san!"

"Yes, Urahara-dono?" Tessai poked his head out of the kitchen.

"On the nights Ichigo comes here, have him spend at least half the time fighting Yasutora Sado in Bankai mode."

"Yes sir."

"I want in as well," Ishida piped up. "It's been too long since I had my powers – I need to work on my own speed and the power of my arrows."

"A three-way battle on the nights Ichigo trains with us?" Urahara asked with mock surprise. The smile on his face gave him away however. "Sure, my training basement is open to you all."

"I'm battling too," Orihime said firmly.

This one really did surprise Urahara. "What? Are you sure you'll be able to keep up with them?" He shut up when he saw three very fervent nods coming from the three other battlers, and the nervous looks they kept giving Inoue. "You mentioned that she fought someone earlier. Did she really do that well?"

"She cut off an Espada's arm without even blinking," Ichigo said deadpan. "And kept him on the run and unable to get to her for several minutes while trying to hit him with Tsubaki."

"She kept using Santen Kesshun to keep him away from her and us, and kept Tsubaki after him so much that the Espada had to repeatedly use a high-speed technique to keep from getting killed. And she swore!" Ishida pointed out, who still couldn't believe that mild-mannered, always positive Inoue Orihime had had it in her to swear like that.

"He only got her by a lucky shot. If anything, she's going to be dominating our fights," Chad finished. "That Koten Zanshun of hers is wickedly fast. I know I can't dodge it yet. Ishida might, using the Quincy high-speed move, or Ichigo might if he can get his body to tolerate the high speed Bankai. Until then…"

Inoue was blushing severely by this point. "Yeah, well, it's not like I'm going to get that angry at you guys, and if you do get hurt I'll just heal you afterwards."

Urahara blinked, shocked. He blinked a couple more times before opening his mouth, and then closing it. He looked somewhat like a goldfish at that moment. "Well!" he finally said in a somewhat strangled voice. "A four-way battle royal it is then! Shall we go and begin?"

The four friends nodded as they retired to the basement. When they got down there, they split into four corners and individually prepared themselves. Ichigo summoned Zangetsu and went Bankai, Ishida formed his Quincy bow and began gathering reiatsu from his surroundings, Chad activated his Brazo Derecha del Gigante, and Inoue held her hands up to her hairpins and readied her focus so she could call out her moves when needed.

"I will heal any significant injuries," Tessai boomed. "Just do not try to kill each other."

Urahara looked around. "Ready? Begin!"

Ichigo couldn't go anywhere near his full speed in Bankai within his normal body for any significant length of time without injuring himself. Keeping that in mind, he rushed at Inoue at a speed that felt uncomfortable for his legs, but not so bad that his muscles would tear. "Getsuga Tenshou!"

Inoue froze for a moment, and Ichigo began to regret going for her first. She's not ready for me to attack her like this, he began thinking, but then he saw her eyes flare back to life.

Inoue steadied her resolve. Ichigo's attacking me only because I volunteered for this. This is to make us all stronger, and I want to help! "Santen Kesshun!"

Or maybe she is ready, Ichigo amended, as he saw his attack crash on the shield, exploding. When the dust cleared, neither Inoue nor her shield was there. Ichigo blinked and glanced around.

"Koten Zanshun!" a voice said from behind him, to his side.

"Shit!" Ichigo barely made it out of Tsubaki's path in time. Damn, she's wicked fast at that attack! "You used the dust cloud to change position and nearly hit me. Nice!"

"Almost had you too!" Inoue said proudly, her Santen Kesshun already in front of her, ready to protect her from anything Ichigo could throw at her. "How does it feel to lose to a girl even with your precious Bankai?" she taunted.

Ichigo could hardly believe his ears. Innocent little Inoue, first fighting and now taunting?! I guess every rose DOES have its thorns… He was so caught up in his thoughts he was almost hit by one of Ishida's arrows, but he luckily sensed it in time and reflexively Shunpo-ed to the side. "Urgh!" he grunted. And now my legs are burning… need to practice Shunpo too, got it. At least it's getting easier to draw on my reiatsu in human form.

He looked up to see Chad charging in towards him. "What is this, pick on Ichigo day?" he asked in exasperation as he brought Tensa Zangetsu to block Chad's punch. While he succeeded in blocking the punch from Chad's right arm, which was armored and reinforced with enough reiatsu to only be slightly cut from Tensa Zangetsu, Chad's unexpected left fist caught Ichigo in the diaphragm, making air quickly flee his lungs. "Ooomph!"

"Every day is pick on Ichigo day!" Ishida yelled as he jumped in the air and fired several shots at once, aiming for Ichigo and Chad.

Ichigo disappeared and reappeared behind Ishida using Shunpo, ignoring the increased burning of his legs as his muscles cried for relief. "Is that so?" He swung Tensa Zangetsu as fast as he dared without having his arms give out, only to have Ishida disappear using his Hirenkyaku ability. Seeing blood on Zangetsu, however, Ichigo guessed he'd caught Ishida's arm as the Quincy had disappeared.

Ichigo kept standing in midair by pushing reiatsu into the air beneath him to make air a solid platform, so he had more room to maneuver. Seeing Inoue and Chad go at it – Chad's armored arm just hit Inoue's Santen Kesshun with no effect – Ichigo targeted them. "Ye lord. Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man," Ichigo murmured quietly to avoid attention. He skipped the rest of the incantation, having managed to master it thus far. "Hado 33: Soukatsui!" he finished with a yell, firing a large bluish fireball.

Both stopped attacking each other and glanced up, having heard the Kido. The nimble Inoue leapt away from the blast zone, her Santen Kesshun flying with her to shield from anything that might fly at her from within. Chad almost made it, but was caught by the edge of the explosion. He shielded himself with his armored arm, protecting his face and frowned, seeing Ichigo in midair. Chad charged up some of his energy and punched at the Shinigami in human form, firing an energy blast.

I'd forgotten he had that! Ichigo admitted to himself as he charged a large amount of reiatsu to his hand. He backhanded the blast, deflecting it away from himself, though his hand now hurt like a bitch for it. Wait, where's Ishida?

"Looking for me?"

Shit! Ichigo had to once again use Shunpo to dodge Ishida's arrow from point blank range. He did not escape entirely, however – the arrow had pierced his left side slightly. He turned and faced Ishida. "Getsuga Tenshou!" He followed his own attack, intending to power it further with Tensa Zangetsu, except Ishida once again used Hirenkyaku to avoid the move.

"Koten Zanshun!"

Ichigo cursed – he'd gotten so preoccupied with Chad and Ishida he'd completely forgotten that Inoue was capable of using her attack effectively now. His legs felt like they were on the verge of snapping, so he didn't dare try another Shunpo, so he tried to dodge the normal way. Sadly for him, without full use of his Bankai speed Ichigo wasn't able to completely dodge in time, and Tsubaki tore into his right bicep. He dashed at Inoue in retaliation, conjuring a Getsuga Tenshou on the way. He waited until point-blank range before releasing it while slamming his sword into Inoue's Santen Kesshun. To his satisfaction, he managed to destroy Inoue's shield, but he also left himself wide open for her kick, which knocked Ichigo onto his back, trying to recover from the brutal blow to the ribs.

"I was trained in martial arts by Tatsuki, remember?" Inoue reminded him with a cocky smirk that Ichigo thought probably would have looked more at home on his own face.

The smirk was wiped from her face when she was hit in the shoulder with one of Ishida's arrows, which sent her flying back and bleeding steadily from the wound. "You shouldn't let your guard down, Orihime!" Ishida scolded her.

"Neither should you!" Chad said from right behind him, punching him in the back with his armored arm, holding back enough so it wouldn't critically injure his friend. He imagined it still hurt like a bitch, though. Chad panted – he'd been doing a lot of running. His friends' attacks were incredibly fast, and he was bleeding from several spots where Ishida had hit him with an arrow, or Inoue had caught him with her Koten Zanshun. Ichigo's Kido would have left a mark if he hadn't shielded himself with his armored right arm.

Inoue got up shakily and decided to fire one more technique. "Souten Kisshun!"

Ichigo, who had been getting up as well, paused. Why that technique? She uses that to heal… Before he could do anything, he, Chad and Ishida were all within the same healing bubble.

"Wait, our wounds aren't healing!" Ishida pointed out.

Ichigo blinked and felt at his side where he'd been pierced by Ishida's arrow. "You're right," he agreed. He tried to exit, but was shocked when the barrier refused to give. "She's trapped us!"

Inoue fell to her knees with a triumphant smile. "Ha! I win!" And then she fell on her face, unconscious. The barrier faded away as soon as her concentration did, leaving her temporary prisoners to blink before rushing to her side to check on her. A small snoring sound reassured them that she was merely asleep.

"… Looks like she used up too much of her reiatsu," Ichigo finally said. The other two nodded in agreement. Even so, this was definitely Inoue's day to shine.

"I must admit, I was having trouble believing that Inoue had progressed so far," Urahara told them as he approached. "She did extraordinarily well." He smiled down at the unconscious girl. "You all have a lot of work to do. Everyone but Ishida-kun needs to work on their speed dramatically." Ishida smirked, pushing up his glasses. "But Ishida-kun needs to work on the power, speed and quantity of his arrows," Urahara continued, turning to look at him. "You barely pierced Ichigo with one of your best arrows, and that was when he wasn't in Shinigami form. I realize this is because you lost your powers for a time, but you still need to do it."

"Right," Ishida replied, having lost his cockiness at the critique.

Urahara turned to Ichigo. "You're making good progress in regards to Kido, but you still need to work on sensing reiatsu passively. Ishida-kun was right behind you and you didn't know it until he said something." He paused. "As a rule, you're not allowed to use your Hollow mask during these spars. I thank you for not doing so this time."

"Who do you think I am, Urahara? That hothead Renji?" Ichigo retorted rhetorically. "Of course I'm not gonna pull out the mask!"

Ignoring the response, Urahara turned to Chad. "Sado-kun. Your greatest weakness is, of course, your speed. I noticed that you used your armored arm for defense mostly, and your left arm for attack. Any reason?"

Chad was silent a moment. "This right arm, El Brazo Derecha del Gigante… I gained it when I followed in the footsteps of my Abuelo (Spanish for "Grandfather") and used my strength to defend others. I feel that his soul lives on in this arm, in my will to protect. That is this arm's purpose."

Urahara looked at him curiously. "And your left? What is your left arm's purpose?"

Chad shook his head. "I am uncertain. I feel that my left arm too has the ability to transform… I merely need to unlock it."

"Oi, Chad," Ichigo piped up. "If your right arm is your will to protect, maybe your left is your will to attack or retaliate? You were using it to attack us," he reasoned.

Chad turned away slightly, not quite in a negative way, but one that indicated he felt uncomfortable with the suggestion. "I have thought of that… If that is the case, I may never manifest it. I buried my will to attack in the dusty ground of Mexico when my Abuelo passed on."

"Then why not go find him?" Urahara suggested. "You have the ability to go to Soul Society now, you and your friends are welcome to come and go. Judging from what you say, I'm sure he passed on to Soul Society as soon as he saw that you had learned what he needed to teach you. It sounds like you need his guidance."

Chad looked up in shock, his sole visible eye behind his shaggy hair wide. It was obvious he'd never thought of that. He glanced at Ichigo and Ishida, both of whom nodded in unison. "If this is something you feel you need to do, then go find your Abuelo," Ishida told him sincerely.

"Take as long as you need," Ichigo agreed. "We'll pick up the slack in the meantime."

"Thank you." Chad's words, though short, were full of emotion as he bowed his head.

Urahara smiled. "I'll arrange for your travel to Soul Society. Do try to get some training done while you look for him."

Chad nodded. Abuelo… I hope you are proud of me.