Release

"Dance, Sode no Shiraiyuki!" Rukia glared at the Arrancar in front of her as she spun her glistening white Zanpakuto, its long ribbon flowing its wake. Cold air blasted in every direction as Sode no Shiraiyuki twirled in her hand.

"Oh, a release already? I'm honored, bro," the Arrancar in front of her said sarcastically. He was tall, with extremely long, bone straight blond hair. His Hollow hole was barely visible in white Arrancar outfit, while the remains of his mask was on top of his head. His face, framed by locks of hair, was very effeminant, and if it wasn't for his voice, Rukia would almost mistake him for a girl.

"Just what I was looking for, an enemy to practice on," Rukia taunted back.

"The Shinigami's got bark, let's see how she bites," the Arrancar replied with a mocking smile. "Arrancar Numero 15, Yylfordt Granz!"

"I see no point revealing my name to someone who will shortly be dead," Rukia retorted coldly. Quickly reversing her grip on her beautiful Zanpakuto, so she was holding it upside-down, she used Shunpo to rush at the Arrancar.

"A forward rush? How predictable," the Yylfordt drawled, falling back into a position to block and deflect. He was therefore surprised when Rukia appeared behind him, not attacking at all.

"Some no mai, Tsukishiro (First Dance, White Moon)!" She slashed to her side, not even trying to hit him.

Yylfordt blinked as a whitish glow erupted in a full circle around him, but then felt a numbing cold crawling up his feet. Glancing down, he saw ice growing up his feet as what looked like snowflakes and ice particles flew upwards from the ground.

Rukia was still standing behind him within the circle's influence, expression as cold as the air around her with her sword held out to her side. Then she straightened and left the circle, turning to smirk at Yylfordt.

Yylfordt merely jumped backwards with some effort, breaking the ice's hold on him. "You really think freezing the ground, and the air above that circle, will trap me?" he asked incredulously. "You must be really weak, Shinigami, to expect me to not notice the air around me getting colder too!"

Rukia's smirk turned to a frown as she returned her grip back to right-side-up. "You were caught in it for a short time," she pointed out. "Considering I'm not even a seated officer, you must be the weakest of the lot."

Yylfordt grew angry. "You've got a lot of nerve saying that!" He rushed at her, drawing his sword and preparing to slice her in half.

Rukia parried with a spin, slicing at Yylfordt's unprotected head. To her surprise, instead of jumping back or blocking, Yylfordt crouched, lowering his head enough so Rukia only caught the barest ends of his hair. As the raven-haired Shinigami's sword whizzed over the Arrancar's head, Yylfordt made a vicious stab. Rukia attempted to dodge, but was skewered in her left shoulder.

She winced as she jumped back, feeling out the wound with her reiatsu. It's not too bad, she realized. I can still use my arm. Hmm, he seems to like up close. Let's see how he handles long distance. Jumping in the air, she threw her good arm up and gently put her left hand on her right forearm. "Hado 31: Shakkaho!"

Yylfordt saw the red fireball, and for a moment he felt intense rage. RED! He mentally snarled before regaining himself and trying to dodge. His momentary distraction cost him, however, as he was hit in the arm, burning him.

"Hado 31: Shakkaho!"

He narrowed his eyes, once more feeling the rage as the red color almost overwhelmed his sight, and dodged. "I've had it with you!" He clutched his Zanpakuto. "Skewer, Del Toro!"

Smoke engulfed the Arrancar momentarily, and when it cleared, a monster stood in its place. Now hunched over, Yylfordt's feet had transformed into hooves, and his legs had grown enormous. However, this was nothing compared to his torso, which had broadened a good five feet, and thickened to more than two and a half feet from back to front. Yylfordt's shoulders had bone-like plates covering them, and his arms looked much like his legs. His mask had completely regenerated, covering his head and growing two horns, curved and long. Yylfordt's long blond hair remained, but was now scraggly and waved behind him. He resembled nothing so much more than a demented bull.

Rukia smirked, seeing the transformation. "Your Zanpakuto name is 'Of the Bull?' Now I know why you transformed. You can't stand the color red, can you?" she questioned with a knowing look.

"Shut up, you annoying little bitch!" Yylfordt bellowed, his voice slightly deeper.

"Hado 31: Shakkaho!"

Yylfordt roared and charged on all fours, attempted to skewer – hence the command line of his Zanpakuto – Rukia on his horns. He blasted through the Kido like it was nothing, not even retaining a burn.

Rukia merely jumped over his head and spun around, waiting for Yylfordt to turn around. Slow turn-around speed in that form… Let's check. "Hado 31: Shakkaho!"

Once again, Yylfordt tried to run her down, but this time he leapt up in the air to leave that option not available to the nimble Shinigami. This time, though Rukia used Shunpo to her left. Yylfordt, sensing Rukia, kept running and turned around that way.

Just as he finished turning around, he felt the flame of another Shakkaho blast hit him. "Ha! Your attacks are nothing, Shinigami!" Yylfordt crowed, rushing once more at his hated foe.

Unseen through the smoke, Rukia quickly stabbed the ground in front of her, creating the white circle again. She then rapidly punctured the icy earth four times in a semi-circle around her and took a battle stance, turned to her right side with both hands on the hilt in such a way that she could thrust forward strongly. "Tsugi no mai, Hakuren (Next Dance, White Ripple)," Rukia murmured as ice particles flew upwards from the holes in the ground.

An enormous blast of ice erupted from her Zanpakuto in a straight line in front of her, hitting and encasing Yylfordt, who on his part looked shocked from the unexpected new attack which had dispelled the smoke a moment before.

Rukia turned on her heel, eyes closed. "Your killer's name… is Kuchiki Rukia," she announced as she spun Sode no Shiraiyuki once more and slowly sheathed it. At the moment that the hilt hit the sheath, the ice, and Yylfordt, shattered.

She opened her eyes and frowned, calling up her spiritual sense. She ignored the increased throbbing her injured shoulder alerted her to, and instead looked for her redheaded friend. Renji's over at Urahara's… The others can handle themselves. She leapt into the air and disappeared using Shunpo to go aid her friend.

Renji merely sighed – his opponent wasn't as strong as he'd expected. "Is this really the best you have, D-Roy?"

"Shut it you stupid monkey!"

A tic appeared over Renji's eye. "Howl, Zabimaru!" he yelled, swinging his Shikai extra fast this time. D-Roy barely blocked with his own Zanpakuto, which was chipped by Zabimaru's repeated attacks. Renji swung the hilt to his side, bringing Zabimaru swinging around him, only for him to pull it straight down. The extending blade fragments ripped forward and through D-Roy's Zanpakuto, embedding the spike from the end piece into D-Roy's head, silencing him forever.

Renji sighed and resealed Zabimaru into his normal form, sheathing him just as Rukia arrived. "You're uninjured?" Rukia asked, mildly surprised.

"Meh, this guy was a pushover. Not nearly what I expected," Renji said with a shrug. "You?"

"My shoulder, but nothing that can't wait," Rukia answered.

"How many more are there? I suck at sensing them…" Renji muttered.

"Only three," Rukia said after a moment, doing the equivalent of a spiritual headcount. "Your friend Madarame-san is fighting someone, with Yumichika-san nearby." She frowned. "It feels like Madarame is hurt, but Yumichika is not fighting at all. Hitsugaya-taicho and Matsumoto-fukutaicho are both fighting, and somewhat injured."

Renji nodded. "That sounds about right."

"But why is Yumichika-san not fighting?" Rukia demanded.

"Pride," Renji said simply. "Shinigami of the 11th Squad fight their battles one on one. To do otherwise is to brand yourself a coward. Ikkaku is probably just fighting with his sealed Zanpakuto to draw out the fight."

Rukia shut up. She knew very well about fights for pride. Stupid men and their damn pride… Damn it, Kaien-dono, why did you make that fight one of pride? I could have saved you. She pushed back the memories of Kaien, and Ukitake's explanation of the difference between a fight for life and a fight for pride. "In that case, let's go help out Hitsugaya-taicho."

Renji glanced over his shoulder at the Urahara shop, where he still hadn't gained entry. His face hardened and he turned back to Rukia. "Lead the way."

In a flash of Shunpo, they were gone.

A few minutes ago…

Hitsugaya Toushiro's typical uncaring frown had only grown deeper since he had begun fighting. He was fighting a tall Arrancar who had introduced himself as Shawlong Kuufang. The Arrancar in question had a bit of a long face, with braided black hair. His Hollow mask remnant resembled a hat that Toushiro had seen Mayuri wear, as it jutted out to Shawlong's right. However, Shawlong's mask remnant also went over his left eye.

Toushiro had already released his Bankai, Daiguren Hyourinmaru, which allowed him to control water and ice, even water vapor, in the vicinity and form it into attacks. In Bankai mode, ice grew out into surprisingly flexible wings and a tail. His left arm from his shoulder down, and his legs from the thighs down, were covered in ice and ended in claws. Ice in the shape of a dragon head also encased his right hand, binding his Zanpakuto to it. There had been three flowers with four petals apiece hovering behind him, but during the fight one of the flowers had melted. Two more flowers to go before I lose my Bankai… And yet, even without releasing, this Shawlong can fight me to a draw. If this keeps up, I'll have to release the limiter.

Shawlong calmly looked at the Captain of the 10th Division. "It looks like one of your flowers has completely melted away… I wonder, is that a countdown? You are, after all, still young. Your Bankai is likely not quite mature."

Toushiro silently seethed. Damn it, I will grow up eventually! Why can't you just get a damn growth spurt, stupid body!

Shawlong paused and looked over his shoulder. "Hmm? Looks like Yylfordt has released. He released rather quickly… he likely underestimated his opponent." He gave a polite smile to Toushiro. "I suppose I should release as well. After all, to defeat a Shinigami Captain without releasing would be rude and disrespectful of his accomplishments."

Shit! Toushiro rushed in, preparing more reiatsu for a gamble. He lunged at Shawlong, attempting a fast and powerful stab.

"Mmm?" Shawlong deflected Toushiro relatively easily, shifting him to the side and slashing partway into the Captain's wing. "Was that all?"

"No, it wasn't!" Toushiro growled. Unseen behind Shawlong, Toushiro's ice tail had extended as the Shinigami had dashed, now it lashed out!

Ice and Arrancar reiatsu collided, causing a small explosion of smoke. Did it work? Toushiro wondered, retracting his tail back to himself. He didn't dare rush into the smoke – he wasn't good at fighting blind. "Shit," he uttered, once the smoke cleared, revealing a mostly unscathed Shawlong.

Shawlong's hand and Zanpakuto had been frozen together, as he had blocked Toushiro's sneak attack with them behind his back. "I must say, Captain, I find myself disappointed," Shawlong stated simply as he flexed his arm and hand, shattering the ice and freeing himself. "Is this all you have? And look, two more petals have fallen… Allow me to defeat you while we are still at our best – Snip, Tijereta."

Reiatsu swirled around the Arrancar, coming off in streams around him as Toushiro desperately tried to think of a way to defeat this opponent. When Shawlong emerged, his arms had thinned and become covered with a bone-like substance, which extended to his shoulders and upper torso, resembling an upper armor. The mask had also lengthened to cover the entirety of the left side of Shawlong's face, while the back now had a long cord-like extension with two curved blades on the end.

However, the most drastic things that had changed were Shawlong's hands. Instead of the human they had been, now they were the stuff of nightmares. Five long, bony, incredibly sharp-looking claws emerged from each wrist. Extended, each claw was easily the size of Shawlong's entire torso.

"Hmph." Shawlong mused.

Toushiro blinked. Then immense pain struck him – there were five long, heavily bleeding, gouges in his body. Shawlong had attacked in an instant and returned to where he was.

Shit. He created some ice from his surroundings to try to staunch the bleeding, steadying himself to defend. He quickly did a spiritual scan of his surroundings. Looks like Kuchiki and Abarai are on their way…Toushiro's eyes widened as he brought his right wing to cover his side, just in time to block another slash from the deadly daggers that were Shawlong's fingers. The wing broke, but regenerated quickly with Toushiro's concentration. He slashed at his attacker, only for Shawlong to back away.

Toushiro glanced down at his fukutaicho, Rangiku. She was lying on the ground, moderately hurt, trying to recover, while her opponent – a rather rotund Arrancar – stood and watched Shawlong. Rangiku subtly held a cell phone in her hand. She looked up at him, a silent question in her eyes. Do we need the limit release?

Toushiro gave the barest of nods as he locked eyes with her. Yeah. Make the call.

Quietly, Rangiku sent a text to Soul Society. Now we just have to hold on till then…

"You know, you really should be more wary of your surroundings," a familiar voice stated coldly.

The fat Arrancar spun around to see a white-garbed man, with a spirit bow in hand and arrow right in his face. Ishida Uryuu released the arrow directly into the Arrancar's eye, obliterating the Arracar's head, sending blood and brain fragments flying before everything but blood dissipated into spirit particles.

"Do I know you?" Rangiku asked.

"Ishida Uryuu, Quincy," Ishida introduced himself. "You probably know me as one of the Ryoka who infiltrated Soul Society not long ago."

"Matsumoto Rangiku, Fukutaicho of Squad 10. No offense, but I thought Quincies hate Shinigami."

"Yes…" Ishida turned to Shawlong, who was eying him with mild interest. "… But I hate Hollows more. And the Arrancar are Hollows with Shinigami powers."

"So you hate us most of all," Shawlong completed dryly.

Ishida merely looked coldly at the Arrancar, raising his bow once more. In a blink of an eye, the Quincy had fired a shot of reiatsu. It was effortlessly deflected by Shawlong, who rushed at Ishida with a speed surprising the young man.

Regardless, Ishida managed to use Hirenkyaku to evade, reappearing a distance behind from Shawlong. With some concentration, he managed to fire several shots at once.

This time, Ishida only narrowed his eyes when Shawlong disappeared from view, and used Hirenkyaku again, knowing that the Arrancar had used some high-speed technique to dash to Ishida's side. He was not a moment too soon, as Shawlong's claws passed where the Quincy had been the barest of moments before. Fast! Ishida realized. And powerful too. He suppressed a smirk. This is like fighting a calmer Kurosaki.

And Ishida knew how to fight Kurosaki Ichigo. He fired a powerful shot before using Hirekyaku to disappear and reappear around Shawlong, firing arrows from as many directions as he could manage, anticipating how the Arrancar would dodge. Kurosaki Ichigo is a melee fighter, with only one distance attack. The same goes for this Arrancar. If I can keep the range too far for him to strike, then I've won!

"You seem to have some skill," Shawlong admitted carelessly, using Sonido to evade a tricky spot where Ishida had cut off most avenues of escaping. "As you are a ranged fighter, you naturally have some advantage over me…" He used Sonido again, aiming to slash Ishida, who disappeared before he could be cut. "The problem is, if a melee user is stronger than your arrows…" He cut through another of Ishida's arrows. "…and just as fast as you, if not faster…" He Sonido-ed right in front of Ishida, who used Hirenkyaku once more. Shawlong took chase, appearing right in front of a surprised Ishida. "We enter melee combat." He cruelly sliced downwards with his right hand, cutting Ishida's left arm off as the Quincy activated Hirenkyaku again.

Ishida winced as he reappeared, reaching with his remaining arm into a sack of emergency medical supplies he kept around, just in case, and injected his shoulder with a medicine that would slow blood flow to the missing arm for about twenty minutes. Even so, he didn't have any melee weapons, and using his bow and arrow required both hands. As much as Ishida hated to admit it, he had lost. The best he could do right now was go find Inoue and get himself healed, then rejoin the fight.

The last Quincy used Hirenkyaku yet again, this time appearing beside Rangiku. "Rangiku-san, you were staying with Inoue, right? Where is she?"

"I haven't seen her yet – I was about to knock on her door when the Arrancar arrived, and we lured it away. I imagine she's still back at her place," Rangiku replied, surprised at the question. "Why?"

"She has extraordinary healing abilities," Ishida replied. "Think you can handle the fight until we can tag-team him?"

The Arrancar watched, only to be caught by complete surprise to feel an icy-cold Zanpakuto stab into and through his neck. "Did you forget, Arrancar?" Toushiro asked, his voice as frigid as the Antarctic. "I am your opponent!" With that, he slashed out, severing Shawlong's head from his neck.

Renji and Rukia appeared at that moment, just in time to see Shawlong die. "Looks like you didn't need our help after all," Renji muttered.

"Your help would have been appreciated, if you had gotten here before Ishida Uryuu," Toushiro stated, releasing his Bankai… and suddenly spurting blood from his old wounds, the ones he'd taken and covered with ice previously in the fight. He fell silently from the sky, only to be caught by Rangiku.

"Quincy-san, please take us to Inoue-san!" Matsumoto Rangiku pleaded.

"Follow me," Ishida ordered, leaping into the air towards Inoue Orihime's house. The Shinigami followed.

"Ishida!" Rukia gasped. "Your arm!"

"My arm will be restored by Inoue," Ishida reassured her. "Besides, I have already mostly stopped the bleeding. I am fine, though I will not be for long."

Beep beep! Rangiku's cell phone rang. "Your request for limit release has been approved!"

Rangiku carefully shifted her captain to her shoulder as they ran, took out the cell phone, flipped it open, and roared into the earpiece. "You're too late! We had to get one of the Ryoka to bail us out!"

"Then you really didn't need the release, now did you?" an oily voice stated.

"Damn you, Kurotsuchi-taicho!" She said the ending "-taicho" with extreme sarcasm.

"Now, now, Matsumoto-san, there's no need for profanity," Kurotsuchi Mayuri admonished. "Everyone's still alive, aren't they?"

"No thanks to you!" Rangiku spat before hanging up.

Everyone landed on the road outside Inoue's house. Unsurprisingly, she was waiting for them, having sensed them coming. "Everyone who's injured, lie down," Inoue ordered gently. As soon as Rangiku set Toushiro down, and Ishida lay down next to him, Inoue brought her hands to her hairpins. "Souten Kisshun."

Two lights flew out from her hairpins, settling on opposite sides of the wounded. Inoue frowned in concentration as she carefully rejected Toushiro's injuries, and restored Ishida's arm and blood. She took a deep breath and released when she was done, letting her fairies return to her hairpins. "There, they should be fine now."

Ishida nodded, getting up and stretching his arm. "Thanks, Orihime." Just as good as the original! Her powers are unreal.

"It was no problem, Uryuu," Inoue replied with a smile.

"What about taicho?" Rangiku asked worriedly.

Inoue turned her smile to the big-breasted woman. "Don't worry, Rangiku-san. He's been healed – he just needs some rest to recover his reiatsu."

"I hate to impose… But I suppose I have no choice. Do you mind if we stay here for the time being?" Rangiku asked. "We're on a mission from Soul Society."

"Sure!" Inoue chirped. "It'll be great to have a couple of guests!"

"You better stay ready for more," Ishida warned. "There are more fights going on."

Inoue's expression sobered. "I know. Kurosaki-kun is strong, and has his special self-healing technique – would you mind checking on the others before you go to him?" She, too, was hesitant to reveal the nature of Ichigo's Hollow powers to members of the Gotei 13.

Uryuu nodded without hesitation, crouching and then disappearing through the Quincy high-speed technique.

Meanwhile… CRASH! Ichigo had quickly grown used to the increased speed of his Bankai and kept on the offensive, leaving Grimmjow to block and counterattack as best he could. He and Grimmjow had been fighting up close and personal for several minutes now, and to his consternation, Grimmjow had been blocking and fighting with his bare hands.

Grimmjow grimaced as he was forced once again blocked his opponent's vicious slash with his arm, leaving a small cut as the Espada lunged forward to try to strike a punishing blow into Ichigo's abdomen, only for Ichigo to disappear using Shunpo. "I never thought I'd fight someone who was as fast as me," Grimmjow complimented, using Sonido to appear behind Ichigo, his hand striking forward to smack the orange-haired Shinigami's head for a spin.

Ichigo dodged to the side, spinning with a smirk. "Is this the best an Espada has to offer?" he taunted as he swung Tensa Zangetsu. His slowly developing reiatsu sense alerted him to a severe drop of Hollow reiatsu in the town, and his smirk grew into a smug smile. "Oh, would you look at that? Most if not all of your subordinates are dead!"

Grimmjow gave a manic grin. "Who cares about them?! They were weak, and gave up the journey for Vasto Lorde! We Hollows aren't like you weak Shinigami! We always look out for number one, first and foremost!" He parried a slash and retaliated with a kick, which was deflected by Ichigo's left hand.

Ichigo jumped back, and predictably, Grimmjow followed. With a smirk, the Shinigami swung Tensa Zangetsu down with both hands, bellowing "Getsuga Tenshou!"

Grimmjow was too close to dodge, and he didn't have enough time to counter. All he could do was block. He threw his arms to cover his face as the black crescent of destructive energy struck him. He silently began charging a Cero.

Ichigo, wanting to completely surprise his enemy, rushed in and slammed Tensa Zangetsu, another Getsuga already charged, onto the Getsuga Tenshou that Grimmjow was struggling with.

Now! Grimmjow twisted his hand, a blue orb held in his palm, his blue eyes narrowed. "Cero!"

The highly concentrated beam of light blue energy punched through a portion of Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshou and caught the Shinigami unaware as he was hit in the chest. He jumped back and fell to one knee in midair, still supported by the platform of reiatsu that kept him up in the air with Grimmjow. Part of Ichigo's coat had been destroyed, and his upper torso was burned quite badly, with some blisters already forming. Son of a bitch, that hurt! I'm just glad my Getsuga took some of the blow for me!

However, Grimmjow did not emerge completely unscathed either. He had been hit dead-on by the Getsuga Tenshou, which had been boosted by Tensa Zangetsu for an admittedly short duration. His forearms had been deeply sliced and burned in several places from the nature of the Getsuga Tenshou, and even then some of the blast had hit his chest, burning both him and destroying part of his uniform. His arms hurt quite a bit to move, much to his displeasure. I'll need a day or two of rest to heal this up… or use my Resurreccion. "Well, fuck. You're better than I thought, Shinigami."

Ichigo straightened, gripping his sword tightly. "So are you," he admitted. He hasn't gone Resurreccion yet. If he does, I'll need to bring out the mask. I wasn't expecting to need it so soon! He scowled. But I'll never get a better chance to kill him. He's away from Hueco Mundo, so he's weaker than he normally would be, and I've already injured him. Every Arrancar we kill decreases Aizen's forces.

Ishida appeared in a burst of Hirenkyaku then, bow in hand. "Kurosaki."

"Ishida," Ichigo greeted. "Be careful. This guy's speed and strength matches my Bankai, and he still hasn't used his Resurreccion. I'd stay away if I were you."

The Quincy's eyes widened. Even I can't keep up with that, especially after the training Kurosaki's been doing! "Very well, Kurosaki." He jumped back, well out of the way of any possible blast zone.

"That's better – one on one's always been more my style," Grimmjow said with a smirk as he slowly drew his sword.

Ichigo tensed – Grimmjow struck him as a primarily hand-to-hand fighter, and Ulquiorra had said that Hollow powers were primarily stored an Arrancar's Zanpakuto. He's gonna use Resurreccion! "You sure you should be doing that here?" Ichigo asked, stalling for time. A sudden brainwave hit him. If Ulquiorra came and retrieved Yammy, then this attack probably wasn't sanctioned by Aizen. He wouldn't cross Aizen unless he knew he was safe. "I mean, surely your master Aizen or his subordinates will be upset knowing that you came on your own?"

"How do you know I didn't come on his orders?" Grimmjow bluffed.

Ichigo laughed. "The attack, it wasn't planned out! If you had really wanted to kill us all, you would have picked us off one by one before we could regroup, slaughtering us with overwhelming power of multiple Arrancar. The way you did this is something like I would have done, going half-cocked and unprepared! I mean, look at you! Your subordinates are all dead! There's only poor little you, against me, my friends, and all the Shinigami in this area when my friend heals them up!"

Grimmjow's scowl rivaled Ichigo's trademarked one. "Shut up! Prepare to see my true form, Kurosaki Ichigo!" Grimmjow moved quickly, drawing his sword across his body with his right arm, and bringing his left arm down to rake his nails across it.

Ichigo tensed his hand, prepared to call out his Hollow mask. His fingertips began to emit small black tendrils of the sinister reiatsu, too small for any but Ishida to detect. "You know, unleashing your Resurreccion will only alert your masters of your transgression!" Ichigo taunted. "After all, I doubt that they wouldn't detect a rise in your Hollow reiatsu, when in your unreleased state you can match my Bankai!"

"They can't beat me, I'm King!" Grimmjow argued, his anger getting the best of him.

"Is that so?" Ichigo asked sarcastically. "Then what number Espada did you say you were? The Sexta Espada? In other words, you're the sixth Espada. Meaning there are five others who are stronger than you, not including Aizen! You? King? Ha!" He laughed derisively. "King of what? Your subordinates? They're dead! King of yourself? You're a follower of Aizen! You're King of nothing!"

"I've gotten stronger since I got that rank," Grimmjow growled, gnashing his teeth together, his fingers tense as they ground slowly on his Zanpakuto. "I'm on the same level as Ulquiorra, the Quatra Espada."

"Then why haven't you fought him for the rank?" Ichigo challenged.

"Because Aizen forbids it," Grimmjow answered angrily. "And even a King needs to know his limits, so he can surpass them and eventually kill those stronger than him!"

"And what makes you think Aizen won't kill you when he realizes you're approaching his power?" Ichigo demanded. "After all, he fancies himself a King too, and Kings put down insurrections!" He grinned. "And then you'll never become Vasto Lorde!"

Grimmjow snapped, letting his reiatsu flare. "GRIND, PANTERA!" he screamed in rage.

A teal reiatsu flashed, almost blinding Ichigo. When he blinked, he had just enough time to see the changed form of Grimmjow before the Arrancar attacked. Grimmjow's blue hair had lightened slightly, and lengthened to his knees. His body had grown even slimmer and lither, and now bore a white form-fitting type of armor. Grimmjow's mask fragment had changed as well – it was no longer on his jaw, but now appeared as a sort of crown. The Arrancar had also grown a thin, whip-like tail, and his forearms had grown wickedly curved blades reaching up towards his shoulders. Worst of all, Grimmjow was completely healed.

Oh fuck! Ichigo did his best to Shunpo out of the way, but even then Grimmjow's now-black hands and feet were acting like claws, and managed to dig deeply into Ichigo's side. Trying not to wince at the pain, Ichigo wasted no time and brought his left hand across his face and summoned his Hollow mask. And my time starts now, he thought to himself. "You're not the only one who can power up, cat-man,"Ichigo taunted before flashing out of sight.

Grimmjow blinked, before his body reacted to an incoming blow that he was pressed to match. Blocking the strike with one of his claws, Grimmjow tried to slash him with the blades on his right arm, only for Ichigo to flash out of sight again and strike from the other side. Grimmjow used Sonido then to completely evade Ichigo's slash, instead appearing behind Ichigo and viciously slashing Ichigo's back, ripping the rest of Ichigo's coat off of him.

Barely feeling the pain and already sending some of his immense reiatsu to his injuries, Ichigo used the momentum Grimmjow had given him and whirled, giving another vicious-looking slash.

Grimmjow caught it with his bare hand, his Hierro allowing him to do so with only small cuts. Of course, he had reinforced his Hierro from his own pool of reiatsu, but he was hardly going to tell Ichigo that. "Do you see now?!" Grimmjow demanded. "I am King!"

Ichigo's Hollow-like amber eyes glowed with determination. "Getsuga Tenshou!"

Tensa Zangetsu was now surrounded by the enormous destructive power of Ichigo's Hollow mask-enhanced attack, and Grimmjow was caught unprepared. Getsuga Tenshou, combined with the empowered Ichigo's added force using Tensa Zangetsu directly, proved to be too much for even Grimmjow's enhanced Hierro to combat entirely, and the Arrancar's left hand/claw was sliced badly, cutting through the palm and into the arm itself. His hand was now useless until it could be healed.

Grimmjow let out a yell of pain even as he retaliated with cruel kick to Ichigo's ribs. Damn it, I forgot he had that attack! But damn, this Shinigami – no, not Shinigami…Grimmjow leapt back with narrowed eyes to narrowly dodge yet another slash. His reiatsu feels like a Hollow's too. Yet he was undeniably Shinigami before he put on that mask… "What are you?!" Grimmjow demanded. "You are Shinigami, but you feel like a Hollow!"

Ichigo growled as he took the chance at a brief reprieve to direct more reiatsu to his ribs – Grimmjow had broken at least two in that kick. His Hollow mask somehow dulled the pain normally, but he knew it would impact his fighting if the ribs weren't healed and quickly. "Me?"he asked, his dually-layered voice sounding even more dangerous and creepy than usual, "I am your executioner!"

"Not today," a new voice sounded. Both Grimmjow and Ichigo turned to see Tousen Kaname – one of the Shinigami Captains that had betrayed Soul Society with Aizen – step out of a Garganta, which closed behind him. Tousen was a tall, thin, black man, dressed similarly to the Arrancar uniform, and he wore a translucent silver visor over his pupil-less eyes. He had let his brown hair fall down and behind him since his time in Soul Society, and he did not look pleased. "Grimmjow, return to Hueco Mundo. Aizen has heard of this pathetic jaunt." Tousen ordered firmly with a frown of distaste.

"Fuck you, Tousen! This Shinigami has wounded me in my released form! He must die!" Grimmjow howled.

Tousen looked at Ichigo with a new light. To be able to fight on even grounds with the Sexta Espada's released form by himself… "Then he is strong. Even so, he will die if he attempts to fight Aizen-sama. Now return to Hueco Mundo – perhaps the intelligence you've gathered here today will stay Aizen-sama's hand."

"You should be more worried about yourself, traitor." Ishida had used Hirenkyaku to appear right behind Tousen, his most powerful arrow yet cocked and ready. He released… only for the ex-Captain to have spun and blocked with his unreleased Zanpakuto. Fuck he's fast! Ishida used Hirenkyaku again, barely escaping from Tousen's retaliatory strike.

Ichigo took advantage of the blatant opportunity and used Shunpo, trying to stab Tousen with his Hollow mask-enhanced speed and power. Grimmjow, however, blocked his path. "Your fight is with me!" Grimmjow growled.

"Fine then! Ishida, think you can handle the other guy?"

Ishida pushed up his glasses, readying his bow and cocking back another spirit arrow. "I'm more than willing to try."

Tousen shook his head. "You are all going to die regardless of this fight. There is no justice in pointless slaughter." He held his sword up. "Cry, Suzumushi."

Ishida's eyes widened as his quickly used Hirenkyaku to retreat out of range of the familiar attack. Trusting Ishida's judgment, Ichigo quickly did the same, appearing at Ishida's side. "Why'd you jump back?"Ichigo questioned, not seeing anything.

"Some sort of sound attack," Ishida replied, eyebrows furrowed in thought. "He used it against me back in Soul Society, and it knocked me out instantly. I remember it being a very high-pitched sound, barely within my hearing range."

"Sounds at certain pitches can do odd things to a person's body. I imagine that the sound was at the right frequency and volume to mess with your eardrums and brain, causing unconsciousness," Ichigo deduced. "Judging from how it hasn't hit us, it must have a range limit."

"Yes, that makes sense… the sound will lose energy as it travels in the air, thereby changing the frequency and decibel level," Ishida concurred. "I would surmise that the range depends on how much reiatsu he puts into the attack. However, since sound is a wave, the drain must be exponential, so as long as we keep our distance, we should remain unaffected. I wonder how he isn't affected by his own attack?"

"Indeed," Tousen confirmed. "An excellent analysis – I must admit, I didn't expect you to figure it out so quickly. You initially seemed like battle-loving fools like Grimmjow here, and Kenpachi." He picked up the now-unconscious Grimmjow, who hadn't known of Tousen's power and therefore hadn't bothered to try to evade. "I admit that if I were to try to fight the two of your together, there is a good chance I would lose. It is only logical that I then retreat." A Garganta opened behind him, and began to step into it.

"Oh no you don't!" Ichigo roared, dashing with all the speed of his Hollowified Bankai form. "Getsuga Tenshou!" At the same time, Ishida fired another arrow right behind Ichigo's attack, aimed a little off center so Tousen wouldn't anticipate its true path.

Tousen blocked the Getsuga with some effort with his Zanpakuto, and deflected the arrow with his left hand. He merely smiled. "I make up for my blindness with my ability to sense reiatsu. I have, in effect, 360 degree vision. Until next time." The Garganta closed then.

Frustrated, Ichigo fed more Hollow reiatsu to his wounds, making sure he was fully recovered before he removed and crushed his mask. "Well, we've repelled this invasion, and now I know I'm about the equal of the Sexta Espada if we both go all out," Ichigo muttered.

"No you're not," Ishida countered. "You didn't fight in Hueco Mundo, where his powers are amplified."

Ichigo blinked and scowled. "You're forgetting, Ishida, that we're playing on our home field, and we never have to leave it. They are the ones who have to invade us, not the other way around."

"Perhaps," Ishida conceded, "but we should not underestimate them. You fought the sixth Espada to a near draw, but that means there are five Espada more, not including Aizen and his two Shinigami subordinates. They also have the advantage of being able to create more Arrancar than we can recruit others, and Soul Society is unlikely to send more reinforcements. They need to protect their own turf."

"The next time they invade, they'll send the fifth or higher Espada…" Ichigo realized. "And we are so few, it's almost impossible for us to be on watch 24-7…" he continued the thought soberly.

I could do it, Hollow Ichigo volunteered. All I would need is control of your body. Hollows rarely need sleep, and you know just as well as I do that I'm better with Zangetsu.

His host scowled harder. No. You'd immediately take the opportunity to become King, and force me to be the horse.

Maybe you're right, maybe not. You'll never know unless you let me… Hollow Ichigo's mocking laughter echoed as he retreated from Ichigo's consciousness.

Ichigo brutally quashed the sudden doubts. "We don't need to be on watch all the time," he corrected himself. "I have my badge and the Shinigami have their cell phones."

"Right," Ishida nodded, wondering why Ichigo's scowl had grown. After a few moments, he shook his head. "We should return to Orihime."

Ichigo took a few moments to gaze at where the Garganta had been, lost in thought. "Yeah." The two of them disappeared as they used their respective high-speed techniques.

Shortly thereafter, they met up with Inoue, who smiled. "Everyone's doing just fine now," she informed them. "Hitsugaya-taicho is resting, having exhausted himself. Rangiku-san, Rukia-chan, and Renji-kun are with him, waiting to talk to you. Madarame-san was here for a short while, but after he was healed he and Yumichika-san left. They apparently are staying with Keigo!"

"Well, that's weird… wonder how they managed that?" Ichigo mused. "Anything else to report, Inoue?"

Inoue shook her head. "No."

"Suppose I should go see the others then… You wanna come too, Ishida?"

"I suppose I should, in order to be completely informed of what's going on," Ishida drawled, pushing up his glasses a bit, making them glint and become opaque.

"Alright. Inoue? Mind restoring my clothes?"

Inoue blushed, only just realizing that Ichigo's torso was bare. "I'm seeing you too often like this," she scolded. "I'm getting used to seeing you shirtless! Souten Kesshun!"

Ichigo merely shrugged as he felt his Bankai outfit restore itself. "Sorry," he offered.

"Don't be, I know it's not your fault," Inoue replied softly, the restoration complete. "Wait in the living room, I'll get the others."

Ichigo and Ishida glanced at each other and sat down on opposite sides of the nearby couch. A bare minute later, the Shinigami – a tired-looking Toushiro among them – came out.

"Matsumoto!" Toushiro called out, his normally commanding voice sounding more his age as he fought his fatigue. He failed to hold back a yawn, which had both Rangiku and Inoue fighting not to squeal and glomp him for his cuteness. "Just tell me what's going on. Who healed me?"

"Inoue Orihime did, taicho," Rangiku replied, all business. "As for what's going on, having been your fukutaicho for so long I know that you prefer to work out the plan if any complications hit."

Toushiro nodded. "Yes, and this definitely qualifies. A taicho and his fukutaicho were unable to defeat even the lower-level Arrancar without releasing our limiters, or calling for aid."

"Limiters?" Ichigo questioned.

"Every fukutaicho and taicho have limiters put on them when they enter the human world," Renji answered. "It's to keep us from unnecessarily affecting people with our reiatsu. It essentially locks away eighty percent of our power."

"It can be released in times of need, but if we do it without permission from Soul Society, then it can be grounds for prison term," Rangiku continued.

"Well, even prison term's better than dying," Ishida reasoned. "Why didn't you release when you were so severely injured?"

"It was broad daylight, and my power actively causes snowstorms when I'm in Bankai," Toushiro told him deadpan. "I need Soul Society to create a barrier around me while I'm in human world to keep my reiatsu from affecting the weather. Alerting the general populace about Shinigami existence is grounds for execution."

"Let's move on," Ichigo suggested. "How about we compare notes first, to see what the overall skill level was of the Arrancar?"

Rukia nodded. "I faced Numero 15, Yylfordt Granz. He was strong in body, but I discovered his weakness through a lucky break early on and killed him."

"Even that would've been better than the one I got," Renji muttered. "I got an Arrancar named D-Roy. Numero 16. He was an unseated officer in power level. He was definitely a subordinate. I barely had to use my Shikai."

"My opponent was Numero 14. I didn't get his name. He was about 3rd seat or so in power, and I was unable to defeat him in my limited state. He never had the chance to release his Zanpakuto, so I don't know where his true power was." Rangiku summarized with a small blush of embarrassment.

Everyone turned to Toushiro. "Numero 11, Shawlong Kuufang. He was approximately fukutaicho level before his release. After it he was low-taicho level," he stated emotionlessly.

"Is that a small difference in power by your standards?" Inoue questioned.

Rukia shook her head. "No. Seated officers typically have minor variations in power, a slow climb. The two big steps are the fukutaicho and taicho levels. Fukutaicho typically have their Shikai, which is better than one without by about three or four times. A requirement of becoming a taicho is to achieve Bankai, which increases a Shinigami's power between five to ten times from their Shikai, usually closer to ten times."

"A drastic increase indeed," Ishida murmured.

"What about you, Kurosaki?" Toushiro inquired.

Ichigo sighed. "Espada 6, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. He was their leader, and was incredibly strong, especially after he released."

There was a hush as the others took in that he'd faced such a high-level Espada already. "Did you manage to kill him?" Renji asked after a minute.

Ichigo shook his head negatively. "No. I might have managed eventually, but a Shinigami named Tousen interrupted the fight, knocked him out with his Shikai attack, and took him away."

"How strong was the Espada?" Toushiro demanded.

"Let me put it this way. I was in Bankai, with no limiters, and he was keeping up without releasing," Ichigo informed him. "Considering that before my recent training, I managed to defeat Kuchiki Byakuya…"

"Mid-taicho level," Rangiku breathed. "How powerful was he after his release?"

Ichigo shook his head. "He made me look like I was no faster than a human child. And he was strong, very strong."

"How did you keep up?" Toushiro questioned with narrowed eyes. "You did say you might have won eventually, had there been no interference."

"I have my secrets," Ichigo said evasively. "Let's just say it's a power none of you have. After all, I don't see you just giving out the powers and weaknesses of your Shikai and Bankai, Toushiro."

"It's Hitsugaya-taicho!"

"Ichigo, you're among friends," Rukia coaxed. "Besides, you're not really part of the Gotei 13 – Yamamoto-soutaicho can't touch you, and even if he wanted to, you've got friends in high and low places."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at Toushiro, who stared right back. It was a contest of wills. "I want your word as a Shinigami taicho that you will not tell anyone unless I give you permission."

"Kurosaki!" Rangiku exclaimed, scandalized.

"Do you know what you are asking of me, Kurosaki Ichigo?" Toushiro asked softly, yet coolly. "The fact that you are asking at all tells me that this is a secret that the Gotei 13 should know."

"No offense to you, Toushiro –"

A tic formed on Toushiro's forehead. "Damn it, it's Hitsugaya-taicho!"

Ichigo focused his fierce gaze at Toushiro. "– but I can't trust any society whose leaders would execute a young woman for an offense that should have been no more than a few months in prison and a year of supervision." He pointedly glanced at Rukia. "Or one whose justice system is apparently so fucked up that only the damned nobles have any sway in their decisions." He positively glared at Toushiro. "Or one who would have executed several Shinigami who had been nothing but loyal, but had received Hollow powers against their will from one of Aizen's experiments, and then completely ignored the scapegoat's claim of innocence."

Toushiro's eyes widened in surprise. "How do you have that information?"

"I've met the scapegoat, and he gave me the story. Confirmed it later with the victims," Ichigo said shortly. "Given that Yamamoto and the Central 46 were in charge back then too, I'd say not much has changed. Tell me, Toushiro, has the active ruling body in Soul Society sent an apology to Urahara Kisuke for accusing and banishing him for Aizen's traitorous actions now that they know the truth?"

Toushiro didn't bother reminding Ichigo of his preferred form of address. "No," he said quietly.

Ichigo got up and pressed his advantage. "And have they repealed the ruling from one hundred years ago and invited the Shinigami they would have executed back into their midst?"

"Why would they?" Toushiro asked, confused. "Didn't they just become Hollows?"

"No," Ichigo replied with a scowl. "They stayed Shinigami, but gained the ability to draw on their Hollow powers and enhance their existing skills. Imagine your Bankai, enhanced to be, say, five times stronger just by putting on the mask of what your Hollow self would have been? You could take it off any time you wanted."

Toushiro's eyes widened. "That strong?"

"More," Ichigo told him. "They've had one hundred years to get stronger and learn how to use Hollow-specific powers, like Cero."

"Oh dear…" Rangiku said weakly as she leaned back heavily in her chair.

"So… they refuse to admit that they were wrong, even after the Central 46 has been assassinated by the one they exonerated." Ichigo sat back down. "So if word got out just what my secret power was, Soul Society might tolerate me long enough to put down Aizen, but guess who would be next? Especially since I'm still a human being, living my life here." He scoffed. "Soul Society might try to tolerate the existence of a human who could defeat some of their best Shinigami, since humans live for such a short term anyway compared to you. But a human who could defeat some of their best Shinigami, and then have an additional power to push himself beyond taicho level? They'd assassinate me, or wear me down, or seal up my powers given the slightest excuse, because they'd be afraid I would come into their town and do the same damn thing. Preemptive strike my ass. And then to top things off, they'd try to recruit my power for the Gotei 13!"

None of the Shinigami there said anything – they'd been around long enough to know that Ichigo's words were the truth. Toushiro looked away. "Then don't tell me. What I don't know can't hurt you."

"Taicho!" Rangiku exclaimed in surprise.

"No, Matsumoto!" Toushiro ordered with as much authority as he could. "Can you not already guess?! You have a brain, use it! How would Kurosaki know of and meet the Shinigami with Hollow powers?!"

That shut Rangiku up. "… I see."

Toushiro sighed, then straightened. "The report to Soul Society will simply state you managed to evade the Espada's Resurreccion form long enough for Tousen to arrive and knock him out, returning to Hueco Mundo."

"Thank you… Hitsugaya-taicho," Ichigo said with genuine appreciation.

Toushiro's eyes widened for a split second. "I am not sure I wish to be known as one of Soul Society's taicho by someone who does not respect them with valid reason…" he said softly. "You may call me Hitsugaya, or Toushiro-san if you must."

Ichigo smirked. "As you wish, Toushiro."

"It's Hitsugaya or Toushiro-san!" the white-haired shrimp barked out.

Ichigo held back a chuckle. "Is there anything else we need to go over?"

Toushiro nodded. "Defense plans. I think I can safely say that with his… unnamed power…" He glanced at Matsumoto, who merely nodded. "… and his lack of a limiter, Kurosaki here is the most efficient defender at the moment, with the Quincy Ishida as backup. Are you two in agreement with this?"

Ichigo and Ishida glanced at each other. "In all honesty, we're pretty evenly matched normally," Ichigo confessed reluctantly. "I've got brawn, but he's got the smarts to pull off some very impressive tactics, and I don't think we've seen even half the bag of Quincy tricks he's got. Given that I need to get out of my body first to be even half as effective as I was today, Ishida is your go-to guy."

Ishida snorted bitterly. "Don't even try it, Kurosaki. That Espada would have made mincemeat of me, and you were keeping up when you had that power of yours active. It doesn't take you but a second to leave your body with your badge or Kon around. I know when I'm beaten."

Ichigo's brow creased as he frowned. "Ishida…"

The Quincy glared at him. "Don't think it'll stay this way for long, Kurosaki! I only got my powers back recently, and I'm catching up faster than you think! You had better work hard to stay ahead!"

That's more like it. Ichigo smirked. "Bring it."

He was promptly smacked by Rukia. "Focus, Ichigo! Now is not the time for your stupid competitions!"

Ichigo was sorely tempted to start a fight with her, but gathered himself and turned his attention back to Toushiro. "Right then," the taicho continued. "In the event of another invasion, we shall divide up the forces. Inoue-san, you are our best healer at the moment, so you need to stay safe. Kuchiki-san, you shall guard her."

Rukia nodded swiftly.

"But Hitsugaya-san…!" Inoue protested.

Ishida shook his head. "Orihime, you can handle yourself against one opponent at a time, yes, but these Arrancar are fast. You heard Kurosaki, some are even faster than his Bankai mode in Shinigami form. And let's face it, none of us is that fast, not even me when I'm using Hirenkyaku. We need you to be able to heal us when we get hurt."

Inoue reluctantly nodded, seeing the logic. "I'm sorry for interrupting, Hitsugaya-san."

Toushiro nodded. "Kurosaki, Ishida-san, you two are the heavy hitters. I need you to be the initial line of defense and judge whether we need to release our limiters to aid you."

Ichigo nodded. "Got it."

The child-appearing taicho turned to Rangiku and Renji, who had been oddly quiet. "The three of us are to handle any stragglers."

"Understood, Hitsugaya-taicho," Renji accepted seriously.

"Yumichika-san and Madarame-san are 11th Division members… they'll look for the best fight regardless of what I tell them," Toushiro stated with a sigh. "Also, in the event of the appearance of an Espada, immediately request a limit release."

"I have something to add to that," Ichigo volunteered. "The Espada known as Yammy Rialgo – very large man, muscle-bound, has ridges on his forehead and a long thin black ponytail – is the weakest of the Espada prior to release, but the strongest after he does. This comes from the mouth of Espada 4, Ulquiorra Cifer. I have fought him prior to release, and can confirm that he can be defeated in my Shikai state."

"Anything else?" Toushiro pressed.

Ishida nodded, picking up where Ichigo left off. "Ulquiorra has expressed an interest in switching sides should Yammy be defeated in his Resurreccion form."

"That would be damn useful!" Renji commented in awe. "If he's Espada 4, he's stronger than that Grimmjow guy that Ichigo fought on even grounds with! Someone of that level defecting to our side would be priceless!"

"The problem with that is Soul Society's attitude towards Hollows and Arrancar," Rukia reminded pensively. "No Espada will turn to our side if they feel they will just be assassinated afterwards for their trouble."

"Who says Soul Society has to know?" Inoue suggested, somewhat timidly.

Ichigo nodded at her. "Hide him out in Hueco Mundo all the time? Could work, but risky – too much risk of the rest of Aizen's forces discovering him."

"You're not thinking clearly, Kurosaki," Ishida criticized. "Have him spy on Aizen."

Ichigo gave him a look that clearly communicated the idea of "What the hell are you thinking?!" He then chose to reinforce it. "Ishida, what the hell are you smoking? Did you forget Aizen's power? Aizen's hypnosis powers are reinforced every time the victim sees him release his Zanpakuto. I wouldn't put it past him to have originally done that to begin with to get the Arrancar to follow him!"

Toushiro frowned. "I doubt that he could do that," he stated coolly. "If that were indeed possible, he would have used it on Soul Society and saved himself the trouble of betraying us all."

"His reiatsu isn't infinite," Renji pointed out. "No one's is! Perhaps it's his Bankai power, but it requires too much concentration and reiatsu to use for more than a small group of people."

"The Espada," Ichigo concluded with a nod. "Everyone else wouldn't dare argue, as the Espada are the strongest around, save the reclusive Vasto Lorde. That's Hollow nature."

"That still doesn't make sense," Rukia pointed out. "If that were the case, he could have easily done it to the Shinigami taicho, or even just Yamamoto-soutaicho."

"Regardless, Kurosaki does have a point," Ishida admitted. "Aizen's hypnosis could allow him to routinely check to make sure no one has betrayed him. It is entirely possible that this is not the first set of Espada."

"It doesn't matter," Rangiku countered. "It's not the previous Espada we have to deal with, it's the current one."

Toushiro coughed to get everyone's attention. "We'll drop the potential defection of Ulquiorra Cifer for now," he ordered. "Everyone knows procedure now. To review, Ishida and Kurosaki are our first line of defense, and will take the strongest of invaders. Abarai, Matsumoto and myself are the next line, with our limiters. Kuchiki and Inoue are the back lines, the healers. If an Espada appears, make the call to release limiters."

"Um, I can't make the call," Ichigo alerted him. "I don't have one of your cell phones."

Ishida markedly pushed up his glasses as he stared. "Besides, even if we did, we would not be able to afford the time to ask for the limiter release. Against an Espada, all our efforts would be towards fighting and killing him."

Toushiro coughed once. "I was referring to myself, Matsumoto and Abarai."

Ichigo shrugged. "Whatever, I have places to be. Let me know when you plan to make the report… I want to be there," he finished with a very serious look in his eye before disappearing in a flash of Shunpo.

" Not to sound like a copycat, but I have things to do," Ishida informed them, disappearing with his Hirenkyaku technique.

Ichigo reappeared at the Vizard warehouse and walked in with a serious look on his face. Seeing the expression, Shinji cocked his head at him. "Ichigo?"

The orange-haired Vizard turned a hard look at the ex-taicho. "You know about the Arrancar invasion today."

"Yeah… so?" Hiyori asked, not really interested.

"I fought on par with the Sexta Espada. That means there are five above him who are stronger than he is," Ichigo told them. "I can't count on Soul Society, and my friends and I are not strong enough to take them all down. Evidence suggests that Aizen is going to sacrifice all of Karakura in order to do what he wants, which I can't let happen. I need to know, are you going to help me fight Aizen or not?"

And there we go. Lots of fight scenes - hope I made them well.

As for Toushiro, he may be a Shinigami taicho, but I've always seen him and Ichigo having a sort of understanding, especially in the movie "Diamond Dust Rebellion." Therefore, he should twist the rules enough.

Ichigo is getting to be a very angry young man, with good reason. Little does he know that in the manga, Yamamoto has contacted Urahara and works with him to fight Aizen. I plan on having that happen here too, but Ichigo, being young and uninformed, thinks the worst. When Toushiro finds out, he'll tell, but as that hasn't happened yet...

Now that Ichigo understands where he stands in regards to the Arrancar forces, he knows he still isn't even close to strong enough. More training, and more searches for allies.