Failure and Resolution

Zommari looked around dismissively. He hadn't been able to sense his opponent from the beginning, but that was hardly surprising – he hadn't needed to be able to actively sense people for a long time, long before he'd even met Aizen. With his eyes, he'd been able to see everywhere around him and capture his attackers with his Amor. On those rare occasions when it was needed, Zommari had Pesquisa, the Arrancar sensing skill.

But now that he was a Togabito, deprived of his many eyes and forced to rely on only the two he'd been born with, Zommari was having difficulty keeping track of where his opponent was. It looked a great deal, no, almost identical to Kurosaki Ichigo, but Zommari dismissed the possibility – there was no enormous Zanpakutō, and there had been no use of any Shinigami skills. In all likelihood, this was simply a spiritually-enhanced human, or one of those portable souls that Shinigami use when they need to inhabit mortal bodies.

And while there's a chance I caught Kurosaki Ichigo before he could exit his body, there's no reason why he wouldn't do so now, Zommari reasoned. I came here to avenge Aizen-sama… but he has the arrogance to not even be here. He carefully looked around for his opponent. Did he truly run away?

Zommari cursed that his Amor had been weakened so. Before he had been slain by that Quincy – damn that boy – a single look upon the face of any foolish soul and an invisible burst of Amor would make them his slave, body and mind alike. But now, that power had been reduced to almost nothing. He required the use of his hands, and was limited to a mere ten subjects instead of his previous 52. And even now, his control was not absolute – he could feel his prisoner struggling to break free, and Zommari had no control at all over the man's mouth and throat.

"Hey! Head's up!"

"Eh?" Interrupted from his thoughts, Zommari turned around and was promptly smacked in the face by a soccer ball that exploded on impact, the ball's leather enveloping his face and thoroughly obscuring his vision. Shit! He swiftly moved Isshin to protect him from the front, anticipating an attack. Strangely, he felt no resistance from Isshin this time… Wait.

Zommari felt a chill when he heard a voice from right behind him. "Wrong way, baka."

He began to spin, but was promptly kicked hard, too hard for a normal human. Zommari was sent through the air and landed somewhere grassy. He managed to rip the leather off his face, but it was too late – in his distraction and inability to see he was no longer pointing directly at Isshin. Which meant he was…

Isshin sighed and sheathed Engetsu from where he'd promptly decapitated the Togabito. Both he and Kon watched as the body and head were pulled into a glowing red portal before the portal collapsed. "Glad that's over, but did you have to blow up Karin's soccer ball? She's going to be upset."

"I needed a way to keep him from seeing me so I could get behind him!" Kon retorted. "Since I don't have a handy smokescreen attack, I used what was available!"

Isshin ruffled Kon's hair. "I know. Good job, by the way."

Kon froze for a second. It felt unexpectedly good to have Ichigo's father say that to him. But even so, he'd fought a sentient being, directly participated in causing its demise, even if it wasn't permanent. And that made him feel rather sick. "I-I-Isshin?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"How do you deal with…" Kon gestured where Zommari had been. "… killing things? I mean, I know it was needed… Kami knows what would have happened to you and Karin if he'd been allowed to live… but…"

Isshin's expression softened. "Let's go inside for this talk."

After they re-entered the Kurosaki house-hold, Kon sat down on the couch while Isshin went to tell Karin that they were safe for the moment. A few moments later, Isshin came down and sighed, sitting in a chair. "Kon… Ichigo told me about your feelings regarding life. It's a respectable outlook."

Kon merely nodded. He didn't want anything to die. After all that time being afraid of his own death, stuck in pill form directly after the Mod-Soul production ceased and terrified that he would be found and destroyed, he couldn't stand the idea of letting anything die, let alone being directly involved in it. He didn't mind helping a bit with Hollows; that wasn't really killing them, that was purifying and sending them to Soul Society, just making them stop being monsters. But… Zommari… he wasn't a Hollow. And he looked all too human.

"The problem, Kon, is that we don't really have a choice," Isshin said heavily. "You know what they are: Togabito, with the power to open and close portals to Hell at whim. We don't have a way to detain them, so the only choice is to eliminate them as a threat. That means killing them, even if they come back later."

"I know all that," the Mod-Soul replied, poking at the side of his own head. "Up here. But… it hurts here." He tapped at his heart. "How do Shinigami and humans deal with this? Knowing that they played a part in the death of another being? Isn't life sacred?"

Isshin grimaced. "It depends on the person. Shinigami don't really deal with it very often, as our main task is to cleanse Hollows. But when a good man does have to kill…" He sighed. "We usually have to rationalize it. Dehumanize the enemy, make them different from us. Tell ourselves over and over again why it has to be done. Understand that you don't want to, but it's for a greater good. Something, anything to shift the blame off you." He shook his head. "You can make your body strong. You can make your spirit resilient. But your heart and mind? They are so fragile.

"Look at Ichigo. He's very strong now, right?" Kon nodded, and Isshin continued. "He took Aizen's life. He did it to save everyone, but he has nightmares so frequently these days because his mind rebels against the idea that he killed someone. His whole life, he has fought only to defend himself and others. And while he's put people in the hospital before, no one has ever died because he exerted his strength. Until now. I've no doubt that he's feeling horror that he actually did it, and sorrow and guilt for not thinking of a way to subdue Aizen without killing him, and anger that Aizen forced his hand.

"Ichigo is in a very fragile state right now – he hasn't had the time to mourn and begin to move on. And I worry for him, because as terrible as it is to take a life, he will be forced to do so much more than that in this war against Hell."

Ichigo looked at Haken in disbelief, unable to process what he'd just heard. If Quincy arrows sent souls directly to Hell, then all of those Hollows that Uryū had killed… "No. No way."

"Don't believe me?" Haken smiled knowingly. "You'll see."

"How? How could that be true?" Ichigo demanded. "What connection could your arrows possibly have to Hell?"

"That's a long story that you don't have time for," the Quincy Togabito reminded with an insane smile. But then, his face grew a little more focused, a little more rational. "But tell me… are there any Quincy remaining among the living?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yes. A friend of mine, Ishida Uryū."

"Ishida…" Haken murmured, and the madness that decorated his expression faded further. "Is there yet a chance…? Then I'll let you go. Save your mother. But in return… save my descendants. Somewhere in the living world, there is a spiritual contract. It'll be hidden – only a Quincy can find it. Find it, and all your questions will be answered. Now go!"

Ichigo blinked, but decided that it was probably best to take advantage of his good fortune. He turned on his heel and Shunpo-ed down, directly behind the two Togabito who were attacking Cazador. A moment later, he stabbed the sword-wielder in the back with the black Zangetsu, while Cazador took advantage of the opportunity to shove his own blade into the Togabito with the war hammer.

"What happened over there, King?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but the Quincy won't bother us. Come back in."

Cazador nodded reluctantly, and dissipated into reishi before returning to Ichigo's heart. I'll get Zangetsu to fill me in. Let's go get her out of here.

Damn right. Ichigo Shunpo-ed over to Shūren, who appeared to be sweating heavily and struggling with something. "What's wrong?"

"It's being difficult!" Shūren grunted. "I don't understand!"

"Then perhaps I can enlighten you."

Ichigo and Shūren froze, and as one turned around. Hell was right there, standing casually only a few meters away. "Hell-sama…" Shūren murmured, falling to one knee immediately.

Hell ignored him. "Kurosaki Ichigo… or is it Cazador de la Luna?"

The Vizard shifted stance warily. "I'm Ichigo."

"Of course you are. Your sister told me all about you. You defeated… Aizen Sōsuke, was it?" Hell asked curiously.

Ichigo nodded slowly, trying to get a measure for Hell's reiatsu. Then the truth, and horror began to dawn on him. For all of Ichigo's evolutions, he still couldn't sense Hell at all.

"Can't say I'm familiar with the name," Hell told Ichigo nonchalantly. "Then again, if he started as a Shinigami, I wouldn't be anyway. But maybe you can tell me more. How strong was he?" He smiled. "And how strong are you?"

Ichigo tightened his grip on Zangetsu. "There was no one else in Soul Society who could stand against him, in the end. I suppose if the Reiō had gotten involved, then…"

Hell laughed. "The Reiō? He doesn't get involved unless he has to, Kurosaki Ichigo. He would have sent his Royal Guard. So, none of the Gotei 13 could stand against him? Not even Yamamoto?"

"How do you know of the Gotei 13?" Ichigo asked.

Hell's smile grew. "I have my ways. But allow me to get to the point. I want you on my side, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Yuzu told me as much," Ichigo replied.

"I figured she would after I felt my connection to her slip. After all, as much as I would like to be able to hold onto a living soul, my Chains are simply no match to a living soul's Chain of Fate. No matter." Hell sighed and glanced at Shūren. "I might have known you would try this, Shūren-kun. Such resentment and greed, no wonder you have grown strong here. But you'd do just about anything to be free of my Chains, wouldn't you? Very well."

Shūren's face shot up to stare at Hell in slight disbelief and hope. Hell made a simple gesture, and the Chains binding the Togabito fell away to the sand before dissipating. "I… I'm free?"

Hell laughed again, far darker than before. "In a sense." In an instant, he was beside Shūren, his hand on top of the ex-Togabito's skull. "Free of the Chains, yes. Free of me? Never." He clenched his hand into a fist, crushing Shūren's head to pulp.

The corpse fell messily to the ground, before dissolving into sand and being blown away into the desert. Ichigo stared on in horror. He just… so fast!

Hell flicked his hand out to the desert, the remaining bits of flesh between his fingers too dissolving into sand and being carelessly banished away. "No doubt you wondered why he could not resurrect your mother," Hell commented carelessly. "There is a very simple reason for that. Resurrection cycles here are based on how much power that soul has. Kurosaki Masaki had no true spiritual power of her own, and she lacked the hatred, resentment, anger and fear to benefit from being a Togabito. Shūren was fighting against the tide, essentially, and simply didn't have enough power to call her out."

Ichigo swallowed, his mouth dry. "I know you told Cazador that you would require a pure soul in trade for her. But will you resurrect her?"

"Certainly." Hell turned towards the lava pool. "Come forth, Kurosaki Masaki."

The lava rushed upwards in a pillar for a moment, before the nude form of Ichigo's mother fell out and collapsed just outside the pool. Hell made a dismissive gesture, and she was instantly clothed in an elegant red kimono. Ichigo made to rush towards her, but Hell was suddenly, instantly in the way.

"No, Ichigo-kun. I said I would resurrect her. I did not say I would give her to you. Her soul is mine, unless you have that pure soul for trade."

Ichigo grit his teeth. "I do not."

"That's a shame. Because, you see…" Hell lifted his hand, materializing Masaki's Chain effortlessly and lifting her off the ground. "Right now, she is useless to me. Perhaps I should scatter her to the desert as well…?"

"No!" Ichigo lunged for the creator of this dimension, both Zangetsu blazing with the light of a Getsuga Tenshō.

But just as he was about to strike, Hell was no longer there. "Oh? You wish to fight me for her?" Hell smiled. "Very well then." He dropped Masaki to the ground, and in his right hand generated a simple-looking sword.

"Ichi… go…" Masaki gasped out.

"Stay there, Mom. I'm coming for you." Ichigo briefly considered releasing his seals, but decided against it. With his seals off, he would be largely unable to touch his mother, and he was hoping for a chance to grab her and get away. But aside from that, I'm going to need every bit of power for this. I should finish it quickly! Flaring his reiatsu violently around him, Ichigo thrust both Zangetsu in front of him. "BANKAI!" Emerging from the smoke with his Adjuchas mask on, the Vizard began to flicker in an out of Shunpo, circling Hell so quickly that he had several afterimages at any given moment. "Getsuga…" He materialized directly behind Hell and struck with both blades simultaneously in opposite directions, left and right horizontally. "...Tenshō!"

Black and white met, raging Getsugas blinding Ichigo to whether or not Hell was injured. But Ichigo leapt back regardless, pointing the white Tensa Zangetsu at Hell. A crimson Cero began to charge at its tip. "Cero!" Ichigo sustained the beam as long as he could, the power behind it kicking up sand and creating a smoke cover that enshrouded Hell. Again. "Cero!" Again! "CERO!" AGAIN! "CERO!" Ichigo screamed.

"Where are you pointing at?"

Ichigo's eyes went wide. He spun and leapt away to defend… too late. Hell's sword cut off his left arm at the shoulder. He grit his teeth in pain, but began shunted an enormous amount of power towards the wound. His wound regenerated almost instantly, and with a twist of his wrist, the white Tensa Zangetsu leapt out of his old hand and into the newly regenerated one. The sleeve of his Bankai, however, did not grow back to cover his arm, leaving it bare.

Hell dropped his sword and applauded slowly, evidently unharmed from the onslaught. "Powerful. Very powerful in fact. And unafraid of using both Shinigami and Hollow abilities. Excellent, but… not strong enough. Why don't you utilize your Resurrección?"

"Because the air here makes me lose control when I do!" Ichigo retorted.

"Ah," Hell replied in realization, as if he'd honestly not known. "So that's the effect my reiatsu has on you. What a pity, I would have liked to take you on at full power. But no matter… I have what I want."

"What?" And then Ichigo fell to his knees as he felt something materialize on his chest. Chains… His eyes widened in horror, the horrific dream he'd had coming to the fore. No! NO! Attached to his chest were the Chains of Hell. "How?"he gasped, his mask crumbling in his shock.

"Don't tell me you didn't already know," Hell chided, materializing the other end of Ichigo's Chain in his hand. "You may not have died, but you willingly took my power into yourself. After that, I just needed the connection to be strong enough. I needed your rage, your resentment, your hate, your desperation. So I brought out your mother and goaded you into fighting me with everything you could. That was more than enough. You belong to me now."

Ichigo stabbed the white Tensa Zangetsu into the ground, using it for stability as he slowly stood up. "No."

"What?" For the first time, Hell looked surprised.

"I… do not belong to you!"Ichigo roared, straightening up as his power raged around him, black as a Getsuga. His mask reformed over the left side of his face, leaving his right untouched. The chains attached to his chest rattled under the weight of his reiatsu, and his eyes, once more the mismatched set of Ichigo's own brown and Cazador's amber, glowed with his resolve. "This parasite inside me, this damned fragment of your ugly power – I REJECT IT!"

Suddenly, something in Ichigo's heart twisted in terrible, soul-wrenching pain before Hell Ichigo erupted from Ichigo's chest, taking the Chains of Hell with him. He turned around, his face a mask of disbelief. "Ichigo… What have you done?"

Hell blinked, before he began to laugh again, heartily. "Oh, now this IS interesting! Very well, Kurosaki Ichigo. Your mother will live for now. Until next time."

A portal opened directly behind Ichigo without warning, and he found himself falling through it. Crashing on the ground outside of Urahara's shop with both Tensa Zangetsu on either side of him, Ichigo spun around and tried to dive back in, but to no avail. The portal had already almost finished closing, and the last thing he saw was his mother's tear-streaked face. Damn it. Damn it. "DAMN IT!" he cried, punching the ground. Mom…! Why couldn't I save you…?

"Ichigo…"

The Vizard didn't bother to look up. He knew it was Urahara. "I couldn't save her. All my power… was nothing!" He punched the street again, and his fist came up bloody. "Hell has her, and I couldn't EVEN TOUCH HIM!"

"Then you'll train until you can," Urahara said simply.

"How? HOW, URAHARA?"

"The same way as you did in the Dangai. Against another opponent you can't touch."

Ichigo froze and turned around. There was the spirit of his Bankai, and beside him was his Inner Hollow. The mask fragment crumbled away again, once more revealing Ichigo's entire face. "Tensa Zangetsu?"

"I will not have my wielder succumb to despair, Ichigo," Tensa Zangetsu angrily reminded him. "Abandon your fear, and I will always help you protect those precious to you."

"Look forward, King. So what if Hell makes it more difficult to use Resurrección without losing yourself?" Cazador demanded. "Practice it without my help until you can stand against the instinct alone. Move forward and never stop."

"There is always a way, Ichigo. You will only age if you pull back, and the task will become that much more difficult."

"And once you see that chance to win, don't you dare hesitate, or you will die."

Ichigo nodded, thoroughly chastened. With their piece said, the avatars of Ichigo's power dematerialized and returned to Ichigo's Inner World. Looking back at Urahara, Ichigo found the inventor looking rather interested. "Did they come out on their own that time?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Er, yeah. Why?"

Urahara smiled. "That's rather unusual, Ichigo. Bankai spirits don't usually materialize themselves. Shikai spirits do occasionally, but Bankai spirits?" He shook his head. "You grow ever more interesting, Ichigo."

Ichigo sighed, and then a thought occurred to him. "Hey, is everyone alright? Hell sent a few people, right?"

"That's correct. But everyone is fine – a few scrapes, but no one was seriously hurt," Urahara reported. "Although there's a certain…"

"ICHI-NII!"

"… never mind," Urahara finished with a smile, watching as Yuzu tackled her older brother.

"Ichi-nii, are you ok?" Yuzu asked, checking him for injuries as though she didn't trust him to tell the truth.

She probably doesn't, the Vizard had to admit. "I'm fine, Yuzu." Ichigo grimaced and looked away. "But I wasn't able to save Mom."

Yuzu stiffened, but relaxed a moment later. "Then you'll just have to save her next time," she finally said quietly several seconds later. "After all, my brother is too stubborn to give up, even when he probably should."

Her words pierced right through the wall he'd built up around his emotions, and his eyes began to sparkle with unshed tears. A half-laughing, half-sobbing sound choked out of Ichigo's throat as he wiped his eyes with his left hand. He pulled Yuzu into a hug with his right. "Yeah, Yuzu. I'm kinda dumb like that. Let's get you home to Karin and Dad."

"When you're done there, come on back," Urahara ordered. "We have things to discuss."

Nodding, Ichigo reverted to Shikai and dismissed the white blade he'd won from his Hollow. Sheathing Zangetsu on his back, Ichigo picked up Yuzu and held her against his chest. "You ready?"

Yuzu nodded. A second later, she felt the air crushing her against her older brother, and then a few seconds later it was over. Ichigo set her down, and she realized that they were just outside of the Kurosaki home. "You're really, really fast, Ichi-nii."

"Not fast enough," Ichigo muttered. "OW!" He rubbed his leg where his little sister had smacked it. "What was that for?"

"No beating yourself up!" Yuzu commanded. "You'll get Mom next time."

The door to their home flung open unexpectedly. "Yuzu? YUZU!" Ichigo swore that Karin must have used Shunpo or something, because one second she was at the door, and the next instant she'd tackled her twin and was holding her as tightly as possible.

"Karin! I need to breathe!" Yuzu complained even as she hugged her sister back almost as tightly.

Then Karin let go and looked directly into Yuzu's eyes. "Don't you scare me like that again!"

"I'll try," Yuzu promised.

Ichigo couldn't help but smile seeing the reunion. Feeling eyes upon him, he saw Isshin at the door where Karin had been. Meeting his father's gaze, Ichigo slowly shook his head in the negative. Isshin slumped momentarily, before straightening. When their eyes met again, both of them could see the determination burning darkly in the other.

We will save Mom.

Yes, son. We will.

They were Kurosaki. They would protect. No matter what it takes.

As soon as Ichigo reentered the Urahara shop, the shopkeeper almost dragged him to the Seireitei communications room, where he'd talked to Byakuya not long ago. It seemed that all of the taicho in Soul Society were present on their end, while the living world team minus the Vizard-turned-Arrancar and Tōsen was on the other.

Yamamoto banged his cane. "Hitsugaya-taicho. Report."

The diminutive white-haired Shinigami nodded solemnly. "Hell sent a multi-pronged strike force to the living world today. Sado Yasutora successfully defeated a Togabito at the school. Ishida Uryū and Inoue Orihime defeated another in the woods nearby. Kurosaki Isshin, who is not present due to the needs of protecting his family, defeated a third outside the Kurosaki residence. Kurosaki Ichigo met with a fourth directly outside of the Urahara shop.

"The ex-taicho and ex-fukutaicho who make up the Vizard, with the exception of Hachigen, are currently training to explore their Resurrección abilities. Tōsen is still performing Jinzen."

"Kurosaki Ichigo." Yamamoto's attention turned to the Vizard in question. "Report."

"You could ask nicely," Ichigo muttered mutinously under his breath, but sighed. "The Togabito who appeared was Shūren, one of the Togabito who had kidnapped my sisters. I fought him, until he offered a deal. He wanted to be free of Hell, and in return he would help remove the Chains of Hell from my sister and mother. I agreed."

"Why?"

"Several reasons. My family is most important to me, and I couldn't imagine getting a better opportunity to get willing help from a Togabito. It would also definitively test if I could destroy their chains now that Hell has returned to power. Finally, it would deprive Hell of a capable fighter capable of taking on my masked Bankai," Ichigo explained.

"My machines indicate you entered the Hell dimension at this point," Mayuri commented.

"Not quite. Shūren did open the portal, but the exposure to Hell's air made my sister, Yuzu, come back to life. I cut her chain, and she is now a normal human again," Ichigo corrected. "My mother, however, died completely and her soul was taken back to Hell. After that, we entered Hell."

"Were you successful in resurrecting Masaki?" Yamamoto queried emotionlessly.

"Yes and no. Hell arrived and destroyed Shūren entirely. He resurrected Masaki using the lava pool, but refused to give her up. I fought Hell, trying to beat him down long enough to take Masaki and run. He beat me."

"Are you a Togabito now?"

"Again, yes and no." Ichigo was prepared for the uproar from everyone, and weathered it stoically.

"How did this happen?" Yamamoto demanded.

"During my first incursion to Hell, in an effort to reduce Hell's impact on my Hollow side, I battled a manifestation of the effects within my Inner World." Ichigo explained. "I rejected its power, and it dissipated within my Inner World, so I thought nothing of it. Apparently I did not get rid of Hell's reiatsu entirely, and it coalesced into a, for lack of a better description, Inner Togabito.

"However, this time, Hell sensed that presence and tried to use it to control me. He manifested the Chains of Hell on me. But I expelled the Inner Togabito from my soul, and doing so removed the Chains from me. He now resides in Hell. So if you see someone who looks like me, with red eyes and darker hair and Chains, that's him."

Ichigo's voice grew even more serious. "If he appears, be very careful. I have no way of knowing whether he has all the abilities I do."

"Is there anything else of note?"

Ichigo silently sent an apology to his friend. "I encountered a Quincy in Hell."

"Who?" Ishida asked.

"… Ishida Haken."

"We should have expected this," Ukitake murmured. "So it's even more dangerous than we thought, then."

"Yes, but not for the reasons you think," Ichigo interrupted. "Haken told me the truth regarding Quincy arrows."

"What truth?" Ishida demanded. "What don't I know about my own power?"

"Ishida, your arrows don't destroy souls," the transcendent told him bluntly. "Those souls go straight to Hell. Do not pass Soul Society, do not collect purification."

"What?" Ishida turned to Ichigo in disbelief. "You can't be serious."

"The boy is correct."

The Quincy slowly turned to the viewing screen, where Mayuri had spoken. "And you knew."

"Of course I knew, idiot!" Mayuri spat. "I am a scientist! After all those experiments I performed on the Quincy, how could I not know?"

"Then why?" Ishida asked quietly, his voice slowly rising. "Why were we told that we were destroying the balance? Why were my people murdered? WHY DID THE WAR EVEN HAPPEN?"

"The Quincy were in fact disrupting the balance," Yamamoto decreed, cutting off Ishida. "Simply not for the reasons you think. It is true that Quincy arrows do not destroy souls. But Hell does not release souls so easily. If a Shinigami or plus soul dies, it returns to the living world for reincarnation. If a Hollow dies, it is purified and sent on to Soul Society or Hell, depending on the actions taken in life. But when a Togabito dies, it simply returns to Hell endlessly. There is no return to the normal cycle of reincarnation.

"With the Quincy sending every soul they slew to Hell directly, the Hell dimension grew larger and heavier compared to the other dimensions. If it had continued, Hell would have consumed the living world entirely before moving on to Soul Society and Hueco Mundo.

"In addition, with every soul that was sent straight to Hell, the chances of Hell finding a being with sufficient power to resurrect even a fragment of its former self increased. As you are aware, knowledge of the true nature of Hell was strictly forbidden, even to the taicho. So it could not be revealed to mortals that they were potentially recreating an apocalypse by that method.

The decision was made to exaggerate the problem slightly. It was thought that the Quincy would be more inclined to cease their activities if they believed that they were destroying souls entirely. After all, the sanctity of human life was one of the most used arguments the Quincy had used to argue for their powers. Surely, we thought, that would extend to the human soul. The rest, you are already aware of," Yamamoto finished.

Ishida's glasses flashed. "Do you know why our powers send souls to Hell, then?"

"Actually, Haken mentioned some sort of spiritual contract," Ichigo offered. "He said something about only a Quincy being able to get to it, and that it would explain everything."

"Fine. Looks like I know what I'll be doing for the foreseeable future," Ishida replied bitterly, storming out.

"Uryū!" the quiet-until-now Inoue called out, following him outside.

Ichigo sighed. That could have gone better. "How about from your end?" he asked. "I understand that you're creating a team to capture a Togabito for study. How's that going?"

The taicho that Ichigo didn't recognize stepped forward. "You must be Kurosaki Ichigo. I am Amagai Shūsuke, the new taicho of the 5th Division, and the leader of the team you mentioned. The training has only just begun, and I anticipate it being another week or so of training before they are ready to go the living world."

Ichigo nodded. "Thanks for the update. Byakuya, any news on that thing we discussed?"

All eyes turned to the 6th Division taicho. "I have arranged a meeting, Kurosaki. I assure you, you will be alerted as soon as I have pertinent information."

"Everyone up to date then?" Urahara asked after a moment of silence. "Excellent. Then allow me to explain what Mayuri and I have accomplished. While it is more or less impossible to completely prevent Hell from invading, we have managed to make great progress on hindering Togabito from crossing into the living world."

"As everyone here is already well aware, the Dangai exists between Soul Society and the living world," Mayuri picked up where his predecessor left off. "The Kōryū and Kōtotsu serve nicely as an active defense against unwanted intruders."

Urahara sat at a nearby console and typed quickly, creating an illustration for everyone to see. "See, here is the current layout of dimensions. Hell, the living world, the Dangai, and Soul Society." He quickly created labels for each world as he called them out.

"Where is Hueco Mundo on this?" Ichigo asked, curious. He'd never gotten such a concise, clear display of where everything stood before.

Urahara clacked a few more keys, and a model for Hueco Mundo appeared slightly adjacent to the Dangai. "There we are."

"Huh. Hueco Mundo is closer to Hell than Soul Society is," Ichigo observed. "In fact, it's about as close as the living world is."

"Of course it is, idiot," Mayuri insulted. "Only freshly dead souls and Hollows have the capacity of being sent to Hell upon purification. It's obvious that Hell would remain relatively close to the dimensions that retain large quantities of each."

"Not my point," Ichigo argued. "Hell is closer than usual to the living world, right? So did Hell move closer to Hueco Mundo as well? Because it looks to me like even if we manage to make it difficult for Hell to come straight to the living world, there's nothing preventing Hell from taking over Hueco Mundo and coming in through that route."

Startled, Urahara typed furiously at his computer before whirling around to face the Vizard. "Have you ever considered a career in the military? You've got a good eye for on-the-spot analysis of defensive weaknesses."

"Wait, the fool is correct?" Mayuri demanded disbelievingly.

"Apparently," Urahara replied carelessly. "But if the fool is correct, then who was truly the fool?"

"Enough!" Yamamoto declared. "It would seem that Hueco Mundo will need to be protected as well. We will address that shortly. Urahara, Kurotsuchi-taicho, continue."

"Right then," the shopkeeper began with a cheerful smile, "the whole idea is to shift and stretch the Dangai a bit. Sort of wedge it in between the living world and Hell, so to speak. With any luck, the Dangai's defenses – the Kōryū and Kōtotsu – will hinder the Togabito. At the very least, it will prove more difficult for Togabito to simply rip holes from Hell to the living world."

"What are the downsides?" Chad asked, speaking up for the first time this meeting.

"There are a few big ones," Urahara admitted. "It's difficult to move a dimension – it will take time and effort. It will also render the living world mostly cut off from Soul Society until the dimension stabilizes enough to work through. Even then, it would be extremely unsafe, as the Kōtotsu must be almost constantly active."

"It's not perfect," Mayuri admitted reluctantly, "but there are tactical advantages as well. Using the Dangai in this way will allow Soul Society easier access to Hell directly, by taking advantage of our Jigokuchō. We will, of course, need to shield the Dangai similarly to the living world in order to maximize its defensive capabilities."

Yamamoto's frown grew slightly darker. "This would create a connection, albeit indirect, to Soul Society from Hell, correct?"

"Yes," Urahara conceded. "However, between the Dangai's natural defenses, plus the shielding against Hell, it would make it very difficult to get through. And even if they did, they'd have the Gotei 13 to fight against on their own turf. And, recent incidents notwithstanding, that's quite a formidable force."

Everyone was silent, watching the sōtaicho come to a decision. Finally, he nodded. "Make it so."

"Hai," Urahara and Mayuri accepted in unison, before the latter glared at the former. Urahara merely smiled.

Ignoring their antics, Yamamoto turned his attention back to Ichigo. "As you pointed out, Hueco Mundo is a point of weakness against Hell. We do not currently know whether Hell has begun his invasion there; however, the fact remains that the Hollows and Arrancar that reside there must be made ready. You have made allies of them before. Are you prepared to do so again?"

Ichigo gave a sharp nod. "Of course. I'll go tonight."

"Do not go alone," Yamamoto half-warned, half-commanded. "Allies or not, they are Hollow by nature, and you are a very strong soul. Take a contingent of your Vizard allies with you."

The transcendent merely nodded, carefully keeping his status as king of Hueco Mundo quiet. It was a good idea to bring some of the Vizard with him regardless – Hueco Mundo provided a nice empty landscape for practicing some of the more destructive Hollow techniques – Cero, for instance – or for Shinigami and Hollow to battle for control of their body.

King… That reminded him… "Hey, were you able to arrange that meeting with the Reiō?" Ichigo asked.

Yamamoto shook his head in the negative. "Not yet. The request has been made, but it may be a few more days before I hear word back."

The transcendent frowned. "Do you think he'll help?"

The sōtaicho eyed the Kurosaki boy appraisingly. "… No. Not directly, in any case."

Before Ichigo could react to this, Urahara jumped in. "The Reiō may or may not provide the method that was used to defeat Hell originally, but remember that he and the Zero Division are largely separated from Soul Society and its affairs. They typically only step in when the Gotei 13 has proven itself unable to handle a situation that affects the Reiō in some manner."

"That very reason is why the Zero Division is also called the Royal Guard," Yamamoto agreed. "They purpose is to protect the Reiō, and the Reiō has specialty duties that he must attend to, or Soul Society would be rent asunder. The Gotei 13 and Central 46 exist to handle the affairs of Soul Society, and by extension, the other worlds."

Ichigo scowled, but accepted the reason with a nod.

After a few moments where nothing was said, Yamamoto struck the floor with his cane again. "Very well. We shall speak again soon. Keep me updated on any further developments."

And with that, the view screen turned off. Ichigo turned on his heel and began heading to the basement. He had a dimension to get to, and some Vizard-turned-Arrancar to drag with him.