A Nascent King (Patreon)

It’s official! This is the longest single chapter I’ve ever written! And by a good margin too! 2.5k or around that if I ignore the giant masses of Author’s Notes on Monkey God’s first chapter.

It’s a fucking behemoth, and if I ever decide to continue writing this fic, I’m probably chopping this up.

Now, this was heavily inspired by a fic called ‘Looking Out for Number One’ by ZipLopz, which unfortunately hasn’t been updated since 2023. Obviously, this was my own take on it and only the first couple scenes bare much similarity to it, but credit where credit’s due. I must have reread that fic like five times in Nov/Dec before I finally was like “FUCK IT! I’LL DO IT MYSELF.”

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this behemoth. I’m SO happy that I was able to actually get this out. I highly doubt I would have been able to if I hadn’t taken two weeks off work for the holidays. I just wouldn’t have had the time available to actually write in the volume I would have needed. Thanks to you guy’s support, maybe someday soon I’ll be able to make that permanent and be able to seriously ramp up how often I can post.

Till next time!

-]|[-

‘I’m going to murder somebody.’ Ichigo growled as he again arched his back in pain.

He had just come back from his life-and-death struggle against the Gotei 13, and he felt he was due some goddamn rest and relaxation. He’d been slashed, stabbed, nearly killed, recovered, repeat, repeat, and then attained his Bankai, only to again get slashed and stabbed nearly to death. Only even there, he couldn’t catch a break with a baseball glove. He’d been taken over by the Hollow hiding in his soul and had nearly turned into an abomination against Byakuya. He’d successfully fought down the creature, and then had tied against Byakuya, no matter what the noble called it. Kenpachi had claimed to have lost too, which just pissed him off. And then after all that hard work, he thought that they were free and clear, only to be cut nearly in half by the asshole responsible for all the bullshit in the first place!

And then it was over, they were now allied with Soul Society, and he had even been made an official Substitute Shinigami! He’d thought that would have been it and they could go home. They’d even been shown the official Senkaimon! Only for that goddamn Kōtotsu to chase them AGAIN!

So, by the time he got home, he was quite ready to just chill out or sleep for the rest of the night… and instead had to slap Kon out of his body because he caught him jerking off, before running to take a shower. And finally, finally, he was able to lay down on his bed and just relax.

That had lasted all of an hour before he started to feel as if someone was trying to suck his soul out through a straw. His body felt worse than a suit that had been perfectly tailored for him ten years ago. “Grghh!” He grit through his teeth, “What the fuck is going on!” He clenched his eyes shut as an enormous spike of pain rippled through him, and when he opened them, he had two sets of pupils. Not that he knew that, of course, and when he blinked, they were gone.

He needed to get into his Inner World. Now.

“Ichigo.” His Dad came into the room.

“N-Not now, Goat-chin.” Ichigo growled out, not even realizing that the man hadn’t attacked him.

Isshin eyed the badge that had fallen off of Ichigo’s bed, and kicked it away. He put on a Gokon Tekkō, “Sit up, son.” He helped Ichigo up, wincing at the groan of pain that erupted from him. “You need to get out of your body.” He said softly.

“What?” That finally penetrated the haze of pain, and then he was in Shinigami form. “Wh-what the f-fuck, Goat-chin!”

“Later, Ichigo.” Isshin said seriously, “Your soul feels like it’s trying to implode.” He grabbed Zangetsu and put it on his son’s lap. “Close your eyes and focus on your Zanpakutō. Now! You need to access your Inner World immediately. Block out the pain. Block out all other thoughts! It’s the only way to fix this.”

Ichigo ground his teeth, but did as he was told. But the pain just kept building, and eventually, he felt like something grabbed the back of his Shihakushō and pulled him backwards. He experienced the sensation of falling, and opened his eyes. “What the fuck?!”

His Inner World was a mess. The buildings were shattered and fallen like the entire city was under attack. A dark vortex of shining light was swirling above them, shooting out lightning that struck buildings and shattered glass everywhere. And it was like the vortex was sucking bits of his Inner World up and into it.

“Fucking took ya long enough, King.” His Hollow landed near him, looking like he was wracked in as much pain as Ichigo was.

“What the hell is going on?!” Ichigo asked, eyeing his counterpart. He didn’t look like he was responsible for this. He looked like he was getting caught in this demon portal from hell just the same as him.

“Good fucking question. Why don’t we ask him.” He pointed at old man Zangetsu, “Huuuuuhhhhh, Zangetsu?!”

The old man was uncharacteristically looking ashamed. Ichigo turned to him fully, “What is this, old man?”

Zangetsu closed his eyes, “Something I feared. Something I dreaded. Something I tried with all my power to prevent.”

Ichigo ran a hand through his hair in frustration, “That’s helpful.” He snarked, “Mind actually explaining?!”

“Oh, he won’t give ya a fucking straight answer, King. Not until it’s shoved under his nose.” His Hollow grinned, showcasing his black teeth, “So why don’t ya go ahead and use those Reiraku of yours?”

Ichigo looked askance at him, before activating the technique. Despite what he figured he’d see, there were hundreds, maybe even thousands of Reiraku that formed. The majority of them coming from the swirling vortex, grabbing onto chunks of buildings, and drawing them into the portal. Each of them a gleaming, shining blue.

But the more interesting ribbons were the two coming from his Hollow and Zanpakutō. “…What is this…” Ichigo asked softly, grasping one red, and one blue ribbon. The blue one was leading to old man Zangetsu, but the red. The red was leading to the Hollow. “Why is…”

“Ya never used those in here, did’ja? Not after regaining yer Shinigami powers.” The Hollow that Ichigo was rapidly starting to understand wasn’t just a Hollow said, “Didn’t ya find it strange that yer powers were in that box? That they weren’t leadin’ ta him.”

Ichigo clenched his fists, “Then…”

“That’s right, King! I am Zangetsu!” Zangetsu roared out, “So why don’tcha tell him why ya’ve been lying this whole time, huh?!”

The skies darkened. “What is going on, old man?!”

The one Ichigo had thought was his Zanpakutō’s spirit sighed. “It is as you’ve seen, Ichigo. I am not Zangetsu.” Of its own accord, a building collapsed, showcasing Ichigo’s inner turmoil. And then the rain came. Cold and heavy, pouring down so hard that the buildings of his Inner World instantly started drowning in water.

“WHY?!” Ichigo roared, taking a step forward, tears falling from his eyes.

“I never wished for you to become a Shinigami.” Not-Zangetsu replied, “That is why I suppressed the natural power you possessed before it could fully mature, and took its place in the heart of your power.” He opened his eyes, “Because I knew that if you were to become a Shinigami, there was no doubt that you would be caught up in battle. You would get hurt. You would suffer. And in the end… the time would come where I would have to kill you with my own hands.”

“Wh-what are you saying!?” Ichigo asked desperately. “How is that even possible?! What do you mean?! Why is your Reiraku the same color as those?!” He pointed to the air.

“You’ve seen that your father has power of his own. Knowledge. Enough to know that you needed to come here. That wasn’t always the case. For the past twenty years, he’s been bereft of them.” Not-Zangetsu said softly, “He gave them up, in order to save your mother’s life more than two decades ago. But that is a story for him to tell you.” He looked up at the sky, “What is important is that just as you have learned your father is a Shinigami, it is time for you to learn that your mother was a Quincy. One of exceptional ability and power, and it is her bloodline that I represent.”

Ichigo sucked in a gasp, “B-But!” Ichigo looked like he was about to have a breakdown, “But then how was that FUCK of a Hollow able to kill her?!”

“Because they were stolen from her.” Not-Zangetsu said, looking back at him, “Moments before her death, the prophecy laid down in the Kaiser Gesang was fulfilled. The Sealed King of the Quincy. Some even call him the God of the Quincy. He was defeated one thousand years ago by Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni and the rest of his Gotei 13. But over nine hundred years, he would regain his heartbeat. After ninety more, he would regain his intellect. And over nine years, he would regain his power.”

He stared directly at Ichigo’s eyes, “But not through time. Not passively. No, through the Auswählen. The Quincy were split into two groups: The Echt, or the Pure, and the Gemischt, the Impure. Your mother was born an Echt, but an incident in her teen years led to her being infected by a Hollow.” Ichigo’s eyes widened, and his gaze snapped to Zangetsu, the real Zangetsu, apparently, in shock. He slowly turned back to Not-Zangetsu, “Yes, your instincts are correct. Zangetsu is the ultimate result of that infection.”

Ichigo took a deep breath, “I’ll deal with that later.”

“Very well.” Not-Zangetsu said, “The important part is that when the Quincy King awoke, he performed his Holy Selection on the Pure and Impure. Your mother should have been spared, but because of the infection, he considered her to be Impure. And so, her Quincy Powers were stolen from her, right at the moment she needed them the most.”

Ichigo’s fists clenched, “And who is this Quincy King?!”

“You have not figured it out yet, Ichigo?” Not-Zangetsu said softly, “I am.” Lightning that had nothing to do with the portal ripped through the sky, “Or rather, I represent what he looked like one thousand years ago. I am both Yhwach, and not Yhwach, for Quincy do not normally possess Inner Worlds nor spiritual representations of their power. I may be a fragment of Yhwach, but it was you who gave me form. And it is why I have tried to shield you, for I know the day approaches when you will face the real Yhwach on the battlefield.”

Ichigo nearly fell back, and he stumbled at the revelation. Zangetsu was the one who caught him. “Ya, well, looks like that day has come quicker than you thought, huh?” Zangetsu growled at the sky, before he clapped Ichigo on the back. “For the past couple’a hours, yer Reiryoku has increased massively fer no apparent reason.” Zangetsu said, “That’s why ya felt squeezed in yer own skin. And then that fuckin’ thing showed up. Like the devil’s anus just opened up in our sky.” Ichigo grimaced at the crude words.

“Yes.” Not-Zangetsu said, “Six years ago, on July 17th, Yhwach performed the Auswählen. As a Quincy born with a Shinigami father, your power should have been taken, the same as your mother’s. But he prevented that.” Not-Zangetsu nodded at Zangetsu, “Quincy do not destroy the Souls of Hollows because they want to. They destroy Hollow Souls because Hollow and Quincy are anathema to one another. Hollows Reiryoku is poisonous to Quincy just the same as Quincy Reiryoku is poisonous to Hollows.”

“Which means we’re freaks, Ichigo.” Zangetsu grinned, “We shouldn’t exist, but we’re just built different.”

That got a small snort from Not-Zangetsu, “Yhwach could not steal your power because it would be poisonous to him. So, he left you alone and took only your mother’s power.” He eyed the sky, “Which begs the question of why he’s desperate enough to try to drain you now.”

Ichigo growled, “I don’t fucking care.” He glared daggers at the sky, “All I want to know is how to fucking stop it so that I can find him and shove Zangetsu up his ass.”

Zangetsu grinned, “Now we’re fuckin’ talkin’!”

“Do not underestimate him, Ichigo.” Not-Zangetsu said firmly, “At his full power, he could defeat nearly every member of the Gotei 13 at the same time. Including the one who nearly cut you in half.” Ichigo turned and goggled at him. He ignored Ichigo as he stared up at the vortex, “You’ve come a long way. Despite my efforts, you continued along the path of the Shinigami. You’ve honed your power ever stronger, and have taken up this path of your own volition. Pain, injury, nothing has fazed you. You’ve stumbled, yes.” Not-Zangetsu interrupted his protest, “But you’ve persevered even with my hampering of your progress. But this is not a stumbling block you can overcome. Not as you are. Not as I am. It is time to stop fighting with your eyes closed.” He turned to his wielder and flipped his coat open, revealing a shimmering blue broadsword of glowing Reiryoku, “I thought I would feel crushed to know that your path is now set. That you will eventually face the real Yhwach. But instead… I find myself happy. It was only for a short time, but I can be no prouder of how strong you have become. Take up your true power.”

“That’s right, King.” Zangetsu stepped up and merged his own black and red Reiatsu with the broadsword, turning it a deep, dark, and yet almost blinding midnight purple.

Ichigo walked closer, “You say you’re not Zangetsu. That he’s the real Zangetsu.” He said softly, looking at both of them. “But that’s wrong. That might have been the case when this all started, but you’ve both evolved, haven’t you, partners? As far as I’m concerned…” He grasped the blade with both hands, “YOU’RE BOTH ZANGETSU!” He roared, before feeling more power than he had ever experienced in his life flowing through him.

…

“Do you have any idea what’s happening to him?” Isshin asked Kisuke and Tessai as they sat next to Ichigo’s limp body. His son was deep in Jinzen, and Isshin could feel things getting worse. Kisuke and Tessai had shown up less than a minute after he called them, and Tessai was currently sealing his home away from the outside world with Kidō. He didn’t want anyone seeing this, Seireitei or otherwise. And so, for all intents and purposes, Tessai had removed their home from reality.

“As to the ‘what?’” Kisuke said softly, “Certainly. I could feel his power draining and then returning, draining, and then returning. I think we all know what that means.”

“…” Isshin closed his eyes, “But Masaki’s power was stolen instantly.”

“I suspect your son is the only person in any world that could fight the Auswählen.” Kisuke said, “No other Quincy has an Inner World. No other Quincy has a Hollow within them. No other Quincy has the tools needed to resist it.” His bucket hat shadowed his eyes, “The more pertinent question for these events is why. Why now? Why not six years ago? Why even risk this at all?”

“Something must have changed.” Tessai rumbled, “But what?”

The conversation completely stopped as Reiatsu suddenly flooded out of Ichigo. Enough pressure to crush even the three Captains surged from Ichigo’s body. The three of them combined couldn’t output this much energy. Kenpachi couldn’t output this much energy. “What the fuck is happening!? He was never this strong before!” Isshin gasped, feeling like gravity itself was trying to crush them.

Neither were able to answer, because Zangetsu changed. The black Khyber knife with a gleaming silver edge reversed colors, with the edge of the blade becoming pitch black and the spine becoming silver. A decently sized, hollowed-out portion carved itself into the blade running along the back edge from the base to about the middle. The cloth wrapping the handle also turned jet black. But more interestingly, a second blade appeared in Ichigo’s other hand. It resembled a trench knife more than a sword, and was about the size of his arm.

The pressure vanished, and they all let out gasps as the air returned to their lungs. Kisuke let out a little laugh, “Fascinating.” He managed to get out, with a very… intrigued gleam in his eye.

…

Ichigo held onto his new blades, feeling a smile splitting his face. He felt complete. Whole. Something he never knew he hadn’t been until that very moment, but it just felt so obvious in retrospect. And his Inner World reflected it. There was now not a cloud in the sky, and every bit of water that had been drowning them (enough to almost reach the vortex high above them) had evaporated in an instant.

“Good.” Old Man Zangetsu said, “Now it is time to put it to use.”

“Hehehehe, why don’tcha impress us, King? Fuck that anus!” Zangetsu pointed at the apparently-now-officially-named Devil’s Anus, in the sky, making Ichigo sweatdrop because that had to be on purpose.

But he powered through the momentary embarrassment and swiped the smaller blade in front of him. A golden tear in the sky appeared as if he had opened up reality itself. “Getsuga…” He said before raising the bigger blade above his head, “Jūjishō!” He roared as he stomped on the building they stood on.

Unlike before, the Getsuga was neither blue nor red-tinged-black. It was a gleaming gold that looked almost molten or like the sun. The cross-shaped attack soared towards the vortex and tore through thousands upon thousands of Reiraku. The second the blast hit the vortex itself, it was like thousands of voices at once were screaming in agony. And the three of them grunted and cringed as a voice roaring in fury echoed and even shook his Inner World.

The vortex had collapsed, but it started to swirl faster and more violently, reforming into a much smaller vortex. The thousands of Reiraku had retreated, but now a much more violent attack came with a mere hundred strands. They shot out like snakes, wrapping up Ichigo’s arms as well as his two Zanpakutō spirits. Immediately, they all felt their strength weakening, though the strands recoiled utterly and even started to decay from the touch of Zangetsu’s Hollow side.

Ichigo growled out, “You will NOT!” He roared as his veins unconsciously lit up a bright red. His arteries, specifically. More physical strength than he had ever felt rippled through his body, and he tore his way out of his prison. Growling, he grabbed at the threads himself and started to pull back.

The sky turned black as the vortex started to spew out more lightning in an attempt to attack them. Zangetsu was free and he fired a Cero back at the sky, deflecting the lightning and again making the world tremble.

Ichigo couldn’t make the Reiraku budge, so he did the smarter thing. He momentarily let go of the strands he was holding and threw Zangetsu at Old Man Zangetsu’s bonds. The Old Man represented his Quincy powers, and so was the most susceptible to what was happening. His blade spun through the air like a buzz-saw and cut right through the Reiraku, freeing the older spirit. Ichigo yanked back on the cloth as he had seen his Hollow do the last time they’d fought, and his blade returned to his hand.

He smirked as Zangetsu grabbed the strands he’d let go of and dropped back down next to him, where Ichigo grabbed them again. With Zangetsu on his right, and Old Man Zangetsu on his left, he grinned broadly, “He wants to steal from us? Let’s show him why that’s a bad idea!” He yelled before all three of them started to yank on the glowing blue strands.

A power struggle erupted, with men and women on both ends feeling weak as they fought over their souls, the Auswählen connecting them in ways that they never should have been. The weaker of them collapsed at the feeling of their souls being yanked on, while the stronger had no idea what was happening and therefore could only hold firm themselves.

And on the other end of the vortex, Yhwach momentarily opened his eyes three years too early. It was for barely a second, but it was enough. Immediately, psychic visions started to bombard everyone connected as The Almighty went out of control, and Yhwach closed his eyes once more, weakened from his attempt at removing his greatest enemy from the board.

Ichigo’s eyes once again flashed with two sets of pupils as events he could not comprehend flooded his mind. A fight with Aizen who turned into a horrific beast. Being stabbed in the chest by a man with slicked-back hair. Fighting a set of four girls and casually toying with them, if he were honest. Fighting side-by-side with Aizen of all people against a much older Old Man Zangetsu, Yhwach.

And then they ended, leaving over a hundred people confused. Ichigo shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. The Reiraku started to rapidly retreat as Yhwach aborted his foolish attempt at stealing Ichigo’s power, caused by a warning from himself, three years from the future. And yet that warning had just made things worse for his goals.

“Oh no you fucking don’t!” Ichigo yelled, refusing to let Yhwach walk away without a bloody nose. Strand after strand snapped and was sucked back into the vortex, but between him, Old Man Zangetsu, and Zangetsu, six of them were unable to escape. They had firm grips on them, and so, they pulled. A final roar of rage echoed through his world as Yhwach let go of those six strands.

Six massive Quincy crosses fell from the vortex as it sealed itself off. Yhwach understood now how much of a threat Kurosaki Ichigo truly was, and let go even of the piece of his Soul in Ichigo. He would never touch it again, and permanently sealed off their connection. Old Man Zangetsu stumbled momentarily as he felt the sensation of seals on his person being released, of knowledge being unlocked.

They all watched as the six Quincy crosses finished their fall and crashed into their world. Explosions of dust, mortar, and glass covered them, before slowly dissipating. The six crosses were revealed, all of them weakly pulsing in individual colors. One electric green, two blazing red, one yellow, one pink/magenta, and a final dark blueish purple.

Ichigo eyed the sight for a moment before the exhaustion caught up with him, and he pitched forward for his two spirits to catch. “Rest well, Ichigo.” Old Man Zangetsu said softly.

Zangetsu let out a short laugh as he eyed the closest of the six crosses. Parts of the inner world were starting to rebuild, and the magenta cross was being hoisted skyward as the collapse was slowly undone. “Somethin’ tells me ya ain’t gonna get much of a chance for rest soon enough.”

…

“Looks like it’s over.” Kisuke said, before getting up to examine Ichigo. There was a marked change in the young man now, as before, he had been dead to the world as he focused on his Jinzen. Now, he looked more like he was actually sleeping. “His Reiatsu is recovering, but it’s barely a flicker of what it was a moment ago.”

“He succeeded, then?” Isshin asked, eyeing Zangetsu, “His Zanpakutō has not disappeared, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”

“I suppose we’ll have to find out.” Kisuke stood, tilting his hat forward to shadow his eyes, “Tomorrow, preferably. I’m quite interested in this new Zanpakutō of his.”

“You and me both.” Isshin smiled as he picked up his son with a gentleness that would have had the young man gawking if he was awake. He dropped him into his body and then settled him on his bed. “Sleep well, son.” He said, before scratching the back of his head, “I suppose I better get some shuteye too.” He grinned ruefully, “Because I’m pretty sure I have a reaming coming in the morning after all this.”

Kisuke and Tessai chuckled, before hopping out of the window and floating on the air, “Well, good luck to you, old friend.” Kisuke smirked lazily at Isshin, before the two vanished.

Isshin rubbed the back of his neck as he cracked it a few times, “Well, time for bed then.” He shut the lights off and walked out of his son’s room, but he hadn’t made it three steps away from the door when he froze. An unfamiliar Reiatsu was coming from inside, and he whirled around and quickly opened the door again.

He took a step inside and then gaped. Sprawled atop his son and nearly falling off the bed was a beautiful young woman. She was wearing a very tight but… unfortunate white uniform with some uncomfortable similarities to similar uniforms from several decades in the past. The top and the skirt seemed to be one piece, almost like a longer, eight-buttoned pea coat. A pink, heart-shaped belt buckle kept it from riding up more than the girl wanted. The skirt, gloves, and boots were frilly, as were the sleeves which barely came down to the middle of her biceps. Her leggings came up to her thighs. Her hair was long and wavy and a very bright, vivid magenta. A white commissar cap had fallen off her head onto the floor. On it, as well as on the bow she had around her neck, as well as all of the buttons on her uniform were clear Quincy medallions, though different from the one he’d seen Masaki use.

Oh, and she was very obviously taller than Ichigo by a few inches, and she was very well endowed. And obviously, something had exhausted the young woman because she was perhaps even more dead to the world than Ichigo was.

Isshin scratched the back of his head, wondering what the hell to do. “Oh, Ichigo…” He sighed under his breath. Why couldn’t his son just be normal? He grinned, “Well, might as well fuck with him.” A quick minute’s work had the two much more comfortable. And by that, he meant that the girl’s breasts were currently Ichigo’s pillows, and she was clutching onto him like a teddy bear. He hadn’t even planned for that!

Isshin snapped a few pictures for posterity and then made himself scarce, just barely holding back his evil chuckles.

-]|[-

“We’ve done quite a bit of recruiting over the past week, and have many new members.” Aizen Sōsuke said in his loud, clear, and confident voice. He had successfully recruited yet another powerful Hollow, though it had taken a bit of a beating to get the beast to see things his way. “It is time to see your new rankings.”

“Tch.” Their newest member, a blue-haired man whose Hollow Mask fragment was a set of jaws on the side of his face, scoffed.

“It’s been a long time since the last re-ranking. I suppose this means another set of fights?” Cirucci Thunderwitch crossed her arms, eager to prove she deserved her spot as she had dozens of times before.

“No, nothing so primitive.” Aizen said, smiling indulgently. “With the Hōgyoku, there is no need for that anymore. It will be able to sense your power and assign you your new numbers.” He tapped the arm of his throne and the item he had bled Soul Society for rose. It was still asleep, but thankfully he did not need a lot of power for this. He reached for it, but something unexpected happened. The second his hand got close, it seemed like a bolt of purple lightning connected with his finger.

The Espada watched as Aizen let out a shocked grunt, his eyes opening wide, before he slumped forward and off his throne. “AIZEN-SAMA!” Tōsen, ever the loyal man, utilized Shunpo to race to his superior’s side, not noticing how several of the Arrancar’s eyes narrowed, smelling blood in the water.

And then Tōsen reached out for Aizen, and everything below the shoulder of his right arm disappeared. There was a moment of incomprehension, of utter stillness, before blood spilled on the floor and Tōsen recoiled backwards away from Aizen and slumped to his knees. “GRAHHHHHH!!!!!” He howled, clutching the weeping remnants of what had been his arm.

And those Arrancar who had been ready to tear Aizen limb from limb at his moment of apparent weakness settled, the unfamiliar feeling of fear coursing through them.

They watched as Aizen managed to get himself up, and then looked at his hands as if he had never seen them before. He slowly rubbed each of his hands in curious thought, before finally saying, “Fascinating.” He clenched a fist, wondering for a moment if he even needed his Arrancar and elaborate schemes now. The sheer amount of power coursing through him made him feel like a god. ‘This will bear some studying.’ He thought to himself in interest.

“What happened, Aizen-sama?” Tia Halibel asked softly.

Aizen smiled and chuckled lightly, “For once… I have no earthly idea.” Words that had never once truthfully left his lips before. He looked over at Tōsen, whose dusky skin tone had lightened, “My apologies, Kaname.” He turned and grabbed the Hōgyoku, before feeding it the Reiatsu of ten Captain-class fighters. Tōsen, who was nearly insensate from the pain and even foaming at the lips, gasped. His wound started to bubble, spewing blood at a faster clip, before a white substance erupted from his mouth, nose, and eyes. A Hollow Mask (more of a helmet than anything) formed on Tōsen’s head before his arm was fully healed. A massive outpouring of Reiatsu that made Nnoitra grind his teeth erupted from the black man, before dying down.

Tōsen panted, before managing to dismiss his new Hollow Mask. He stood, feeling out his new arm, “T-Thank you, Aizen-sama.” He looked at their leader with a bit of fear on his face.

Aizen chuckled, “It appears the Hōgyoku had a bit of a surprise for me. I wonder what other secrets it holds.” He had always been confident, of course, but the utter relaxation on his face was for one reason. He had gone from being able to kill every person in this room to them being unable to so much as touch him. Nothing short of Yamamoto could touch him now. “Thoughts for another time.” He held the orb again and allowed its power to touch every Arrancar in the room.

When the light dimmed, Cirucci casually pulled open her dress to look at the tattoo on her right breast, expecting to see that she had either kept her position as fifth or that she had been promoted to the fourth. She could only stare at the three digits in complete incomprehension.

-]|[-

‘You know, for one of the most confusing, emotionally fucked, and just outright painful nights of my life, I slept great!’ Ichigo thought to himself as he was roused from his slumber. ‘And I don’t remember my pillow ever being this warm and comfortable.’ He rubbed his face on the soft material, still reluctant to open his eyes and let the relaxing night end.

“Ah~”

Ichigo froze. His entire body went tight. ‘Wh-why did my pillow just moan?’ Unconsciously, he gave the pillow a few squeezes.

“Mhmmm… that feels nice.” A feminine voice moaned sleepily.

“WAH!” Ichigo lurched up and backwards, falling out of his bed. “Wh-wh-what the hell?!” He yelled, blushing profusely at the sight of the gorgeous girl laying on his bed.

“Mhmmm…” She moaned and flipped around onto her stomach, looking at him with exhausted eyes. “Why’d you leave…” Her voice was breathy and soft and that was kinda doing it for him, especially with those pouty lips of hers, not that he’d ever admit it. “Come back…” She moaned, pouting at him. Her eyes looked foggy and unfocused.

Ichigo would take the fact that he was tempted to his grave. “Wh-Why are you in my bed?! Who are you?!”

She let out a little groan, closing her eyes. “Meninas McAllon …” She yawned, “You could at least remember a girl’s name after sex…”

Ichigo’s jaw dropped, not that she saw it. “S-S-Sex?! What the hell are you talking about?! We didn’t have sex!” He stopped babbling and growled. ‘Goat-chin. This is your fucking fault!’ A vein started to pulse on his head.

She blinked her eyes open. “We didn’t? But I definitely feel like I got my world rocked last night…” She frowned, but another yawn ruined that.

Ichigo’s jaw dropped. “No! We’re both fully clothed!” Ichigo snapped back indignantly, his face reddening even more, “You’re like, in full uniform! Who wears that to bed?!”

“Hmm, you have a point.” She said airily, closing her eyes again.

Ichigo’s eye twitched, ‘Holy shit, this chick is Inoue levels of airheaded!’

“Shame, you’re really hot.” She followed up her last statement.

Ichigo’s jaw dropped, and then reddened completely when she started to unbuckle her belt and unbutton her uniform, “Wh-what the hell are you doing?!”

“Now that I noticed it, this is really uncomfortable to sleep in.” She said sleepily as she got her uniform open and tossed it negligently at his face. He pulled it off with the lightest amount of irritation, and then his face went completely red. “Come back to bed.” His jaw lowered even more at her audacity, even as he covered his eyes (peeking through his fingers) at the sight of her cute lingerie. She giggled at him, “You’re peeking~” She sang, giggling more when his fingers snapped shut. “You’re so cute. What’s your name, anyway?”

“K-Kurosaki Ichigo.” Ichigo replied.

And the girl in his bed completely froze as all vestiges of sleep and amusement vanished from her face. She actually focused on him and realized that yes, this was, in fact, the same person she had read about in the Daten so many times. “Kurosaki…” She stared at him, and then it was like she was being bombarded by visions. “Ah!” She yelped, clapping both hands to her head. “Wh-what happened to me?!” Her face was scrunched up, as she held her throbbing head.

“H-Hey, are you alright?” Ichigo immediately switched modes as he realized the girl was in pain. “What’s wrong?”

“Grrhmmh…” She groaned as she pressed her head into his pillow. She clenched her fists and got on her knees. The fact that this completely exposed her g-string didn’t so much as catch Ichigo’s attention as he started rubbing her back comfortingly.

Meninas was moaning as vision after vision flashed through her mind. Memories that she had been too preoccupied by pain and the feeling of her soul and Schrift destabilizing hours and hours ago to process.

The invasion of the Seireitei. Fighting some Shinigami. Crushing large groups of them with the buildings that made up the city surrounding Silbern. Fighting with the very man rubbing her back right now with the girls, and having their asses handed to them. Fucking Pepe.

The Auswählen which had killed her and Candi.

Her unlife as Gigi’s zombie. No less than they deserved for not stopping her from killing Bambi. Their failed attempts to kill Yhwach. Being crushed contemptuously under the Quincy God’s heel. The sheer, terrifying power that he, Ichigo, and Sōsuke Aizen were throwing around as they fought.

Meninas buried her face into his pillow and screamed. Every bit of rage, frustration, betrayal, sadness, and terror she had felt bubbled out all at once. Ichigo stared at her, wide-eyed, but continued to rub her back until she stopped screaming, thanking his lucky stars that neither his father nor his sisters had come to investigate.

“Hey… what’s wrong?” He asked softly, hoping it wouldn’t set her off again. The pain was at least gone, but only physically. The emotional pain was still there. She sat back onto her calves and looked at him, teary-eyed. And then quicker than he could react, she was clutching onto him. Ichigo blushed bright red again as she straddled him.

He was frozen stiff, and it made her giggle a little hollowly into his neck, “You’re really bad at this whole ‘comforting’ thing, you know?”

Ichigo’s face blanked, ‘Oh no she didn’t.’ He was great at comforting people! Maybe said people were only his sisters, but he was good at it! Despite his embarrassment and skittishness over the fact she was practically naked, he wrapped his left arm around her lower back and started to thread his fingers on his right hand through her silky hair. He casually lifted both of them up and sat on his bed, which was definitely a mistake because that only put their bodies closer together.

“Mhmm…” She moaned softly as he started to gently massage her scalp, and snuggled deeper into his neck. They stayed like that for a few minutes as she relaxed, “Sorry… I’m not usually so…” She didn’t finish her statement.

“Must have been a whole load’a shit that happened to you, then.” He said gruffly, his blush under control. A certain other reaction, on the other hand, was very much not under control. Meninas smiled as she felt it. She opened her lips when an alarm went off that made them both jump. “Wha-” He stared at it in incomprehension. His alarm clock had gone off?! Without Goat-Chin waking him up before it?! And then he paid attention to the actual time at date displayed, and let out a groan as he flopped backwards onto his bed.

Meninas blinked as they were now in a very suggestive position, and he wasn’t reacting to it (beyond the obvious, which she was very much liking and subtly rocking on). She tilted her head, “What’s wrong?”

“My entire fucking vacation is gone! I have school!” He moaned in despair. “How the fuck did that happened?! We left the Seireitei in early August!”

Meninas started to giggle, “Well, you better go get ready then, Ichigo-kun.” She helpfully got off of him.

“And what are you going to do?” He raised an eyebrow as he sat up.

She shrugged, “I’ll figure something out.” She then gave him a small smile, “Want me to wash your back?” She asked innocently.

Ichigo’s face flamed red, “Uhh, gotta go shower!” The coldest shower of his life. He practically ran into the bathroom and shut the door.

Meninas giggled lightly again, “He’s even more of a prude than the Daten suggested he’d be…” She laid back down on his bed, wondering what in the world she was going to do now. She definitely couldn’t go back to Silbern. She wouldn’t want to even if she could. She clenched her fist as she closed her eyes, feeling for her power. ‘…I can’t feel my Schrift…’ She realized, and now understood just why she felt as weak as a kitten. She didn’t try to activate it, but reached for the power of her Vollständig. That didn’t seem to want to respond either. “This is a pickle…” She muttered as she reached for her uniform which Ichigo had cast aside a few minutes ago. She slapped the heart buckle, and her Quincy bow popped out. “Well, at least that works.” She said softly as she placed it back where it belonged.

Unsure of what to do now, she put the uniform on his side table and laid back down to do some thinking. The only thing she knew for sure was that she absolutely wanted to stay on Ichigo’s good side now. If nothing else, that was her best chance for survival. Though Ichigo obviously had much better qualities than that to make it an attractive option. Other than that, she had a lot of things to think through.

…

Ichigo had wasted no time stripping down and hopping in the shower. It was only here in the privacy of his own bathroom that he let some of the tension in his shoulders dissipate as he let the hot water run down his body. ‘How the fuck did that happen? How did she pop up in my bed?!’

‘Heh, fuck if I know, King.’ Zangetsu said in his mind, making him jump slightly, ‘Ya should have taken her up on her offer, ya fuckin’ pansy.’

Ichigo let out a growl, ‘Shut the fuck up, Zangetsu.’

‘Not a chance, partner.’ Zangetsu laughed madly, ‘I’m everything you suppress, remember? I know full well what you want because it’s the same thing I want! And what I wanted was to stick my face between her tits and forget about the world for a few hours!’

Ichigo blushed some more as he felt himself stiffen down below. Now that he knew Zangetsu was really Zangetsu and not just a Hollow trying to take over his body, he was more willing to listen to him. And he hated that he couldn’t deny how pleasing that thought was. He cut the link to his Zanpakutō off, and just focused on washing himself. He grabbed his soap and began lathering himself up… while feeling some embarrassment as he thought of Meninas again and touched himself. It had been a…long time since he had last done this, what with Rukia sharing his closet.

He had no way of knowing that in his Inner World, the building that now carried the electric green cross finished reconstructing itself, before the green invaded it like little tongues of lightning. A similar thing that had happened to the magenta cross hours ago.

Zangetsu could have said something about it, but this was just so much more potential fun.

Ichigo froze as his shadow seemed to darken and move of its own accord. It ran up the wall like black ichor and widened… before a girl shot out of it, screaming.

Ichigo yelped as he caught her, just barely keeping her from smashing into his face. This caused him to unbalance and slip on the wet and soapy floor, sending him tumbling back. His right arm embraced her unconsciously, while his left whipped out and caught the grab bar on the side of the wall.

The end result was Ichigo holding himself up with one arm, his back forty-five centimeters from the floor of the tub, with an incredibly sexy woman straddling him. She had long, light-green hair which was slowly darkening as it got wet. Her eyebrows were shaped like little green lightning bolts. Like Meninas, she was wearing a white uniform just…heavily modified. The double-breasted jacket had a lot of material cut off and had a simple tie under her left armpit. All of her midriff was exposed, revealing that she had a belly button piercing shaped like a lightning bolt. Her cleavage was on full display as well, seeing as the top was so tight and cut up that it had practically been turned into lingerie. Her bottom was a pair of short-shorts held up by a black belt and a green, heart-shaped buckle just like Meninas.

“Owowowow…” She said as she clutched her head, despite the two of them not headbutting each other when she landed. She was having an awful day. She woke up and had started on her hair, but hadn’t even been able to finish before getting assaulted by that soul-searing pain and those visions she could barely make heads or tails of. Their invasion of the Seireitei had started, she had kicked Kenpachi’s ass (ignore the fact that he’d already fought Gremmy. That was irrelevant.) Then she fought Kurosaki Ichigo and had him hand her her own ass instead of fucking it like she would have wanted if they hadn’t been enemies, along with the rest of the girls. Then the disaster of infighting between the Sternritters and fucking Pepe being a bitch and getting Meninas with his power.

She had been exhausted and then came the goddamn Auswählen which killed both her and Meninas. She… she would never forget that her friend had refused to abandon her and had died with her, rather than saving her own skin. And she didn’t even want to think about being turned into Gigi’s plaything and their disastrous attempts to kill Yhwach.

All of those had flashed through her mind before she fell into darkness and shadow. She didn’t even know what was real as she floated through space, feeling like it was the worst kind of nightmare she had ever experienced. No matter what she did, she had been the only thing in that dark, terrifying void. She had nothing except her own memories of events she was certain she had never actually experienced to keep her company. And then she had seen a light in the void and had done everything she could to reach it.

All those thoughts flew out of her mind the second she opened her emerald eyes and realized what position she was in, and with whom. She really should have been mad due to the beating he’d delivered to her, and the fact that he had messed up her hair, but her head was currently empty, and no thoughts were running through her mind. She drooled with stars in her eyes, “H-Holy shit, what a cock!” She moaned as she ground into him. This thing would rip her in half, and she would thank him for it!

“WAH!” Ichigo utilized his insane core strength as he shot back up to standing and practically flung the unfamiliar girl away. “Who-WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?! WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!”

“Candice Catnipp!” She chirped, her eyes having not left his cock despite the fact that he was hiding behind his hands, “Call me Candi, handsome.”

“O-Okay, Candi, now get the hell out!” Ichigo stammered.

‘King, ya fucking pussy! She’s practically throwing herself at you! Fucking get some!’ Zangetsu helpfully roared in his ear.

“But I’m already all wet.” Candice pouted, before she tugged on the knot for her top, loosening it and allowing her breasts to practically pop it off of her.

Ichigo clapped his hands to his eyes, “Wh-What are-?!”

“We’re in a shower, so I’m going to shower.” She was back to drooling over his cock, which was now visible and pointing straight at her. “I can’t do that in clothes, right?” She slipped off her shorts and threw both of the garments onto the sink.

“Okay, enjoy, I’m getting-” Ichigo started to get out, but she grabbed his hand.

“Dude, you’re all soaped up.” Candice said, frowning, “Am I that ugly that you want to run from me?” She pouted.

“What, no! You’re gorgeous!” Ichigo’s mouth ran before his brain.

“Aww, thanks!” She smirked as she hugged him. He completely stiffened up again. “You’re sweet! What’s your name?” She asked, despite already knowing it.

“I-I-Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo.” He managed to stammer out.

Oh, she wanted to devour him so badly. Fuck fighting him. They should have recruited him! To think this was what she had been missing out on! And the fact that he was a good man, kind, completely driven, and powerful as all hell without being an arrogant asshole made him boyfriend material rather than boytoy material. He was the type of guy she absolutely would have pursued romantically if they hadn’t been on opposite sides of a war! There wasn’t a fucking single Sternritter she could say that about! That was the only reason she had only ever fooled around with a couple Soldats. Fucking Gigi spreading rumors making her out to be some kind of giga slut!

And then she abruptly remembered the visions. ‘Were those things even real?’ She thought to herself as she remembered the betrayal. ‘Even if those visions weren’t real, I suppose me being here already makes me a traitor.” She reached inwards, and realized she couldn’t feel The Thunderbolt, meaning she had definitely lost Yhwach’s favor. “Maybe this was for the best. I can’t go back, and at least I know for a fact it’ll be safer to be by Kurosaki’s side than facing him as his enemy.’ She smiled, “You’re supposed to hug me back, you know?” She said playfully as he continued to just stand there with his body as stiff as a board, his arms at his side.

“I-I’m not a pervert!” He yelped. No, he was nothing like Keigo and had zero desire to turn into him!

She frowned, before forcing a laugh. “You’re only a pervert if your partner doesn’t want the attention.” She pouted at him, before gently rubbing her breasts against his chest, “You say I’m gorgeous, but you won’t even look at me.” She sniffled, “You’re making me feel really ugly, you know?” Ichigo flinched, before hesitantly embracing her and opening his eyes. She smiled at him, “There you go!”

“It’s… I don’t even know you!” He said softly. “This is just really weird.”

“Tell me about it. I just flew out of a gaping void!” She forced another laugh, “And that doesn’t mean we can’t get to know each other, cutie.” She smirked, “Why don’t we…help each other wash up, hmm?”

Ichigo swallowed heavily, “Uhh…just a…quick question.” His voice broke, which almost made her burst out laughing. “W-What are those hard things poking me?”

She grinned, before turning around in his arms so that his throbbing cock was between her cheeks, though she was forced to stand slightly on tiptoes as she was a bit shorter than him. She arched her back and pushed her ass harder against him, making him jerk his hips. “You mean these?” She asked slyly as she grabbed his hands and brought them up to her breasts.

Ichigo choked as she forced his fingers to pinch her nipples, moaning lightly as they found her jewelry. “A-Are they pierced?!” He yelped shrilly as he looked over her shoulders. He goggled at the tiny green lightning bolts on each of her perky teats.

“Ehehehe…” She continued to help his hands gently massage her, biting her lip.

‘Heh, new fetish. Nice!’ The commentary from his Zanpakutō was summarily ignored.

“Didn’t that hurt?!” He blurted out.

Candice laughed, “Just a little. It wasn’t that bad.” She grabbed his left hand and moved it from her left to her right breast, while his right hand she guided down, “This one on the other hand.” Ichigo practically spasmed as he realized what he was touching. “This one hurt like a bitch.” She chuckled a little nervously as she helped him feel out her jewelry. Just like all her other piercings, the green studs that passed through her clitoral hood vertically were shaped like lightning bolts.

“You’re crazy!” He said, almost in awe.

“Ehehehe, aren’t we all a little crazy?” She asked as she started to make him rub her pussy gently. “Besides, it makes me super sensitive.” She said, her voice breathier than it had been. She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip as she chanced letting go of his hand. He had gotten into it though, and was now rubbing her well enough on his own. Her left hand started to massage her lonely left breast while she reached up with her right behind her head and found purchase in his hair. She continued to rock her hips back and forth as she began to breathe harder. “Yes…” She hissed slowly as he began to grind back against her. “Ichigoooo…” She moaned as he sped up his rubbing and pinching. “Yesyesyesyes!” She started to get loud, and Ichigo had the wherewithal to let go of her breast and cover her mouth. “Mmph!” Candice continued to moan for another ten seconds as her core tightened up, before she snapped. “MMPH!” She screamed into his hand as her legs turned to jelly.

Liquid that had nothing to do with the shower splashed on the floor as Ichigo had to help hold her up. She panted as she came down from her high, “Oh, holy fuck…” She breathed out when she managed to find her legs. She let out an elated giggle as she panted against his chest, “You sure you never did anything like that before?” His face flamed red as the events of the last couple of minutes caught up to him, but managed to feel a small amount of pride for being able to get her off on his first try. He jumped as she turned around and he felt her hands close around his dick, “Hmmm, but I didn’t do a very good job. You made me scream, but I didn’t make you cum…” She trailed off as she started to gently stroke him.

Before he could say anything, the door to the bathroom opened. Candice’s eyes widened as she took in the sight of Meninas in her lingerie. “Meni!”

“Oh, Candi, I thought I sensed you!” Meninas said, staring at them.

Ichigo almost facepalmed as he realized he probably should have realized they would know each other. Hell, Candice still had her commissar hat on her head!

Meninas had been laying down, her thoughts running at kilometers per minute before she realized Ichigo was taking an awfully long time in the shower. She had cast her senses out curiously, and had been surprised to find a second Reiatsu signature inside his bathroom…and a very familiar one at that. “How did you get here?”

“Not sure.” Candice replied, pouting that her fun had been interrupted.

“Uhhh…” Ichigo said, scratching the back of his head, “She kind of… I don’t know, popped out of my shadow? Which was really weird, by the way.”

“Huh.” Candice said, “Sounds kind of like our Shadow travel. But I wasn’t trying to do that…”

“Strange. Maybe that’s how I showed up here too.” Meninas then stopped and looked at the position they were in and pouted, “Oh, I see. You won’t let me wash your back, but you let her into your shower with open arms?”

“Wah!” Ichigo yelped, letting go of Candice, “I wasn’t-I-She-” He babbled.

“Meni!” Candice glared. ‘Damn it, now he’s going to spook again!’ She whined inside her head.

Meninas looked at him, before she smiled softly. She reached up and unclipped her front of her bra, and the tightness of her underwear meant it popped right off of her. Ichigo’s mouth went drier than the Sahara. She then leaned over, not taking her eyes off Ichigo, before sliding her underwear off. As she straightened out, Ichigo realized she had a small patch of magenta hair shaped like a heart above her pussy. She sashayed over and opened the shower door before stepping in behind him, which broke the spell she had him under from the second his eyes had landed on her innie nipples. She pressed herself against his back as she started to get hit by the spray from her shower head, “Hmmm, that’s better.” She said softly as Ichigo twitched.

Candice grinned as she pressed against his front, ‘Meni, I love you!’

Ichigo was very late for school that day.

-]|[-

When Ichigo finally left his room, he had already missed all of first period. ‘King, I fucking love you.’ Zangetsu sounded almost awed, ‘To think I thought you were gay!’ Even his speech sounded different!

‘Sounds pretty gay.’ Ichigo shot back with a twitch of his eyes, ‘You live in me! How the hell did you think I was gay?!’

‘Oh please.’ Zangetsu scoffed, ‘Covering your eyes and freaking out when Shihōin fucking Yoruichi flashes you?’

Ichigo flushed at the memory before letting out a growl, ‘Not that I didn’t…enjoy that.’ And oh, how he had enjoyed it. What the hell had he been afraid of all this time? Meninas and Candice were amazing; he couldn’t help but feel a surge of masculine pride at the fact he had left them both limping and exhausted. The two were currently raiding his closet for some clothes. ‘But do either of you have any idea why they showed up?’

‘Probably the six souls you stole from Yhwach.’ Ichigo almost missed a step as Old Man Zangetsu casually dropped that bomb.

‘What the fuck?!’ Ichigo gaped, standing still on his stairs.

‘Come take a look!’ Zangetsu chuckled.

Ichigo sat and closed his eyes, and immediately found himself standing in his Inner World. He gaped at the sight of the two buildings which were…contaminated… for lack of a better word. The two skyscrapers were topped by the Quincy crosses he could instinctively feel belonged to Meninas and Candice. The energy from them had invaded the buildings, with electric green lightning forks racing all the way down to ground level for Candice’s, while Meninas’s was covered in hearts. “I repeat…what the fuck?”

“Catnipp-san popped out of your shadow when the reconstruction of the green one was finished.” Old Man Zangetsu told him, floating in his usual ominous pose behind him.

Ichigo blanched, “Fuck, does that mean that’s going to happen four more times?!” He ran a hand through his hair, “Do I even try to go to school before it’s finished?” He then nearly slapped himself, “Wait, what the fuck am I worried about?! What do you mean I stole their souls from Yhwach?!”

“It means that you are now their King.” Old Man Zangetsu told him, and Ichigo’s jaw dropped, “You have the special ability to share your soul with others, Ichigo. You have done so before, and it was that, not the Hōgyoku, that awoke the powers of Yasutora-san and Inoue-san. It is the same ability Yhwach possesses which allows him to perform the Auswählen. Only you are not a parasite like he is. Rather than continue to struggle against you in his weakened state, he released their contracts to you and closed off your connection permanently. He can now never affect you again, nor will he be able to affect your new vassals.” He smiled in a very satisfied manner, “All the things I could not speak about before, could not teach you before, I am now free to do so. It feels… liberating.”

Ichigo felt a full-body shudder rush through him, “I don’t have vassals!” He said hoarsely.

“Call them what you wish.” Old Man Zangetsu looked over at him, “It changes little. Do not worry, Ichigo. You are not Yhwach, and never will be. You cannot steal their power for your own. It is just not who you are. The mechanism might be the same, but the effect is different.”

Ichigo sighed in relief, but was still wary, “That…that’s not why they just…” He would be devastated if it was.

“No. Rest assured, sharing your soul does not induce feelings of romantic attachment or even friendship. If it did, no one could ever stand against Him.” Old Man Zangetsu reassured him.

Ichigo sighed in relief, and Zangetsu smirked, “Yeah, so don’t go getting cold feet, King. We had fuckin’ rainbows in here while ya were getting busy.” And the slang was back, and Ichigo’s face flamed red. “Ya liked it and we all know it. They’re hot, they clearly like ya, and they wanna be with ya. Fucking go be happy.”

Ichigo wanted to snark, but settled for looking at his original Zanpakutō spirit, “I’ll need a lot more info on what’s going on, but later.” He said, and the old man nodded.

‘Ya don’t know the half of it, King.’ Zangetsu grinned ominously, and Ichigo shuddered.

“I’ll see you both later.” He said, before opening his eyes in the real world and continuing down the stairs. “Now…why the hell didn’t Goat-chin do his usual shit this morning?” He muttered to himself, having realized that much only when he and the girls had been drying themselves off. “Maybe he had to open the clinic early for an emergency?” He asked himself hopefully as he walked into the kitchen…

To the sight of his grinning father sitting at the table and wiggling his bushy eyebrows up and down like little moving caterpillars. Ichigo’s face flamed red for the umpteenth time that morning as Isshin laughed, “Skipping school to fool around with girls?”

“Y-You knew?!” Ichigo choked out.

“BWAHAHAHA!” Isshin roared with laughter, “Ichigo, with that stupid amount of Reiatsu you have and your lack of control over it, every spiritually aware person in Karakura knows about it!” Whether they were old enough to recognize the feeling was a different story. Ichigo’s soul forgot it was a Shinigami and started to exit his body as a regular ghost. “I’m so happy though! With that personality of yours, I was afraid you’d end up a lonely old man with forty-nine cats.” The father continued to rag on his son.

Ichigo snapped back to reality, “Damn it, Goat-chin.” He was still blushing profusely.

Isshin was still grinning, “Now go and call your girls down for breakfast and be glad I was able to convince Yuzu and Karin to leave you alone this morning. I got Yuzu to make extra food too.”

“Why didn’t they…” Ichigo trailed off.

“I told them that you had a bad night and weren’t feeling well.” Isshin said softly, his smile vanishing, “Which wasn’t untrue. Pretty sure Karin knew it was bullshit though.” He muttered, and Ichigo shuddered.

“Thanks, Goat-chin.” Ichigo muttered, before his gaze sharpened on his father, “We still have a lot to talk about.” He said, and Isshin nodded.

“We do. Part of why I let you have your fun instead of stopping it.” Isshin said, before glaring at Ichigo, “But that’s the one time I’ll cover for you skipping school for hanky panky.”

“Roger.” Ichigo said clearly.

“And for Reiō’s sake, don’t make me a grandfather so soon.” Isshin snarked, and Ichigo was back to blushing.

“They knew some Quincy magic for that.” He muttered, with even the tips of his ears turning red now.

“Good, now go and get them for breakfast. I kept everything warm.” Isshin said, and a few minutes later, he fought the urge to cackle madly. Both girls were absolute bombshells, and both were dressed in Ichigo’s clothes. How his grumpy delinquent of a son managed to bag these two hotties boggled his mind. “Morning girls!” He called out, “Well aren’t you two cute! I can’t believe that grump managed this!”

“Goat-chin.” Ichigo groaned, but Candice just giggled.

“Oh, he has his good sides.” Candice grinned and hooked her arms around his.

“He’s very cute and kind.” Meninas agreed, grabbing his other arm.

“Excellent! Then please call me papa!” Ichigo was going to kill him.

“Okay, papa.” Meninas was apparently willing to play along because that came without missing a beat. Ichigo choked a little.

“That would be a bit too awkward.” Candice shook her head, “I’m already calling him daddy.” A grin more appropriate on Yoruichi’s face crossed hers.

That even got to Isshin, and both he and his son sputtered. “Wahahaha!” Isshin finally roared in laughter, “Oh, I like you two.” He said, “Such a joyous day!” And then Candice and Meninas blinked and started to gape (Candice a lot more than Meninas.) as Isshin used a Shunpo to appear next to the poster of Masaki, “Oh, mother, daddy gained two more daughters!” Candice and Meninas goggled at the sight.

Ichigo groaned and fell forward, slamming his head on the table. He then lifted his head slightly and whacked himself again.

Candice started to giggle, while Meninas just smiled, ‘Is… is this what family is supposed to be? This seems…fun.’ The magenta-haired girl wondered.

Candice elbowed her lightly, “Can you imagine this from either of our families?” She murmured to her best friend.

“Not a chance.” Meninas pouted, knowing full well her parents would be horrified. She grabbed Ichigo’s collar, “Come on, Ichigo. No need to kill your brain cells. It’s funny!”

“You’re right.” Ichigo sprang up, “I’ll kill his instead!”

They blinked as he vanished as well, and an entirely new table popped up in front of the poster. ‘For gags only?’ They both read the note on the table in abject confusion.

“Will you cut this shit out?!” Ichigo grabbed his father and German Suplexed him through the table. Isshin’s leg twitched in the air as Ichigo got up, “Ahh, that’s better!” He clapped his hands as he went to go pull out the chairs for his gaping new girlfriends.

“Is he, like, okay?” Candice almost decided to go over to start nudging him with her toe.

“You can hit your father?” Meninas just looked confused.

“Oh, that’s just how we play.” Isshin was right as rain and took his seat almost faster than they could follow. They both almost got whiplash.

“Moron is constantly waking the neighbors when I fling him out my window.” Ichigo grumbled.

Meninas tapped her chin, “I’m pretty sure if I even thought about doing that, my parents would have disowned me.” She said airily, with just the tiniest undercurrent of sadness.

Candice snorted, “Mine definitely would have.” She pecked his cheek before taking her seat, “Happiest day of my life was when I moved out.”

Isshin winced, “I take it your parents were as demanding and strict as Ishida Ryūken?”

“Ha.” Candice laughed bitterly, “He’s not even close. My parents literally planned my days out for me. Best thing they ever did for me was introduce me to Meni.”

‘Oh, holy shit, they’re both ojou-sama’s!’ Ichigo twitched as he made that realization. He took their hands and gave them some small squeezes, “Well, I hope you can breathe a little easier here.” He said softly.

Candice beamed at him, “You bet! Hell, even without our…fun…” She grinned sultrily at him, earning her another blush. “This is so much better than our last…home.”

Neither Kurosaki missed the implications. “Well, let’s save any heavy thoughts for later! Let’s enjoy Yuzu-chan’s cooking!”

“Thank you! Gosh, I feel like I haven’t eaten in days.” Meninas declared as they began filling their plates with Yuzu’s delicious breakfast. Meninas and Candice’s eyes lit up as soon as they took their first bites, “It’s soooo gooood!” The two said at the same time.

“Heh, that’s Yuzu for you.” Ichigo said as he took a sip of his miso soup. “She’s one of my two little sisters.” The foursome chatted about light things as they ate, with Ichigo learning that Candice was a very girly tomboy. She was feisty and loved a lot of activities more suited for delinquents, if he was honest, but also took immaculate care of her appearance. To the point Meninas chimed in that ruining her hair was a death sentence in total seriousness.

He was pretty sure he earned some brownie points when he blurted out that Candice would be gorgeous even if she had just rolled out of bed.  

Meninas, on the other hand, surprised him when she told him she was a kickboxer. Somehow, he wouldn’t have called that for her. She didn’t look all too dissimilar from Orihime despite her larger build, so he had kind of expected her to be a healer of sorts. Apparently, she’d broken the jaws of a few men who got frisky with her before.

But eventually, the food ran out and so did their topics for small talk. “So,” Isshin said softly. “What are your plans for now? I…assume you won’t be going back to your King.”

“He’s not our King. Not anymore.” Candice shot at him before her brain caught up to her mouth. She pursed her lips, “We don’t know.” She said, “Meni and I obviously want to stick together…” The verdette looked at Ichigo, “And we obviously want to stay with Ichi…” She beamed at him, which got another flush. “Hehehe… but beyond that, we have no idea.”

“We can’t go back to him.” Meninas said softly, “They’d kill us. So, we have… nothing now. Not even our clothes since I don’t think either of us want to wear those uniforms anymore.” She pouted. She liked that jacket and her style!

“Well, why don’t you-” Isshin started to say, but Ichigo cut him off.

“We should probably avoid making any real plans, at least for a while.” His son stated, making Isshin frown at him.

“Why?” It was Meninas who asked the question.

“Because we’re getting four more…surprise guests.” Ichigo winced lightly at the thought.

“What the heck?” Candice blurted, “How can you know that?!”

Ichigo looked over at her, “Because I currently have an electric green and a magenta Quincy cross in my Inner World, with four more rebuilding in the distance. You popped up when the building carrying the green one finished rebuilding itself, according to Zangetsu.”

Isshin let out a groan, “Son, I love you, but can you be normal for five minutes?!”

Candice and Meninas had paled drastically, “Wh-what color are they?!” She grabbed his shirt urgently, “What color?!” She demanded.

Ichigo blanched a little at how urgent her tone was, as well as the feeling of desperation he could feel in both her and Meninas, “One is a bright yellow.”

He said, and the two stiffened, “That’s either very good or very, very bad.” Meninas said softly, “If it’s a short blonde girl, we’re good. That’s Lili and she’s our friend.”

“But if it’s a short thing completely covered in a cloak…” Candice bit her index finger on the intermediate flange, “You kill it. Immediately! Before it can get its bearings!”

“Woah, why?!” Ichigo gaped at her.

“It’s one of Yhwach’s Royal Guard.” Candice said, “We have no idea what its power actually is, but we saw it use it once.” She felt a full body shudder run through her, “It turned a man into a… a meatball in the most…bloody way possible.”

“Holy shit…” Ichigo flinched as well, ‘Is it close to completion, Old Man?’

‘It is not. One of the red ones will finish first. However, you may lay your women’s fears to rest. None of our guests will be the ones they fear.’ Old Man Zangetsu replied without concern. ‘Not to say you should trust them with your life as soon as they appear, but they will all be potential allies.’

Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief, “Okay, Old Man Zangetsu says that you two can relax. He told me that our guests will potentially be allies.”

“How can he possibly know that?!” Candice demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

Ichigo coughed and shook his head, “I don’t want to have to explain it half a dozen times. Can you just trust me on this one?”

She was silent for a moment before she nodded and her shoulders relaxed, “Okay.” She said softly, and then breathed the tension out. Ichigo smiled and leaned forward, pecking her on the lips. Her hand came up to his face and she tried to deepen it, but he pulled away. He wasn’t making out in front of his father. Meninas smiled as he did the same to her. Candice smiled, “Good then. I didn’t want to even imagine having to fight one of them as weak as I am now…” She grumbled under her breath, “Spent years training my Schrift and I can’t even use it.”

He tilted his head at the foreign words, and then looked at his father…who had his phone out and was videoing him. He had clearly caught him kissing them both. Ichigo’s left eye twitched, “Goat-chin…” He growled out, and his father smirked. “Delete it. Now.”

“Nyeh!” Isshin stuck his tongue out. Meninas and Candice seized Ichigo’s arms to keep him from jumping over the table. “Hahaha! They can already read you so well, son!”

“Predictable.” Meninas nodded with a serious tone, which was ruined by the small smile on her face.

“Grrr…” Ichigo growled as Candice laughed.

Isshin put his phone away, “Alright, so if we’re not making any plans now… you should be trying to make it to third period, Ichigo.” He glared at his son, “It’s the first day and you’re already skipping class. Your GPA is going to drop again.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Ichigo groaned, “Stupid Hollows. Can’t they just make appointments for after school?”

“They’re rarely considerate.” Candice giggled again, nudging him.

“And while you’re in school, we should be figuring out how much of our power and techniques we can still use.” Meninas said to Candice.

“I’ll take you to Urahara’s, then.” Isshin said, “Though we should probably get you some clothes first… maybe I should see if I still have any of Masaki’s old clothes? Might have something that would fit you girls…” Though that would be a huge ask for Meninas. She was both much taller and much bustier than Masaki. He scratched his beard in thought, before he looked over at Ichigo, “Hey, Ichigo, now that you’re officially a Substitute recognized by the Seireitei, what kind of salary did they give you? I’d look at mine, but that would give away that I’m alive…”

Ichigo stared at him in confusion, “I get paid?!”

The two looked at one another, before Isshin rubbed the bridge of his nose, “Right, Urahara’s it is. I’ll get that figured out for you too.” He grumbled, “Of course you get paid!”

“No one told me shit!” Ichigo snapped, “Not even when they gave me my badge!”

“That thing probably is just tracking you and your Reiatsu. It might even be able to restrict you forcibly. Most Shinigami would never have even heard of it, so it’s useless as an ID too. Don’t use it. In fact, shove it somewhere and never look at it again.” Isshin said seriously, “Here, take my Gokon Tekkō.” He passed his son the same style of glove Rukia had used to eject his soul many a time, “We’ll have to teach you how to exit your body without it.”

Ichigo growled in irritation at the Soul Society giving him the useless badge. Like yeah, he understood the caution and all since he did attack the Seireitei to save Rukia, but it still pissed him off, “Fine then. I’m going to school.”

Candice smirked, “Not without some goodbye kisses!” She followed him up the stairs with Meninas on her heels.

Isshin had to put his foot down and bang on his door a few times when they still hadn’t come down fifteen minutes later.

-]|[-

“Yo!” Ichigo said as he walked into the classroom.

“Ah, Kurosaki-san.” Miss Ochi raised an eyebrow, “Good of you to join us. You only missed…” She pretended to look at her watch, “Oh, two periods.”

“Sorry about that. I wasn’t feeling well last night.” Ichigo made his excuses.

“I see. Well, I hope you’re feeling better.” The teacher replied, before waving him off to his seat.

He eyed his friends, who were all giving him questioning looks with raised eyebrows. He simply shook his head and took his seat. Thankfully, math was just a bit of recap, which he aced. He had always been good at it. Then they had lunch together, and Keigo predictably went ballistic. “ICHIGOOOOOO!” Keigo sobbed next to him, “What is with that!?” he pointed at Chad, Orihime, and Ishida who were chatting with one another. Orihime was apparently in a spirited retelling of something and was acting in ways that made her chest bounce. No doubt Chizuru would be attacking in a moment. “This is all wrong! Why are they hanging out together?!” He looked like he was having a conniption, “It’s the beauty, the beast, and the nerd! The Princess, the gorilla, and the four-eyed dork! It’s an unholy alliance and I don’t get it! What could have-”

“Give it a rest already.” Ichigo lightly slammed his fist into the top of his head, “What’s wrong with them being friends?” He then went to join them, and that just sent the brunette into even more hysterics, “Sup?”

“Kurosaki.” Uryū glared at him, “What the hell had your Reiatsu fluctuating all morning?”

“Un!” Orihime nodded, “And you even skipped class! You felt really excited!” She tapped her chin lightly.

“Don’t worry about it.” Ichigo said blandly, fighting valiantly not to blush.

Thankfully, he was saved, not by the bell, but by Chizuru. “HIME!!!” The raging lesbian grabbed Orihime’s boobs from behind, getting a squeak of shock from their healer.

And then Tatsuki kicked her in the face, “Damn it, hands off! We’ve already been through this twice today!” Tatsuki growled, “How many times do I have to teach you this lesson old man?”

“Hah.” Chizuru stood, “My skull is too thick to learn it!”

“Clearly!” Tatsuki snapped, before glancing at Ichigo, “Sup? Why’d you skip?”

“I was busy.” Ichigo said shortly.

“With what?” Tatsuki asked, before shaking her head, “You know what, never mind.” She waved it off, apparently not caring too much. “You even missed the new kid’s introduction.” She pointed out a new blonde in the room with straight-cut blonde hair that went to his jaw. His grin exposed his upper teeth.

“He looks like he’s twenty-seven.” Ichigo deadpanned, wondering who the hell he was. Maybe a Shinigami? Not one he ever met in the Seireitei if that was the case, though why they would feel the need to do that escaped him.

“Right?” Tatsuki asked, “So freaking odd, but whatever. Hirako Shinji, I think his name was. Wrote everything backwards.”

“Weird.” Ichigo shrugged, “I suppose I’ll meet him eventually.”

Their next teacher came in, and they all took their seats. It was a science class this time, which Ichigo also enjoyed, so he was paying close attention. Therefore, he was completely unprepared when his shadow surged upwards, drawing the attention of every spiritually aware human in the room, consisting of the usual suspects along with Tatsuki, Chizuru, Ryō, Michiru, Mahana, Keigo, and Mizuiro. The shadow widened and then a girl with very dark (nearly black) purple hair wearing the same uniform Meninas and Candice wore dropped from it. To the sight of every non spiritually aware person in the room, it was like the screaming girl had just popped out of the ceiling.

“WAH!” Ichigo tried to get out of the way, but it was too late. Their heads smashed into one another with loud cracks, and they both slumped to the floor, clutching them. “Owowowow…”

“What the hell was that?!” The class burst into astonished murmurs.

Their teacher was looking at the ceiling incredulously, “The ceiling isn’t damaged! Where did she come from?! Did we just witness a quantum phasing event?!” He looked like Christmas had come early.

Chizuru meanwhile looked super excited, “It’s raining girls!? Hallelujah, it’s raining girls!” She held her arms up, “Come into my bosom!” She was disappointed when no one fell out of the sky.

Ichigo rubbed his head as he glared at the girl, who was glaring back. She was surrounded by unfamiliar people, and just felt like she lived through everything that she had seen in those awful visions. She was stressed. Extremely so. She was pissed off. Her head was aching. And she wanted to fucking kill something! So, she did what she always did when she was pissed off. She exploded.

Except she didn’t. She gasped as she realized she couldn’t feel her Schrift. She couldn’t even feel her Vollständig! ‘Oh no, did everything I saw really happen!?’ She clutched at her neck, her throat feeling tight as she started to have a panic attack. She was just about to draw her sword and start slashing when Ichigo, sensing danger, hopped to his feet.

“I-I think we should go to the nurse.” He said, and scooped her up in a Princess carry.

“H-hey! What do you think you’re-!” Her voice vanished as Ichigo ran out of the room.

The rest of his classmates and teacher stared at the door in disbelief.

…

‘Please tell me I can use Shunpo in my body!’ He asked his Zanpakutō, fighting to keep a grip on the girl, who had started to struggle. ‘And why the fuck didn’t you warn me?!’

‘And miss this kind of comedy!? Get real, King!’ Zangetsu’s howling laughter filled his head.

‘You cannot, but that doesn’t mean you’re powerless. Allow me to guide you this one time, and pay attention. You must learn this for yourself.’ Old Man Zangetsu said, and it felt like Ichigo’s body went on autopilot. Reishi started to gather around his feet in a very different manner from Shunpo, and then they were on the school roof, having zipped out of the building and then floated up in the blink of an eye.

“Woah!” Ichigo almost tripped at the sudden stop and let go of the girl, allowing her to stand on her own. “Sorry about tha-” And then he was ducking the swing of a sword, which would have taken his head clean off. “Woah, put that away!”

“DIE!” Bambietta Basterbine was completely panicking. Her memories were a jumbled mess inside her head, her powers weren’t working, she still wasn’t fucking sure if she had actually died or not, and this was just the WORST FUCKING DAY EVER! She shot a condensed ball of Reishi at the man in front of her, and he dodged out of the way. Even without her Schrift, it was enough to blow a tile to smithereens.

“Fucking hell!” Ichigo cursed, ‘A little help?! I can’t use either of you in my body!’

‘You’ve already used the technique you need once, Ichigo. You merely need to do so again, under your own will, this time.’ He fed the memory of Blut Vene to Ichigo, though he had only ever used Blut Arterie so far.

“Enough!” Ichigo yelled as the characteristic glowing blue veins appeared on his arms, and he knocked her sword away. Surging forward with speed, he grabbed her wrist and hip checked her, throwing her over his shoulder. She gasped for breath from the impact. Not missing a moment, he quickly mounted her, pressing his right foot onto her left arm, and keeping a hold of her right arm with his left hand. She continued to struggle, “Stop it, damn it!” He grabbed her face to keep her still.

Tears instantly sprang to her eyes, “I don’t wanna die!” A choked sob escaped her.

‘What the fuck happened to her?’ Ichigo asked internally, “I’m not going to hurt you!” He said, and repeated it a few times as he let go of her face.

‘She appears traumatized.’ Old Man Zangetsu said softly, though Ichigo had already known that.

They both breathed hard for a moment, before Ichigo let go of her and got up, backing away with his hands up, “What’s your name?” He asked softly, trying to keep from setting her off again.

She slowly sat up, “B-Bambietta.” She said softly, “Bambietta Basterbine.”

“Kurosaki Ichigo.” He replied, and she inhaled sharply. She realized that yes, he did indeed match the man she’d seen in the Daten.

Her eyes narrowed, ‘But that was Blut Vene. And Hirenkyaku. The Daten didn’t say anything about…’ She bit her lip. “S-Sorry…”

“It’s okay.” He replied softly, and offered her his hand, “You reacted much worse than the other two.” He muttered to himself.

She had grabbed it, but that made her stiffen, “O-Other two?”

“Yeah.” Ichigo hadn’t meant for her to hear that, “Uhh, you wouldn’t know a Candice and a Meninas, would you?”

Bambietta recoiled as a memory sprang into place. “No…stop… please stop, Gigi…!” Candice and Meninas holding her hands, stone faced and looking away. Gigi’s- no, Giselle’s hands around her throat… “…Yeah, I know them.” She croaked out, a frog in her throat. She didn’t want him to see her cry and she whirled around.

Ichigo frowned, feeling the grief, betrayal, and rage flowing out of her. He opened his mouth to say something, but someone beat him to the punch. “Ichigo!” His gaze snapped to the side, and his eyes widened as Candice and Meninas, both wearing new clothes (consisting of jeans and tees so tight they looked painted on.) landed on the roof. “Jeez, in class? What even is your…” Candice stopped talking, “…luck?” She finished weakly as Bambietta turned around.

“Bambi…?” Meninas said softly.

There was a moment of silence, and all Ichigo could think was, ‘Oh boy…’

“Is that all you have to say?” Bambietta clenched her fists, “Is that all you bitches have to say?!” She roared out, “I thought we were friends! How could you?!”

“What do you want us to say?” Candice asked softly, “That we’re sorry? We don’t even know if we all saw the same things…”

“It would fucking be a start, bitch!” Bambi bared her teeth, “I…I needed help, and you… you…” She teared up and dropped to her knees, “You let her kill me…”

“What?!” Ichigo gasped, his gaze snapping to the two girls.

They both looked mortified, “Bambi… nothing we could have done would have saved you…”

“So, you didn’t even try?!” Bambietta snapped out, “I…I thought we were friends!”

“We were.” Meninas closed her eyes, “But you know what the Wandenreich was like… You weren’t the only one who lost.” She looked away.

Candice growled, “Haschwalth captured and executed BG9 and Cang Du himself.”

Bambietta flinched, and opened her mouth to speak, but Ichigo got their first, “What. The fuck.” He said dangerously, “Are you talking about?”

The three girls flinched, and then Candice dropped her shoulders. “Ichigo…” She said, stopping, and then bowed her head, “Do-do you know about the Kaiser Gesang?”

“As of last night, yes.” He crossed his arms, staring at her with a coldness she very much disliked.

“Then you know the nine years of power are approaching…” She bit her lip, “…What do you think people waiting a thousand years to avenge a genocide will do?”

Ichigo’s jaw clenched, ‘Fucking hell, I was trying not to think of it.’ His fists balled up, ‘Even if we beat Aizen we have another fucking war to worry about?!’

‘I did warn you of what I feared, Ichigo.’ Old Man Zangetsu said softly, ‘You are forewarned, at least.’

‘And we have plenty of time to kick your ass into gear to prepare.’ Zangetsu chimed in, with the sound of a fist meeting a palm echoing in his head.

Ichigo’s jaw clenched slightly, “We were meant to be enemies.” He said tonelessly. He finally remembered the momentary vision he’d had during his and Yhwach’s power struggle. Two of the girls he’d seen himself fighting were his girls.

Candice swallowed, “…If the visions we had were true, you completely destroyed my arm with your Getsuga.”

Ichigo’s teeth were in serious danger of breaking as Meninas stepped forward, “It doesn’t have to come to pass.” She walked closer to Ichigo and took his cheeks in her hands, “What we saw did not happen. And it can never happen now. Nothing is the same anymore, and I refuse to be your enemy.”

Ichigo glared at her for a few moments, before sighing and wrapping an arm around her back to hug her.

Candice looked at Bambietta, who was looking at the two with confusion and… longing? Candice blinked, but shook her head, “Bambi.” She kneeled next to her, “We were bitches. Horrid fucking bitches. Me, you, Lili, all of us.” She said, and snapped when Bambietta looked like she was going to protest. “Don’t fucking deny it! Every single one of us were awful! But what we apparently let Gigi do to you was worse, and we got what we fucking deserved in the end.” Bambietta remembered that much. Fighting side-by-side with her equally zombified friends. Candice bit her lip, “And Meni and I will spend forever trying to make it up to you if that’s what it takes.” She stood and offered Bambi her hand, “But we have another chance now. We’re away from that awful place and those awful people. We shouldn’t waste it.”

Bambietta glared at her, and took her hand. Candice smiled as she helped her friend up, but Bambietta glared harder and squeezed her hand, hard. “If Giselle shows up too, fucking keep her away from me, or this time I’ll be the one killing her.” Candice nodded, rapidly. Bambietta let go, and Candice hastily started blowing on her fingers.

Meninas shuddered, “She did the same to us, just without the…before.” She said softly, “Like Candice said… we had karma swing back around.”

“What did she even do?” Ichigo asked, and Candice went to answer, before deciding against it.

“You know what? We don’t want to have to repeat stuff either. We’ll save it for when we have that big talk.” She replied, and went over to hug him too.

“Alright then.” He said, and wrapped his other arm around her waist.

“Just know that Giselle Gewelle is a fucking freak.” Bambietta spat, looking away. “I see you didn’t waste any time getting buddy-buddy with him, Candi.” Candice frowned, “Didn’t expect Meni to get in on it too.” Candice glared, and Bambi smirked at her. “Sluts.”

Ichigo glared at her for the insult, but Candice snapped, “Fuck off, Bambi.” She was going to say more, but shook her head, “We all need an attitude adjustment, otherwise we’re going to end up killing each other.” She let go of Ichigo, “How’d you even show up?” She asked, trying to move away from that topic.

“She showed up in the middle of Physics falling out of the ceiling on top of me.” Ichigo deadpanned. He was slightly worried that their apparent friend had called the two sluts. Normally he’d just wave it off, but, well… he’d known them both for less than six hours and had already plowed both of them. Repeatedly.

Bambietta winced, “You have a hard head.” She rubbed her noggin as she glared at him, “Damn near cracked mine open.”

Candice and Meninas giggled, “Sh-shit, do we have to wipe any memories?” Candice asked him.

Ichigo snorted, “Honestly, at this point I’m convinced half the class can see ghosts anyway. I’m surprised Orihime, Chad, and Uryū haven’t shown up yet.” He then stopped, thought about something, and started to snicker, “Heh, s-so much for him being the last Quincy.”

Bambietta chuckled, “It wasn’t even true either! His father is a Quincy as well, and a much better one than he is.” She looked at her two friends as Ichigo gaped, “How’d you show up?”

“I’m not sure.” Meninas said, “I was unconscious.”

Candice grinned slightly, “He was taking a shower and I popped out of the wall and landed on top of him.” She then made a very suggestive motion with her hand and measured him out against her tummy for Bambietta’s benefit. “Ehehehe.”

“No fucking way!” Bambietta goggled. Candice was ‘measuring’ him above her belly button! “Did you already… of fucking course you did. And you too, Meni?! You fucking sluts!”

“Oh, like you wouldn’t have locked him down too! He’s the only ‘boyfriend material’ guy any of us have ever met!” Candice snapped and stomped her feet, “Ugh, fuck Gigi for spreading those rumors about me! Why were we even friends with her?”

“What rumors?” Ichigo asked cautiously.

Candice clenched her jaw before sighing, “Ugh, okay, so absolutely none of the men in the Wandenreich were boyfriend material. Half of them were psychopaths and the other half had their heads so far up their own asses they were coming out of their own throats. But none of us were about to be spinsters. It was cold and lonely in the Silbern, and we would just go insane if we avoided people! So, we occasionally had sex with some of the lower ranked Soldats.” She admitted, hoping really hard Bambietta hadn’t just ruined their relationship practically before it started, “Except Gigi was a bitch like Bambi said, and everyone knew it. She also wasn’t as… ahem… sexy as Meni, Bambi, and me. Plus, her powers made everyone afraid of her. All of that combined meant she had a really hard time finding any guys both brave enough and actually interested in her. She got jealous and started spreading a rumor that I was a slut that would open my legs for absolutely anyone. It wasn’t fucking true! And I would never sleep with anyone else if I was in an actual relationship!” Her tone was almost pleading by the end.

“I trust you, Candi.” Ichigo murmured softly as he pulled her closer and kissed her hair. Candice sagged in relief. “Thanks for telling me. Honestly though, why the fuck were you still friends with her?”

“Because we were the only strong girls around.” Bambietta said through gritted teeth. “And we needed to stick together and protect each other.”

“Girl power.” Meninas said lackadaisically, lazily pumping a fist.

Ichigo huffed through his nose, “The more I hear about your lives before this, the more I hate it. None of you should have had to go through that kind of bullshit.” He let go of them, “I have to get back to class. Will you three be okay on your own?” He asked, and his two girls pouted, but nodded. “Okay, I’ll see you later.” He gave them both quick kisses, before vanishing. It was a good opportunity to practice that new Hirenkyaku technique.

“Lucky bitches.” Bambietta grumbled, “Of course you’d lock up the one good guy around as soon as you escape Silbern.”

“Meni and I are already sharing.” Candi smirked at her, “So be a good girl and maybe we’ll share with you too.”

Bambietta twitched, “Bitch.” She looked away, blushing slightly.

“And be glad I didn’t retaliate when you called me a slut, little Miss Black Widow.” Candice glared at her, and Bambietta flinched.

“Let’s not fight.” Meninas said softly, lightly chopping both of them on the head.

“Yeah, fine.” Bambietta said softly, “And you don’t have to worry… I’m not doing that ever again.” She went completely stone faced, “Not now that I know what it feels like to be betrayed and killed like that…” She whispered, fighting the urge to gnaw on her lip.

Candice hugged her hesitantly. Bambietta didn’t hug back, but rested her head against Candice’s. “Let’s go.” Candice said softly, and the three vanished.

-]|[-

“…” Ichigo stared at his room in disbelief, “What the hell, Goat-chin?” In place of his old bed was a large king size that barely fit in the room.

Things had gone well after school. He’d managed to dodge most of the questions about Bambietta landing on his head, and more importantly had managed to dodge the questions about the morning’s… activities. He’d met up with his father and the three girls at Urahara’s, and the man had delivered for them. A brand new Denreishinki would replace the detecting function of his now useless badge, and more importantly would allow him to access his new bank account.

He and his father had goggled at how much money was already in there, as well as his basic salary. Apparently they were giving him one hell of a carrot to go along with the stick. Though Isshin had reasoned that he had attained Bankai, so a Lieutenant’s salary wasn’t THAT far out there. And with the conversion rate to human currency? Ichigo was seriously debating not going to college.

He’d managed to waive off Urahara’s interest in the ongoing events until later, again going with the excuse that he didn’t want to have another couple conversations about the same thing.

For the rest of the day, Ichigo had been slapped upside the head at how poor his everything was compared to his combat skills. Uryū had been right about how garbage the Denreishinki was. When a Hollow had appeared and the device had gone off the first time that day, it was several minutes after all three former Sternritters (he had no idea what that meant) had detected it. He hadn’t noticed a thing until it had gone off, something all of them noticed.

Bambietta had immediately gotten pissed off over his lack of real detection ability. So as his father took the girls shopping, Bambietta stayed behind to teach him and just told Candice to get her clothes too since they were similar sizes. Not out of the kindness of her own heart though. She had an enormous amount of stress and had vented it on Ichigo. She spent the next several hours beating him over the head with lessons on Reiatsu detection. Once she was satisfied he was at least passable on that metric, she started to work with him on how to actually control his own Reiryoku. Honestly, knowing what he did now, he was kind of pissed that Rukia had never focused on it back when he had been a fledgling substitute. It just made everything harder for him now.

Once they had gone home, both Karin and Yuzu (though mostly Karin) had cried foul about their three new guests. Yuzu had warmed up quickly because she loved Meninas’s style (and he breathed a sigh of relief that it was her and not Candice), and the tall amazon had joined his baby sister in the kitchen.

Karin had been much more irritated, and it was surprisingly Bambietta that had won her over when she realized Karin liked football. And then Ichigo had witnessed, with his jaw dropped, someone give his baby sister a good match. Even as young as she was, Ichigo was sure Karin was going to be a professional when she was older, and Bambietta had schooled her. Bambietta had such a relaxed and carefree look on her face during the game that Ichigo hadn’t been able to help but watch her, up until Candice had… distracted him. Dinner had been a lively affair, with his sisters much more relaxed and happier… up until Isshin revealed that Candice and Meninas were Ichigo’s girlfriends. Then Yuzu pouted outrageously over two girls stealing her Ichi-nii, and Karin spent the rest of the night teasing him about being a playboy.

Candice, Meninas, and Bambietta had the time of their lives, and all of them went upstairs with massive grins on their faces. And then they saw Ichigo’s room, and Candice grinned, “I think I love your Dad, Ichi.” She said, before leaping and landing on the bed. “Oooh, comfy!”

“Fucking hell, I don’t even have room to work out anymore…” He scratched the back of his head.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m sure these two would be happy to give you a workout.” Bambietta snarked, grinning toothily. She took a seat at his desk, before letting out a small shriek.

“OH, I’M IN HEAVEN!” Kon came falling from the sky and landed on her breasts, snuggling into them.

“What the hell is this thing?!” Bambietta shrieked and grabbed the stuffed lion, tearing him a little bit more as she flung him away.

“For fuck’s sake, Kon.” Ichigo snatched him out of the air, “Can you behave, you little shit?”

“Never! I am in the valley of dreams!” Kon shot at him.

“Is that a Gikon?” Meninas asked curiously.

“Yes.” Ichigo replied, “One of the last Mod Souls, actually.”

“He’s kind of cute.” Meninas giggled slightly.

“See! Someone appreciates my majesty!” Kon said, before trying to kick his way over to land on Meninas. Ichigo kept a firm grip on him.

“Wait.” Bambi started to snicker, “A mod soul? You named a Kaizō Konpaku ‘Kon?’” She started to laugh harder as Ichigo blushed.

“He sucks at naming things!” Kon shot out helpfully.

Ichigo squeezed the lion, “Do you want me to call Uryū to have you fixed up or not?” Ichigo glared at him.

Kon swallowed, “O-Of course! Look at me! I’m hideous!”

“I can fix him!” Candice grinned, “I made all of our uniforms back at the Wandenreich.”

“Yes please, mommy!” Kon shot out before Ichigo could say a word.

Ichigo growled, “If you don’t cut the shit and stop perving on my girls,” Candice and Meninas smiled. “I’m giving you right back Yuzu, Bostov.”

“Meep.” Kon… well… meeped. “I’ll be good.” He gave Ichigo a thumbs-up, “Also, nice. Didn’t think ya had it in ya!”

Ichigo growled, and let go of him. He and the girls all stiffened, “Hollow?” He asked, and they nodded. And then his badge, which was buried in his dresser, started screeching HOLLOW. HOLLOW. HOLLOW. It was muffled, but loud enough that he would definitely need to find a better hole for it. “Well, time to get to it.” He sighed as he grabbed his Gokon Tekkō and exited his body, before putting Kon inside, “Behave, or I’ll have Candi put your legs on your head.” He said flatly, and Candice burst out laughing.

“This is stuffed animal abuse!” Kon protested, before Ichigo was out the window.

Ichigo blinked as he saw the three girls soaring through the sky with him, “Huh? I can handle this and be back quick, you know? You didn’t have to come with me for this.”

Candice shrugged, “Might as well. It’s a nice night.”

“What if people see you, though? You’re still in your bodies.” And then his Denreishinki went off. “Holy shit, this thing is awful! Why is it so slow?!”

“Ha!” Bambietta laughed, “You Shinigami suck!” She teased him, “You would have been relying on that if it hadn’t been for me!” She said haughtily.

Ichigo rolled his eyes, “Thanks for the help, Bambi-sama.”

“And don’t you forget it!” Bambietta smirked as Ichigo vanished and cut the Hollow in half vertically in the blink of an eye.

“Well, that’s that!” Ichigo had only drawn his large Zangetsu, and was now looking at its new shape and colors curiously. He hadn’t actually paid attention to the changes earlier. “Told you it was a waste to come with.”

“The breeze was nice.” Meninas said with a light smile. “Does seem like a waste to have such a powerful Shinigami be killing garden variety Hollows, though.”

“WHO ARE YOU?! WHY ARE YOU DRESSED LIKE A SHINIGAMI?! AND WHO ARE THESE CHICKS, HUUUUUH?” A new voice interrupted them.

Ichigo turned around with a sweatdrop as he eyed the man’s afro and huge, bushy eyebrows. They were Rock Lee sized! “…Who the hell are you?”

“H-huh?! Me?! I’m Kurumadani Zennosuke! I’m the elite Shinigami assigned to this district in place of Kuchiki Rukia, who got thrown in jail for some crime! Shaking yet?”

“So, by elite do you mean Tenth Seat or lower?” Bambietta snarked, causing Candice to snicker.

“Why you?!” Zennosuke growled.

Ichigo rolled his eyes, “Whatever, I’m Kurosaki Ichigo, Deputy Shinigami. Also, Rukia was cleared of all charges.” He said blandly.

“So much for elite!” Candice laughed as the afro man flushed, “Not even up to date in Seireitei news! I bet you don’t even know three Captains betrayed you guys huh?”

“WHAT?!” Zennosuke gasped, and that got all four of them to laugh.

And then the hairs on the back of Ichigo’s neck stiffened, and he whirled around. Zangetsu clashed with another blade, and his eyes widened, “Shinji? Is that a Zanpakutō? What the hell are you doing?!”

“Yeah, asshole!” Meninas, Candice, and Bambietta had their bows out in flashes of red, green, and magenta light, all aiming at Shinji. “What do you think you’re doing, attacking our boyfriend?!” Candice snarled out. Zennosuke hid, feeling terrified by the overwhelming Reiatsu all of them were pumping out.

“Shhh…” Shinji made a shushing motion in front of his lips, “People with Reiatsu like yours should chill out, otherwise they’ll feel your presence.”

And then they all felt it. Hollows. Strong Hollows. And one in particular that Ichigo recognized the smell of. He ground his teeth, “Grand Fisher…” He hissed out furiously. The three girls inhaled sharply as Ichigo disappeared. Two of the three debated going over to save Uryū, but sensed his father approaching so they followed Ichigo.

Shinji groaned. He hadn’t even had a chance to freak him out yet! He followed with his own Shunpo.

Ichigo appeared just in time to see a monstrous Hollow get blown back by his father. “Dad.”

“Ichigo.” Isshin looked serene as he eyed the fallen Hollow.

“You know who he is?” Ichigo asked, clenching his fist around Zangetsu as the three girls and Shinji showed up, sitting on some of the buildings around them.

“Oh yes.” Isshin said, “And I’ve been waiting for this day for six years.”

Ichigo glared as the Hollow stood, and he realized he looked weird, “What the? He looks different.”

“He’s an Arrancar.” Isshin said, “A Hollow that has ripped off part of its mask in order to gain Shinigami powers.”

“Grrr!” Grand Fisher snarled as he got back to his feet, revealing himself to be massive compared to when Ichigo had faced him the day of his mother’s death anniversary, “So, you know of us, huh, Shinigami?” He stood tall, “Don’t think your lucky shot will happen again! You’ll never touch me again!” He drew a Zanpakutō from his back. “And what luck! I’ll be able to get my revenge against you as well, KUROSAKI ICHIGO!”

“Damn, that thing is huge.” Ichigo whistled.

“That’s what she said!” Bambietta and Candice called down, ruining the ‘dramatic tension.’

“Mock me all you like!” Grand Fisher roared, “The size of one’s Zanpakutō mirrors one’s level of Reiatsu! None of you stand a chance against me!” He transformed, turning even bigger with the top half of his mask fragment vanishing.

“That so?” Isshin reached for Engetsu with a smirk on his face, “Let’s see then?”

The two swung, and then half of a massive blade landed in the asphalt nearby. Grand Fisher stumbled back, a gouge cut out of his shoulder. “What?!” He fell to a knee, reaching up to his injured shoulder in disbelief, “H-How? My-My huge Zanpakutō-”

“Was just an empty blade.” Ichigo snarked, “You were more powerful as a Hollow with that lure, dumbass.”

“A Captain class Shinigami must exercise control over their Reiatsu and Zanpakutō, otherwise they’d be carrying swords the size of skyscrapers. All you had in that blade was hot air.”

“Even I know that.” Ichigo smirked at the sight of the bleeding Arrancar.

Grand Fisher was sweating heavily, before whirling around and flying to the sky. “You thinking what I’m thinking, son?” Isshin smirked as he swiped Engetsu through the air, gashing it with fiery red light. He stepped aside as Ichigo raised Zangetsu.

“Father-Son Getsuga Jūjishō!” They roared with one voice, and the golden and red attack sped after the Hollow, impacting Grand Fisher in the back. Night turned to day as the attack split the sky, blowing away the cloud cover in the area.

Ichigo and Isshin closed their eyes, “You’re free, mom…” Ichigo let out a sigh, feeling freer than he had in years. It was like a weight had lifted off his back.

Isshin clapped him on the shoulder, “She is.” He said, “And she’d be so proud of you, Ichigo.”

Ichigo breathed in, before exhaling, “Thanks, Dad.” He looked over at him, “We’ll be home soon, and then I suppose we should have that talk.” He eyed the Captain’s Haori tied to his father’s Shihakushō.

“Yeah.” Isshin vanished without another word.

“You happy, Ichi?” Candice landed next to him and embraced him. He hugged her back, smiling.

“Yeah.” Meninas landed as well, and hugged him from behind. “Thanks girls.” Bambietta stayed back, watching somewhat awkwardly.

“Well, that was one hell of an attack.” Shinji grinned, reminding Ichigo that he was there. “Bit overkill for a weakling like that, huh?”

“He was the one who ate my mother.” Ichigo glared at him, “As far as I’m concerned, we didn’t use enough.” Shinji’s grin dropped, and he looked a bit chagrined, “Who the hell are you?” Ichigo said as he stepped away from the girls.

“You want to know?” Shinji scoffed, “Fiiiine.” He raised his hand slightly above his head, “Here, take a good look.” He pulled down and hid half of his face behind a Hollow Mask that looked vaguely Pharaoh-like. “Recognize this?” He grinned madly.

“What the?!” All four of them gasped, “A Hollow’s Mask, and a Zanpakutō?”

“That’s right?” Shinji smirked, “Didn’t I say I hoped we could be friends earlier today at school? I’m a Shinigami who gained Hollow abilities, Ichigo. Same as you!” He put his blade over his shoulder, “I’m a Vizard. And I’m here to have you join us, before that little Hollow in your soul decides to take over your body.”

Ichigo glared at him for a moment, before reaching out to Zangetsu, ‘Can we do that too?’

‘Hehe, can we? We can do better than this loser.’ Zangetsu replied, and Ichigo smirked.

“That so?” He asked, before reaching up. He yanked his hand down, and Shinji recoiled at the dark abyss of Reiatsu that crushed upon his senses. His girls and Bambietta all stiffened, but didn’t feel anywhere near the pressure that Shinji was feeling, even despite the fact that both Candice and Meninas were hugging him. They were utterly astonished that Ichigo’s Hollow Reiatsu didn’t seem to be affecting them. Ichigo’s mask was more of a helmet, covering his entire head, and black in color. Two long, demonic-looking horns pointed forward, and four red, spike-shaped marks crossed over the eye holes. “Like this, you mean?”

“Shit…” Bambietta cursed, feeling her knees weaken, “Th-This Reiatsu!”

“How the fuck did you do that?!” Shinji growled, actually equipping his mask, and readying his Zanpakutō. But he was entirely unsure if he could cut this entity down.

“Same way you did, dumbass.” Ichigo snarked, before dismissing the mask. The three girls breathed sighs of relief.

“Bullshit.” Shinji let the mask dissipate as well, but looked cautious. “It took us months to figure out how to do that, and we all nearly died!”

Ichigo grinned, “Skill issue.” Candice burst out laughing, though it was after she wiped away some of the cold sweat from the feeling of Ichigo’s mask.

Shinji stared at him with a twitching eyebrow, “Listen here you little shit.”

“Whatever.” Ichigo rolled his eyes, “Just say your piece, and if I don’t like it you can fuck off.”

Shinji clicked his teeth, “Fine.” He sheathed his Zanpakutō, “Like I said, we’re Vizards, and there are others like us. I came to help you get that Hollow of yours under control before it took you over…” His eyebrow twitched again, “Though it appears you didn’t need the help. Still, we’d like you to join us.”

“And I’d be interested in that… why?” Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe they have some hot chicks?” Candice smirked at him as she squeezed under his arm and embraced him.

Shinji rolled his eyes, “Aren’t you chicks Quincies?” Shinji looked at her, “He’s a Hollow-Shinigami Hybrid, you know? Isn’t that like, everything you lot hate, squared? Hollow Reishi is poisonous to you and all that? The fuck you all over him for?”

“He’s Ichigo.” Meninas said simply, and hugged his other side.

“Now you’re here trying to fuck up my relationships? Really making me want to come with you.” Ichigo glared at him.

Shinji rubbed the back of his head, “Jeez, this didn’t go anything like I expected.” He sighed, “Hiyori’s going to be pissed.” He muttered.

“Whatever.” Ichigo said, “I’m going home. Give me your address and maybe I’ll drop by. If I feel lik-”

“You might be able to use that mask, but you’ll need training in actually using it.” Shinji interrupted him, “It’s draining to use, and we all had a time limit when we started. Plus, all the fun little Hollow techniques we had to figure out how to use. We can help with all of that.”

Ichigo stared at him, before he let go of Meninas and drew Zangetsu again, stabbing it into the ground. There was a flash, and then Zangetsu was standing there in person. Candice gasped, “Two Ichi’s?!” She blushed slightly.

“Bad.” Ichigo whapped her lightly, which made Bambietta burst out laughing again.

“What the hell?!” Shinji gaped at the sight of the monochrome Ichigo.

“Sup, Chuckles?” Zangetsu grinned over at the blonde.

“Zangetsu can teach me everything I need to know.” Ichigo said, clapping his Zanpakutō on the shoulder.

“What the fuck?!” Shinji backed away, “You let him out? This isn’t possible! We can only gain control of our masks if we defeat our Hollows! This isn’t right!”

“Ha, ya say ya can help the King, but it’s more like ya need the King’s help instead.” Zangetsu wagged his tongue, “How does it feel ta know a fresh baby Vizard is better at bein’ one than ya are?”

“Zangetsu isn’t just my Hollow. He’s also one half of my Zanpakutō.” Ichigo said, “Clearly, that isn’t the case for you.”

“…No.” Shinji clenched his fist, “No, Sakanade has nothing to do with my Hollow. Yours is intelligent.” He glared at Zangetsu, “Ours were just braying beasts, like the Hollows that can’t even keep hold of their own minds. The only thing we could do was beat them down and bury them deep in our souls. Over a hundred years ago.”

“They were.” Zangetsu said.

“What?” Shinji looked at him in confusion.

“Is a baby born knowin’ how ta talk?” Zangetsu asked, his eyes gleaming, “Nah, it just screams and eats and shits. It takes time ta learn ta do more than that. I betcha haven’t even tried talkin’ ta it since ya locked it in a box.” He grinned madly, “Too bad ya locked it away for so long, even if it has evolved, it probably ain’t gonna wanna chat.” And with that, Zangetsu turned back into the blade, and Ichigo quickly had it wrapped up and on his back.

“Oh, and Shinji.” Ichigo smirked, “You were wrong about one thing.” He raised his arm and Blut Vene’s crisscrossing veins lit up, “You said I was a Shinigami-Hollow hybrid, but that’s not right. I’m a Quincy as well.”

“Oooh, that’s some strong Blut.” Bambietta complimented him, earning a quick smile.

“Th-that’s impossible! Hollow and Quincy are polar opposites!” Shinji protested, “How the fuck did you manage that?!”

Ichigo smirked like Zangetsu, “Fuck you, that’s how.” And then he was gone, dragging Meninas and Candice with him. Bambietta quickly followed, leaving a flabbergasted Shinji standing there, alone.

-]|[-

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN HE HAD CONTROL?!” Shinji ducked under the ballistic sandal from Hiyori.

“Exactly what I said!” Shinji dodged a kick from her, “Hell, he had better control than I did!”

“How is that possible?” Love asked him, crossing his arms.

“Yeah, fucking explain, before I go over and kill him!” Hiyori snarled, readying her other sandal.

“As if you could.” Shinji growled at her, “His Reiatsu damn near brought me to my knees when he Hollowfied!” Hiyori ground her teeth as he spent the next few minutes explaining the entirety of their encounter.

“That’s…” Lisa bit a fingertip, “That’s almost completely different. Only the most basic of similarities remain! We haven’t seen our Hollows in a hundred years! His is getting pats on the back!”

“I’m more worried about what this Zangetsu implied.” Kensei growled, “If that…thing is right, we’ve been hamstringing ourselves for over a hundred years.”

Mashiro looked uncharacteristically downtrodden, “And if he’s right, there’s going to be no way to fix it. They’re going to be so mad…”

“No easy way.” Hachigen corrected her.

“I want to know how the FUCK he’s apparently a Quincy as well!” Hiyori slammed her sandal on the dirt so she could put it back on, “That’s fucking impossible!”

“His Shinigami power must be acting as a mediating force.” Rose replied, “A perfect hybrid of all three spiritual races.” He chuckled dryly, “Who would have thought?”

“So, what now?” Love asked.

What now indeed?

-]|[-

“Do we bring the girls in?” Ichigo asked as soon as he walked into the house.

Isshin sighed, “I suppose we should. I’m pretty sure Karin at the very least suspects something.” He crossed his arms, “I’m also pretty sure she knew it wasn’t you in your body while you were off in Soul Society.”

“You might as well.” Bambietta said, “You know what’s coming, and even if you didn’t, this Aizen guy is still going to be a problem. You don’t want them to be defenseless, right?”

“Definitely not.” Ichigo said, before smirking lightly at her, “Lucky they have such pretty protectors, huh?” He knew damn well Bambietta had taken a shine to the dark-haired twin. She blushed lightly and growled at him.

A few minutes later, they were all situated in the living room, with Candice laying her legs on top of his when Karin and Yuzu walked in. Karin almost missed a step when she saw her brother and father in Shinigami getups. One of them she would have expected, but the other? Not a chance in hell. “Ichi-nii? Daddy? What’s with those weird outfits?” Yuzu squinted, “And why do you look kind of fuzzy?”

“Well, our bodies are in our rooms right now.” Ichigo said, and their jaws lowered for a second.

“Wait! What do you mean your bodies are in your rooms?!” Yuzu asked shrilly, “Are you ghosts right now!? Are you okay?!”

“We’re fine, Yuzu-chan!” Isshin vanished and then picked Yuzu up before she could react even slightly, “Do not be worried! And if you are, you may cry into daddy’s chest!”

Karin clicked her teeth, “Gonna come clean about being ghost samurai things then?” She glared at Isshin, “And what the hell, Goat-chin?! I knew about Ichi-nii but why the hell are you one too?!” She tried to kick her father in the shin, only for the man to dodge it for the first time ever. “…Huh?” She looked at him, bewildered.

“That’s what I called this little family meeting for, Karin.” He patted her lightly on the head, “And you shouldn’t kick me when I’m like this. You’ll break your toes.”

“…” Karin stared at him blankly as he put Yuzu down.

Ichigo called her attention, “When two spiritual beings clash, the weaker one always loses if the difference is overwhelming. I learned that the hard way.” He said, rubbing phantom pains from his hands in memory, “You girls might have enough Reiatsu to see ghosts, us, and Hollows, but not enough to attack with.”

“Daddy, Ichi-nii…” Yuzu looked a little overwhelmed, “What’s going on?”

“Before you start…” Meninas said, “Are you sure you want us here?” She asked softly, taking Ichigo’s hand, and giving it a light squeeze.

“Yeah.” Ichigo squeezed back, “You’re a part of the story anyway, even if you’re later entries.” He smiled, and she relaxed, leaning on him.

“Let’s take our seats, girls.” Isshin led his daughters to the other couch. “So… as Karin apparently already knew,” He shot his daughter a fond look, “Ichigo is a Shinigami, and so am I.”

“But…” Yuzu looked flabbergasted, “But you couldn’t even see ghosts! I could see more than you! Were you lying?!”

He shook his head, “Never.” Isshin let out a sigh, “My powers were…sealed, I guess you could say. I couldn’t use them, and I had less Reiryoku available than even you did, Yuzu. I only regained them when the seal broke, less than a month ago.”

“So… Ichi-nii got his powers from you?” Karin asked her father.

“From mom as well.” Ichigo said softly.

“WHAT?!” Both girls blurted, “Mom was in on this too?!” Karin gaped, “But then how…” She bit her lip, “H-how did a Hollow kill her?!”

Isshin’s face dropped, “So, you figured that out too, huh?” He rubbed the bridge of his nose as Yuzu teared up, “Damn it, Karin, you’re too smart for your own good sometimes.”

“I think you should start at the beginning, Goat-chin.” Ichigo said softly.

“Yeah, I suppose so.” Isshin said, before ruffling Yuzu’s hair, “Daddy was born Shiba Isshin. Kurosaki was Masaki’s name.”

Ichigo did a spittake, “I’m related to Ganju?!” he asked, horrified.

Isshin burst out laughing, and the girls did as well. “Yeah, you are! Anyway, I was born in the Soul Society, which is where Souls go to after death. They’re guided there by Shinigami, which is what I became when I grew up as well. Our duties include not only guiding the Souls of humans to the afterlife, but also slaying Hollows.”

“But what are Hollows?” Yuzu was still sniffling like she was going to cry, “And why did one kill mom?!” She elbowed Karin uncharacteristically, “And when were you going to tell me about any of this, Karin?”

Her twin looked a little guilty, “I…don’t really know anything for sure. I just remember seeing Ichigo fighting those things.”

“Hollows…” Candice said somberly, “Are dead humans who failed to find their way to the afterlife.”

The two girls gasped, and Meninas took up the explanation, “If they have a lot of regrets after they die, they fail to move on. And because they can’t interact with the living, they become stuck and slowly start losing themselves. They just can’t cope when they see their loved ones moving on. If a Shinigami can’t help them along, they become corrupted.” She had always wondered what their former liege’s plan was regarding that. Quincy couldn’t help souls like that. Knowing what she knew now, she couldn’t help but wonder if Yhwach even had a plan at all for after the Shinigami were dead.

“You ever seen those chains attached to Souls?” Bambietta asked, and got nods from the two girls, “The shorter the chain, the closer they are to being corrupted. Once those chains fall off entirely, a hole opens in their chests where their hearts were. Those lost hearts then become the masks they wear. They become…”

“Hollow.” Karin said, looking pale, “And then you’re forced to kill them?” She asked Ichigo shakily.

“Purify.” He raised Old Man Zangetsu’s blade, “This is a Zanpakutō, and it purifies the soul of any crimes committed after they became Hollows, before sending them to the afterlife.” He sighed, “Most Hollows are just unfortunate. A Hollow could have been younger than you when they were turned. They could have been innocent. But they become bloodthirsty beasts, because they are desperate to fill the hole representing their empty hearts, and only other Souls nourish them for even a small amount of time.”

“…I’m scared, Daddy.” Yuzu hugged her father, who pulled her in close, “That’s so awful! And sad!”

The three female Quincy pursed their lips, looking away. It was easy to just shoot a Hollow when one was in front of them. But watching the reactions of the small girls… watching the sheer relief on Isshin and Ichigo’s faces when they killed Grand Fisher to free Kurosaki Masaki’s soul… Had they been the ones to kill him… they would have annihilated her as well.

Isshin hugged her back, “It is. And they don’t have any control over themselves, which is the saddest part. Usually, the first ones they kill are the loved ones they transformed over in the first place.” Yuzu and Karin flinched, violently. The blonde began to cry. “And that’s why it’s so important for Souls to move on, and for Shinigami to purify Hollows.” He swallowed, before continuing the story, “I worked my way through the ranks, and eventually became Captain of the Tenth Division. That’s one rank below the head honcho, so are you proud of Daddy?” He asked, a cheesy grin on his face to try to cheer them up.

“Bullshit!” Karin pointed at him, already aware enough to know what he was trying to do, “There’s no way!”

“But it’s trueee!” Isshin whined, “See my nice, white Haori? Only Captains get these!” he showed off the Tenth Division emblem on it.

“Hmph, I refuse!” Karin crossed her arms, “There’s no way they’d put you in charge, Goat-chin!”

“Oh, mother!” Annnnd… Isshin was in front of Masaki’s poster again, “Our daughters are so mean! Is it puberty?!”

“DAMN IT GOAT-CHIN, HURRY UP AND CONTINUE!” Karin threw a pillow at him, and that got Yuzu to giggle, albeit wetly. Mission accomplished!

He sat back down, “Twenty years ago, a member of my division turned up dead. I allowed the lower ranks to investigate, but then two more died. I decided to go alone to investigate myself. I was attacked by a…monstrously powerful Hollow. And also, the strangest one I ever met, then or now. It was almost completely black, except for something that was blocking up its hole, its white hair, and the white faceplate of its mask. It was very clearly artificial in some way. Like someone had experimented on it. And it fought almost like a Shinigami. It was causing havoc during our battle, so I decided to release the first seal on my power, a Zanpakutō’s Shikai.” He took a deep breath, “Almost as soon as I did, someone attacked me from behind. Likely the same Shinigami traitor who had created the Hollow, because it was a Zanpakutō that wounded me.” His daughters and even Ichigo inhaled sharply, “I could no longer fight well, and the Hollow was probably going to kill me.”

“H-How did you escape?” Karin stuttered, looking at her father in worry.

Isshin grinned, letting out a shuddering breath that had all three of his children stiffen in shock, “Masaki showed up.” He let out a somber laugh at their faces, “She just started blasting the Hollow with her arrows. She couldn’t hit it worth a damn while it was charging at her. It was way too fast. So that crazy girl just lets the Hollow bite her, holds it in place, pops off a one-liner, and then blasts the thing’s head off, point-blank!”

“Damn…” Bambietta muttered, “Fucking badass…”

Isshin laughed at their disbelieving looks, “It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen! And then the damn Hollow started to expand like it was going to explode, so I tackled her out of the way.” He shook his head, “That was how we met…”

“And then you fell in love?” Yuzu had stars in her eyes, which vanished when Isshin started to sputter.

“Nope!” He laughed again, “She was barely Ichigo’s age at the time!” Ichigo sputtered and started to cough. “I went back to Soul Society to report in, and she went back to her life.” He closed his eyes, “But despite it not being love at first sight, I couldn’t quite get her out of my head. I hadn’t even really had a chance to thank her for saving my skin. So, one day, I decided to just sneak off and find her..” His smile vanished, “Only to find her terribly sick as a result of the bite she had taken.” Karin and Yuzu flinched. Ichigo had been expecting it and controlled the reaction. “You see… Masaki was human. That much was true. But she was a different race of human. One that had developed the ability to use Reiatsu and slay Hollows themselves.”

“Just like Candice, Meninas, and Bambietta.” Ichigo threw in.

“Really?!” Yuzu gasped, and Karin looked interested as well. Candice swung her legs off of Ichigo and stood. She slapped her heart-shaped buckle, which she was still wearing despite the outfit swap. Her bow popped out and she showed it off. “Wow!”

“Hehehe, my arrows contain five gigawatts of electricity.” She said proudly.

“H-holy crap, that’s a lot!” Karin gaped.

Candice put her bow away and sat back down as Isshin continued the story, “Masaki was sick because for some reason, Quincy and Hollows are anathema to one another. You see… Quincy do not purify Hollows like Shinigami do. They completely annihilate them.” Karin and Yuzu sucked in gasps of air, “And like for like, a Quincy that has their soul eaten by a Hollow is annihilated in turn. Even minor injuries can be debilitating if infected with too much Hollow Reiryoku. And Masaki did not have a minor injury. That Hollow seemed like it was designed to inflict Hollowfication on its enemies.”

“Why the hell would she let it bite her if she knew that?!” Karin snarled.

Isshin chuckled, “Quincy have a defensive ability called Blut Vene. It is perhaps the most powerful of the defensive abilities I know of. Even more so than an Arrancar’s Hierro. At least potentially. Not all Blut is created equal, and your mother’s was almost unparalleled. She allowed it to bite her because she was confident it wouldn’t even be able to break skin.” He sighed, “She was wrong, and she paid for it. In the end, to make a much longer story short, a person who ended up becoming a good friend to us offered me a chance to save her. He was a bit of a scientist familiar with Hollowfication, and had come up with a way to hold it at bay. In conjunction with a vaccine of his creation, I would have to be bound into a unique artificial body which would make me fully human, and then have my soul bound to Masaki’s. My Shinigami powers would likewise be bound in keeping the Hollow presence inside her at bay.” He chuckled, “Our friend was almost trying to talk me out of it. The procedure held nothing but disadvantages for me. But if I had let her die, I would have hated myself forever. It was no decision at all.”

“Your souls were bound?!” The stars in Yuzu’s eyes were back, “That’s so romantic!” She squealed.

All three of the present Quincy couldn’t help but clench their fists. Candice and Meninas might have had Ichigo now… but where had someone like that been in their first lives? It had been easy to just think of Shinigami as the bloodthirsty, evil enemy who had nearly annihilated their race a thousand years ago. Just like all of their lessons and stories. And here was a Shinigami giving up everything for a girl he hadn’t even known, without hesitation. They were forced to wonder just what else they had been lied to about.

“Hol’ up.” Karin said, “If your powers were gone because they were keeping Mom’s soul safe from the Hollow inside of her, why didn’t they come back when…” She choked on the final words.

“Because the Hollow wasn’t in mom anymore.” Ichigo said, “It became my Zanpakutō when I was born.” Yuzu and Karin gasped in shock.

Isshin confirmed it, “That’s right. Masaki’s powers were never supposed to come back until she died. Neither were mine. But days after Ichigo was born, they started to return. We realized it had transferred over to your brother, and that terrified us. But Urahara, our friend, found nothing wrong with Ichigo. My powers were still keeping the Hollow at bay. So, he was able to grow… almost normally. The only abnormality was his strong Reiatsu and therefore his ability to see ghosts.”

“But if Mom got her powers back, why did…” Yuzu couldn’t finish her question.

“Was the Hollow that killed Mom really that strong?” Karin swallowed the lump in her throat.

Isshin sighed, “That’s the worst part of it all. The Hollow that killed her was barely strong enough to not be considered a weakling.” He said, looking down at his feet, “Masaki should easily have been able to kill it.” He clenched his fists, “But someone else had other ideas.” He hissed, before going into the information that Old Man Zangetsu had shared with Ichigo inside his Inner World. By the end of it, both girls had cried their hearts out; in sadness over their mom’s fate; in sheer, bloody relief that Ichigo and their father had freed her soul that very night by killing Grand Fisher; and in nearly apoplectic anger over the Quincy King. It was exhausting for them, and they didn’t even get talking about any training.

It made Candice, Meninas, and Bambietta feel awful. They hadn’t cared a bit about any of the Gemischt when Yhwach had performed his Auswählen. They hadn’t thought about the lives that would be destroyed. The grief people would feel. ‘Were we all really that awful?’ They couldn’t help but think as they watched the two girls sob.

Both girls fell asleep in their father’s arms after the trying day, and he brought them upstairs to their room. “Thanks Dad. For everything.” Ichigo said when Isshin came back, “I’m guessing your powers came back the day I fought Byakuya?”

Isshin nodded as he put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “That does line up, from what Kisuke told me. It was when your Hollow finally burst through the shackle my power had placed on him.” He tilted his head, “So he’s your Zanpakutō, then?”

“Yeah.” Ichigo was going to say more, but a nudge from Old Man Zangetsu kept him from continuing. They would save that for later.

“When is our next guest showing up?” Isshin asked, and Ichigo relayed the question to his Zanpakutō spirits.

“Probably by morning.” He replied.

Isshin rubbed his beard in a bit of irritation, “Hmm… we might need a bigger house by the time this is over.” He smirked at his son, “Especially if you plan on only calling girls to your side.” He wagged his eyebrows.

“Moments over.” Ichigo shot up, “Come take your lumps, Goat-chin!”

Candice laughed as Ichigo chased his father, “Something tells me he’s already planning the weddings.” That sent Meninas off into a daydream that had her lightly drooling.

“Ha! You better not be counting me in that!” Bambietta blustered.

“Say that when you’re not blushing!” Candice grinned at her old friend, who blushed even harder and growled at her.

Minutes later, they were back in Ichigo’s room. Or rather, he, Candice, and Meninas were. Bambietta had gone off to sleep in the girls’ room, on Ichigo’s old bed. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, and Ichigo could definitely see where Isshin was coming from in saying that they might need a bigger home. Candice wasted no time in kissing him as Meninas began to strip down to her new lingerie. She laid down on the bed and pulled Ichigo down, snuggling into him as she began kissing him too. Candice quickly stripped down completely naked, and took his other side. The three traded kisses for a few more minutes, but Ichigo wasn’t really in the mood for sex. Not tonight.

“Yeah, it was a bit of a night, wasn’t it?” Candice let out a sigh. Meninas was too busy tracing kisses along his jawline. She bit her lip, “We…weren’t affected at all.” Ichigo raised an eyebrow, “By your Hollow Reiatsu.” She clarified, “It…should have burned even being close to you.”

He winced, “Shit, it’s that bad?! I’m sorry! I didn’t thin-”

She put a finger over his lips to shush him, “It’s okay.” She smirked, “Just engage that noodle before doing stupid stuff, mister. I would have been pissed if you burned any of my hair.”

“Roger.” He said, smiling at her. He leaned forward and claimed her lips again.

She smiled through the kiss, and spent the next few minutes making out with him. “Honestly, I’m happy. I hope it’s not just yours. Not having to worry about Hollow Reiryoku being debilitating anymore would be amazing.”

“We’ll have to test it.” Meninas said, before turning Ichigo to face her and claiming his lips for herself again.

Candice let out a happy sigh as she snuggled into his side. His hand rose into her hair, and she felt so happy that she felt comfortable enough to let him run his fingers through it. She was asleep from his lovely scalp massage before he and Meninas even finished kissing.

-]|[-

They’d had a much more fun morning than night, with Candice waking him up like a succubus with her mouth. Strangely, that had been a first for him, and her tongue piercing drove him absolutely wild. After sucking his soul out of him (or at least that’s what it felt like!), she had winked and immediately left the room to go shower and do her hair, leaving Ichigo very much eager for more with zero outlet. At least until Meninas had finally woken up an hour later when he’d almost been falling asleep again, and had promptly woken him up again with her kisses and straddling.

He was really thankful for the Kidō doohickey that Kisuke had given him yesterday, grinning like that cat that had gotten the canary, the cream, and the mouse. Ichigo wasn’t certain if the crater his elbow had left in the man’s face would ever go away, but that was the price the blonde paid for being an idiot. Thankfully, it worked well, and his sisters seemed none the wiser about his morning…activities.

Bambietta had elbowed him hard when he saw her in the hall, blushing bright red, and blustering that he should keep his Reiatsu to himself.

But the family and guests had settled for breakfast without further issue, and then it happened. “Here we go.” Candice said in a hushed tone, her hand hovering near her belt buckle just in case. Ichigo’s shadow pulsed before racing up the wall. It creeped his sisters right out. He could see it in their faces. Isshin had a finger pointed, ready and waiting with a quick Hadō #4: Byakurai just in case the one that the three former Sternritters feared popped out.

And then a blonde girl stumbled out, barely managing to catch herself without grabbing something. Unlike her very buxom friends, she was much more petite. She had some nice hips, but was pretty skinny and her breasts would have charitably been called B-cups. Very charitably. She was also barely taller than Yuzu and Karin. She shook her head, looking almost concussed, before her gaze brightened up and she looked around.

“Hey Lili.” Candice waved cheerfully.

Liltotto Lamperd blinked slowly, before looking around at every face at the table. She only winced slightly when she saw Bambietta’s glare. “Okay, I’ll bite.”

“Please don’t.” Meninas said immediately.

“What’s the punchline?” She asked dryly, before taking the chair Yuzu offered her and starting to fill her plate as if nothing was wrong. “Oooh, this is really good.” She said as she took a bite of her breakfast.

“Thank you!” Yuzu chirped, smiling at her. “I’m Yuzu, and this is Karin.” Karin gave the new blonde a wave,

“Uhh, long story short, we’re all popping out of Ichigo’s shadow for some reason, none of us can feel our Schrifts or use Vollständig, and we’ve pretty much been cut loose by Yhwach.” Candice said with a half shrug.

“We’re staying with Ichigo here.” Meninas told her.

“And we either time traveled or had visions from the future.” If Bambietta had the ability to shoot lasers from her eyes, Liltotto was pretty sure she would be full of holes right now. “Anything smart to say about that?”

“Maybe later.” She glanced at the two young girls to her left for a bare moment, before looking over at Ichigo. “Kurosaki Ichigo.” She said in that monotone drone of hers, “You just can’t figure out how to be normal, can you?”

“It’s a gift.” Ichigo shrugged, which earned him a snort. “That’s my Dad, Isshin, by the way. Feel free to call him Goat-chin like the rest of us.” He smirked at his father’s look of affront.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you all.” Liltotto said, “Thanks for having us over.”

“You don’t have to thank us for that.” Isshin shrugged, “We know you have nothing but the clothes on your back at the moment.”

“Tsk…” She quietly clicked her teeth, knowing he was right.

“Well, let’s finish eating, and then I have to get to school.” Ichigo said.

She raised an eyebrow, “I have to assume you know what’s coming. Do you have time to waste going to school?”

“I wasted almost two years being powerless.” Ichigo replied, “And besides which, we’re holding off on forming actual plans until the rest of you show up.”

She stiffened, “…Dare I ask who else will be arriving?” She glanced at Candice, Meninas, and Bambietta.

“Well, if basic pattern recognition proves itself correct, next will be Giselle.” Meninas said airily, and Liltotto did not miss how Bambietta’s fists clenched. “And after that, there’s one more.”

“The Quincy Crosses currently in my Inner World are dark indigo and red.” Ichigo informed them helpfully.

“Tsk.” Liltotto clicked her teeth again as the other three girls stiffened. “If we’re lucky, it’ll be Bazz B. At least he’s somewhat reasonable.”

“And if we’re unlucky, it’ll be Mask.” Bambietta agreed.

“And if everything absolutely hates us, it’ll be Pepe.” Meninas had an uncharacteristically venomous tone as she said that name.

“At least if he is, he won’t have his Schrift either.” Candice smirked, before cracking her knuckles. “I’m almost hoping it is. We could all do with some…stress relief.”

“And that’s enough of that.” Isshin said firmly with a stern glare, “No more discussions like that at the table.”

“Yes sir.” The four girls stated, though Candice couldn’t help but feel like Isshin would help them plan Pepe’s suicide (shot himself thirty-six times in the back. I couldn’t believe it!) if he knew how disgusting the man was.

“Well, I’m done anyway. I’m going to go get ready.” Ichigo stood and ruffled his sisters’ hair.

“I’ll help.” Candice grinned sleazily as she hurried after him. Meninas did as well, causing Liltotto to raise an eyebrow.

“Ten minutes or else I will resume breaking your door down in the morning!” Isshin called at their backs.

Karin flushed as she suddenly understood, “Wait, is that what I felt on his Reiatsu?” She muttered, thankfully unheard by Yuzu. “Ichi-nii, you pervert!”

“Seriously? Already?” Liltotto simply let out a groan as she stood. “Thank you for the food.” She bowed to Yuzu, before she grabbed Bambietta’s wrist. “We need to talk.” She said as she started to pull the busty, dark-haired girl away.

“Yes, we do.” The two exited the house and vanished with Hirenkyaku.

-]|[-

Liltotto (complete with a red handprint on her face, courtesy of Bambietta) settled atop a building with the rest of the girls. “Okay, so what do we already know about this nonsense?” She asked dryly, “Please tell me you haven’t given the ones who were supposed to be our enemies everything already.”

Candice shrugged, “They’re no longer our enemies. You know that damn well, Lili. Not after he fucking killed us with his Auswählen.” She crossed her arms, “We have a second chance, and we landed in the perfect place to ensure we win this time around.”

“Yes, about that.” Liltotto said blandly, “I see you wasted no time riding his dick.”

Candice’s eyebrow twitched, “First of all, fuck you. Second of all, you better not be about to give me shit about Giselle’s bullshit rumors.”

“No, that’s a waste of time.” She closed her eyes in response, before opening one of them, “Is he at least a good lay?”

“Ehehehe, he had some learning to do, obviously, but if there’s anything he does really well, it’s learn.” Candice smirked happily.

“Hmm.” She replied noncommittally, “So, have you bitches spent all your time between his legs, or have you bothered trying to figure out why our powers are seemingly gone?” She rubbed her stomach, “I haven’t felt this full in years. It feels so fucking uncomfortable. I hate it.”

“No idea.” Bambietta shot out, “Though I have to assume it’s because His Majesty is no longer our King.” She continued, “And leave me out of it. I haven’t fucked him.”

“Yet.” Three voices said as one, and the explosive girl’s eyebrow twitched.

“You’re probably right.” The blonde interrupted the pending explosion, “Though we’ve traded one King and chain for another.”

“Huh?” Candice blinked, looking at her in confusion. A look that was mirrored on Meninas and Bambietta’s faces.

Liltotto rolled her eyes, “Why am I friends with you dumbasses?” She asked rhetorically, “It’s the one thing that makes sense.” She said before the girls could protest, “We’re being summoned to his side for no discernable reason, after feeling like our souls were being sucked out hours to days earlier. We saw visions of the future where we were betrayed in various ways, and now we’ve been abandoned by Yhwach and pulled away from Silbern. Ichigo has Quincy Crosses in our colors in his Inner World that presumably weren’t in there before. You three aren’t seriously dumb enough to not understand the implications, right?” They stared at her flabbergasted. She palmed her face, “Fucking dumbasses.”

“Well,” Meninas licked her lips, “At the very least, we don’t have to worry about him ever betraying us.” She relaxed as the words left her mouth, “Even if he can somehow learn to use Auswählen, he’d rather die than do so. Don’t forget what we learned about him in the Daten.”

“Right.” Candice’s shoulders relaxed, “He gave up his powers to stop Aizen the first time. Meni is right. He would never.” She grinned cheekily and hugged her best friend, “Especially not to us.” She nuzzled her cheek against the magenta-haired girls’.

Liltotto smirked, “Who knew you slutting it up would be useful for once!”

“I will fucking cuntpunt you, Lili.” Candice growled. She shook her head, “I’m trying to be a better person here, so can you stop being a fucking bitch for once?” Liltotto blinked in surprise, opening her mouth slightly, before shutting it. “Anyway!” Candice continued and moved the conversation on, grinning, “Meni and I already found out about a huge benefit.”

“Oh?” Liltotto asked, raising her eyebrow again.

“So, you know those Hollow powers of his?” Meninas asked, and Liltotto shivered slightly, “He used them last night while we were hugging him.”

Liltotto’s eyes bulged, and her jaw actually dropped, “How the fuck are you even alive, much less awake?!”

Candice again looked like the cat that had caught the canary, “Forget standing it. There was no burning. No pain. The only reason it was even uncomfortable was because of how much power he was pumping out!”

“What the fuck?!” Liltotto exclaimed, before a grin crossed her face, “Are you telling me our new King is protecting us from Hollow Reiatsu?! That we don’t have to worry about getting nicked by one of the cunts and ending up with a huge scar if we’re lucky?!”

“Thought you’d like that.” Candice grinned eagerly, “It might be only his though. We haven’t exactly tested it with a real Hollow, obviously.”

“Hollow Reiatsu is Hollow Reiatsu.” Bambietta threw her two yen in, “While we can’t know for certain until it actually happens, I think it’s reasonable to assume we may actually be safe.”

“This is insane.” Liltotto muttered, “Who knows what other benefits our new King is granting us?”

Meninas smiled slightly, “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

-]|[-

School had thankfully been normal, though he still had to deal with Shinji showing up. Apparently, despite the show from last night, he wasn’t quite willing to just give up. If anything, the Vizards apparently wanted him to join them even more now. He’d waved him off and walked home, and settled in for his new favorite pastime: making out with his two girlfriends.

So, Ichigo was quite upset when an avalanche of Reiatsu hit them, causing Candice to roll off of him with a shocked squeak. The thudding of feet behind the door heralded Bambietta and Liltotto bursting in, “What the hell is that?” The dark-haired girl asked. They might have studied the Shinigami and had an interest in Ichigo, but the Wandenreich hadn’t kept him under twenty-four-seven surveillance, especially in the human world. They didn’t know about every event that happened.

Candice and Meninas were grumbling as they hurriedly began to dress, watching as Ichigo shot out of his body and out of the window, “We’ll catch up!” The green-haired girl yelled, unsure if Ichigo even heard her from how fast he was moving.

Ichigo sped towards the heavy Reiatsu signatures, gritting his teeth as he felt hundreds of people expiring from the writhing masses of souls being sucked out of them. Tatsuki was there, and it felt like she was barely alive. Chad and Orihime had moved to intercept, and he knew Chad didn’t stand a chance against the monsters he was feeling. Ichigo had been moving with Shunpo, but added Hirenkyaku to the mix for an extra burst of speed. He was just in time to take a punch for Chad with his Zanpakutō crossed in front of him. His back crashed into Chad’s chest, forcing the huge man back with a harsh exhale.

Ichigo glared as he lowered his Zanpakutō, “Who the hell are you dead fucks?”

“Huhhhh?!” The big one asked in irritation. He was nearly four meters tall, with heavily tanned skin, and what looked like ridges along his cranium. A black ponytail flowed from the back of his otherwise bald head, and he had bushy orange eyebrows. The remains of a Hollow Mask covered his jaw. He was wearing a white pair of hakama with a different style of jacket that almost resembled Ichigo’s Bankai jacket. It was all the way open, revealing his chest and his huge Hollow hole. “Ulquiorra, is this the one?”

Ulquiorra was different. He was smaller than Ichigo, with pasty white skin, and green tear-streak-like markings on his face along with emerald eyes. His Hollow Mask had turned into a shattered helmet, with only the left side still intact. And now that he was standing near them, Ichigo realized that almost the entirety of the Reiatsu he felt came from the tiny one. “It appears so. Your tantrums have lured him out, Yammy.” Ulquiorra’s eyes narrowed, ‘But what is this Zanpakutō of his? It does not match the descriptions given to us by Aizen-sama. He was never said to be a dual wielder.’

“Woah, what happened to Zangetsu? Is that your Bankai, Kurosaki-kun?” Orihime asked, having never seen it before.

Ichigo chuckled, “Not quite. You and Chad stay back and make sure Tatsuki is safe.” He glared at this Yammy, “You’re the one who sucked out all of those souls, huh?”

“That’s right.” Yammy grinned, “They may have tasted like shit, but they saved us the trouble of hunting for you! ¡Que suerte!” He reared back to unload an absolutely punishing punch at Ichigo.

“Luck?” Ichigo glared daggers at him, “That’s the wrong word to use, motherfucker.” He held Zangetsu up, sharp side out, and let Yammy’s fist hit it. He was covered in the bastard’s blood as his blade split his arm in twain right up to his elbow as the ground around him cracked.

“WARGH!” Yammy roared as he reared back, clutching his ruined arm, the two attached pieces of which were just flopping uselessly.

Ichigo blurred forward, slamming the hilt of Zangetsu into the man’s stomach and dropping him to his knee. His smaller blade made a noise of audible sharpness as it flew upwards. Yammy managed to avoid having his head cut into two, but Ichigo did cut his nose clean off.

“¡Coño!” Yammy swore as he clutched his face with his good arm and saw the blood oozing from the orifice, “¡Hijo de puta!” He drew his Zanpakutō and slashed out at Ichigo. His rage began to build, and his size began to increase, as did his power. But that didn’t matter one bit to Ichigo, who continued carving him up like a holiday roast. He was like a buzzsaw, finally using his Shikai to its maximum potential via the black bandages. He flung it like a certain Lieutenant’s Shikai and succeeded in slicing Yammy up more and more with his buzzsaw-like blade as well as his tiny knife. And the more Yammy got injured, the more apoplectically furious he got, and the larger and stronger he became.

Ulquiorra watched without lifting a finger. In fact, only half of his attention was on the fight. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Orihime healing Tatsuki, who now looked right as rain and was looking at the fight in shocked, terrified awe. ‘What is that power? Her soul had nearly been sucked out of her body. It’s impossible for a human to recover from that so quickly.’ He refocused on the fight as Ichigo cut off Yammy’s leg. ‘He is much stronger than you believed, Aizen-sama. Never mind how short of a time has passed since he even acquired his Bankai, he claims he’s not even using it at the moment. How is it possible for such a young and new Shinigami to slice through an Espada’s Hierro as if it is nonexistent?’ He narrowed his eyes, ‘Still, this level of power is not really anything special compared to Aizen-sama’s new level.’

“You shouldn’t have come here.” Ichigo glared at Yammy, who was kneeling before him and bleeding as Ichigo’s power rose. The man had been sliced to ribbons, left in only his torn hakama pants. Even his Zanpakutō had been sliced in half. His jacket was gone, revealing a gothic 10 tattooed on the man’s left shoulder. “And you shouldn’t have hurt so many people in my town.” He raised his small Zangetsu even as his four Quincy landed nearby, drawing a momentary glance from Ulquiorra before he dismissed them as trash. “Getsuga Tensho.” He said, before swiping down and unleashing a massive wave of golden Reiatsu at Yammy.

Ulquiorra appeared in a buzz of Sonido and caught the attack. He struggled against it for a moment, before realizing that he had underestimated the power behind it. He raised his second arm up and braced against it. “No.” He said sharply, before the power struggle ended with an explosion.

Ichigo’s eyes narrowed, knowing that hadn’t been enough. He could feel the bigger one’s Reiatsu dimming even more, but the smaller one’s was as strong as ever. “I know that wasn’t enough to kill you.” He called out, “You’re far stronger than that moron.”

The response he got was a light-green Cero. Ichigo growled as he raised his blades, stopping the doom blast cold and redirecting it to the sky with a grunt of effort. He glared back at the smoke, which quickly cleared up.

Ulquiorra was revealed, his jacket completely burned off, “Impressive.” He stated calmly, as if he didn’t have light burns on his person. “It has been some time since someone was able to injure me.”

Ichigo eyed the gothic 3 tattooed on the left side of his chest. His eyes went to the similar tattoo on Yammy. “What’s with the ink?” He asked curiously.

Ulquiorra brushed himself off, “Arrancar created by Aizen-sama are all assigned numbers, starting from ten. The numbers are determined by birth order.” He eyed Ichigo calmly, sure that his Resurrección would be capable of matching even Ichigo’s Bankai if he were to decide to release it. And even if he was wrong, his special surprise surely would defeat him. “The ten strongest however, are ranked by their power. We are the Espada.”

“I see.” Ichigo said, before smirking, “So if I kill you two now, Aizen loses two of his strongest soldiers, huh?”

“Don’t be a fool.” Ulquiorra replied, “Even if you were to release your Bankai, you would be incapable of defeating me. I would simply use my Resurrección in turn, and I guarantee this town would not survive that battle.”

Ichigo tilted his head, “You know, that’s a whole loada’ shit you’re talking for someone covered in burns from one of my half-assed Getsuga Tensho.” And then Ichigo’s Reiatsu spiked so much higher that Ulquiorra immediately drew his Zanpakutō in reflex. “Getsuga…” Ichigo sliced the sky in front of him, leaving that golden gash in the air. “Jūjishō!” He roared as he sliced downwards with his big blade.

Ulquiorra immediately created a new technique by coating his Zanpakutō with a Cero. He swiped at the attack, and his eyes widened as it was almost immediately cut through. “Enclose, Murciélago.” He called out, just before the attack hit him. A massive outpouring of Reiatsu that more than matched Ichigo’s erupted into the sky. A green beam pierced the clouds as Tatsuki sank to her knees, and had to be caught by Orihime and Chad, neither of whom were doing too hot either.

Candice, Meninas, Bambietta, and Liltotto sprang into action, surrounding the group and spiking their own powerful Reiatsu (which was more powerful than they remembered it being!) to shield them.

When the outpouring of Reiatsu cleared, Ichigo waited for the smoke to clear. He raised his eyebrow at the sight that awaited him. Ulquiorra’s helmet had taken a different shape, now sporting elongated ‘brows’ and covering his whole head rather than just one side. His overall appearance hadn’t changed much, though his wounds disappeared, and his clothes had apparently changed completely. His hair was slightly longer and a bit wilder, but the biggest change was the giant, pitch-black bat wings on his back.

He looked back at Yammy, and for the first time, an actual expression crossed his face. “Unbelievable.” He turned back towards Ichigo, “To think you could not only force me this far without using your Bankai, but also kill Yammy while I was trying to prevent it. This…irks me.” His Reiatsu had protected him, and so Ichigo’s attack had slightly flowed around him. Two new canyons stretched out behind him, and Yammy was lying on the ground in four pieces. “Aizen-sama was wrong about you, Kurosaki Ichigo. You are far more dangerous than he expected.”

“That’s some Reiatsu you’re pumping out.” Ichigo said, realizing that it eclipsed even his own. “Guess I’ll have to use Bankai.”

‘No can do, King!’ Zangetsu’s voice sounded in his head, and Ichigo almost stumbled.

‘What? What do you mean, “no can do?!”’ He asked his Zanpakutō in irritation.

‘Your Bankai was nothing more than a false shell of power I granted you.’ Old Man Zangetsu told him, ‘Just as your true power was unleashed, your fake power was lost. You must earn your real Bankai, as you have never truly challenged us. Only me, and even I was not at my full power.’

“Yeah, so tough shit, King. You haven’t earned shit yet.” He could feel the Hollow in his soul grinning.

‘Well…fuck.’ Ichigo glared at Ulquiorra, wondering if only his mask could match the Arrancar.

A flash of memory. “Resurrección: Segunda Etapa.” The crushing abyss of Reiatsu the creature before him pumped out as his true power was unleashed.

Ichigo shook his head and blinked rapidly, again not realizing that his eyes had once again possessed two sets of pupils and irises for a bare moment. His opponent didn’t catch it either.

Ulquiorra tapped the sky and opened a pitch-black hole in the air. “I see you understand. This is not the time for our battle, Kurosaki Ichigo. Too much damage would be done to this land.”

“And what do you care for Karakura, Ulquiorra?” Ichigo asked him, sheathing his blades.

“I do not.” Ulquiorra replied, “But Aizen-sama is interested in it. And so, I will refrain from damaging it without need.” He reached down and grabbed Yammy’s head, neck, and a small bit of shoulder, “It is a strange feeling I possess now. Anticipation.” He said, and a ghost of a smile crossed his lips, “I look forward to when we clash for real.” The portal closed on the Arrancar, allowing Ichigo to relax.

“What a pain.” He scratched the back of his head, “What the hell does he want with Karakura?” He muttered, before turning around. He smiled as he saw his girls defending his friends, “Thanks girls.”

Candice sauntered up to him and planted a kiss on his lips, “You’re welcome, stud.” She shuddered in pleasure as his left hand found her lower back and pulled her close. Orihime gasped in horrified shock at the sight.

Meninas strode forward, “He was quite powerful.” She commented airily, “And you were really hot.” She murmured in his ear before kissing him too. Ichigo embraced her as well as Orihime gaped, red-faced now.

Tatsuki’s jaw was on the floor. “Wh-wh-what the FUCK?!” She screamed.

Bambietta winced, “Jeez, that’s a pair of lungs you have on you.” She twisted her finger around and around in her ear.

Ichigo decided to try to lighten up the atmosphere with a joke, “Why do I have the feeling you’re more shocked about my girlfriends than the anime battle you just watched?”

“G-Girl-” Tatsuki swayed, before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed into Orihime’s arms.

“Was it something he said?” Liltotto asked curiously, poking her with her toe.

-]|[-

“I have returned.” Ulquiorra said as he stepped into view inside Aizen’s throne room.

“Curious.” Aizen said, looking down at your subordinate, “I do not see Yammy.”

“My apologies, Aizen-sama.” Ulquiorra then surprised them by turning back and walking back into the darkness.

Murmurs erupted in the room as what remains of Yammy that Ulquiorra had grabbed flew into view. “What the fuck?!” Someone yelled out as Ulquiorra stepped back into the light.

“I’m afraid your calculations on this Kurosaki Ichigo were very inaccurate, Aizen-sama.” Ulquiorra replied to the murmuring of the room.

Yet despite the death of one of his Espada, Aizen seemed almost happy. “Well, this is surely unexpected. It seems surprises are in good supply these days. Show us. Show us all of it.”

“Yes, sir.” Ulquiorra said, before calmly and without so much as a grimace of pain, tore out his left eyeball. “Please take a look.” He crushed the organ, and instead of spewing blood everywhere like a normal eye, it turned into a dust-like substance which quickly spread through the throne room.

The Arrancar, Gin, Tōsen, and Aizen all breathed it in, closing their eyes. And then Aizen’s eyes snapped open, and for the first time, he frowned, “How…intriguing.” He said softly. ‘How is that possible? It appears to be the same as when I touched the Hōgyoku, leading to my great increase in power. But he couldn’t possibly have gotten his hands on it. How has he done this?’

“How is this possible?” Tōsen blurted out Aizen’s inner thoughts, “The boy was incapable of conclusively beating Kenpachi a mere few weeks ago. He also failed to kill Kuchiki, who was able to leave the site of their battle under his own power and interfere in his sister’s execution later.”

“Moreover…” Grin still firmly on his face, Gin sounded amused, “That ain’t even the same Zanpakutō I saw at the gate. It is similar, for sure, but he never had a second blade, and the colors were wrong.”

“You’re soft!” A man with icy-blue hair snarled, “He forced you to use your Resurrección and you let him live?”

“You heard my reasoning, Grimmjow.” Ulquiorra stated without emotion, “The fight between us would have destroyed much of Karakura, which would have ruined Aizen-sama’s plans.”

“And instead, you’ve left an enemy at our backs.” Grimmjow shot back, “When you have permission to kill, you kill, coward.”

“Don’t be a fool.” A dark-skinned woman with silver hair had her arms crossed beneath her bust. Her jacket was so short it completely exposed her underboob. “Ulquiorra had the right of it. Had Karakura been decimated, it would set Aizen-sama back centuries until a new Jūreichi formed.”

“What did you say, Halibel?!” Grimmjow ground his teeth as he stared at the woman.

She ignored him, “Moreover, the Bankai is said to increase a Shinigami’s power by five to ten times. Had that fight escalated to that point, the very real possibility exists that Ulquiorra would have failed to emerge victorious.”

“No, that isn’t quite right.” Aizen finally spoke again. He had his cheek on his fist and looked amused, “You were forced to unleash your true power, and yet you seemed unconcerned with the possibility of him using his Bankai.”

“I was.” Ulquiorra said tonelessly, “The power of his Bankai would not have been enough to overcome me.”

“How confident of you, Ulquiorra.” Aizen smiled indulgently, “But I’ve felt the power of his Bankai myself. It was irrelevant against me, but it was not an insignificant jump. Based on the relative power multiplier compared to his unexpected level of potency in this new Shikai of his, he would have eclipsed the power of your Resurrección.” He smiled, “It may even have matched the Reiatsu of our dear Primera in potency.” The old man amongst the Arrancar growled, clenching his armrests in fury.

Again, Ulquiorra felt irritation towards Ichigo, though it was only indirectly his fault. “He would have.”

Aizen raised his head off his fist, “And yet you say it would not have mattered. That he would not have been able to overcome you.” He smiled, “Have you been hiding an interesting surprise of your own, Ulquiorra?”

“I have not.” Ulquiorra denied. “It merely was something I’ve never felt the need to use before.”

“Show us.” Aizen commanded.

“We would need to move outside.” Ulquiorra sighed, “We are forbidden from releasing our Zanpakutō inside Las Noches.”

“Yes.” Aizen said, before clicking a few buttons on his throne. The ceiling above opened up, revealing the black, endless night of Hueco Mundo. The platform they all stood on rose, moving up swiftly in order for them to stand on the roof of their palace. He stood from his throne, “Go on, Ulquiorra. Give us a show.”

“Yes, Aizen-sama.” He stared up at the moon in the sky, before closing his eyes. “Enclose.” His eyes snapped open, “Murciélago.” A torrent of green Reiatsu shot into the sky, making the weaker Arrancar and even the weaker Espada feel as if gravity was crushing them down.

“So what?” Baraggan, the former God-King of Hueco Mundo and current Primera Espada asked arrogantly, “This level of Reiatsu cannot match my own.”

“Fool.” Ulquiorra said calmly, “You always refuse to look further than your own nose.” His power began to rise once more. Higher and higher it went, until even Aizen was looking surprised. And then his clothes began to disintegrate, shattering off of him like glass as a heavy, unnatural Reiatsu pressed upon them. At that point, even an Espada as strong as Nnoitra, the current Cuatro, started to sink to his knees. “Resurrección, Segunda Etapa.” Ulquiorra called out, before his entire body appeared to explode. The mere release of his power cracked the roof of Las Noches.

The Reiatsu Ulquiorra was pumping out was so dense it acted like a liquid. The green Reiatsu literally rained down on the assembled Arrancar. It both drenched everything and didn’t. They weren’t really wet, despite the feel of it. All of them were covered in it, except for Aizen. His new power shielded him from the ‘rain.’

When the smoke settled and the light show vanished, Ulquiorra was revealed. He looked much more animalistic than he had before, now covered in black fur everywhere but his chest and upper arms. A whip-like tail moved languidly behind him, and his mask had vanished completely. He looked like a humanoid bat wearing no clothes, which completely exposed his Hollow Hole, which seemed to almost be weeping black blood. His eyes had turned yellow, and the sclera had become green. Finally, his mask had vanished completely, leaving him with two white bat ears coming off the top of his head like horns.

“What is this, you bastard?!” Baraggan snarled, taking a stomp forward.

“His Reiatsu is so thick and dense, it hardly feels like Reiatsu.” Halibel stared at him in interest. Her girls were shivering beside her, perspiring heavily. The air seemed almost thick and hard to breathe.

Grimmjow and Nnoitra were grinding their teeth together, furious that they were barely able to keep their knees from shaking.

Aizen looked positively elated, “Well now, this is interesting. It is almost as if you have achieved Bankai yourself.” Inwardly, he was almost put out. Had it not been for the power up the Hōgyoku had granted him, Ulquiorra might actually have been a fun opponent. His current Tercera Espada handily deserved the position of the Primera, and it wasn’t even close. At his current level of power, Baraggan’s Respira would be incapable of even touching the bat.

“I suppose you could call it the equivalent.” Ulquiorra agreed.

“And how did you achieve this, Ulquiorra?” Aizen said, before walking over, “You possess enough power now to even stand beside me.” He held his hand out, and while he did not touch the Espada, the fact that he didn’t unravel spoke volumes. Aizen had quickly learned how to reign in his power, as it would hardly do to dispose of his forces by mistake, but now he was not bothering to restrain it. He was nowhere near his full power, but neither was he holding it back.

“I do not know.” Ulquiorra stared at the moon, “Perhaps I have always possessed the ability. I just always knew I could go further than was believed. I merely know it as the form of absolute despair.” The weaker Arrancar who hadn’t been able to even stay on their feet readily believed it.

“Disappointing, but understandable.” Aizen walked away, “But if that is the case, perhaps this depth of power is merely something your comrades have yet to awaken for themselves.” He took his seat on his throne, “You may seal yourself once more.”

The platform descended as the ceiling closed, and Aizen smiled at the thought of what was coming, “Ulquiorra has given us quite a gift.” He said, eyeing each of them, “I challenge you, my dear Espada, to conquer the same hurdle he has.” He brought the Hōgyoku out and Baraggan began to gnash his teeth, “I’m sure this will come as little surprise, but I would like for you to call out your new ranks.”

Ulquiorra was unsurprised to find a Gothic 1 tattooed on his chest, where a 3 had once sat. “Primera.”

Baraggan’s voice sounded like two cinderblocks grinding together, and his teeth were in serious danger of cracking all on their own, “Segunda.” Like taking blood from a stone.

“Tercera.” Halibel revealed the 3 on her breast, before zipping up. Her Fracción were still too shaken to even protest their mistress’s demotion.

Nnoitra growled, before exposing the 4 on his tongue. Grimmjow had a 5 on his back. The Espada continued to call numbers out, ending with an ecstatic Cirucci Thunderwitch rejoining the Espada once more, this time as the tenth.

-]|[-

“So let me get this straight.” Tatsuki was pacing back and forth like a caged tiger. “Before last summer, you became a Shinigami.”

“Mhm.” Ichigo nodded indulgently.

“Those ghost stories you used to tell me when we were kids were actually real. Ghosts really do exist and they’re everywhere. And because they exist, sometimes they turn into monsters.” She didn’t really acknowledge his acknowledgement.

“That’s right, Tatsuki-chan!” Orihime was trying to keep her spirits up after the revelation that her crush had not one, but two girlfriends. Tatsuki was so frazzled that she didn’t even notice how strained her smile was.

“One of these fucks attacked Orihime and me before the summer, and she awoke powers too!” Tatsuki continued, “You guys then invaded the afterlife to save a girl I couldn’t even remember until that huge jackass started sucking out all of our souls!”

“The soul grows stronger when in mortal peril.” Meninas helpfully informed her.

She was ignored, “AFTER you guys managed to save Rukia, a megalomaniac revealed that she had THE McGuffin inside of her and he orchestrated the entire fucking thing just to steal it from her! And when you tried to stop him, he almost cut you in half?!”

“An accurate retelling.” Chad sounded amused.

“And to top everything off, before you can even relax from the ordeal back home, your soul gets attacked by a parasitic asshole trying to steal your power, just like he did six years ago to your mom which led to her getting killed by a Hollow! That pisses you off, so you pull an Uno Reverse on him, and then you start having girls fucking fall out of the sky, and you don’t even think twice before starting to date them?!”

“Oh no, he definitely thought twice. We had to wear him down.” Candice smirked from her seat on one of the rocks in Urahara’s basement.

“WHEN THE FUCK DID LIFE STOP MAKING SENSE?!” Ichigo wasn’t quite sure where Tatsuki had gotten that table from, but he would grade the flip that she gave it a ten out of ten. It even landed back on its legs! She looked just slightly mad as she pointed at him imperiously. “Teach me!”

Ichigo blinked, “Whuh?”

“What’s that look for, jackass?!” Tatsuki snarled, “I… I felt helpless! I never want to feel like that again! So fucking teach me!”

“Tatsuki.” Ichigo said flatly, “I regret to inform you, but spiritual powers don’t exactly grow on trees. You’re not a Shinigami and you’re certainly not a Hollow. What the hell do you want me to teach you?”

“Well, what about Chad and Orihime, huh? Or these chicks?” Tatsuki snarled, “What the hell are their powers?”

“An interesting question.” Urahara stated as he walked by. “And to be perfectly frank, we don’t know. Their powers do not match those of any others.” He snapped his paper fan shut, “Catnipp-san, McAllon-san, Basterbine-san, and Lamperd-san are Quincy.” He smiled at her, “Which you must be born as. Not to mention the fact that it risks you being linked to the King they escaped from.” Tatsuki flinched at his words, “So unless you awaken your own powers, I’m afraid there isn’t really anything we can teach you. And if you were going to awaken them by now, it would have been at the same time that you and Inoue-san were attacked before summer.”

“But…” Tatsuki started to protest, but Ichigo spoke again.

“Tatsuki.” He sighed heavily, “I’m a freak.” He said softly, “I’m literally every spiritual race combined. That is why I got so strong so quickly.” He looked at her, “I know you don’t want to hear this, but even if you did unlock some powers right now, you still wouldn’t be able to fight with us. Even the weaker of the two would have completely crushed Chad, who has had his powers for far longer.”

Chad flinched, “Ichigo…I…”

“It’s not your fault, Chad.” He looked over at his best friend, “But it doesn’t change things. If I hadn’t gotten in front of you…” He trailed off ominously.

Liltotto had no issues saying what needed to be said, “Based on your Reiatsu and his, if you had tried to fight the big guy with that arm of yours, he would have ripped it off without even trying.” She said blandly.

Chad was clenching his fists so hard they were shaking.

“You need some serious training if you don’t want to sit this fight out.” Ichigo told his friend, who clenched his jaw and gave him a look. Ichigo looked back at Tatsuki, “Maybe when this is over, we’ll be able to figure something out. Or maybe you’ll figure something out on your own. But until you do?” He sighed, “Your best bet is finding out if Urahara has anything to mask your Reiatsu, so you don’t get targeted.”

“This is BULLSHIT!” Tatsuki snarled and turned around.

“That’s reality, girl.” Bambietta said without a care. It’s not like Tatsuki was her friend. Tatsuki whirled around and glared at her. “You still haven’t figured out the way the world works. Even after seeing what Ichigo could do. It takes years to become strong unless you’re him.” She jerked her thumb at Ichigo. “Candi, Meni, Lili, and I have been training since we were still in our nappies. That green guy-” Especially without their Schrifts and Vollständig. With it, they at least stood a chance. “Would have killed us. Full stop. This isn’t a game. You might be strong for a regular human, but you are a regular human. The quicker you get with the picture, the better off you’ll be.”

“Are you really going to let her talk to me like that?!” Tatsuki whirled around to Ichigo, “I thought we were friends, Ichigo!”

“We are.” He sighed in irritation, “And that’s why you need to hear it.” He glanced at Bambietta, “Though she could have been less of a bitch about it.”

“Oh please, you think that was me being a bitch?” Bambietta snorted, “You might want to grow some thicker skin if that’s the case.” She shrugged at Tatsuki, “Take it or leave it. If you want comfort, that’s Meni’s job. Go rest your head on her tits.”

“Right.” Tatsuki snarked, before turning around and stomping away. Orihime hurried after her to help her up the ladder.

“And now that that’s settled.” Urahara grinned as he opened up his fan, “What did you learn about our enemies?” He looked at Ichigo.

“They’re strong.” He said flatly, “So strong, in fact, that just Ulquiorra would have been able to defeat several of the Captains. And he was only the third strongest. His… what did he call it? Did any of you catch it?”

“Resurrección.” Meninas replied helpfully.

“Right, that.” Ichigo frowned, “Why is it in Spanish…?” He mumbled to himself, getting some snickers. “He easily put out more Reiatsu than Kenpachi. By a lot.” He rubbed his chin, “Also, every time I cut that Yammy guy, it felt strange. Like I was cutting through tar or something.”

“That was likely his Hierro.” Candice chimed in, “Arrancar have iron-like skin to make them tougher. You just couldn’t feel it because you’re so strong.”

“Oh, thanks for confirming that for us, Catnipp-san! I suppose you learned about that in this aborted future you saw visions for.” Urahara said cheerfully, though the gleam in his eyes was kind of creeping Candice out. “How strong would you say that Hierro is?”

“It varies. Some have stronger Hierro than others, and not necessarily based on their strength. An Arrancar can specialize in it.” Meninas said, before standing. “Draw your Zanpakutō and try to cut me.” She told him in that soft tone of hers as her arm started to glow blue from Blut.

“Hmm. Awaken, Benihime.” He said, allowing his sword to transform as he slid it from its sheath. He then vanished and in less than a blink, he swiped his blade across Meninas’s arm. He did zero damage at all. “Hmm.” He mused to himself, tapping his shoulder with the back of his Zanpakutō.

“That was about the average for someone not in the Espada.” Meninas said, allowing her Blut to vanish.

“Not in the Espada?” Urahara asked sharply. Off to the side, the silent Chad clenched his fists again. He wouldn’t be able to even burst through a weaker Arrancar’s Hierro if that was the case!

“That’s right.” She replied, “That Yammy guy’s Hierro was probably five times tougher than that, and his was pretty weak.” She was spitballing a bit as she had never actually faced Yammy, but they had collected a good amount of data in their Daten. After all, they trained to overpower their enemies, and their defensive abilities would hardly have been useful if they had been weaker than the enemies the Shinigami had already defeated. Of her group of friends, she had the strongest Blut, and it was good enough to put Nnoitra’s Hierro to shame.

“Excellent.” Urahara sheathed his Zanpakutō, “That’s an excellent bit of data for us, McAllon-san. Thank you. I will have to send updated projections to the Seireitei. By their defense alone, these Arrancar far overcome our predictions.”

“You’re welcome.” She took her seat next to Candice.

“I’ll leave you to it.” He said, before looking at Ichigo, “Unless, of course, you feel like having that talk now.”

“I told you, Geta-Boshi, not until we’re all here.” Ichigo sounded irritated. Every damn time they came in, Urahara was trying to get the sneak peek.

“Very well…” Urahara sighed in more than a little bit of antsy irritation, “How long until the next one pops up?”

“Shouldn’t be long now.” Ichigo said, before glancing at Bambietta. She was stone-faced. “That’s why we’re here.”

“Excellent. Have a good day then, Kurosaki-san.” Urahara vanished.

“Good. He’s gone.” A new voice sprang up, and Bambi and Candice leapt away from it in shock. Candice ended up in Meninas’s arms, which just made Ichigo start to cackle.

“Holy shit, a fucking ninja cat!” Bambietta cursed, “Don’t do that.”

“H-Hey Yoruichi.” He said to the cat in between chuckles. “How have you been?”

“That’s all you have to say, boya?” Yoruichi sounded mad, “After you betrayed me like this?!”

“Ehh?” Ichigo blinked owlishly, “The hell are you on about?”

“Oh, it’s nothing…” Yoruichi glared at him, “Just a little bit of fun you’ve been having.” She huffed, her tail flicking, “I show myself naked and you freak out and act like a cherry boy and start demanding I put clothes on.” Ichigo rolled his eyes, “And then they get naked in front of you, and you ensure that you’re no longer a cherry boy. I thought what we had was special!”

“You were just teasing and having a laugh at my expense.” He rolled his eyes again. He stopped, and smiled, before glancing at Candice and Meninas, “Though if you care to try your luck again, maybe you’ll have better luck.”

“Ohohoho!” The queen bitch laugh did not belong on that manly voice. “Challenge accepted.” POOF. A cloud of smoke erupted from the cat, before she was revealed standing there, completely nude. Chad choked and looked away.

Candice whistled, “Holy shit, look at that ass! You go girl!” She held up her hand for a high five.

Yoruichi grinned, “Could bounce a yen off yours too.” She grinned and high-fived Candice, while staring at Ichigo’s roving eyes, “Finally decided to be honest with yourself, huh?” Her grin widened. “What do you think, Ichi-kun? Care for a ride?”

“Ask my girls.” Ichigo replied immediately.

“Ha!” Yoruichi laughed, “Good answer!” She glitched, and then was clothed again, “So, what’s the deal with the huge power up?” She sat down on a fallen log. “You’re stronger now than when you were in your Bankai and it’s not even close.”

“Like I told Urahara, you’ll have to wait. There’s a load of stuff to go over and I’m not going through it all multiple times.” Ichigo said, before smirking, “You know, this is actually perfect. We can kill a bunch of birds with one stone. I need to train with my new abilities, the girls need to learn how to fight without their special abilities, Chad just needs to get his ass kicked until he can kick back, and we have a couple hours to kill before the next Quincy arrives.”

“Heh, I knew I liked you.” Bambietta was immediately ready to go, yanking out her sword, a bloodthirsty grin on her face.

“I suppose Basterbine-chan will be going first then?” Yoruichi asked.

“No.” He stabbed both Zangetsu into the ground, before standing. “All of you come at me at once.”

“I didn’t remember my precious Berry-kun being so arrogant!” Yoruichi mock-gasped, “You want to face all of us without even your Zanpakutō?”

“Yeah.” Ichigo said, before raising his hand.

Candice, Meninas, and Bambietta all froze, “Ah, fuck.” Candice whimpered, drawing a curious glance from Yoruichi.

“So why don’t we make this a little bit more fun?” He swiped his hand down and donned his demonic Hollow Mask. The torrent of Reiatsu was nearly choking Chad, making him sink to his knees.

“Oh, holy shit.” Yoruichi gasped, spreading her feet in order to keep from unbalancing. “Reiō’s fucking scrotum, that’s heavy! You’d kill Kenpachi in one move.”

“What is this?!” Chad managed to gasp out.

Ichigo chuckled, and his voice sounded like another voice was layered on top of it, “Long story short, I have Hollow powers too.” He glanced at Chad, “You just chill there until you can breathe again, Chad. Then come at me. Now…let’s see…” His arms lit up, but not with blue. The veins on his arms were black. “Oh good, looks like that does work.” The girls were having to bite their lips to keep from exclaiming that he’d corrupted their Holy Technique. “Let’s have some fun, shall we?” He vanished, and the only thing that saved Yoruichi from being taken out in one move was her instinctive activation of Shunkō, blowing off her orange jacket.

…

Orihime had been completely paralyzed by the feel of Ichigo’s Reiatsu when in his Hollow form. She had locked up so completely that she was frozen up on the ladder on her way back down from seeing Tatsuki off for over five minutes. When her body finally remembered how to move and breathe again, which took Tessai shielding her slightly with his own Reiatsu, she was very cautious as she made her way down to the battlefield.

She froze, horrified as she saw him for the first time. That… black hole feeling she got from his Reiatsu was only magnified when she saw him in all his horrific glory. He looked like Ichigo, other than the mask, but he felt so unlike Ichigo that she almost couldn’t reconcile the two in her mind. Tessai had to help her all the way, which led to a lull in the action. “Kuro-saki…kun?” She managed to get out, looking at him with fear in her gaze.

He turned around, “Oh, hey Inoue. Tessai.” He waved over, and it was almost comical and helped to stave off the terror she was feeling. “How’d she take it?” He asked as he blocked a punch from Yoruichi and ducked under a kick, before flinging her away and sending her crashing into Candice.

“Uhm… n-not that well.” She stuttered in reply.

He sighed, “I knew she wouldn’t. She’s just so damn stubborn.” He rubbed the back of his head in irritation. “Nothing to do about it now. We’ll make it up to her when we can. We’re training right now.”

“C-Can I join in?” Orihime asked, his words slowly helping her relax.

“No.” He said, and she gasped, “You’re too gentle for this, Inoue. You don’t like hurting people. You never have. Unless you can find your will to attack, you should focus on being our White Mage. That’s where you’ll find the most improvement!”

“…But!” Orihime tried to protest.

“We have plenty of fighters already, so don’t feel forced to do something you don’t like. Do what you do like.” Ichigo told her firmly, and she wilted a little, despite knowing he was right.

“Speaking of healing.” Yoruichi winced as she appeared next to Orihime, “Please get me back in action.” She held up her hands, which were shaking from exertion and were more damaged than Ichigo’s skin. “Damn, even in Shunkō I can’t hurt him. It feels like hitting steel! I’m the one hitting him but it’s my shapely ass getting kicked!” She whined.

“Okay!” Orihime was a little saddened that Ichigo wouldn’t even let her join the spar, but his words made her remember Tsubaki’s wounds back in the Seireitei. He had said much the same to her then. Was it really that wrong to not like to hurt people?

She started to heal Yoruichi, who sighed in relief. “Hooo, that’s the stuff, ‘Hime-chan.” She rubbed her chin, “Hmm, you’re not really restoring my Reiryoku though.”

“That’s a thing?” Orihime blinked in confusion.

That made Yoruichi frown, “Come to think of it, what do your Shun Shun Rikka actually do? I’m obviously healing but what’s the mechanism? Kaidō functions by restoring the victim’s Reiryoku and using that restored energy along with Kidō to heal the physical body. You’re totally backwards!”

“I had no idea!” Orihime gasped as she continued to work.

“Hmm, we’ll have to teach you properly then. That can only make your healing even more potent.” Yoruichi smirked, “But that’s for later. For now, get me back in action so I can go kick that smug mask off his face.”

“Right!” Orihime said and focused once more.

“Oi, Tessai! Get in on this too! I haven’t really faced a Kidō user before and I saw Aizen almost kill the wolf guy with that one Kidō that looks like a black box.” Ichigo called down.

“That would be Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi.” Tessai said… allowing the Kidō to surround Ichigo.

“Hooo!” Ichigo cried out as he shattered the box, “That felt like you were squeezing me through a toothpaste tube.” His mask was even damaged and showed half of his regular face.

“Indeed. You can liken it to being inside a black hole. Not quite the same, of course, but it gets the idea across.” Tessai commented, “The gravity inside is so powerful that it rips space and time to shreds. The fact that you were able to move much less shatter it is impressive.”

“PAYBACK TIME!” Yoruichi cried out jubilantly as she appeared next to him. His veins flashed blue, but her kick was so powerful that he was flung over five kilometers away, slamming into the ground and digging a huge furrow with his body. “Oh, that felt good!” She said cheerily.

“Great!” Candice said equally as cheerfully, “Now can someone come DIG ME OUT OF THIS HOLE SO I CAN GO FUCKING KILL HIM?!” She screamed as she tried to fight her way out of the crater Ichigo had put her in. “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH EARLIER THAN EVERYONE ELSE I HAVE TO GET UP TO MAKE MY HAIR LOOK GOOD, YOU BASTARD?!”

And then she was flung up, and away, landing in a heap. Meninas popped out of her hole, her arms still in the air from flinging Candice away. “This is…irritating.” She said softly. “I want my Schrift back.”

“Meni…” Candice glared daggers at her as she brushed the dirt out of her hair.

Yoruichi laughed as she landed next to her, “Girl, your hair looks great. I’ll show you some tricks if it’s really that much of a pain.” She flipped her own hair, “Nice and silky and it barely takes me five minutes in the morning.”

Candice gasped, “Really, Yoru-oneesama?!”

Yoruichi blanched, “No! I’ve spent a hundred years away from my brother calling me that! You’re not starting!”

Candice grinned, “Sure thing, Yoru-oneesama.” Yoruichi glared.

Bambietta and Liltotto landed, “Any ideas?” The smallest one asked. “Kind of pissing me off that we can’t even put a dent in his defense while he has the mask on.”

Chad, meanwhile, was looking at his arm. “Why does my power seem…happy next to Ichigo in his mask?” He clenched his fist, realizing his Reiatsu had increased by a tenth just from this short, fifteen-minute spar. That was far more than he had ever experienced.

“Well, that’s enough of a break.” Ichigo put his mask back on, “Time for round two.” He charged, appearing beside Chad, and punching at him. He was keeping his Reiatsu manageable for each person he was facing, taking it for his own lesson on controlling his now unreasonably strong power. After all, he couldn’t hurt his friends badly. Not even with Orihime on standby. That didn’t mean he was taking it easy on them, however. Chad blocked it with his arm, and was flung away half as far as Ichigo had been.

“GOOD! TIME TO DIE! GALVANO BLAST!” Candice yelled, unleashing a Heilig Pfeil at him. She was really happy that if nothing else, she still had her lightning bolt arrows. The one thing that remained of the power she only had memories of now. Most thought that her arrows had been electric because of her Schrift, but the reality was they had always been like that, long before she was accepted into the Sternritters.

None of them believed for a second she had actually managed to hurt him, and attacked once more. It was a good thing they were underground in a separate dimension, otherwise Karakura above would have been trembling with earthquakes for the next several hours.

-]|[-

Roughly an hour before Old Man Zangetsu told him that the next one would be arriving, they called an end to their sparring. Ichigo was impressed by how much Chad had grown already. He certainly wouldn’t be fighting any Espada any time soon, but his Reiatsu had almost doubled in the past six hours.

The group had gone to relax inside the hot springs, though with some small hang ups over it being mixed bathing. Chad was flushed sitting next to Orihime, who had her towel tight around her. She was staring at Ichigo with a small nosebleed, and a pout since he was busy getting hugged from behind by Meninas while he washed Candice’s hair. He hadn’t even glanced in her direction, much to her disappointment.

Yoruichi was sitting beside them, frankly a bit closer than needed, and looked ecstatic that they had apparently sucked the prude out of Ichigo. She was chatting animatedly with Candice and surprisingly Bambietta as well, while showing them some hair products Urahara had made for her over a hundred years ago.

Finally, Liltotto was on their other side, and was munching on some candy she’d taken from Urahara. She was, however, grumbling mightily, “Ugh, this is so good, but I can’t eat a lot of it anymore. Stupid Yhwach. Stupid Schrift.”

“What are those anyway?” Ichigo asked, “I’ve heard you mention them a couple of times, but I never had a moment to actually ask.”

“They’re special abilities granted to us by His Majesty.” Liltotto replied, scowling. “In a ritual performed by drinking a small amount of his blood,” There were some wrinkled noses in disgust, “He would inscribe a letter in our souls, granting us an ability that belonged to us and only us.”

Ichigo got a feeling of disagreement as well as amusement from Old Man Zangetsu and couldn’t help but feel like he’d be shattering some important notions sooner or later.

“I was The Glutton.” Liltotto continued, “I could eat anything. Feeling full is weird.” She finished.

“The Power.” Meninas said into his ear, before leaving a sweet kiss just under his earlobe, causing him to shudder slightly in happiness.

“The Thunderbolt.” Candice stuck her tongue out playfully as she tilted her head back, drawing his attention to her lightning bolt piercing.

“Gee, I never would have guessed.” Ichigo chuckled, which she followed up with some giggling.

“The Explode.” Bambietta crossed her arms under her chest as she stared daggers at him, daring him to say something.

“Interesting.” Yoruichi commented, “Almost like a Zanpakutō, only one that requires no medium.”

“Not an awful comparison.” Liltotto drawled, “Though we didn’t have stages we could release like Shikai and Bankai. Either we used them, or we didn’t. We could make them stronger and eliminate weaknesses via our Vollständig, but that was a separate technique.”

“Any relation to Letzt Stil?” Yoruichi asked, “As far as I know, that was the reason Ishida no longer has any powers.” Ichigo still couldn’t help but feel awful about that. Ishida had tried to keep it from them, but they knew.

“That old thing is the obsolete version.” Bambietta snorted, “Those Ishidas are the only idiots dumb enough to still use it.”

“Well, more of the stepping stone.” Candice corrected her. “Using Letzt Stil is the first step in gaining Vollständig.” She sighed, “And we can’t use it right now. Stupid things feel like they’re locked, and we have no idea why. I’m going to be pissed if I have to go through all that shit again.”

“Must be worth it if you’re determined to do it anyway if needed.” Ichigo muttered out loud.

“Absolutely. Its power is on par if not better than Bankai.” Liltotto replied to him, “It’s just even more of a pain in the ass to earn than Bankai.”

“Got it.” Ichigo grabbed a bucket and allowed the water to wash out the soap from Candice’s hair. “All set, Candi.” He pecked her on the cheek, which she didn’t allow and held his head so she could kiss him properly. Orihime off to the side was pouting outrageously, wishing she had been brave enough to do that in the past. “Your turn, Meni.” The magenta-haired woman smiled as she and Candice switched places, though Candice was nowhere near as safe for work, an evil grin on her face as she began to tease him. “So, what can we expect from the last two?”

“Well, your Highness.” Liltotto grinned as he flinched, “Seeing as you’ve gotten all four of us, you’re definitely completing the set with Gigi.” He felt both of his girls flinch slightly, while Bambietta’s flinch was a bit more violent.

He closed his eyes, “I know you five were supposedly friends. And I know it ended really, really badly. What is she like?”

“Her Schrift was The Zombie.” Bambietta spat, “That should tell you all you need to know about that fucking bitch.” She shuddered, and flinched when a worried Yoruichi put a hand on her shoulder.

“Her blood turned people into her slaves.” Candice murmured, and off to the side, Orihime and Chad both flinched, “They effectively became corpses under her control. But it didn’t work on other Quincies.” He felt her hand tremble, and Meninas was still in front of him too, “Not unless they were already dead.”

The final piece of the puzzle clicked for Ichigo. And again, he felt furious that his girls had apparently let this happen to Bambietta in this aborted future they saw bits and pieces of. But they’d already been through that before, so he forced the emotion down. “I see.” He said as evenly as he could.

“Ichigo.” Liltotto said, drawing his attention. “She was…sadistic. And she loved to fuck with people. You…” She hesitated, “Might need to let things get a little violent when she shows up. Especially if she acts the way I think she will.” She sighed, “If nothing else, it should help with some of the bad blood.”

Ichigo closed his eyes and dipped his hands in the water to wash the suds from the shampoo he was using on Meninas away. He brought his hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting a sudden headache. “Fine.” He spat, “But if I say it’s over, it is over. Understood?”

“Good enough for me.” Bambietta spat out, but she had her own axe-crazy look on her face. Ichigo wondered what the hell he had just agreed to.

-]|[-

The bath hadn’t lasted too much longer after that, the mood thoroughly ruined. And now, they were dressed, and waiting for the probable girl to show up. And then the moment of truth came, and Ichigo’s shadow surged. Again, it creeped Orihime and Chad out, and unlike the other times, Giselle Gewelle flew out of the shadow like a spring-loaded jack-in-the-box. She squealed as she flew through the air, flapping her arms as though they were wings, before faceplanting on the ground. Like, full-on belly flop. She lay there, arms spread out, her knees bent, and her feet pointed at the roof. A muffled, “Owieeeee…” came from the girl.

Thoroughly disarmed, Ichigo, Yoruichi, Chad, and Orihime stared at the sight. “I-Is she alright?” Orihime blinked owlishly.

“Seriously?” Ichigo scratched his head, “Is this her? This?!” The girl in question was a little taller than Bambietta and had long, dark-blue hair. He eyed the two little strands of hair coming off her head in disbelief, ‘I’ve heard of ahoge but that’s ridiculous. Those two little tufts look like cockroach antennae.’

“Yup/Yes.” Candice, Meninas, Liltotto, and Bambietta said, all with varying levels of anger in their tones.

Liltotto shook her head, “Don’t let her cutesy act fool you.” She murmured so Giselle wouldn’t hear, “Her favorite act was the old ‘Oh please, I’m not a fighter! Don’t hurt me!’ routine to make enemies overconfident.”

As she said so, Giselle got herself up, “Owowowow…” She muttered as she shook her head. ‘That hurt… why did that hurt?’ She thought to herself, before opening her blue eyes. She blinked them a few times, and the first one she saw was Yoruichi. She blinked again, before looking over at Ichigo, and then her friends, “Candi, Meni, Lili!” She waved at them, “Hey, hey!”

“Gigi.” Candice said, her face carved from stone.

Giselle pouted, “Aww, you sound mad. What did I do?” She asked, and Candice clenched her fists. But something else caught Giselle’s attention, and she bent her torso slightly to the right to look. Bambietta wasn’t even facing her, afraid of what she would do if she even looked at Giselle. Just Giselle’s voice was sending signals of rage and terror and heartbreak racing through her brain. Said girl gasped in delight, “BAMBI-CHAN!” She screamed in excitement, looking legitimately like her day had been made.

If someone had been looking inside Bambietta’s head right then and there, they would have seen a violin string snap. “DIE!” She turned around and, with her veins looking practically molten from how red they were glowing, she briefly approached Yoruichi’s speed. Giselle barely had any time at all to put up a defense before Bambietta’s fist landed on her very slightly blue chin. Her head snapped to the side as the bone fractured and she almost comically was flung away. She skipped like a rock, hitting her head, then her ass, then her hands, then her face again before she slid to a stop.

And she was feeling something she hadn’t truly felt in years. Pain. “Ah!” She flinched as she brought her hand up to her jaw, and flinched again when she touched it. “It-it hurts!” She mewled, “Why does it hurt?!”

“THAT’S GOING TO FEEL LIKE A LOVE TAP BEFORE I’M DONE WITH YOU, YOU FUCKING BITCH!” Bambietta landed and smashed a kick into Giselle’s ribs. She hacked and almost vomited from the pain.

“Ichigo!” Orihime said urgently. “Stop this! You- you can’t!” She flinched at Candice’s glare.

“You have no idea what she did to us, and specifically what she did to Bambi.” Candice said, “You can heal her when we’re done, but if Bambi doesn’t get to blow off at least a little steam, this little group we’ve got here is going to implode before we get anything done.”

Meninas sighed, “I don’t think this is very nice either, Inoue-chan.” She said softly, “But Bambi’s rage is like an explosion. Incredibly destructive, but gone in a flash.” Candice and Liltotto nodded in agreement.

In the distance, Bambietta was working up a full head of steam, “WE WERE FRIENDS!” She cried out as she mounted Giselle. Giselle lifted her arms to try to defend her face, “I TRUSTED YOU!” Her fist broke through Giselle’s weak guard and broke her nose. “AND YOU USED ME! ABUSED ME! MADE ME BEG! YOU ENJOYED IT! YOU’RE NOT EVEN SORRY!” Blow after blow landed on Giselle’s face and hands until she was so dazed and injured she couldn’t even defend herself. Finally, Bambietta stopped, panting with her right fist raised beside her head, “Why did you do it, Gigi? Why you…?” She asked, her voice breaking as she stared at the girl below her. Unbidden, tears began to gather in her eyes as she sat back on her haunches, staring at the girl.

“B-Bambi-chan, pl-please…” Giselle rasped through broken teeth and a bloody mouth as she held her trembling hands with broken fingers in front of her. Tears were leaking from her eyes. She was utterly terrified. She had no idea what was going on, but her powers weren’t working, and she hadn’t been hurt like this ever. She hadn’t felt fear like this for over a decade, not since she was a street urchin in the city surrounding Silbern. “Pl-please don’t.” She managed to get out.

But that just enraged Bambietta once more. “Are you begging me?! LIKE I BEGGED?!” Giselle flinched at the dead tone coming from Bambietta. And then Bambietta’s hands were around Giselle’s throat, and she was squeezing hard. “I BEGGED YOU NOT TO DO IT!” Giselle started to spasm, trying to do anything to free herself. “I DIDN’T WANT TO DIE EITHER!” Her face started to turn blue as her struggles began to weaken. She couldn’t even get a grip herself due to her broken and very-much-not-healing fingers. She reached up for Bambietta’s face, trying just to push her away. But she was far too weak for that, even at full strength. “BUT YOU JUST-”

And then Ichigo was behind her, and his hands effortlessly pried Bambietta’s hands off Giselle’s throat. “Enough.” Giselle immediately started hacking out tortured coughs as she was able to breathe again. “Enough, Bambi.” He said harshly as the girl continued to struggle to try to reach for Giselle’s throat.

Finally, her struggle ended, and she fell limp in his arms and started to cry, “I thought we were friends, Gigi.” She finally sobbed out. Ichigo carefully picked her up and backed away as a horrified Orihime landed next to them. Bambietta turned and buried her face into Ichigo’s chest as she sobbed.

Orihime quickly set about healing Giselle, before rounding on Ichigo. “How could you, Kurosaki-kun?!” She said, tears of her own in her eyes, “You let that go way too far.”

Ichigo looked at her somberly, “Inoue, you didn’t hear their story.” He said gently, but firmly, “I have, and it was awful. Their people were awful. Their home was awful. And they were even awful to each other, despite supposedly being friends. If I didn’t let this happen now, it might have happened when I couldn’t stop it.”

“You can put me down.” A red-eyed Bambietta said softly. She looked down at Giselle, who was looking much better already, but also looked utterly terrified of her. “Aren-” Bambietta’s voice broke. “Aren’t you even going to apologize, Gigi?” She finished hoarsely, another lone tear leaking from her left eye.

Giselle was silent for a moment, “I j-just… Th-they would have k-killed you. Th-they would have-have killed any of us… if we f-failed. Th-they would have t-taken you away.” Giselle began to cry too, “I just w-wanted you with me forever, Bambi-chan.”

Bambietta flinched and turned around. “I-” She stopped short and shook her head. “I just can’t right now.” She stomped away, trying valiantly to keep her tears in.

Orihime was biting her lip, realizing just how much more complicated this was than she had thought. Ichigo closed his eyes, before looking at Giselle, “I’ll tell you what they’ve figured out for themselves.” He said, and her eyes snapped to his, “This is a new chance for you all. A chance for you to be better than you were.”

“People-” Giselle stopped as she stood, now fully healed, thanks to Orihime, “People don’t change overnight.”

“No.” Ichigo said, “You have to put some fucking effort in.” He glared at her, and she unconsciously took a step back, realizing he had his new Zanpakutō and likely overwhelming power at least three years early. She vividly remembered him breaking her neck with a simple punch. To her chest. “You don’t have that Schrift thing of yours right now, and we have no idea if you girls will be able to get them back. So, I’ll tell you this now. If you do end up regaining it somehow, and you use it on anyone other than an enemy…” He trailed off leadingly.

“O-Okay!” She said, “S-Say no more, Chief!” She put on a happy-go-lucky look on her face.

“Good.” He grabbed both of them, and brought them all back to the main group. Giselle flinched as she saw Bambietta stomping towards them and hid behind Ichigo.

“You.” She grabbed him by the collar and yanked him down. “How good are your massages?” She asked, and Ichigo blinked in surprise.

“Uhhh, pretty good?” He scratched the back of his neck, “It was one of the few things I could help with at the clinic that wasn’t administrative without further schooling. Dad taught me and the girls, though I’ve obviously had more practice.”

“Good.” She grabbed his arm and started to drag him away. “You’re giving me one. I fucking need it. Let’s go.”

Ichigo followed in bemusement, before Candice and Meninas stopped them. “Have fun.” Meninas said softly, before kissing him gently.

“Knock her dead, tiger.” Candice grinned evilly as she murmured in his ear, before kissing him with much less gentleness. “We’ll join you two tonight.” She pulled away, but not before spanking him.

‘They don’t mean…’ Ichigo thought in bemusement as he followed Bambietta, who he abruptly realized was rolling her hips a lot more than usual and making her booty bounce. And in those so-tight-they-looked-painted-on jeans, her bakery was on full display. ‘Oh hell, they do…’ What had his life become? Orihime was wondering the exact same thing, gaping at the sight of the purple-haired woman leading him away.

-]|[-

As Ichigo stepped into his room with Bambietta, he froze. “Hey, what gives?” She asked irritably as she ran into his back. He stepped to the side, and her jaw dropped. They both took a look around the room in disbelief. It was now roughly three times the size of the room he remembered from that morning.

“…What the fuck?” He asked blandly.

She started to snicker, “Well, at least no one will know unless you bring one of the normies up here.”

He shook his head, ‘Thanks Dad, Geta-Boshi.’ He strode inside and put the portable massage table he was carrying on the floor, before beginning to set it up. Bambietta sat on his bed as she waited, and soon, it was sitting sturdily in the middle of his now much larger room. “Okay Bambi, you go ahead and get ready. I’m going to go and get the rest ready.”

“Sure thing.” Bambietta smirked lightly at the one-piece swimsuit he had prepared for her as he closed the door. “Moron.” She tossed the swimsuit away and started to strip, getting herself completely naked before laying down on the massage bed. She grabbed one of the small towels and laid it across her hips, before grabbing another and putting it over her breasts. A few minutes later, Ichigo knocked on the door, and she called out for him to come on in.

He walked in, and completely froze for a step, his eyes wide, and his cheeks reddening. He collected himself and walked in, noting idly that she was on her back. He figured she would have wanted him to start there. She apparently had other ideas though, and from her smirk, she knew exactly what she was doing.

Sighing internally, he smiled at her, and was rewarded with a small blush. He started at her feet, dribbling some warm, soothing massage oil on his hands, and then picking up her right foot. She let out a pleased sigh as he began working her toes and feet over, and closed her eyes. He pressed gently, making small, circular motions, and working his way from her toes to her heel. When done, he gently put her leg down, and massaged his way up her calf and then thigh.

Her breath hitched the closer he got, and he smirked as she let out a little whine when he avoided touching her where she quite clearly wanted. With firm, gentle motions, he massaged right up to her groin but never touched her underneath the towel. When done, he went back down to her left foot and started over. She was biting her lip by the time he got back up to where she wanted, and this time, let out a little keening noise as he avoided it.

He then pulled down her towel just a little, still keeping her pussy hidden, but exposing more of her belly. He dribbled more oil on her, and was practically mesmerized by the sight of her glistening skin. He was definitely doing this with Meninas and Candice as well. He gently rubbed down her sides, and encountered his first problem as she spasmed. A little noise escaped her as well, and she looked mortified. “Are you ticklish?” He asked in delight.

“Sh-shut up!” She mewled, “Don’t you dare!”

He chuckled as he continued to gently squeeze her body, delighting in her quick spasms every time he hit that one spot on her sides. He again teased her, massaging right up beneath her breasts but never touching them. Finishing, he moved on to her left arm, taking his time working out the tension in her muscles. He massaged all the way down to her fingers, enjoying the pleased little moans she was letting out. She had been under a tremendous amount of stress. As he finished her other arm, she reached up and tore the towel off her chest, throwing it on the bed.

His mouth watered as he saw her milky, perfect breasts. But he raised an eyebrow, “I didn’t think you would have any piercings.” He said softly.

She blushed, “Candi and I did them together.” She looked off to the side, “I wasn’t going to get any, but she dared me.”

He chuckled, “They’re cute.” He said, before lining himself up with her head, “I’m going to touch your neck now, okay?” She stiffened immediately, before nodding after a few moments.

“Okay…” She said, her voice small.

As slowly and gently as he could, he began massaging the sides of her neck, “Tell me if I need to stop.” He said firmly, “And relax, Bambi. I won’t hurt you. I promise.”

She let out a shuddering breath, “Thank you, Ichi.” She said softly. Almost against her will, she did start to relax, the tension in her shoulders decreasing as it became more and more clear that he wasn’t Giselle and was just trying to help. He never made her feel afraid.

Once she was relaxed fully, he finally lowered his hands to her breasts and began working on them. She moaned as his hands circled them completely and firmly squeezed. By now, her breaths were coming in hot pants, and she was biting her lip to keep from moaning. Her entire front glistened from the oil, and Ichigo currently wanted nothing more than to make this massage a little dirtier. But he refrained, and kept things professional. “Turn around.” He said to her, she hurried to do so, flinging the towel away as well and leaving her completely exposed.

His mouth was watering, but he continued to work rubbing her shoulders for a few moments before running his hands down her back and sides. “You’re so tense.” He muttered as he had to use a bit more force to work out the knots on her back.

“The Wandenreich sucked.” She said shortly, getting a snort from him. “I…I’ve been here for less than a day, and I’ve never felt so relaxed. Never. Not even Gigi can ruin this for me.” She mumbled, glad she was finally able to say it out loud.

“I’m glad.” He smiled, before continuing to work on her back. It was a bit of a battle, because of how tightly wound up she was. It took a long while of diligent work before he finally felt her tension was completely gone, and he was able to move down to her legs again.

She inhaled sharply several times from his amazing hands working on the back of her thighs and calves, and hissed out a long, “Yessssss!” as he finally started massaging her butt. She was just waiting for her to finally touch her asshole and pussy, and was getting a bit frustrated that he was avoiding her special places. She even raised her hips off the table, pushing herself into his hands, and whining in frustration when he didn’t take the bait. ‘He’s not this fucking dense! There’s no fucking way he thinks this is just a massage!’ She was as wet as could be! She was practically drenching the damn table! There’s no damn way he didn’t notice!

And then, his hands vanished, “All done, Bambi.” He tried to hide a smirk as she looked outraged.

“No, we’re fucking not!” She huffed as she lay flat on the table in disbelief, “You missed a spot!” She reached behind her with her right hand and spread her slick ass for him, showing him her gushing lips. “Don’t make me beg…” She whined as she wiggled her hips. He walked over to his dresser while taking off his shirt and activated the little Kidō doodad Urahara had made for him.

As he walked back, he threw off his pants and revealed his absolutely throbbing erection. He may have been teasing the hell out of her, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t been scoring critical hits against him. As he reached her, his hand came up and then sharply down with a loud crack, making her squeal as he left a lovely, red handprint on her right cheek. “F-Fuck yes!” She panted as he climbed onto the table and mounted her, his thighs on either side of hers.

He leaned forward above her and turned her head up towards his. He kissed her roughly, possessively, and she moaned, propping herself up with her left forearm and reaching behind them to grab his hair in joy. And then he entered her, and Bambietta saw stars. ‘Best decision EVER!’ It was the last coherent thought she had for quite a while.

-]|[-

‘Holy hell, what even is this?’ It was the first thought that ran through his mind as he woke up the next morning. Meninas was lying to his left as naked as the day she was born, wrapped in his embrace with a peaceful look on her face. To his right, Bambietta did the same, sleeping contently. Behind her, Candice was pressed up against Bambietta’s back, and had an arm around her dark-haired friend. Ichigo could feel her fingers, and realized she was definitely cupping one of her friend’s boobs. ‘How did I get this lucky? What the fuck happened?’ He had been a virgin less than three days ago!

He honestly did not want to get up. Like, at all. But he was hungry. Starving even, seeing as he never had dinner. Once Candice and Meninas had shown up yesterday and watched him blow Bambietta’s back out, the three Quincy had gotten competitive. They had not left his room at all for the rest of the day, and their sex marathon had continued well into the night.

Ichigo could not have been happier to learn about the existence of Blut, because without it even his stamina would have run out.

His stomach gurgled, and he was debating the risks of trying to get out of bed without waking the girls when Bambietta began to stir. “Mhmmm…” She moaned, before opening her eyes and blinking rapidly. She eyed him almost with confusion, before the memory of the previous day hit her and she flushed slightly.

“Morning Bambi.” He murmured to her.

She turned her head slightly and pecked him good morning, “Morning Ichi.” She paused, “Is that your hand on my tit?”

“Nope, that’s Candi.” Ichigo sounded amused.

“Thought so.” She blushed a bit harder, ‘D-Did I really do that?’ She thought to herself, remembering when she had been so caught up in their fun that she had lustfully demanded that Candice sit on her face when she saw Meninas doing it to Ichigo. And she had enjoyed it a thousand times more than she ever thought she would. ‘Damn it, if I knew it could feel that good I would have tried to bed the girls years ago…’ Would have saved all of them a lot of problems, honestly.

She looked so cute that Ichigo couldn’t resist leaning forward and claiming her lips again. She let out a surprised moan as she felt his hand slide from her hip to her ass and squeeze her right cheek. “D-Didn’t you have enough?” She asked, despite sliding her hand down to grab him.

“Of you girls?” He asked huskily, and his voice sent shivers down her spine. “Never.”

And then both their stomachs growled, ruining the mood. She snickered, “Well, we are still human.”

“Only in my body.” He grumbled, “I’m starving.”

“Same.” She said, rubbing her belly.

“Mhmmmm…” Meninas sounded irritated as she moaned. “It’s too earlyyyyy.” She pouted as she mock-glared up at him. He snickered. Meninas was definitely the cutest of them in the morning. She hated waking up. He pressed his lips to hers, and she refused to respond for a few attempts, before relenting and kissing back.

He slipped his arm from underneath Bambietta and then moved over Meninas, before getting off the bed, “I’m going to go see if Yuzu needs any help for breakfast. I’ll call you when we’re ready.”

“Kay.” Bambietta yawned, and surprised Meninas by pulling her close to take Ichigo’s spot.

Ichigo grinned knowingly at Bambietta, “Give Candi a kiss from me when she wakes up.”

The dark-haired girl blushed. ‘Damn it… last night did awaken things in me.’

“You happy, Bambi?” Meninas asked as she snuggled with her friend.

Bambietta looked at her for a few moments before she again surprised Meninas by pressing her lips to hers. Meninas looked surprised, but returned the affection, and Bambietta smirked when she pulled away, “You know what?” She asked, “Yeah… I think I am.”

…

“I could not be prouder!” Isshin was playing the fool the second Ichigo got down to the lower level, sobbing playfully, “A fifth daughter! My delinquent of a son has surpassed my every expectation!”

Ichigo rolled his eyes, “Shut up, Goat-chin.”

Isshin did, surprisingly, “So, you fought Aizen’s Arrancar.” He said in a low tone, to ensure they didn’t bother Yuzu, who was hard at work on breakfast.

“Yeah.” Ichigo kept his tone low as well, “They’re strong. Even the weaker of the two could have killed Chad in one hit.”

Isshin sighed, “And you killed one and forced the other to retreat.” He let out a groan, “That’s… probably going to cause some issues. The Seireitei is going to wonder about what the fuck happened, because you weren’t even using Bankai.”

“Is it bad if they know about it?” Ichigo asked cluelessly, “We’re all on the same side, despite the bullshit with the badge.”

“You’re an unknown, you just rapidly increased in power for no discernable reason, and have a very different Zanpakutō than you did even a week ago.” Isshin said dryly, “And you did this all without touching your badge to let them monitor it at all, and that’s without even getting into the Quincy and Hollow messes.”

He let out a groan, “This is going to be a huge pain in the ass, isn’t it?”

“Usually is with the Seireitei.” Isshin snorted, “Honestly, we should legitimately be grateful to Aizen for at least taking out the trash on the way out.”

Ichigo gaped at his father, “What the hell does that mean?”

“Roughly seventy-five percent of all of the afterlife’s woes can be directly tied to the Central 46 having way too much power.” Isshin replied, “They’ve made some utterly disastrous decisions in the last few millennia. One of which was unilaterally deciding to have your new friends, the Vizards, executed without trial for the crime of having Hollow powers forced on them a hundred years ago.” Isshin glared at the floor, “All of them loyal Captains and Lieutenants before the incident.”

Ichigo’s expression locked up. “I see.” He sighed, “Maybe I should give them a visit.” He rubbed his chin, before nodding, “Yeah, once the last person shows up, we’ll get some plans going and then we’ll go visit them.”

“Sounds good.” Isshin replied, “When will that be?”

“If I have any luck at all-” and he knew he did, seeing as he had left the three beautiful girls he now called girlfriends in his bed upstairs, “-during lunch today at school.”

Isshin snickered, “And if you don’t?”

“Not like I haven’t left class in a hurry before.” Was the deadpan answer.

“Will it be a sixth girl?” Isshin grinned, jabbing his elbow into Ichigo’s ribs.

“Not unless they’re either genderbent or an original character.” Ichigo joked back for once. After last night, it was going to be hard to put him in a bad mood.

-]|[-

Thankfully, for once, his luck had held, and he was now alone on the roof. “Ichiiiiigoooooo!” Correction, he now had one dumbass with him on the roof.

“Why are you here?” He asked blandly as he put Keigo in a headlock.

“What do you mean?!” Keigo asked indignantly as a bunch of fucking people joined them. First Chad and Orihime, and then Tatsuki, and then Mizuiro, Ryō, Michiru, Mahana, and Chizuru.

Oh great. It was a fucking party today. Ichigo rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Why. The fuck. Are you all here. Today of all days?”

“You don’t own the roof, Kurosaki!” Chizuru proclaimed, before going for a flying glomp on Orihime, “And I go where my precious ‘Hime goes!” Tatsuki grabbed her by the head and slammed her down sharply without saying a word. She was still pissed over yesterday.

“What makes today special, huh?” Mahana put her hands on her hips and stared at him.

“Sorry Ichigo.” Chad rumbled, “But once Keigo was running up here, it was too late.”

Ichigo sighed, “For fuck’s sake. Fucking half the class is going to be spiritually aware before the week is over at this rate.” He grumbled, not bothering to keep things a secret seeing as they were about to have someone literally crash their party.

“E-Eh?” Michiru said what all of them were thinking, “S-Spiritually aware?”

“Heh, you got up into some weird stuff over the summer break, huh?” Keigo laughed nervously.

“Ha! This is perfect!” Chizuru was grinning evilly, “With you going crazy, that means one less ugly joc-”

Ichigo held a finger up, and everyone shut up as his fingertip began to glow red. A small blast erupted, and despite its speed, everyone followed as it rose up into the sky and blew a large hole in the cloud that was moving above them.

Keigo pointed a shaking finger at him, “M-M-Magic!”

“Nope.” Orihime sighed, “Like he said, it’s spiritual.” She took a bite of her sandwich, and Ichigo was quite sure he didn’t even want to think to ask what was in it.

Ryō swallowed, “So… wait, are you saying those stories about you being able to see ghosts when you were younger were true?”

“Yup.” He said shortly.

“Ghosts are real?!” Michiru looked faint, and was holding Mahana’s arm tightly.

“Mhm.” Ichigo hummed in agreement.

Chizuru gasped, “Wait, is that why that babe dropped from the ceiling a few days ago?”

“Yup.” Tatsuki snarked, “Apparently they’re coming out of Ichigo’s shadow. What is it now, five girls?” She glared at him.

“Correct.”

Mizuiro tried to put on a grin, “Oh, are you becoming a playboy, Ichigo?” He joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere a little.

Keigo forced a guffaw, “Ha, Ichigo’s too busy avoiding girls for that!” Some of the girls giggled as well, though they were still obviously nervous.

“Oh, is that right?” Ichigo finally smirked, “Maidenless.”

Keigo looked like a ghost had popped up in front of him. He looked like he had turned to stone. That got Orihime to start giggling, and it set the others off as well. But that just irritated Tatsuki, who was still mad, and even more mad that Orihime had apparently missed her chance, “Yeah, plus you’re not even right, Keigo. He was sucking face with two of them yesterday.” She lashed out.

Almost everyone gasped, as Keigo screamed, “WHAT?! NO WAY?!”

‘Oh, is that how it’s going to be, Tatsuki?’ Ichigo’s eyebrow twitched as he glared at Tatsuki, “Three.”

Tatsuki glared back, “What was that?”

He shrugged, “You were wrong. It was three of them.” Orihime almost fell over as the rooftop erupted in noise.

‘Hey King, as fun as this is, you’ve got incoming.’ Zangetsu said, warning him.

“Do you think this is fucking funny, Ichigo?” Tatsuki clenched her fists, but was surprised when Ichigo laid down rather than answer her. “What are you-”

And then Ichigo popped out of his body, dressed in full Shinigami regalia, making some of the girls (and Keigo) scream as he was standing over what looked like his own corpse. “Inoue, shield everyone.” He ordered. “Chad, you be ready too.”

Orihime snapped to readiness instantly, “Santen Kesshun, I reject!”

They all clamored as Chad stood and his arm transformed, while Orihime shielded them. “What is this?!” Mahana asked in wonder as she reached out to tap the shield, only for Orihime to grab her hand and shake her head. She and Chad were filled with tension as they watched Ichigo’s shadow surge.

Ichigo wasn’t sure this was even necessary. Old Man Zangetsu hadn’t been wrong yet about who was going to pop up. But the girls were really worried that it was going to be Pepe Waccabrada, and after telling him everything they knew about him (including the fact that he regularly used his ‘Love’ on female Soldats), Ichigo was fully ready to do what needed to be done if it was him who showed up. He was just pissed that everyone had fucking decided to show up right when he needed some privacy. He should have just snuck off to Urahara’s instead of waiting on the roof.

At least his trust in Old Man Zangetsu was rewarded as his shadow retreated, leaving a man kneeling before him. He was dressed in that same white uniform, though with the sleeves pulled back slightly. He had pink hair styled in a mohawk. “Finally.” He growled as he got to his feet, though he stumbled a bit as he did so. “What a pain.” He ran his hand through his hair.

‘Looks like we got lucky.’ Ichigo had a ghost of a smile, “You’re Bazz-B.”

“Heh, looks like my reputation precedes me.” He grinned, “Ain’t that right, Kurosaki Ichigo?”

“Nah, the girls told me about you.” Ichigo smirked as Bazz-B’s eye twitched.

“Girls? Damn, are those bitches here too?” He asked, growling slightly.

“Three of them are my girlfriends, so cool it with the insults.” Ichigo shot back.

“With those three sluts? You poor bastard.” Bazz-B didn’t care a lick for Ichigo’s order.

Ichigo growled, “I think you should shut the fuck up.”

“Why don’t you make me?” Bazz smirked, “You know, I never got to see how we stacked up…” He held his hand out, “Burner Finger 4!” He declared, before looking off to his hand when his Schrift refused to activate.

Ichigo snorted, “Performance issues, huh? It’s cool, man. One-in-ten you know.” He jeered at the man, despite knowing it was probably a bad idea. That startled some giggles from the mesmerized onlookers.

Bazz-B growled and used Hirenkyaku to launch himself at Ichigo, “Fine! Fists!” With his veins glowing red, he punched out at Ichigo. Ichigo merely raised his hand, his own veins glowing blue, and caught the man’s fist. The impact caused a shockwave that smashed into Orihime’s Shun Shun Rikka, and made it flash for a moment. The girls (and even Keigo and Mizuiro) screamed in fear as the winds made the fence on the roof shake ominously. Down below, the people who didn’t know any better in the school thought a powerful but short-lived earthquake had hit!

And Tatsuki was clenching her fists in despair. Even after watching Ichigo carve up Yammy, she had thought that all she needed was some training of her own and she would be capable of amazing feats too. But this time it was just pure fists, something she excelled at. She instantly understood the sheer gap that existed between her and Ichigo now. That punch would have put a building on the ground, and Ichigo caught it without even a hint of strain on his face.

No, the strain was all on Bazz-B’s face. “What?!” He gaped at seeing the Blut active on Ichigo’s skin. “BWAH?!” And then Ichigo’s right uppercut thundered into his gut, outright lifting him off his feet. He gagged as he landed on his knees, vomiting blood out, much to the horror of most of the people watching, who were certain they had watched their friend murder someone. He keeled forward, clutching his gut, and putting his head on the roof.

“I suggest you cool it, hothead.” Ichigo said darkly, “Or else next I’ll give that mohawk you’re so proud of a close shave.” He threw Old Man Zangetsu point first into the roof next to Bazz-B’s head, making sure he could see it.

‘Fuck! We can’t be this far apart! WE CAN’T! IF I CAN’T EVEN BEAT HIM, HOW COULD I EVER KILL YHWACH?!’ Bazz-B trembled in pain as he lifted his head and glared at Ichigo. He realized he couldn’t feel his Vollständig either and it frustrated him immensely.

“We good?” Ichigo asked, holding out his hand.

Bazz-B spat bloody spittle on the roof, before reaching out, “Don’t fucking touch my hair.” He grasped Ichigo’s hand.

Ichigo started to chuckle, “Damn, you’re madder about that than the punch?” He shook his head in bemusement, “Yeah, you’ll fit right into this madhouse.” He helped the man to his feet. “Hey Inoue, can you heal him?”

“Sure!” Orihime dropped her shield in relief that the fight had ended quickly. Ichigo quickly jumped back into his body, but the eyes of their school friends were on Bazz-B, who quickly looked right as rain. Even the blood on the floor just vanished, making it look like nothing had ever happened. They gazed at the sight with awe in their gazes.

“Damn, that’s some healing.” Bazz-B whistled as he patted his stomach. “Good on ya, pretty lady.”

“Ehehehe.” Orihime giggled only a little nervously, and his compliment made her blush just a little.

“Alright, I still have class in a few minutes, so let’s go.” Ichigo said, “I’ll take you to the others. We’ve got a lot to discuss once I get out of school later.”

“Fine, fine.” Bazz-B ran his hand down his face, “Not looking forward to meeting those five again.” He muttered, but Ichigo’s response was cut off as they both vanished.

Tatsuki gaped as she snapped her eyes to the right, realizing she was feeling Ichigo about three kilometers away in the time it took her to blink.

Orihime rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, “Ehehehe, any questions?” She asked nervously.

Immediately, a cacophony erupted from their friends as they blurted out questions, their voices having to wait in line to be heard.

-]|[-

The entire rest of the school day, Ichigo was feeling eyes all over him. He ignored them studiously, trying to focus on his lessons. He did feel a bit of regret for not just moving away when he had the chance, because Michiru the little mouse of the class felt even more terrified of him now than she used to.

The second the bell rang, he avoided everyone except Orihime and Chad, with the three of them vanishing off to Urahara’s. The man in question looked like he wanted to physically grab Ichigo and Shunpo him the rest of the way. “They’re all down below.”

“Thanks. Let’s go.” Ichigo said as they descended into the depths, “And thanks for the room upgrade, Geta-Boshi.”

“Ohoho, you’re thanking me, Kurosaki-san? It was nothing.” Urahara laughed cheesily behind his fan.

They landed, and Bambietta let out a sigh, “Fucking finally!” She growled out, “Can’t you just skip?”

He smirked at her, “I don’t know, maybe I should get you girls enrolled too. I’m sure it would be easy for Geta-Boshi.”

“Indeed! I can have it done by tonight!” Urahara exclaimed, a wide grin on his face.

“Don’t you fucking dare! I’ll kill you, asshole!” Bambietta exclaimed, trying to punch him in the arm. He dodged with a short laugh, “Get back here and take your lumps!” She chased after him.

“Ehehe… Bambi-chan looks much happier today.” Giselle muttered to Liltotto, the only one of the girls who wasn’t giving her a much colder shoulder than she was used to. She was still feeling really skittish and not her normal self after the absolute beating Bambietta had given her yesterday. The lack of The Zombie was really messing with her.

“Can’t imagine why.” Liltotto drawled, smirking lightly.

Ichigo suddenly turned around and caught a leaping Bambietta, making her squeak as he gave her a sharp spank and carried her over the rest of the way, “Down girl.”

“Why you little-” She growled out.

“Not what you were saying last night!” Candice laughed, making her flush bright red, “In fact, if I remember right, you kept saying-”

“Not in front of Dad, Candi. This is awkward enough as it is at home.” Ichigo said, making Isshin guffaw. He didn’t at all notice Orihime slumping behind him. He set Bambietta down, “So, are we all here?”

“Everyone relevant.” Yoruichi drawled from where she was lounging in cat form. “Tessai is with the kids and your sisters, so we’ll fill him in later.”

“Alright then.” Ichigo said, “For the benefit of those not fully aware of the details, introduce yourselves and your former powers.”

“Former Sternritter E: The Explode, Bambietta Basterbine.” Bambietta introduced herself first.

“Former Sternritter T: The Thunderbolt, Candice Catnipp.” Candice said cheerily.

“Former Sternritter Z: The Zombie,” Giselle said, flinching slightly as she felt Bambietta’s cold gaze on her, “Giselle Gewelle.”

“Former Sternritter G: The Glutton, Liltotto Lamperd. Feed me, bitches.” The deadpan tone the line was delivered in earned a few giggles.

“Former Sternritter P: The Power, Meninas McAllon.”

“Tch.” Bazz-B clicked his teeth, “Fine. Former Sternritter H: The Heat, Bazz-B.”

“His name is Bazzard Black.” Liltotto threw in.

“You bitch…” Bazz-B seethed, glaring at her.

“And who were the Sternritters?” Isshin asked.

“We were Yhwach’s Elite.” Bambietta said, “You guys had thirteen Captains, so we had twenty-six Sternritters to overwhelm you with.”

“Wait, why would you need to overwhelm them?” Orihime asked, looking confused.

Ichigo blinked and looked over at her, “Wait, did you never learn about Ishida’s sad backstory, trademark pending?” Orihime and Chad both shook their heads, “Huh.”

“Well, it all started one thousand years ago-” Urahara began, but Candice cut him off.

“If you want the full story, ask us later.” She looked over at Orihime, “Spark Notes-” heh, “The Lichtreich went to war with the Seireitei a thousand years ago because Quincy annihilate Hollows rather than purifying them, which throws off the balance of the worlds. We were slaughtered and the survivors hid away, swearing revenge once our King regained his health and power.”

“Oh.” Orihime paled considerably.

“Yeah, ‘Oh.’” Liltotto deadpanned, “The Sternritters were his twenty-six strongest soldiers, with the Schutzstaffel being the strongest of the strongest.”

“I am quite eager to hear about all the powers that you know of.” Urahara said, “Perhaps we start there?”

“Nah.” Bazz-B said, “We don’t know all of them anyway, and we can give more detailed reports later.” He glared at Ichigo, “I swore I would kill that son of a bitch for what he did, and I want to know what the plan is for that.”

“We still have three years to prepare.” Yoruichi drawled as she padded over to Ichigo and laid across his lap. Ichigo raised an eyebrow, so she wrapped her tail around his wrist and brought it over to her back for him to pet her, “And unfortunately, while the Blood War is an important thing to prepare for, we have to worry about Aizen as well. Last thing we need is to have him just waltz into Karakura and create the Ōken like Urahara suspects he wishes to do.”

Bazz-B growled, “Fine.” He spat out, “But we can deal with Aizen much easier, can’t we? Especially with Kurosaki here apparently getting his huge power up three years early. Let’s just march into Hueco Mundo and take the bastard out.”

Ichigo got a feeling from Old Man Zangetsu that doing that was a terrible idea. ‘What’s up, old man?’

‘Doing as Bazzard says would be a disaster.’ Old Man Zangetsu replied, “The point of divergence was your fight with Yhwach, and there were three people in that fight.”

‘Aizen.’ Ichigo clenched his fists, ‘Shit… Just fucking great. Does he have memories of the future too?’

‘No. He has no real connection to Yhwach, and so would only have gained more power.’ Old Man Zangetsu sounded pretty sure about that.

‘Well, at least there’s that.’ He shook his head, “No. Aizen probably got a power up too. There were three of us in that fight, not just me and Yhwach.”

“Shit.” Isshin groaned, “So much for that idea.”

“You don’t know that, Ichigo.” Yoruichi said, before turning her head up at him, “Or do you?”

Ichigo was silent for a moment, before getting a feel from Old Man Zangetsu. He sighed, “Don’t freak out, you six.” He directed at the Quincy.

“Ehh, what do you mean, Ichigo?” Candice asked him in confusion.

“This.” His Zanpakutō began to glow, and then his spirits were summoned to the land of the living.

“Heh, sup Queens? Thanks for pryin’ that stick out of his ass!” Zangetsu grinned as he plopped down between Candice and Meninas, wrapping his arms around their shoulders.

But the six Quincy were too busy gaping at the other spirit to really answer him, “What the fuck?!” They all yelled, yanking their bows out and priming arrows.

“I told you not to freak out!” Ichigo yelled, making them flinch, “Now put those away and sit down.”

“My, my, what an interesting reaction.” Urahara said mildly. “Whyever did you react like that, I wonder?”

“Why?” Bazz-B spat, “Why wouldn’t we? You’re Yhwach! I’d recognize that fucking face anywhere, even if you look like you did a thousand years ago!”

“I am one half of Zangetsu.” Old Man Zangetsu declared, “It is true, I bear the face of your former King. However, I am both Yhwach and not Yhwach.”

“How does that make any sense? This is confusing.” Meninas pouted over at Ichigo.

“And why does one of your Zanpakutō spirits bear His Majesty’s face?” Liltotto glared at him.

“It’s cuz he has a bit of Yhwach’s soul in him.” Zangetsu cut to the chase.

“What the fuck?” Bambietta snarled, “How the fuck can we beat him if that’s the case? What’s to say he isn’t using it to spy on us right now?!”

“Your confusion and distrust are understandable, but misplaced.” Zangetsu said, “After all, every Quincy possesses a piece of his soul.”

That froze the five Quincy. “Wh-what?” Giselle croaked, “What do you mean?”

“Did you never wonder how the Auswählen worked, Giselle Gewelle?” Zangetsu turned to her, “What you must understand about Yhwach is that he is a parasite. When he was born twelve-hundred years ago, he was blind, deaf, mute, and completely paralyzed. An abhorrent position to be in, regardless of who you are or power you possess.”

“How is that possible?” Candice gaped, “He-we all followed him because of his power! He effortlessly defeated the Queen of Hueco Mundo. He cut down the Sōtaichō of the Seireitei. How could Yhwach come from such awful beginnings?” Urahara took very careful note of what had just come out of the girl’s mouth.

“It is because Yhwach possessed a power that very, very few beings possess.” Zangetsu turned to her, “Despite being unable to see, hear, move, or speak, Yhwach survived because of those around him. Any person who touched him found themselves gaining something they lacked. Someone with ill health would recover better than ever. A blind man would regain his sight. A barren woman would suddenly find herself able to become pregnant once more. And so, year by year, decade by decade, this Miracle Child was given the name of Yhwach.” He stared deep into her eyes, “The name of the God the people around him worshipped.”

“But why did this happen?” Urahara realized something very special was happening and he was over the moon that he was getting a front-row seat to such an important bit of history.

“Because of the power he possessed. As the son of the Reiō himself-” Isshin, Yoruichi, and Urahara let out strangled gasps, “He possessed the ability to share fragments of his soul with others, and impart a small portion of his divine blessing to them.” Bazz-B looked the most upset, his gloves audibly creaking as he clenched his fists, “But the bill comes due. Always.” Old Man Zangetsu said, “Once they died, those fragments would return to him, bringing with them all of their knowledge, abilities, and talents. And slowly, he began to see, to hear, to speak, and to move. That is who Yhwach is. Who he became. A parasite that cannot even function normally without the sacrifices of the people around him. Eventually, he learned how to do this before the holder of his Soul Fragment perished. The Auswählen.” There was a lot more to it than that, but he felt no need to explain it further when it would never actually be relevant for their group.

“So that’s it then?” Liltotto spat, “Can we even fight him with his soul inside us? He can just steal our power and souls away at any time! I saw what it did to Robert! He turned the guy into a skeleton!”

“Ya don’t seem too bright when yer mad, Lili!” Zangetsu chuckled as he, apparently deciding that Yoruichi had the right idea, got up and sat in front of Meninas, before laying his head on her lap. The poor girl looked so confused, and hesitantly started scratching his hair. As Liltotto growled at him, he smirked, “That’s where the last few days come in.”

“Indeed.” Old Man Zangetsu said, “The fight between Ichigo, Aizen Sōsuke, and Yhwach turned against him, both because of their sheer power, and because of the Hōgyoku that Aizen stole interfering with Yhwach’s strongest ability. And so Yhwach attempted to use his power as he never had before, and tried to send himself a warning three years in the past. Urahara’s Hōgyoku affected the attempt and sent not only Yhwach’s warning to himself, but Ichigo’s and Aizen Sōsuke’s power back in time. Yhwach considered the risk of Ichigo’s Hollow side to be manageable, and attempted to utilize the Auswählen. He did not consider that Ichigo was not only the one person on the planet who had the ability to resist it, but someone who could strike back at him.”

“And why the fuck is that?” Bazz-B snarled, “What makes him so fucking special?”

“It is because Ichigo is not a Quincy.” Isshin smirked as he crossed his arms, “Or at least, not just a Quincy. He is a Shinigami as well, and has Hollow powers on top of the whole thing. And because he’s a Shinigami, he has his own Inner World, and could therefore go within and fight off the attack on his soul.”

“That’s it then!” Giselle exclaimed, “That’s why you exist. You’re the fragment of Yhwach inside of him turned into a Zanpakutō spirit!”

“Correct.” Old Man Zangetsu nodded at her, “And because we exist, and Ichigo was able to fight the Auswählen off, something incredible has happened.” For the first time ever, Ichigo witnessed him smile. “Yhwach cut this fragment loose. He has completely abandoned it, and all of the restrictions I had have been lifted.”

“Good for you.” Candice snarked, “But what about us?! We’re still connected to that asshole!” She then abruptly realized who she had said that to, and flushed a bit, “Uh, no offense.” She giggled nervously.

“No.” Old Man Zangetsu declared, “You are not.”

Liltotto clicked her teeth, “I was right, wasn’t I?” She glared at Ichigo, “More right than I knew. We’re not connected to him anymore. We’re connected to our new King, aren’t we, Kurosaki?”

“Ayep!” Zangetsu threw fuel in the fire, grinning broadly.

“What, so now HE can fucking Auswählen us instead?!” Bazz-B snarled at Ichigo.

“Fuck you, asshole. I don’t even know how to do that stupid move, and even if I did, I never would.” Ichigo glared back.

“Yeah, Kurosaki-kun would never use such an awful ability!” Orihime glared at Bazz-B, quite uncharacteristically for her.

“I assure you.” Old Man Zangetsu said dryly, “I wouldn’t even waste the time to teach Ichigo. I have much more important things to teach him that he’d actually be willing to learn.” Bazz-B spat on the ground, “Furthermore, the way you seven came to be attached is quite different. Ichigo possesses the same ability to share his soul as Yhwach and Jugram Haschwalth, it is true. That is the true reason that Inoue Orihime and Yasutora Sado gained their power, not the Hōgyoku.” Orihime gasped and Chad stiffened. The girls were surprised, and Bazz-B glared at the mention of his old friend’s name.

Yoruichi mewled, “I’m feeling left out, boya. I thought we had something special!” She turned belly up in his lap, “When are you going to go deep inside me too?”

Several people sputtered out a bunch of spittle as Ichigo gaped, “Can you not say stuff like that in cat form?! That’s so creepy with your man voice!” Yoruichi started to howl in laughter, as did Bazz-B, Isshin, Giselle, Bambietta, and Candice. Meninas, Liltotto, and even Urahara were hiding grins. Orihime was nearly passing out and steam was rising from her head. Chad was simply smiling while fanning the orange-haired young woman.

The only one unaffected was Old Man Zangetsu, who drew their attention once more. “But even compared to that, what happened between you six and Ichigo is different. Yhwach abandoned you permanently, the same as he did to me, and did so within Ichigo’s Inner World. Your souls are attached both ways, not just in one direction like it was with your old master.” That got everyone to murmur, “You only get benefits from this arrangement.”

“Like what?” Bambietta asked, a little mulishly.

“Like me, Sweet Cheeks.” Zangetsu snarked, “Hello? No one questioning the Hollow getting a lap pillow from the beautiful Quincy?” Meninas flushed a bit.

Liltotto’s eyes lit up, “So we really are safe from Hollows?”

“From the poisonous aspect, sure.” Ichigo smiled at her, “Though it’s not like they can’t manually hurt you.”

“Fair enough.” Candice grinned happily.

“Furthermore,” Old Man Zangetsu said, “All six of you will no longer annihilate Hollows due to your connection with Ichigo. Now, your arrows will purify, just as if you were using a Zanpakutō.”

“Oh, sure.” For once, Bazz-B actually sounded completely dumbfounded and was completely lacking in bravado, “Let’s just throw over a thousand years of precedence in the garbage, shall we?”

“After what we saw when you killed Grand Fisher, that makes me really happy.” Meninas said, smiling at Ichigo.

Giselle didn’t care too much about that. Purified or annihilated really didn’t matter to her. But Ichigo obviously looked really pleased, as did his girlfriends (even Bambietta!) so she responded accordingly while moving the conversation forward. “Awesome. But if we still have a soul connection like we used to, why can’t we use our Schrifts or Vollständig?”

“To understand that you must understand what the ritual you performed to acquire them actually does.” Old Man Zangetsu told her, “By drinking a small amount of Yhwach’s blood-” Again,  despite having heard it once before, several noses wrinkled. Orihime in particular looked a little queasy. “He etched a Letter denoting a word in your soul, giving you a power based on that word, correct?”

“That’s right!” Giselle chirped, and was quite eager to have a bit of Ichigo’s blood if that was what it took.

“I regret to inform you, but that was not what it did at all.” All of them twitched in shock, gaping at him, “Did you not find it strange that Catnipp-san can still utilize her electrical arrows? Her Galvano Blast? How could she do this without her Schrift?”

“Hey, that’s right!” Candice exclaimed, “It’s weaker than it used to be, sure, but it’s still there! And Bambi’s arrows all have more explosive force than the rest of ours! Even Bazz-B’s kinda feel really hot.”

“Exactly.” Old Man Zangetsu declared, “Yhwach gave you no power at all. He merely awakened the power you already had without knowing it.” He grimly stared at all of them, “For a price, of course.”

All of them twitched, “Why do I have the feeling I’m about to be really, really mad?” Liltotto snarled out.

“Because you are an intelligent one, Liltotto Lamperd.” Old Man Zangetsu deadpanned, “The price was a much larger piece of his soul within you. And so, when he used his Auswählen, he could steal not only your power, but your very life force if needed. Even without being hit directly, he could still steal enough power to prevent you from using Vollständig, though you would not lose the Schrift itself.”

“Fucking son of a bitch!” Bambietta snarled, punching the ground.

“And moreover,” They froze as apparently there was more, “Should your power be something that might pose even an infinitesimal risk to him, he could seal that part of your ability away.” They all gasped sharply as he turned to look at Meninas, “Did you never find it strange, Meninas McAllon, that an ability called ‘The Power’ only gave you the ability to punch harder and mildly inflate your muscles?” She gasped as he turned to Liltotto, “Or that your power only gave you incredibly sharp teeth, a mouth that could extend a few meters, and a stomach that could consume endlessly?” He shook his head, “No, he kept from you the most important part of your own ability. Had you awakened The Glutton naturally, you would have been able to digest the abilities of anything you consumed and made it your own. Even Hollow power and Zanpakutō themselves.”

Liltotto was too busy gaping at him, so Candice and Giselle were the ones that said, “Holy shit.”

“But why?!” The blonde girl finally blurted out.

“Because he only ever wanted his pawns to be capable of challenging his enemies, not challenging him.” Old Man Zangetsu said, “Before he fully regained his power and his greatest ability, he was vulnerable. Had you betrayed him and consumed a piece of him, you would have gained his abilities too. You were likely one of the biggest threats to him in the entire Wandenreich, though not the most. Two of the Schutzstaffel gained their Schrifts of their own accord, and their abilities are amongst the most powerful. It is a shame they are so fanatically loyal to their King.”

“You keep talking about this ability of his.” Bazz-B snarled, “Like it makes him fucking unbeatable when he can use it or something. What the fuck is it, huh?”

Old Man Zangetsu looked down at him, “An ability that can only be fought by possessing it yourself, or by having a power of your own that cannot be affected by it. If you are familiar with human world video games, I believe you would call it ‘hax.’” Ichigo snorted at the description, “Otherwise, it cannot be fought. It cannot be planned around. It cannot be tricked. And it is impossible to defeat one who possesses it. It is called The Almighty, and that should tell you all you need to know for now. I will say no more on the matter.”

“The Almighty.” Liltotto growled, flashing back to being effortlessly defeated inside the throne room of the Wahrwelt.

“Fascinating.” Urahara snapped his fan shut, “You seem quite sure of that, Zangetsu-san.”

“You would understand, should you learn of it, Urahara Kisuke.” Old Man Zangetsu replied, “But the time for that is not now. Now, you have quite a bit of training to do, and you have Aizen Sōsuke to worry about. He did not regain his memories as he was not connected to Yhwach, but his power? That unfortunately came back to him, courtesy of the Hōgyoku.”

“So, he still possessed it three years from now?” Urahara sighed, “I find that…quite disappointing.”

“He fused with the damn thing, Geta-Boshi.” Ichigo said, “Made him functionally immortal, and your seal couldn’t separate the two. The Seireitei sealed him away.”

“Inside the Muken, I’m assuming.” Urahara said, before opening his fan and starting to cool himself off, “So, the seal I’ve been developing for that eventuality worked, but not well enough.” He smiled grimly. “Challenge accepted.”

“Oh, and Ichigo.” Yoruichi smirked, knowing this was going to cause a ruckus, “You should learn this Auswählen from Zangetsu here.”

“Excuse the fuck out of you, you damn cat?!” Bazz-B, Candice, Bambietta, and even Liltotto screamed.

“I assume you have a good reason for that?” Meninas was the only one who visibly kept her cool, because even Giselle was glaring at the cat.

“Anyone who touched Yhwach had a piece of his soul given to them, right?” She grinned, exposing all her fangs, “Well you’re going to be touching a whole lot of our enemies soon enough. With your fists and blades. And we’ve got an enemy whose power is literally called the fucking ‘Almighty.’ That’s terrifying! So why not put a weapon only you would be able to use to good use?”

“What, like stealing the power from our enemies?” Ichigo gaped at Yoruichi. “Like Kyōka Suigetsu?!”

“Exactly.” Yoruichi chuckled, “It might seem nasty and underhanded to you, but when it comes to threats that threaten the very existence of the three worlds, nothing is. The Onmitsukidō have a saying for resolving moments that threaten existence, ‘Nothing is true, everything is permitted.’”

“You got that from Assassin’s Creed!” Ichigo snarked at her.

“No.” Her fangs glistened, “They got it from us.”

Old Man Zangetsu threw a wrench into that conversation. “While a decent enough idea, it does not work like that.” He said firmly, “If you wish to take your opponent’s power for your own, you will have to find another way to do it.”

“Well, that was a waste of time then.” Isshin chuckled, “So why don’t we all share notes from this future of yours so we can at least create the skeleton of a proper plan?”

“Yeah.” Bazz-B smirked, “And we should get some training plans together, because The Heat is calling my fucking name now that I know it was always mine to begin with.”

“That’s the fuckin’ spirit.” Zangetsu grinned, “So hurry the fuck up and share what you lot know about what’s coming so we can leave Urahara to his plotting. I’ve been itchin’ for some action and I’m ready to break my foot off in your ass, Rooster.”

“What did you say about my fucking hair?!” Bazz-B launched at Zangetsu, who howled in laughter as he flipped away from Meninas and led the man away.

Liltotto sighed, “Children.” She grumbled, as the rest of them bunkered down and started sharing everything they knew.

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