A stately hut sits in the middle of a small lake, surrounded by greenery. It is called "Ugen Hall", the 13th Captain's room. A startled messenger from the Ritei division flies out the doorway of the hut, landing on his back on the wooden walkway outside.

"What!?" a voice from inside shouts, "Aizen's been killed!? When!? By whom!? Why!?"

"T... this morning before dawn!!" the nervous messenger stutters. "The culprit and motive is unknown!!"

A handsome man with thick black eyebrows and long white hair (1) looks down at the unsettled messenger and scratches the back of his head in frustration, "Shi~~t. For such a thing to happen while I've been sleeping... Unforgivable!" This silver-haired man is none other than Ukitake Jyuushirou, Captain of the 13th Division.

[Intro page: Color + Captains = Coolness. Ichigo sprints by the foreground while close-ups of Gin, Byakuya, Shunsui, Kaname, Hitsugaya, and Mayuri are featured in the background. Gaaah! XD]

On the long bridge leading to the White Tower, a shinigami with a heavy aura of power walks toward the prison, where a very freaked out Hanataro is screaming, "A... AAAAHH... That's... Kuchiki Byakuya... Captain of the 6th...!!!"

"Th... that guy is... Kuchiki Byakuya," Ganju repeats numbly.

"D... do you know about him, Ganju-san?" Hanataro asks.

"Of course I do... The Kuchiki Clan holds the top title out of the 4 great aristocratic families...! That guy is the present head of the clan - he's called the strongest one in the history of their family... Out of the 13 captains right now, he is the most famous one...!!" Ganju says fiercely, "Th... this is the worst thing to happen... a guy like that at a time like this...!"

"It's no use... there's no way we can win..." Ganju sweats as he forces his next words out, "I... I'd rather... beg for my life first."

"Wh... what are you saying? Ganju-san!!" Hanataro demands. "Let's escape! Together with Rukia-san!!"

"You stupid idiot! Where the hell is there an escape route!?" Ganju berates him. "The only way is by this single bridge!! Do you mean fight him and run for our lives!?" He points an accusing finger at Rukia, "Do you mean risking our lives for her!?"

"She killed my brother!!" Ganju shouts, "I ain't risking my life and fighting for her sake!! Not for someone like her...!!"

Rukia looks down in resignation.

Hanataro begins to tremble and sweat. He clenches his fist as he fights down his nerves, "I... I understand... That's how it is... After all, you didn't have any reason to save Rukia-san in the first place... trying to stop you by force here... would be talking of selflessness... S... so, at the very least... please take Rukia-san with you when you run away..." Hanataro looks up at Ganju with all the determination he can muster, looking pretty damn heroic in the process, "I will... hold him up back here...!!"

Rukia and Ganju are winded by Hanataro's plan.

"Wh... what are you talking about... don't you understand...?" Ganju asks.

"I... I intend to understand... your feelings..." Hanataro says as he looks ahead, "I wouldn't want to risk my life for an enemy... that's what I would say if I were in your position..."

"Th... that's not it!" Ganju yells at him. "That guy's spiritual pressure... It's about the same as that Zaraki guy earlier... maybe even more than that! There's no way we could keep a guy like that under control..."

"I understand that too," Hanataro interrupts. "Even so... I came all the way here because I want to save Rukia-san... As it stands... I cannot go back without doing a single thing...!"

Hanataro gives Ganju a low, respective bow, "Thank you very much for everything up to now!!" He forces himself to smile cheerfully, "I'm going now!" He turns around and walks out the prison door, into the bright light outside.

"S... stop, Hanataro! You can't..." Rukia rushes toward the boy, but Ganju raises an arm to block her path. "Wh... what are you doing!? Let go!!"

Ganju watches Hanataro walk down the bridge in silent disbelief, ...You damn idiot... what do you plan to do without even a Zanpaku sword...! You're trembling... you're frightened... even through you're weak, you're not looking out for yourself...!

Ganju's arm shoves Rukia back, "Wha...!?"

"Shit..." Ganju curses as he stomps up to the thick wall beside the open doorway. He takes a deep breath and then... "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGH!!" *WHAM*

Poor Hanataro - already seriously on edge - is freaked out by the sound. He looks back over his shoulder fearfully, "...wha...? What was that noise...?"

Ganju stumbles up to Hanataro on the bridge, blood is caked on his forehead and bleeding down his face from where he slammed his head against the wall. He looks down at Hanataro, "Step aside!"

"Ga... Ganju-sa... WAH!?"

Ganju dropkicks him out of the way and turns to face down Byakuya.

...Sorry, Big Brother... I'm going to postpone avenging your death... he thinks, If you hold it against me... then hold it against Big Sister for not raising me as a coward who'd run off and desert his friends...!! he pounds his fists together and makes a 'come hither' gesture at the stolid Byakuya, "Let's go, Rich Boy! I'm your opponent!!"

~*~*~

There is a cliff half a mile away from the bridge, but still with within view of the White Tower. It is where the long axe and execution block stand in silent waiting. There is a cave inside the cliff-face, about 10 feet below the execution area. The entrance is barricaded by wood slats. In the center of the small cave, Kurosaki Ichigo lies asleep on a mat.

Ichigo's eyes slowly open. ...Where... am I...? He wonders, I'm... not dead, huh...?

He notices a black pawed foot beside his head.

"It seems you are awake," the black cat looks down at him.

"...Yoruichi-san...!!" Ichigo is rather happy to see his former guide, "You haven't been injured...! That's great..."

"Yes, I've been in better shape than you this whole time," Yoruichi says.

"I see... you saved me, huh... Thanks..."

"What," Yoruichi huffs. "You should be grateful
for your own will to live that you didn't die instantly just from those wounds."

"Wounds..." Ichigo repeats, as if it's all just starting to make sense. "That's right... I got pretty sliced up..." His eyes widen from a sudden realization and he quickly sits up in bed, "That's right!!" Blood spurts from the reopened injury on his side - the last wound that Zaraki inflicted on him. Ichigo doubles over in pain, "Ugh..."

"You... moron! You mustn't move!!" Yoruichi scolds him, "Don't you get how terrible your injuries are!? What's the meaning of this!?"

"Chad is... in danger...!" Ichigo groans through the pain. "I have to go help him...!"

"Calm down!" Yoruichi dives straight at Ichigo's face, slamming the boy's head back to the mat and causing more blood to spill out from his side wound.

"Chad is fine," Yoruichi reassures him, "So are Ishida and Inoue."

"Eh...?"

Yoruichi turns away from him, "They were lucky with the opponents they fought. They received injuries, but they'll live. Ishida and Inoue engaged their enemy well and they are still mostly unharmed. In any case, stay within that barrier for a little while longer. A half-dead guy who has just been saved can't be of much use anyhow." Ichigo looks around, noticing the 4 blocks of wood set at each corner of his mattress and the length of rope that goes around the low posts, forming a 'barrier'.

"Y'know, half of your insides have been destroyed..." Yoruichi pawed at something to show to Ichigo. "If this had not been inside your coat, your torso would've been split cleanly in two. However, I'm surprised that you're still carrying this thing around with you..."

Ichigo's eyes widen in shock at the sight of the object, "That was... in my coat...!?"

Yoruichi has a mask raised up to show him - it is Ichigo's white Hollow mask with a black design on the left side, where it has also suffered some nasty damage.

"What wrong?" Yoruichi looks over at him, "Weren't you carrying this with you?"

"No... Actually, it seems that I was saved in the fight against Renji yesterday thanks to that thing," Ichigo explained with a bemused look, "So I was going to keep it with me for protection... but Hanataro insisted on throwing it away..."

Ichigo looks down at Hanataro, sweatdropping, "Eh___"

The worry-wart Shinigami tugs the mask out of Ichigo's hands frantically, "Let's throw this thing away. It's scary and creepy."

"I threw it away in the sewers," Ichigo says, earning a seriously disturbed reaction from Yoruichi - one which Ichigo doesn't seem to notice.

"Ah, Hanatoro is a guy from the 4th Division," Ichigo adds with a grin. "He's an enemy but a nice guy. He healed the wounds I got from Renji." He reached over and scooped up the mask, "Why was this in my coat anyway... I thought I really had thrown it away..."

"...Wait," Yoruichi interrupts him, "I'll look after that for you."

"Eh?" Ichigo looks over at the cat, clueless, "Why should I? It's been returned after all this trouble..."

"Hand it over," Yoruichi summons all of the bad-ass aura necessary to scare the shit out of anyone with any sense of self-preservation. "I don't allow back talk."

"H... here..." Ichigo hands it over meekly, "It's all yours..."

Under his breath, Ichigo grumbles to himself fitfully: "What was with that. You didn't need to make such a scary face. If you wanted it, you should've just asked nicely..."

Ignoring Ichigo's complaints, Yoruichi inspects the mask, I think it's improbable, but... it doesn't hurt to take precautions...

Still laying in bed, Ichigo looks up at the ceiling thoughtfully, "...But you know, you really are amazing, Yoruichi-san..."

"How so?"

"You didn't get a single scratch even with all those Captains wandering around..." he says, "And you easily managed to carry me all the way to this place with that tiny body of yours."

"What," Yoruichi scoffs, "Such things aren't such a big deal if I return to my original form..."

"Aah, I see," Ichigo agrees, "Your original..."

An awkward pause follows: Ichigo has a total WTF!? moment.

He looks over at Yoruichi, sweatdropping, "Your original... form?"

"...Yep," the cat says, getting a strange look in its eyes. "Speaking of which, I still haven't shown it to you yet. Alright then, there's no need to keep it hidden from you since you've made it this far," Energy starts to rip from Yoruichi's small body violently in front of Ichigo's shocked gaze, "I'll show it to you. My... True Form."

Yoruichi-san is a beautiful, young woman. A tan-skinned, raven-haired lady with eyes of a cat. She is shamelessly buck naked, standing among a cloud of (strategically placed) dust that surrounds her.

"Wha... ah... aaah..." Ichigo is far beyond freaked out by now. He resorts to pointing and obscure grunts of shock as his only form of articulation.

"Humph... It seems I've surpised you considerably..." Yoruichi grins wickedly, crossing her arms over her buxom chest. "It's natural. Almost all of you assume I am a man simply by the way I speak. (2) How naive!" She is clearly amused, "And the moment I reveal my true form is something I can relish no matter how many times I do it. Every single one of you turn into astonished idiots every time!"

"Well, now..." she squats down crudely in a business-like manner, pulling out a strange staff from behind her, "I'll finally explain to you how I managed to carry you here. First of all, this tool is..."

"PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!!!" Ichigo interrupts angrily, blood vessels popping like crazy.

"Oh, sorry, sorry," Yoruichi ties up her hair in a ponytail and pulls a dark long-sleeved shirt over her head. "It's been a long time since I've worn clothes, so I didn't think about it." She spares Ichigo a sly look as she slips the shirt over her slim body, "However, it's not hard to see how surprisingly unsettled you are. Is this the first time you've ever seen a naked woman in person? Hm?"

Ichigo looks away, blushing like a madman, "Shut up..."

Yoruichi lifts up the hem of her oversized shirt, "It's alright. You should check out a ripe naked girl like this right now, since you might not get another chance to see one for the rest of your life!"

"I said shut up!!" Ichigo spins around angrily in his sitting position, causing his stomach wound to spurt blood again, "Mind your own damn business and get dressed already!!!"

"Damn... you can't take a joke. You must be called a boring guy more often than not."

"I'm not called that. Even if I were, it wouldn't have anything to do with you," Ichigo snaps back angrily. "Say, how come you still don't have anything on underneath!? People usually start from there. Put it on quickly or I'll kill ya. C'mon!!!"(3)

A little while later, Yoruichi-san lifts her oddly serpentine staff with her bare foot as she balances on one leg with her arms crossed. She says, "...Anyway, that's how it is. I carried you by use of this tool. By the way, is your stomach wound alright? Well, that's what happens if you shout and fuss that much. Be more careful from now on."

Ichigo clutches at his profusely bleeding stomach, thinking darkly, You bitch...

"...In brief," Yoruichi-san lifts up the staff again to continue her explaination, "this thing is a tool that concentrates spiritual power in order to fly." She smugly hands the tool to Ichigo, "That's right. It's a valuable treasure and there's nothing else like it in Soul Society. Be thankful!"

Ichigo looks down at the tool in his hand and asks, "A valuable tool like this... how did you get your hands on it...?"

Yoruichi looks down at him in surprise and he meets her gaze in suspicion.

"...You can transform," he says. "You can heal. You carry a valuable tool... Yoruichi-san... what the hell are you?"

She steps closer, "That's..."

Yoruichi's reply is cut off by a sudden wave of an overwhelming spiritual aura. The both of them are stunned.

"...Th... This spiritual pressure is...!!" Ichigo looks up, recalling the face of Captain Kuchiki Byakuya and his unforgettable aura, "...It's his...!!"

"It's from the direction of Senzaikyuu!" Yoruichi scowls. Behind her, Ichigo leaps out of bed and heads toward the mouth of the cave. She turns back to him, "Wait, Ichigo! What are your trying to do?"

Ichigo shouts back at her in his haste, "Ganju and Hanataro are over at Senzaikyuu!! If I don't go, no one will save them!!"

Yoruichi pauses at his words, which gives Ichigo enough time to thrust forward the tool in his hands and concentrate his spiritual energy into it. "FLY!!!" he orders it, causing it to transform, wrap its snake-like body around his arm and extend one large, reptilian wing.

"Wait! Ichigo!" Yoruichi yells after him, but it is too late - he's already in the air, speeding towards Senzaikyuu. She stands at the mouth of the cave, furious with him, "Damn it, you idiot!!"

~*~*~

A fiery spiritual aura burns around the bridge of the White Tower, as Ganju and Byakuya face off from 20 feet away from each other. "I felt the subtle movement of spiritual energy coming from the four deep prisons..." Byakuya says impassively, "I came here wondering what kind of strong person has covered over his spiritual power, but..." he looks at Ganju, "It turns out to be nothing... just an insect.... what a waste."

Rukia lunges toward Ganju but this time it is Hanataro who stops her by grabbing onto her arm with both hands. "Wh... where are you going, Rukia-san!?"

"L... let go, Hanatarou! If I don't stop that member of the Shiba clan...! He will... be... kill..." she collapses.

Hanatarou rushes to her side, "Ru-Rukia-san!?"

Thanks to being put inside the prison of the killing-intent stone, my spiritual energy has been finely chipped away...! Rukia gasps for breath. My body can't put up with being touched by a huge aura after all this time.

A hand touches her shoulder gently and she looks up to see Hanataro. "...It's alright, Rukia-san," he says faithfully, looking over at Ganju. "Ganju-san did a proud job of coming out here for us. Surely, he has something... some sort of amazing plan that I would've never been able to think up! At the very least, I believe in that!"

Rukia looks over at Hanataro, not exactly as assured as he is, but willing to believe.

Ahead of them, Ganju thinks, Dang... just by facing each other, I feel friggin' prickly all over... Bastard's got incredible spiritual pressure... Faced with this level of ability, cheap tricks are useless... Ganju suddenly charges, sword drawn, It's sink or swim!!

Rukia and Hanataro are horrified, "He... he didn't come up with a plan!!"

"Ju~st kidding!!" Ganju grins and rears back with two spheres in his left hand, "Take this!!! It's Blood Tears..."

Too late. Byakuya stands behind him. There is a red streak on Ganju's throwing arm. Byakuya looks over his shoulder, "Get lost. Unlike you, my sword is not used for crushing insects."

Ganju's arm erupts in blood, "GAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

"GANJU-SAN!!!" Hanataro screams.

"...Wa... wait one damn minute!!" Ganju yells at Byakuya's back, heedless of his bloody arm.

"It seems that you are unable to listen," Byakuya says, "I told you to get lost."

"Quit your sniveling, Rich Boy!!" Ganju snaps. "I don't give a shit about what your aristocratic family is, but there isn't anyone within the Shiba clan who is coward enough to get scared and run from this!!!"

"Shiba, huh..." Byakuya seems to regain his interest. "...I see... you are a member of the Shiba clan... If that's so, then I apologize for treating you lightly."

This is bad...!! Rukia panics.

Byakuya faces Ganju, drawing his sword out, "I won't let you leave here alive."

Ganju is bewildered since Byakuya is still several feet away from him. "What are you planning to do at this sort of distance...?"

"Don't do it!" Rukia screams, "Honored Brother!!!"

Byakuya holds the blade vertically in front of him as he calls to it, "Scatter, 'Senbonzakura'.(3)"

The blade vanishes, leaving behind only the hilt in his hands and what seems to be ghostly sakura petals in the air.

"What...?" Ganju is caught off guard, "The blade is gone-"

"RUN AWAY!!!" Rukia shrieks in warning.

A ghostly petal drifts in darkness... and then Ganju's body suddenly spurts blood from a multitude of long wounds. He didn't even see it coming. He falls to his knees and collapses on his back in a rain of blood.

"...Ganju... san...?" Hanataro witnesses all of this in wide-eyed horror. "...Eh...?"

Byakuya turns his attention to him, but Rukia jumps in front of the terrified Hanataro protectively, "Stop it already!! Honored Brother!!!"

Unconcerned, Byakuya raises his sword arm.

Rukia shuts her eyes against the oncoming pain, "Honored Brother...!!"

The instant of terror passes and, to Byakuya's amazement, the 13th captain has suddenly appeared out of nowhere to catch his wrist behind him in mid-swing. The lives of Hanataro and Rukia have been spared for now.

"Hmph!" The 13th Captain offers the 6th Captain a slight grin, "...Well, that was dangerous. What would you have done if you went too far, Captain Kuchiki?"

"...Ca..." Rukia is relieved and amazed, "Captain Ukitake!!!"

"What's up, Kuchiki!" Ukitake saluts her as if they were old friends running into each other after a long time apart. "You've gotten a bit skinnier. Are you alright?"

"...What are you trying to do, Ukitake?" Byakuya demands.

"Hey, hey, that's my line," Ukitake says sternly. "Releasing your Zanpaku sword at a place like this is a first-class prohibition. Doing it to drive off intruders... what the hell are you thinking!?"

"...It's a special command in times of war," Byakuya explains. "We've been given permission to release our Zanpaku swords."

"A special wartime order!? Is the invasion of the trespassers that extreme!?" Ukitake demands. "...It couldn't be that they killed Aizen-"

The sudden appearance of a strong energy falls over them, interrupting Ukitake and surprising them both.

"Wha... what is this spiritual pressure!?" Ukitake yells as they look upwards. "This is clearly a Captain-class aura!(5) But it's unfamiliar...! Who is it!? Where the hell is it coming from-"

Rukia and Hanataro are also affected by the strong aura. "The sensation of this spiritual energy..." she says in disbelief, "...It can't be..."

Something sweeps up from one side of the bridge. A leathery dragon's wing stretches out into the clear sky. Rukia turns her gaze upward and the amazing sight of it is caught in the reflection of her wide, shining eyes.

Suspended in midair by use of Yoruichi's flying instrument, Ichigo looks down towards the bridge. For the first time since her capture and his defeat on a rainy summer night, Ichigo and Rukia lay startled eyes on each other.

The surreal moment passes. The wing retracts and Ichigo lands silently at Rukia's feet. She looks down at his bowed head in a mixture of disbelief and... something else.

"...I... Ichi-" she tries to speak, but Ichigo stands up and walks past her without a second glance. She goes silent.

Ichigo walks over to Hanataro, who stands a short distance behind Rukia. He puts a comforting hand on the boy's arm, "Are you alright, Hanataro? I let you go on ahead of me, but it seems you encountered some frightening stuff... What about Ganju?"

Hanataro tearfully explains what had happened to their fallen comrade. "...I see..." Ichigo says hoarsely.

"Rukia," Ichigo calls to her and she turns around to look up at him. She can see the blood seeping through the bandages wrapped around his abdomen and the way he holds his chin high in determination, but he keeps his gaze away from her by turning his head toward his enemies. "I came to save you," he tells her.

She looks up at him speechlessly, her eyes are wide and doe-like.

"What's with that face!?" Ichigo looks down at her irritably, "I came to save you, so look a little more grateful."

Rukia's gaze softens, startling him. "...You fool...! I told you not to come..." her voice is charged with emotion. "Even though... I said I wouldn't forgive you if you followed me...!" She bows her head, "You're all worn-out and beaten up... you fool...!"

"...Completely," Ichigo agrees sadly, his gaze drifting over to Ganju's bloody form. "You can berate me as much as you want later..." He tells her before he turns to where Byakuya and Ukitake stand.

Ichigo faces Byakuya coldly. "After I defeat him..."

(1)Stick a pair of white puppy ears on his head and he could do a great Inuyasha cosplay... :P
(2)Yoruichi-san has a strong and out-dated masculine accent, which explains why everyone assumed she was a man. Kuukaku also speaks with a male accent, but it's not as dated as Yoruichi-san's.
(3)Ichigo ties at 1st place (with Michiru) for the title of "Most Prudish Bleach Character Ever" - my gosh, what's wrong with a little bare skin, Icchii?
(4)"Senbonzakura" = 1,000 Sakura Trees
(5)Whoa. Imagine Ichigo as a Captain... I'd feel kinda sorry for all his would-be subordinants - they'd have to keep pulling him out of trouble...

Notes
-Yoruichi and Ichigo's entire conversation was fantastic. I read it over and over again - loving it every time. It's great to see that Ichigo does indeed get affected by the female species. ^_^

-When Ichigo passes by Rukia to go talk to Hanataro, I was kinda ticked at first - I mean, what the hell is this? IchiXHana!? But then I realized that he probably couldn't face her without loosing his cool, so it's all good. :)

-I wasn't a big HanaXGanju shipper before, but damn these recent chapters have really turned me around! XD

-Ganju is not dead! I refuse to believe that! >_<

-So Yoruichi-san and Urahara-san are the bestest of friends, huh? Hmmm... <_<

-Byakuya seemed content at first to give Ganju a minor injury and leave it at that. Then Ganju mentions his clan and Byakuya goes all kickass sakura-style on him. "Honored Brother" definitely has something to do with Kaien's death.

-I liked how Hanataro showed how gutsy (i.e. suicidal) he is by trying to face Byakuya. I liked even more how Ganju had to slam his own head against a wall to get his priorities straight. ^_^

-I like Ukitake a lot. It's his first official chapter and he's cool already. When I first read vol.3, I never imagined that we would ever be introduced to him! I can't wait to find out more about him! XD

-Darci-san, thank you so much for the scans and for the kickass Yoruichi/Ichigo fanart you made! XD Yuki, thank you for sharing the cool icons! YAY! XD

-51 bloody wonderful pages... Kubo-sensei, I love ya, but don't do this to me again. I donno if I can keep up at this rate... @_@

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