Yo! Here's the next chapter! If you need me to explain anything feel free to ask!

-o0o-

Chapter 7: Of quincies and Menos Grande

-o0o-

For the next few days after the incident at the graveyard Akira was confined to bed rest by Isshin and Ichigo. Surprisingly father and son agreed on something for once, Akira was not to be allowed outside under any circumstances.

They'd had a hell of a time explaining Akira's injury to the rest of the family. They managed to explain it away by saying that Akira had almost been 'mugged' but before the guy could do any real (as in permenant) damage Ichigo had come and had managed to get the guy to leave. Karin had looked at the sceptically but said nothing. That was one occasion Akira was glad for the memory spell Rukia used. There was no way he wanted to explain this to his sisters, not a chance.

Akira had protested vehemently at being confined but there was nothing he could say or do that would change the minds of father and son. It was quite creepy for the three younger siblings really, seeing Ichigo and goat face agree on something. Karin privately thought that it was a sign of impending doom while Yuzu found it a blessing. Now if only they could stop arguing about everything else! Akira just found it annoying but he didn't say that. So for the next few days he was confined to his bed. He wasn't bored all the time though. He managed to do a lot of studying so he didn't fall behind in school or magic. After all, they hadn't forbidden him from practicing his magic and that, at least, was a blessing. At least he wouldn't die of complete and utter boredom.

His transfiguration practice was coming along. Now he could conjure simple things from mid air like a ball or a cane, simple things that were all made of the same substance. It was when things started getting more complicated taht it became tricky. For example he couldn't conjure plants. There were so many different parts to a plant, the roots, the phloem and xylem vessels in the stem, the leaves, the cambium layers, the flowers...the list went on and on. If it was this hard to conjure plants then it was going to be even harder to conjure animals. Akira shuddered, he was not looking forward to seeing the results of his mess ups when he got onto that particular topic.

Finally, after almost a week of confinement Akira was allowed to leave his holding cell...I mean bedroom, and return to school.

Predictably Akira was the centre of attention for a while, people clammering for his attention, asking questions and generally being annoying. Ichigo, Rukia and Tatsuki managed to protect him for the most part although Tatsuki did ask some awkward questions that they couldn't answer. Rukia offered to change the memories of the students and teachers so that they thought that Akira had never been missing but Akira didn't want to do that. He didn't like wiping people's minds and he wouldnt' do it for personal gain.

They also had to deal with the fact that Akira was now a Shinigami. After another week Ichigo finally deemed Akira 'well' enough to be let out of his body. Akira had rolled his eyes at his brother's overprotectiveness but he couldn't really blame the orangette for it so just shrugged it off. Now, here's where it begins.

The three of them, Ichigo, Rukia and Akira were in the bedroom which had become their unofficial 'meeting place'. They all technically lived in it so that wasn't much of a surprise.

"We need to make it look like you two are asleep," Rukia said as she pulled on her strange glove thing. It was night so the sky outside was a dark blue-black colour with a few stars that were barely visible thanks to the lights of Karakura. There wasn't a moon tonight so it was quite dark outside, one of the best nights for hunting hollows. "Lie down on your bed and then I'll release your souls from you bodies."

They did as she instructed, lying down on their beds and pulling the covers over themselves to make it look like they were asleep. Akira pulled out a small recorder from somewhere and set it on the nightstand. When Rukia looked at him questioningly he just smirked.

"It won't really work if they don't hear us breathing," he said as if it was obvious. He turned on the recording and the sound of two sets of heavy breathing filled the room. Ichigo smirked, trust Akira to think of something like that. Rukia had to admit that it was a good idea. If one of the twins came in later then they'd think that Ichigo and Akira were merely asleep. Them just lying there without making a sound would probably freak the younger girls out, definitely not something that Rukia wanted to do.

"That should give us roughly two and a half hours," Akira said.

"That should be enough," Rukia replied. "Ready?" They nodded and Rukia quickly hit them over the heads. Immediately their spirit forms burst from their bodies and landed on the floor, Akira almost falling flat on his face if Ichigo hadn't caught him.

"Not funny," Akira muttered as he stood straight, brushing Ichigo's hand away. Ichigo only smirked and Rukia chuckled before taking a closer look at Akira's outfit. It was quite different from most of the uniforms. That wasn't to say that some didn't customise their uniform but it was still quite odd. The emerald green of the outfit matched Akira's eyes perfectly and the black of the shihakshou (death garment) seemed to be a shade or two lighter than Akira's midnight hair. She wasn't sure how that was possible but she pushed it aside for now.

"Hey Rukia," Ichigo said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "There's something I've been wanting to ask you."

"What is it Ichigo?" Rukia replied.

"Well," Ichigo paused, frowned, then continued. "When you gave me your powers you lost yours completely right?"

"That's right," Rukia nodded.

"So why do I still have them when they were given to Akira?"

Rukia paused and thought for a moment. In truth that hadn't really crossed her mind. She looked at the two brothers and frowned in concentration. How was it possible? She'd definitely need to talk to Urahara about this. If there was one thing that man was good for it was solving riddles and unfortunately this family was proving to be one huge riddle after another.

"I cannot say for sure," she finally answered Ichigo's question. "For now we should probably concentrate on the hollows." 'Please don't push,' she silently thought as they studied her. She didn't want to tell them about the penalty for giving her powers to another. The last thing she wanted to do was get them into even more shit then they already had to deal with. She was already feeling guilty and she didn't think she could stand it if they got killed because of her, because she was too stuborn to use her Shikai when it could have prevented all of this, just because of what happened last time.

Ichigo nodded, accepting her answer for now. Akira looked at Rukia and nodded his head. Somehow he was sure that there was more to it then that but didn't press her. She was clearly keeping something from them, he just wasn't sure what. Whatever it was he sensed that it was personal so didn't pry. He respected people's privacy so he wouldn't push, for now anyway.

"Alright!" she said, taking on the voice of a drill sargent. "Lets go. We'll go to the park. That should give us plenty of room to practice and we should be in a good position if any hollows show up since we'll be in the middle of town."

"Got'cha!" Akira replied. He was excited. He and Ichigo had agreed that the only way that either of them would improve was if they sparred while in Shinigami form. Rukia had been a little hesitent at the idea but had finally come around. What could it hurt? Besides, it could only help right?

"Alright," Rukia saidl, climbing onto Ichigo's back like she had that first time Ichigo had gone out to fight a hollow. "Just follow Ichigo's lead and try not to put too much reiatsu into your feet or you'll hurt yourself."

"Okay," Akira replied, watching Ichigo carefully. Ichigo tossed a smirk over his shoulder before leaping out the window. Akira followed quickly behind him and together the three of them made their way to the park.

-o0o-

The park was deserted when they arrived, not surprising considdering how late it was. The only creatures around were a few crickets and the odd cat prowling for food. An occasional creeking sound was heard as a light breeze blew and caused a swing to move.

"You ready?" Ichigo asked, allowing Rkia to climb off his back so he could grab his sword. Akira nodded, grasping the hilt of his own sword and easily sliding it out of the sheath at his back. The blade of the sword was a light silver, the same silvery colour as the sash that kept the sheath in place. It seemed fitting and it went perfectly with the hilt and grip of the sword. He swung the blade experementally, testing the weight and balance of it before nodding his head. It felt comfortable in his grasp and that was a good thing. The worst situation to be in was when you had a sword that didn't suit you, he'd learned that much through observation even if he hadn't trained with one himself.

Meanwhile Ichigo unsheathed his own sword and got into a, slightly sloppy according to Rukia, stance. Akira braced himself and tilted his body slightly extending the hand with his sword outwards in front of him. He wasn't sure what he was doing but he figured that he'd wing it for now.

"Begin!" Rukia called.

Immediately Ichigo leapt forward, his huge sword raised above his head as he charged Akira. Akira didn't have long to react and instinctually brought his blade up and blocked Ichigo's blade. A shock went through his arm and he almost colapsed from the force of the blow. Damn it but Ichigo was strong when he used that big ass sword! He knew he wasn't nearly as strong as Ichigo was, that was a given and he was smaller too. He needed to think logically. Ichigo smirked at him before attacking, this time going for a jab. Akira dodged out of the way and rolled to the side to avoid a follow up strike. Despite his poor form Ichigo was viceous with that blade of his. He was strong but his attacks were slightly slower than Akira's dodging.

'That's it!' the raven haired teen thought. 'If I can't overpower him then I'll catch him off guard.' Akira set his plan into motion immediately. He pretended to attack Ichigo, jabbing his sword at Ichigo's left side. Ichigo immediately brought up his blade to block it but at the last second Akira changed direction, aiming for the right side. If Ichigo's sword hadn't been so big then he wouldn't have been able to stop it.

"Good!" Rukia shouted from the side lines. "Don't hold back either of you! How will you improve if you hold back!"

"You heard her Ichigo," Akira said with a smirk. "Lets have some fun."

"You got it," Ichigo replied before charging again. Akira quickly moved out of the way, seemingly to flow almost as he moved. Rukia was impressed. Akira stabbed at Ichigo's right side before changing direction again and going for the left. Ichigo had anticipated it this time though and quickly blocked him almost effortlessly.

"Can't fool me twice," Ichigo smirked as he and Akira leapt appart, their blades raised in front of them. Ichigo was in an offensive stance and Akira had taken up a defensive position.

"We'll see about that," Akira replied before shifting his weight and leaping into the air, his sword raised as he aimed for Ichigo's head. Ichigo quickly brought his blade up and blocked it but he was pushed back with the force of the attack. He wasn't expecting Akira to try that strategy, so far he'd been defensive mostly. 'Good,' Akira thought as he leapt back again. 'If he doesn't know what I'll do then he can't block.' Akira didn't know however that Ichigo was thinking the same thing. He may not be as fast as his younger brother but he was a bit stronger and he'd try and use it to his advantage in this.

"Ready or not here I come!" Ichigo yelled as he charged forward, swinging his sword in what he personally thought was a very convincing beginner's error, he'd left himself wide open for Akira on purpose. Akira, seeing a chance, bounded forward and tried to go for Ichigo's exposed left side. Ichigo had planned it right though for as soon as Akira got within range he quickly raised his left leg and tried to kick Akira's legs out from under him. Akira's eyes widened as he realised what Ichigo meant to do and quickly jumped out of the way before retreating.

They were both panting heavily now, sweat coating their foreheads as they stared each other down accross the park. Rukia's eyes moved from Akira to Ichigo. She didn't think that they'd be this skilled. She had to admit that she was impressed. Akira had mentioned that they'd taken martial arts lessons when they were younger and continued it until they were about the age of twelve. She suposed that it'd paid off. They weren't used to fighting with swords but they were doing very well, adapting their fighting styles to suit their swords.

Akira panted as he stared at Ichigo. There had to be a way to get the upper hand. Then it came to him, it was so obvious that he nearly smacked himself on the forehead. How could he have forgotten about his magic? Taking a deep breath he rushed Ichigo, moving quickly and lightly over the ground as he sped towards the taller teen. He raised his sword as if to deliver a slice to Ichigo's right side. Ichigo, seeing what he thought Akira was trying to do, raised his sword and made to block the attack. Akira smirked and quickly shot his left hand forward and yelled a spell. "Ketsugo Suru!" (bind together). He aimed for Ichigo's legs and they snapped together immediately. Ichigo lost his balance and quickly plumeted face first into the dirt, his sword falling beside him as he let go of it from shock.

Rukia stifled her laughter at the sight of Ichigo's magnificent face plant. 'Well,' she thought with amusement. 'I did tell them not to hold back.'

Akira released the spell and Ichigo quickly jumped to his feet, a scowl on his face.

"How the hell is that fair!" he demanded as he sheathed his sword, glaring at the still laughinr Rukia and grinning Akira.

"No fight's fair Ichigo," Akira said flipently as he too sheathed his blade. "You're the one that taught me that remember?" Rukia couldn't help chuckling as Ichigo and Akira bickered playfully for a while longer. It made hre with that her and Byakuya could be more like that, more like a real family. She shook this thought from her head though. That wasn't likely to happen. Byakuya wouldn't even look at her, never mind interact with her with such warmth and playfullness as Ichigo and Akira did. She closed her eyes, lost in thought.

She was quickly brought out if it however as her soul pager began to ring. She quickly took it out from her pocket and checked it.

"We've got a hollow!" she called over to them. They immediately came over to her and Akira peared at the screen.

"How far?" he asked.

"Not too far," Rukia replied. "It shouldn't take us too long, lets go!"

With that the three of them quickly headed in the direction the hollow signature had been detected. They didn't bother to jump from roof to roof, the hollow wasn't far away and it'd be just as quick running. It barely took them five minutes before they saw the hollow.

It was a dark mould green in colour and shaped like a disfigured insect. Akira made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat as he stared at it.

"Should I fight it or do you want a shot?" Ichigo asked.

"I'll have a go," Akira said, drawing his sword. "If it looks like I'm gunna get cut up again then feel free to step in okay?"

"Got it," Ichigo nodded before Akira rushed forward and quickly, before the hollow knew what happened, stabbed the thing in one of the hind legs. It howled in pain as black hollow blood gushed from the wound as Akira quickly drew his blade out again before jumping back. The thing turned and Akira got a good look at the face. The usual hollow mask covered the head although this one had two brown triangles on each cheek pointing inwards towards the nose. It was definitely one of the uglier hollows he'd had the misfortune to come accross. He was just glad that he could actually do something about it now. He didn't bother with his magic, it didn't work on hollows anyway for some reason. He'd need to rely on his sword for this one. He quickly assesed his surroundings. They were in a pretty open area although there were a few buildings near by that he could use to gain height as there were a few ledges that he'd be able to stand on. An idea began to form in his mind.

The hollow roared before charging at him blindly. Akira quickly dodged, his speed had definitely improved since he left his body, and jabbed at the hollow, piercing another leg. This wasn't any good, he needed to get it in the head if he wanted to take care of it. Then he saw it, the ledge just above the hollow's head.

'Perfect,' he thought.

He quickly jumped, pushing reiatsu into his feet to give himself an extra boost. He landed safely on the ledge. The hollow tried to swipe at him but it wasn't tall enough. Akira felt like being a little childish and stuck his tongue out at the hollow. It growled and jamp, trying to get him again, it was then that AKira made his move. Quickly leaping off the ledge he brought his sword down as hard as he could on the hollow's head. It couldn't stop him as it's arms were raised and to the side as it had been trying to grab Akira. The hollow shrieked as Akira's blade pierced it's skull, the blade cleaving cleanly through the demonic looking mask.

"Nice going Akira!" Ichigo called. Akira grinned before sheathing his blade. He could still feel adrenaline rushing through his body. He felt light headed. He felt good though, really good. Rukia smiled at him.

"Nicely done Akira," she said, congratulating him. He'd done well, better than a lot of rookies did on their first try.

None of them noticed the figure watching them from afar. The figure studied them as they left the area, Ichigo and Akira talking animagedly and Rukia just behind them, throwing the odd comment in here or there. The figure raised his hand and pushed his glasses up his nose as he studied them. His eyes narrowed.

He hated Shinigami.

-o0o-

"Not again!" Akira moaned. This made it, how many times exactly, that they'd gone after a hollow and had arrived to find no hollow present. Tis was getting beyond ridiculous! At first it wasn't that much of a big deal. The soul pager was a machine and they did occasionally make a mistake but after the fifteenth time Akira had begun to think that something else was wrong. They'd get a signal from the Soul Pager and either he or Ichigo would answer it. Then they'd get to where the pager said the hollow was and discover that it wasn't there and then the soul pager said that it was all clear. It was very odd. At least with both him and Ichigo as shinigami they were able to come up with more plausible excuses and only one of them had to go with Rukia so it wasn't Ichigo all the time, that threw the teacher's so they didn't question it. That was most definitely a good thing. Akira wasn't sure how many more times they could get away with the same old excuses. Occasionally Ichigo and Akira would go and leave Rukia behind, the short raven haired shinigami giving them her glove so that one of them could leave their body without needing her there.

"I just don't get it!" Rukia said frustratedly as she stared at the soul pager. "It's working fine!"

"Are you sure?" Akira asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

"I'm positive," Rukia answered. "I'll take it to Urahara," she muttered, almost too low for Akira to hear. "Maybe he'll know what to do."

"Who's Urahara?" he asked curiously. Rukia silently cursed, she'd thought she'd spoien too quietly for him to hear her. 'Can't deny it now,' she thought. She sighed and faced him.

"Urahara is who provided me with my Gigai and also with the glove."

Akira nodded at that. It only made sense that there was someone in the human world who could provide for shinigami when they got in trouble (He doesn't know that Urahara is an exile yet).

"When'll you go and see him?"

"Soon," she answered, glaring at the soul pager as it beeped again. "And if this keeps up then it'll be sooner than I'd hoped."

Akira sighed as they headed in the direction of the new allert. If this kept up he was sure he'd accidentally blow something up, preferrably the soul pager.

-o0o-

"I'll meet you two back here," Rukia said as she began to walk away from them. They'd just had their first official encounter with Uryu Ishida, a 'quincy' that had a hatred for Shinigami. She needed to talk to Urahara and she needed to talk to him now!

"Where are you going?" Akira asked, looking at her. He thought he had an idea but it was better to ask.

"For some information," she replied before turning and beginning to walk away. She turned her head and said over her shoulder, "I'll see you two back at the house."

"Meet you there Ichigo!" Akira called as he began to chase after Rukia.

"Where're you going?" Ichigo demanded, annoyed that he was being left behind.

"To find something!" Akira called back before running after Rukia. It wasn't a lie. He was going to find something, he was going to find out where Rukia was going. "I'll see you later!"

"Whatever," Ichigo muttered before turning and beginning to head back to his house, tucking the glove that Rukia had quickly tossed at him in his pocket. They only had one of them and Ichigo would most likely need it the most if he ran into a hollow.

Akira managed to catch up with Rukia just as she reached a cross roads. Good thing too or he might not have been able to follow her.

"What do you want?" she asked, giving him a hard look.

"I want to come with you," he said simply, as if it were obvious. In a way it was obvious but Rukia ignored that fact for now and gave Akira a hard look.

"Why exactly do you want to come with me?" she asked, staring at him carefully, assesing him.

"I'm curious," Akira admitted honestly. "That and I was wondering if I could ask him if I could get one of those gloves, only one isn't enough for the both of us."

Rukia had to admit that he was right about that. What if one of them ran into a hollow and the other wasn't around. That wouldn't be a problem if Urahara had managed to get her the correct product but she'd worry about that later. She thought about it before sighing and looking back at Akira.

"Fine," she said reluctantly. "You can come."

Akira smiled at her before they turned rught and Rukia directed them to Urahara's shop.

-o0o-

"Kuchiki-san!" Urahara said brightly as she entered his shop again, Akira following close behind her. He took in the shop, shelves full of every day items. He squinted at a packet of something and noticed that it was a few days past it's sell by date. "What brings you back here so soon? And with a friend too! Who's this?"

"Urahara, meet Akira Kurosaki. Akira, this is Kisuke Urahara,"

"Nice to meet you," Akira said, offering the blonde haired man his hand. Urahara took it in a firm grip and smiled at Akira, his eyes hidden beneath his green and white striped hat.

"Nice to meet you Akira-kun!" Urahara said lightly. "Not often I see a wizard Shinigami about."

Akira gave Rukia a startled look but Urahara waved his hand dismissively, as if denying that Rukia was the reason he knew. That was perfectly true after all.

"Don't worry," Urahara said. "I know all about the wizard community. I was quite surprised that you'd like Kuchiki-san in on the secret though."

Akira stared at Urahara hard, assesing if the man was lying or not. His emerald eyes trie dto fix on Urahara's eyes but they couldn't. Half of Urahara's face was in shadow after all, covered by that damn hat.

"Now," Urahara continued. "What can I do for you two today?"

"Firstly," Rukia began, all business. "I need another glove."

"Sure!" Urahara said, turning to a shelf behind him a fishing in a box. "I've got two designs in right now, the blue rabbit or the green snake."

"The snake," Akira said quickly before Rukia could open her mouth. He'd carry this glove around and there was no way he'd be walking around with a rabbit on it. Urahara gave him a knowing look while Rukia shot him a glare but didn't protest. She would have liked to get the rabbit but oh well, she'd get the rabbit soul candy soon enough.

Urahara turned around with a glove in his hand. The glove was a dark green in colour and engraved on it was a silver outline of a snake with silver eyes and green body. The snake's hood was flared and it was coloured a slightly darker silver. It's mouth was open slightly to reveal two rows of sharp silver teeth. Akira had to admit that he liked the design. Urahara passed it over the counter and Akira quickly slipped it over his right hand. It fit perfectly.

"Anything else?" Urahara asked.

"Yes actually," Rukia answered. "What can you tell us about qunicies?"

-o0o-

"Damn it!" Ichigo cursed as he slashed another hollow's mask in half. Why the hell had he agreed to this? He'd thought that Ishida would challenge him to a fight one on one. Not this! The guy was nuts! Didn't he know how many people would get hurt because of that stupid stunt he'd pulled with the hollow bait! No, the guy had to be so arogent, so stupid as to believe that he was strong enough to protect everybody!

"The next time I see that guy," Ichigo muttered to himself. "I'll show him where he can stuff his hollow bait."

Another hollow came up behind him and he quickly dodged it's swipe at him before spinning in mid air and cleaving the mask in two quickly with his sword.

He heard another howl close by and quickly spoed up, not noticing the gash in the sky behiund him.

-o0o-

Akira and Rukia ran through the streets of Karakura searching for Ichigo. There were hollows everywhere and Akira had quickly dumped his body and was in his shinigami form, his dark green and silver, leather like boots thumping on the ground as he ran. Where the hell had they all come from?

"I'll give you two guesses who caused this," Akira panted as he ran. "And the first two don't count."

!Why would Ishida do this though?" Rukia asked, her voice coming in slight gasps as she ran. "It doesn't make any sense."

"We'll know when we find him," Akira answered. "Do you sense anythin?"

"No," Rukia replied. The pair slowed to a stop and took a lok around themselves. They were about three or four blocks from the park. "There are so many hollows...I can't ficus on a single reiatsu above the others, not even yours or Ichigo's."

'Damn,' Akira thought. 'That's that plan out the window.' They needed to calm down, to think rationally. "Rukia, do you know what could have drawn the hollows here? There are so many of them, there was a lot before but this is just ridiculous."

"I'm not sure," Rukia replied, biting her lip as she thought. "Why would anyone want to draw hollows though? It just doesn't make any sense!"

"When we find Ishida we'll ask him," Akira replied. Just then they heard a howl not far off before they sensed a surge of spiritual pressure. "That way!"

They quickly took off again, weaving in and out of people as quickly as they could. I twasn't that important for Akira to do this, people couldn't see him after all but Rukia was solid so there was a risk of bumping into people for her so she had to be careful. As they got nearer the howling sound the reiatsu got stronger.

"It's Ichigo!" Akira said. "I'm sure of it!"

As they reached the source of the reiatsu they caught sight of Ichigo and Ishida taking out hollows left and right. Ichigo was shouting at Ishida but they couldn't make out what the orangette was saying. The quincy shouted something back and Ichigo said something that Akira vaguely recognised as a swear. Akira took a deep breath before drawing his sword and leaping into the fight beside Ichigo, cutting hollows down left right and centre.

"What the hell is going on Ichigo?" Akira demanded after cleaving a hollow in half. "What the hell did you and Ishida do?"

"What makes you think I did anything?" Ichigo demanded indignantly. He recieved a look from Akira and dropped the act. "Fine," he muttered. "Ishida challenged me."

"To what?" Akira demanded, quickly dodging a hollow while he talked and stabbed it in the forehead before dragging his blade down it's face.

"I thought he meant a fight," Ichigo admitted. "Instead he pulled out this hollow bait and then this happened!"

"Hollow bait," Rukia whispered. She couldn't help with the fighting, she was too weak. "Where would he have gotten hollow bait? I hadn't even considdered...but there was no reason to. Who is this quincy?"

-o0o-

"Okay," Tatsuki said, glaring at the strange man with the weird green coat and striped hat. "You have just under five seconds to tell me what the hell is going on or I will use those clogs of yours to kick your ass!"

"Easy, easy," Urahara said, waving his fan in front of his face and tipping his hat to shade his eyes. "I'm not here to fight."

"Well you must be the only one," Tatsuki snapped. She was right. For roughly the last hour strange creatures had been popping up all over the place. First they'd been hard to make out, just vague blobs in mid air that no one else could see. Then they got clearer until she could see them all perfectly. THey were grotesque! They were all different sizes, shapes and colours but they all had one thing in common, they all had a mask as white as bone covering their face. Her head hurt, it was like something was trying to push itself in front of her eyes, wanting her to remember somethng but she couldn't. Something was stopping her from remembering somethying, something important. She didn't like it and when she didn't like something she took it out on whoever was nearest, that was Urahara.

"That's why I'm here," Urahara answered her. "I think I have the answers to some of your questions."

"Oh really?" Tatsuki demanded, glaring at him. "Prove it!"

"Not a problem," Urahara replied, tipping his hat. "Just follow me, we need to fetch Inoue-san and Sado-san first."

"What do they have to do with this?" Tatsukii replied, her protective instincts kicking in when Inoue's name was mentioned. Inoue was like a little sister to her and she'd be damned if she let her little sister get hurt. She'd protect Orihime. Just because Sora wasn't around anymore didn't mean that Orihime wouldn't have a protector.

"They've got just as much stake in this as you," Urahara said calmly. "Do you want answers or not?"

Tatsuki debated with herself for a moment before sighing. She knew that this had something to do with Ichigo and Akira, she just wasn't sure what. THe thought of Akira just made her big sister instincts kick in all the more. Plus there was the fact that since Ichigo was involved then Orihime would go along with this guy whatever she did. She trusted Chad but she'd rather be there to protect Orihime herself. Finally she sighed and stared at Urahara, meeting his gaze firmly with her own.

"Lets go."

-o0o-

They found Chad in the park, slightly tired after fighting off a hollow with the help of Ichigo's younger sister, Karin. He'd gone with them and then they'd had to find Inoue. That had taken longer but when they did finally find her she was crouching over the body of an unconcious Chizuru. Tatsuki felt a flare of anger taht Chizuru would go anywhere near Orihime but then she paused and took in the scene before her. Chizuru was unconscious and Tatsuki was sure she could see a slight pool of blood under Chizuru's head. She quickly ran forwards and crouched beside Orihime.

"Tatsuki," Orihime said quietly. "She, she was almost gone."

"Was?" Tatsuki asked. Orihime modded and pointed at her blue hair clips.

"I healed her," Orihime said quietly. "She was b-bleeding and I...I healed her."

"How?" Tatsuki demanded.

"These," Orihime said, pointing at her clips again.

"You can explain later Inoue-san," Urahara said, interupting the conversation between Orihime and Tatsuki. "Right now there's something you should see."

After making sure that Chizuru was indded alright the four of them headed in the oposite direction, Urahara staying quiet as he guided the three teenagers to their destination. Finally they reached a small bridge with a good view of Karakura.

"Okay," Tatsuki said slowly, looking at Urahara. "Why are we here?"

"Just stay here and watch," Urahara said, a mischievious smile passing accross his half hidden face. "Lets just say that what you're about to see will ensure that you're lives are never the same again. You can choose to ignore it but it will always be there, in the back of your mind, in front of your eyes, everywhere. It's your choice what to do, not mind."

"What the hell is that suposed to mean!" Tatsuki demanded but Urahara didn't pay her any attention, he was just staring up at the sky thoughtfully.

"Just watch and see," he said cryptically before turning and walking away.

"Get back here!" Tatsuki yelled and made to go after him but a big hand on her shoulder held her back. SHe turned to see Chad looking down at her calmly.

"I think we should listen to him," the giant said simply. Tatsuki stared at him for a moment before huffing and shrugging off his hand. She'd wait, for now anyway. Orihime gasped and the other two turned to see what had caught her attention. Tatsuki's mouth opened wide in shock as she saw what Orihime was staring at.

There was a rip in the sky, a big rip. it strethced for many metres and was a deep black in colour. How the hell could the sky be cracking?

"What, what is that thing?" she whispered.

"I think we're about ti find out," Chad answered, staring hard at the sky. "And something tells me that it has something to do with Ichigo and with Akira."

-o0o-

"Ishida, you bloody idiot!" Akira shouted at the quincy as he attacked another hollow. "What the hell were you thinking? Do you know how many people will get hurt because of this!"

"What are you talking about Shinigami?" Ishida demanded. "I've kept the whole city safe, no thanks to you you pathetic Shinigami."

"Think again!" Akira shot back. "Do you know how many bodies I saw on my way over here?" Ishida didn't answer, just paused long enough to give Akira an incredulous look. Was the guy that arrogent? Did he really think that his little stunt wouldn't cause any casualties. Well, Akira was about to burst his little bubble. "There were a lot! I couldn't count them all but I lost track after the seventeenth body!"

"The...seventeenth?" Ishida breathed, his eyes widening. Had he caused that? No, it was impossible. He'd challenged Kurosaki and Kurosaki had accepted his challenge. It wasn't his fault that the idiot couldn't protect anyone...or was it? Kurosaki had thought he was talking about a fight, not a hollow killing competition. No, it wasn't his fault! It was the damn Shinigami! It was their fault! It was always their fault! It was the stupidity and arrogence of the Shinigami that got his grandfather killed!

"Hey, what's that?" Ichigo sudden voice cut through Ishida's internal rant. Both the quincy and the wizard shinigami looked to where Ichigo was pointing. Akira's eyes widened. There was a crack in teh sky, a solid black gash running accross the pale blue sky.

"No," Akira heard Rukia mutter, her face pale and her mouth hanging open as she stared at the crack. "It can't be, not here, not now!"

"What is it?" ASkira demanded.

"A menos," Rukia said quietly, "A Menos Grande."

'Shit,' Akira thought. 'Whatever that is it can't be good.'

-o0o-

"What the hellis that thing!" Tatsuki demanded as she stared at the huge shadowy figure that was emerging from the tear in the sky. Her head was pounding more furiously than ever and she clutched it with her left hand, gripping a railing tightly with her right.

"I don't know,! Orihime whispered. "It's a lot bigger then the other ones."

"You can see them? Chad asked, his deep voice not giving much away as he stared down at the two girls.

"Yeah," Tatsuki replied. "Don't know what they are though."

Her headache was increasing in size and she turned back to the big shape that had finished emerging. Damn it, why did her head hurt so much?

"It's...it's like before," Orihime whispered. "That night."

"What night?" Tatsuki demanded.

Orihime looked at her, a puzzled look on her face.

"You don't remember yet?"

"Remember what?"

"That night at my house, my brother came back as one of those, those things. Remember! You pushed him back when he tried to hurt me."

Tatsuki's eyes widened and all of a sudden her mind was asaulted with images, her and Orihime sitting in Orihime's house chatting, the snake like Sora bursting through the window, her pushing Orihime back and facing the thing, Ichigo coming to protect them...

She clutched her head with pain as the true memories pushed through the false ones and she knew, she remembered.

"That guy is gunna have some explaining to do," Tatsuki muttered, glaring in the direction of the huge blob thing. "Some serious explaining to do."

"I second that," Chad murmured in his usual deep voice.

"Yeah," Orihime chimed in. "Akira too!"

-o0o-

"Damn Quincy," Akira muttered as he quickly leapt backwards. The Menos was huge! How the hell were they suposed to beat something the size of Bloody Big Ben! Again he silently cursed the stupidity of the Quincy. This was bad, this was very very bad.

"We need to do something fast," Ishida muttered. "Before it does too much damage."

"You think?" Akira said, sarcasm dripping from every sylable. "I would have never thought of that! Good work Ishida!" The quincy in question glared spitefully at him before fixing his gaze on the Menos again.

-o0o-

"They can't handle this," Rukia muttered. She was a few yards behind the trio of fighters and her gaze was fixed solely on them. "They aren't strong enough."

"I wouldn't be so sure Kuchiki-san," came a voice from behind her. Rukia turned quickly and saw Urahara behind her, his usual fan waving in front of his face, acting for all the world like this was a casual occurence. "They'll do just fine."

"How can you be so sure of that?" Rukia demanded hotly. "Ichigo and Akira haven't even reached their Shikai!"

"I don't think they'll need it," Urahara said off handedly.

"What makes you say that?"

"That," Urahara said casually, pointing his fan over Rukia's shoulder. Rukia quickly spun around her her eyes almost bugged out of her head at the sight that greeted her.

-o0o-

"What the hell?" Tatsuki exclaimed. They hadn't just seen it, they'd felt it from all the way over here. They hadn't been able to make out any details of what had happened for from what they'd seen someone had charged the huge-ass monster and destroyed it. "How the hell did he do that?"

"You're guess is as good as mine Tatsuki-chan," Orihime said, staring wide eyed. It had been Ichigo, she was sure of it. Not too far above them a black cat sat, watching their reactions. The cat blinked lazily as it looked over to where the Menos had once stood. Power was still flowing and if it had to guess then it would say that the substitute Shinigami's reiatsu had gotten out of control.

The cat stood, it's tale swishing back and forth before it quickly hopped onto another roof and took off on silent as snow paws towards the flaring reiatsu. Something told the cat that things were going to get more interesting soon. Well, more interesting then they already were with a Substitute Shinigami and a Sub Wizard Shinigami around that is.

-o0o-

Ichigo panted, the last of the flaring reiatsu dispersing around him. He looked at Ishida, the Quincy's arms were torn and he'd definitely be in a lot of pain for the next few days.

"Ichigo!" came Akira's voice. Ichigo turned to find Akira running towards him quickly. Akira reached him, panting slightly and quickly bent to inspect his older brother, checking for injuries that he could heal.

"I'm fine," Ichigo said quickly. "Ishida might need some help though." Akira cast his gaze in the direction of the Quincy. Ishida had fallen to his knees and was gasping heavily and clutching one arm with the other. Akira cursed before quickly drawing his wand and heading over to the Quincy. He didn't like to let the Quincy in on his magic but if he didn't then the idiot cdould get an infection. There were a lot of wounds on his arm and if they weren't treated then they could be fatal and he wasn't going to have the death of the idiot hanging over his head.

"Here," he said quietly. "Let me bandage those up so you don't get an infection." Before Ishida had a chance to protest Akira had lifted his wand. "hōtai de tsutsumu!" (Wrap in Bandages) Ishida's eyes went wide as a thick bandage issued from the tip of Akira' wand and wrapped around his arm firmly, not so tight as to restrict blood blow but tight enough to ensure that it would not move around or come lose.

"What exactly are you?" Ishida asked, his voice low as he stared at Akira.

"That," Akira replied, standing and offering a hand to Ishida. "Is something you don't need to know. You have your secrets, Ichigo and I have ours."

"Fair enough," the quincy admitted before allowing Akira to pull him to his feet. He stood on slightly shaky legs before turning his back on the pair and walking away.

-o0o-

And that's the end of yet another chapter! Hope whoever's reading this enjoys it!