Salem watched and slowly drew upon the spirit particles around the area, waiting for the right time to use his speed to take Saya away from them. Once he saw Isshin appear though, his eyes narrowed in anger, not liking his odds now that a new Shinigami Captain made his appearance.

Isshin brought his Zanpakuto down on a Hollow that was about to attack Megumi from behind. "Long time, no see Megu-chan," he responded as Megumi shot another dagger-like arrow at Snow.

" It has been a while. Hope you've been keeping out of trouble Isshin-kun. " Megumi said with a grin. She knew it had been a while since she had seen her old friend. Megumi knew Isshin's appearance lessened the chance Saya would be taken. She had promised her older brother Hiro she would protect his daughter with her life.

"Define trouble," Isshin quickly replied with a small grin on his face as he held his Zanpakuto at the ready. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but figured that he would find out sooner rather than later. Plus he wanted to know just who decided to put this much Hollow Bait in the air around them.

Megumi grinned knowing that would be his answer. She was looking forward to catching up with Isshin once this was over. She fired another dagger like arrow toward Snow , hoping that the end was near. She could sense another high level Shinigami close by and wondered who it was since they were on their side.

Tetsu fought the hollows , but was ready to go after the Quincy that had knocked him out. He wasn't going to let that jerk get away with Saya.

Salem knew that he had to act quickly, otherwise all of his plans for this moment would be for naught. The only problem was that he saw the Quincy male fighting next to her and constantly moving, as if somehow predicting what he was planning on doing. He would have to think quickly about what to do next.

Saya was feeling nervous. She was glad Ishida was close and that her aunt was here. She kept firing arrows at the hollows and was glad their numbers were almost gone. She feared though that the Quincy in the distance would try to capture her.

Katniss took care of the last Hollow, seeing Coin, Snow and some Quincy that she didn't recognize.

Megumi saw another shinigami in the distance, but had the feeling she could be trusted. She didn't like the fact the Vandenreich had some rogue shinigami as allies. This made her wonder if these were the ones responsible for the deaths of Saya's parents. Megumi could sense the hollows leaving, but still was ready to fight anyone who tried to capture Saya.

Salem knew that as of right now he could not kidnap Saya, but thought of ideas to get her away from her group of friends in the near future to make her capture easier.

Hoshi finished fighting off the hollows in the area. She hoped Saya was safe and would do what she could to keep her new friend safe.

( is feeling very sad. I found out one of my favorite authors died;.; )

(aw...that's sad to hear. What was his/her name?)

Isshin finished off their own set of Hollows, but noticed that the Quincy and the two rogue shinigami weren't in the area anymore. Sighing lightly, he knew that they had to keep Saya under their respective eye in order to make sure that she wasn't kidnapped. "Seems like they weren't able to complete their goal...this time," he said after sheathing his Zanpakuto.

(Lilian Jackson Braun. She died last year at age 97)
Megumi nodded ." I just hope we all can keep Saya safe. " She said solemly. She had heard about the keys from Saya the night before, but didn't know then that her niece was the second key. She knew how the Vandenreich could be when they wanted something bad enough.

(I haven't heard of her, but a shame all the same)

"I'm not going to let that happen. They'll have to kill me first before they take Saya-chan," Ishida said, meaning it.

Megumi nodded. " I thank you and everyone else who was keeping Saya safe. I just hope we can stop them. " Megumi said as she saw the others approaching.


Saya was glad she was safe but had the feeling that the Vandenreich would try again some time to capture her.

"You don't have to thank us Megumi, we're happy to help," Isshin said, while planning on teasing Ishida about his new 'girlfriend'

Megumi nodded. She was at a loss for words at the moment, which was unlike her usual self. She had to process this recent event and added it to the long list of encounters her family had over the years with the Vandenreich and made a note to tell Isshin later.

"So...what now?" Ichigo asked, curious as to what would happen next. He understood that they were after Saya now, but didn't understand why they wanted her...yet anyways.

" I don't know exactly . We all need to make sure Saya is safe. " Tetsu said. He had a feeling that he might have to report on this fight and wasn't looking forward to it.


Megumi wondered how the Shinigami would react to the news about this fight. She knew she could trust Isshin and anyone else that had fought today. She just hoped the Vandenreich wouldn't carry their fight to Soul Society.

"Then why were they after Saya-chan?" Ichigo asked. There had to be a reason why they were targeting their new friend and he wanted to know why.

" I'm the second key. " Saya said solemnly. She hoped she was safe.

Tetsu nodded and explained the situation to Isshin.

"Let me get this straight. The Quincies have a myth that involves four separate keys, each key supposedly granting the user immense power by themselves, but with all four the user has the power to become a god?" Isshin asked.

" Exactly.But up until today I just thought it was a story. " Megumi said feeling uneasy. She didn't understand who in their right ind would want that much power.

" I'm afraid this guy is seeming worse than Aizen ever was. " Tetsu said. He didn't like admitting that he would rather be fighting his old adversary , than this new guy.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at that statement. If this new Quincy frightened Tetsu and the others that badly, and making them wish they were fighting Aizen again, then something would have to be done. "Could this guy...could he become stronger than Aizen?" he asked as the adults in the area started thinking about that.

" I doubt he could without the keys. And from what my friend told me no one knows where the physical keys are. " Tetsu said.


Megumi didn't know who Aizen was and gave a puzzled look. She hoped that she could get some answers, but assumed he wasn't as powerful as this Quincy would be. " He wouldn't have that power for long though. It would be too unstable. " Megumi said.

"I think that's why that Quincy is using Snow and Coin," Katniss said, giving her two cents. "Coin was always able to see the best way to get things done quickly and efficiently when she was alive and I assume that passed over to her spirit form as well," she continued.