(Karakura Town: Riverside Beach)
Hours passed after Ichigo's assault on the Valley of Screams. The Blanks disappeared without a trace, the Dark Ones were dead, and for now, everything is peaceful again. On the surface that is. Yamamoto ordered Soi-Fon and her stealth force to investigate the area and recover anything they found. Squad 15 was taking the time to focus on improving their skills after the sneak attack on their lieutenant and their near uselessness against the perpetrator. A solitary android with Quincy abilities. That's what Soi-Fon was currently looking at with a strange sense of dread.
"Ichigo did a number on this thing." She muttered, trying to remind herself that it was out. Being torn in half by the closing portal and missing half of its head from Ichigo's punch, but she couldn't stop the strange sense of fear she thought she had long abandoned. "Alright people, wrap this up." She ordered as her team finished salvaging everything they could find after combing the riverside three times. "Urahara and his spooks want to fiddle with this thing as soon as possible." 'And the sooner I get away from it the better.' She thought before looking to the other bank of the river, feeling the Reiatsu of squad 15's lieutenant.
(Graveyard)
She wanted confirmation, wanted to know for a fact whether she existed or not, whether she would be remembered or not, whether Ichigo would remember her or not. She had a fragmented memory that was slowly disappearing more and more as she felt her life fade. She wanted to see what she thought was her family's grave, see whether she really lived or not. As long as someone remembered, as long as Ichigo remembered her, that would be enough for her. He carried her to the graveyard as her inconsistent memories played in her mind.
"Just down this road." She said weakly, losing her remaining life energy by the second. "Fourth from the end." He went to the grave in question. "Is it there? Is there a name?" She asked, her voice cracking as her vision left her. She felt him tense as he looked at her supposed gravestone, the grave that had no mention of Senna.
"It's there. Clear as day." He lied, his voice sounding relieved, but his body gave it away to her. "You had a life, a family." He said standing back up as she let out a whimper.
"Thank you Ichigo." She said, crying with what little strength she had. "Thank you for everything." She felt her body grow warm as she began to fade from existence. "Thank you Ichigo." She tried to muster the strength to kiss him goodbye, one last thing to do while she lived. But her lips never reached his cheek, her body faded from existence. 'I love you.' She thought one last time, her thoughts reaching his mind as she disappeared. He let his arms drop and his head hang in shame, feeling the crushing weight of defeat yet again. Only this time, at the cost of someone he swore to protect. He wallowed in his guilt as Urahara appeared behind him, catching a falling amber ball from behind Ichigo. He watched the hybrid drop to his knees, mourning the loss of the girl. He slowly pulled out the girl's ribbon he recovered on his way there and place a comforting hand on his student's shoulder.
"I'm sorry Ichigo," he said as gently as he could, "there was nothing you could do in the end. The Shinenju was a paradoxical existence that forms and disappears no matter what. Returning the lost souls on the path of transmigration after returning their memories." He felt the hybrid shake more as tears came out of his eyes. "I know it hurts." He said, speaking from experience. "All of this amazing power at your fingertips only to remember that there are things even you can't stop." Ichigo slowly reached out to Senna's ribbon and took it from his mentor. "Normally, everything about the Blanks and Senna will fade from everyone's memories. Your father decided to have her registered as a Soul Reaper and made it a point to memorialize her sacrifice." Ichigo slowly stood up, letting his will to overcome guide his hand once more. "Which will ultimately make it easier when we finally bring her back." He said jovially, making Ichigo look at him in shock.
"You can do that?" He asked, hopeful at the idea of Senna's resurrection.
"Ichigo, the moment we even suspected Senna of being the Shinenju, I started working on something to bring her back." He explained, holding up the small Gikon. "Just before the Dark Ones attacked, I put this inside of her. It recorded every memory from when she first appeared to the instant her Shinenju self faded." He pocketed the small ball and opened the Senkaimon. "There's nothing we could've done to stop her from dying as the Shinenju, but there is a way to bring her back. Mayuri and I are devoting a good portion of our efforts to doing so." He turned to face the shining portal. "Yama wants you to report back soon Ichigo, so settle your business." He said as he started walking toward the path to Soul Society. 'Now, Senna Shiba or Senna Kurosaki?' He idly wondered as he crossed dimensions.
(Las Noches: Monitor Room)
Aizen watched the various screens placed around Karakura Town, the city he needed for his ambition. Over his many years of research into the Oken, he discovered two things were needed to make one, 100,000 souls and a land rich in spiritual power. That land was Karakura Town and it had plenty of souls for him to craft his key into the King's realm. Only now he still had problems to deal with, his incomplete Hogyoku and Ichigo Kurosaki. He created his forces, but production was slowing to a crawl and he probably needed to craft an Arrancar solely to oppose Ichigo. Ever since he revealed himself to Soul Society, his growth skyrocketed explosively and Aizen himself wasn't sure how strong he was, or any of his friends for that matter.
"At least that's one nuisance out of the way." He muttered, watching the Valley of Screams fade into nothingness. He managed to send the foolish Dark Ones to their deaths, but didn't get a full glimpse into Ichigo's current ability. He was only sure that he had multiple seals on him. "Maybe I'll send some of the rejects to test his allies, but who to send for him?" He pondered, already thinking of one of his most loyal and a brash thug giant. Maybe a certain cat as well.
(Karakura Town: Sternritter house)
Bazz-B and his two female colleagues made their way to an out of the way house, not too close or far from their targets, and began to set up for the long run. They had access to a great deal of wealth thanks to noble roots and various actions some of the more expendable Quincy were taking to fund the dark empire, so money wouldn't be an issue. Next, they had to enroll in the school and try to keep their Quincy heritage a secret. A plan they are sure will ultimately fail the moment they encounter Ichigo and Uryu. His majesty warned them that Ichigo is a war potential for good reason and has caught the attention of the only man he ever feared.
"So, we're going to be attending his school soon. Right?" Asked Bambietta, wearing a similar outfit to her uniform but more casual like her fellow Sternritters, switching the cap for a black beret and the cloak for a denim jacket. "Does that mean we have to wear those uniforms?"
"I hope not!" Candice vehemently rejected, wearing a green tube top and denim short shorts. "I have legs the world NEEDS to see! I don't do lunges for nothing."
"Yeah," Bazz-B said while looking at her well endowed chest, "it's your legs the world wants to see." He wore red and black punk attire. "Can we just focus on our mission instead of your looks?"
"Can't we use our sex appeal to entice them?" They asked simultaneously.
"When is it ever that easy?" He responded, rubbing his brow in frustration. "Our mission is to bring them to our side, already difficult because of their misguided anger to his majesty and BG9 has already made it harder because of his attack. We have to be careful in our approach." He told them, actually focusing on his mission. 'Unfortunately, I understand their anger all too well.' He thought, remembering how Yhwach destroyed his home long ago. 'How will this play out in the end?' He wondered, thinking back to the display of camaraderie the two Quincy had with the Soul Reapers. 'Maybe there's another way.'
(Flashback: Valley of Screams)
He was cold, feeling himself slowly dying. His felt his lifeblood seep from his body as his insides were turned to paste. He couldn't even muster up the smallest command over the Blanks to heal his wounds. He couldn't die here, he refused to die here, not until he got his payback on the little bastard that kept blowing off his arms. With sheer determination, Jai attempted to raise himself to return to the battle. Unfortunately, that was not meant to be for him.
"Well well well." He heard a smooth dark voice say. "Ichigo did a number on this guy."
"A little frightening to see how much stronger he really is when he's not holding back." Another voice said, almost disarming in its calm tone. "But that makes this job almost too easy." He said as Jai saw the vague figures of two people standing over him.
"Who the hell are you?" Jai asked, coughing up blood from his broken insides, feeling more of his life fade.
"We're the new black op interrogators for Soul Society." The larger figure said. "And you're going to give us everything you know about what we want." Jai let out a bloodied cackle.
"I'll never tell you anything." He defied. "I'm already dead."
"Oh, your compliance isn't an issue." The thinner figure said as he raised his blade and stabbed through Jai's chest.
(Flashback end: Soul Society)
"From what I saw, Aizen met up with them and persuaded them that now was the time to act." Tsukishima told Yamamoto, delivering his report to the ancient captain. "The Dark Ones were all too willing to take the chance, hearing that the Gotei 13 was severely weakened and the Shinenju was going to appear. They never suspected that the information was outdated." Yamamoto stroked his beard in thought.
"Aizen seems to be either testing our current strength, or just biding time until his forces are ready." He said as he rose from his desk, sensing Ichigo's arrival. "Continue to train yourself in stealth and speed. We don't know when and if Aizen will launch another attack." He got out a traditional calligraphy set as the Fullbringers left the old leader, just as Ichigo came in.
"Sensei." Ichigo bowed respectfully of his head teacher. "I-"
"That punch was still sloppy Ichigo." He interrupted, handing his student the set. "The second one was just barely better but I saw the damage you did to yourself. Your control is still wild and your enemies will take advantage of that."
"Yes Sensei." Ichigo conceded, taking the Sumi(ink stick) and grinding it on the Suzuri(ink stone) after pouring water on the grinding surface, creating the ink for the focus exercise his master wanted.
"I hope this experience was enlightening for you Ichigo." He said, watching as his student slowly engrossed himself on the slow process of grinding the ink for his calligraphy. "One must put the greater good above their morals. You managed to win out because you were stronger then all of your opponents this time. But if a few must be lost to save a majority, that act must be taken. A moment of hesitation can spell disaster that could cause irreparable damage." He told his student as he continued grinding the ink. "Now, when you are ready, write the kanji for your blade's name." Yama instructed as he began to brew tea for himself and his student.
(Squad 12 Research Labs: Restricted Level)
Urahara lowered himself in the hidden elevator, going down into the private area of the Research and Development labs, where only few minds were privy to the personal experiments that only the heads of the labs were conducting on their own. He came to a room illuminated by the glow of monitors and various glowing fluids of ongoing experiments. It used to be that only one person was allowed in here, the president of the R&D department that led squad 12. Now, Urahara was here with only one other person.
"How is she coming along Mayuri?" He asked, walking up to a large glowing blue tube that held the nude blank form of a developing soul body in liquified Reishi. Normal physical gigai were child's play for the two, this was near complete resurrection they were attempting.
"The process should be no different from my creation of Nemu." Mayuri stated from a different area of the room, dissecting and tinkering with the robotic body that Soi-Fon and her team recovered earlier that day. "Then, I was working from scratch. Now, we have a blueprint in mind. Just dispense the girl's memories and soul into the slot." He instructed, further disarming the broken android. Urahara took Senna's Gikon and placed it into the sphere recess that receded into the machine, changing the color to amber as the ball dissolved and mixed with the liquified energy.
"You know something odd, Mayuri?" The eccentric man asked his subordinate. "When we looked up Mirokumaru, it said that it could only utilize electricity. She manipulated wind and air currents. Is there something we're missing?"
"One thing at a time Kisuke." Mayuri responded, the clunk of heavy machinery sounding the end of his disassembling of the robotic Quincy. "Now let's see what makes this tick."
'Yeah,' the shop owner thought as he looked to a small jar that once held a previous experiment, 'one thing at a time.'
(Central Underground Prison: Muken)
Ichigo finished his calligraphy exercise, drawing out the kanji for his blade in calm focused strokes. Yamamoto said nothing as he examined Ichigo's final result before sending him back into the lowest level of the Underground Prison, where 'Yachiru' waited for him. Fear and nervousness crept along his nerves as he remembered her brutal lessons and how he was left in a pool of his own blood in the end, but now he moved in spite of that trauma. The elevator opened to reveal the lone figure of Yachiru Unohana that awaited him.
"Barely a week since we were last here." She said, her cold voice echoing in the endless dark abyss. Ichigo strode out to meet his challenge. "Are you a warrior? Or still a child?" She asked as Ichigo stood across from her. Just as he was about to answer she immediately made to cut his throat, only to be stopped by his blade as he blocked her. She looked into his eyes, seeing a familiar resolve reflected in them once again. She smiled in twisted delight before jumping back. "Good. Now let us begin."
(Soul Society: Two days later)
Unohana released Ichigo, feeling confident in his progress as a swordsman, back into the careful tutelage of Genryusai. Ichigo was going over the katas of the advanced Hakuda that spawned the punches Yamamoto drilled into the boy's head, repeating moves thousands of times until his motions became flawless. Ichigo further displayed his potential to the aged captain as he changed over the past few days, becoming more focused and confident in his actions and performance, showing his potential as Yamamoto's eventual successor.
'Or rather, Kyoraku's.' He thought grimly, looking at the old painting of the ancient monster that he was in the early days. He moved to lighter thoughts as he continued the mountain of paperwork that existed on his desk, coming across one that filled him with mild dread and great annoyance. "Only they could take a happy occasion and make it seem terrible." He moaned, seeing the final registration forms for the wedding between Unohana and Zaraki.
(Illustrated Guide to Soul Reapers)
Team up of Vengeance
Ichigo made his way through the halls of the 2nd division looking for a certain someone.
"You know I'd prefer if there was an appointment made to meet, Lieutenant Kurosaki." Soi-Fon said, suddenly appearing behind Ichigo, making him jump slightly. "What do you want?"
"Well, remember when I first brought back the previous captains and Urahara said a few choice words that made you kick him in the face?" Ichigo asked, making the petite captain raise an eyebrow before gesturing for him to continue. "Wanna help me get a few years worth of payback?" He asked with a mischievous smile, making the hornet's eyes widen before gaining a similar smirk.
"We are going to get along splendidly." She said, already thinking about the coming storm.
SWA Changing of the Guard
"Now that things have settled down, I call this meeting of the Shinigami Women's Association." Nanao said to the assembled notable females of the Soul Society, including Orihime and Tatsuki. "First on the agenda is the welcoming of new members, 1st lieutenant of squad 9, Mashiro and fifth and sixth seats of squad 15, Tatsuki Arisawa and Orihime Inoue." She announced, causing a small round of applause from the assembled women. "Next, with the retirement of club president, lieutenant Kusajishi, the title of president falls to the vice president." She said with a smirk on her face. "Me! I now lead the Shinigami Women's Association! Now we can finally make some actual headway in this club!" Unohana then decided to rain on the poor girl's parade.
"Then good luck with the severely slashed budget we just got." She said with a smile, making Nanao freeze and lose all color.
"Wh-what are you talking about captain?" She stuttered, as every other member turned to the serene captain with shock.
"The abuse of funds and budget coupled with the lack of action from the SWA during little Yachiru's run as president has shown a lack of competency among the group and repeated disregard of private property threatens to eliminate funding entirely seeing as you've constantly invaded the Kuchiki estate without the head of the family's permission to use his home as a meeting ground for the association. That and your gross abuse as head of the budgetary committee, was brought to Yamamoto's attention that the contributions the club has made are disproportionate to the usual budget. Most of which is being allocated to the Men's Association in response. Also, you've been fired from the position of head of the budgetary committee." Unohana said with a smile as every other member could only look on in shock.
"HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!?" Nanao cried, seeing her chance practically crumble around her.
"Because of the actions of the new financial officer of the Shinigami Men's Association, 3rd seat Uryu Ishida." She answered as everyone gawked at the idea that someone competent was leading the men now. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a wedding to prepare for."