running into old comrades

|About a day later|

Zoro lies on a roof, searching for the others spirit pressure, who were splitted up after getting to Seireitei.

"Hmm most of them seem to be doing OK so far. I guess I should head to that large fellow. He's about to run into someone miles out of his league." Zoro sighs and heads in the direction Chad's at.

Shunsui Kyoraku is sitting across the courtyard from Chad, who fires a blast at the captain, only for him to swat the attack away like child's play.

"There is no need to continue this, just sit down and join me for a drink." The captain of the 8th division says, raising his cup.

"I don't have time for..." Chad says, falling down unconsciously before he can finish his thought.

"I'll take you up on that offer." Zoro says, dragging the large Mexican he knocked out by his cuff behind him as he approaches the captain.

"And who would you be?" Shunsui asks intrigued, since he can't feel any spiritual pressure from the green haired man.

"Come on I know I've changed a lot, but how can you forget your drinking buddy?" Zoro says, sitting down cross legged in front of Shunsui, taking the cup he's offered.

"Drinkin buddy, eh?" Shunsui asks thoughtfully.

"Yeah. Oh man you can't be for real. Someone gets tossed in hell and almost everyone forgets he exists." Zoro says, downing the cup, shoving it forwards for a refill.

"Zoro." Shunsui gasps surprised with his eyes widening at recognizing the former Shinigami who was in his division before getting exiled.

"Got it afterall. I have to say I'm surprised though, that the old geezer calls out a state of war with only one vice-captain getting his ass handed to him..." Zoro says, looking at the swords on Shunsui's waist.

"Hmm. Looks like you bested me in number of swords." The captain replies, looking at Zoro's swords with amusement and interest.

"Yeah well things happened." Zoro says, taking a sip of sake.

"Captain there is an urgent message, captain Aizen is dead and there is foul play involved." Nanako informs her captain, looking at Zoro with distrust.

"Ah, ah, ah leave those things where they are, we had nothing to do with that. I'm the only one strong enough to do such a thing anyways and I was sleeping peacefully tonight." Zoro tells Shinsui, who was about to take out his Zanpakutos.

"Well I guess we should part ways here for now. Looks like you're needed elsewhere, and I should pay Kenpachi a visit." Zoro says, tossing back his cup to Shinsui and dusts off his pants and yukata before slinging Chad over his shoulder and he disappears in a blur.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to let him leave?" Nanako asks, correcting her glasses, looking at her captain.

"To be honest I'm not sure. He didn't exude any sign of spiritual pressure, he either has a tool which allows him to do that or he's even more powerful than I am." Shinsui explains, dusting off his coat and follows his officer.

Ichigo and Kenpachi are both readying their entire power to decide the victor in one final blow when Zoro, with Chad hanging over his shoulder lands next to Jachiru.

"Have you come to watch Ken too?" The little girl asks innocently.

"Not quite. I'm gonna keep both of them from doing something stupid." Zoro says, raising his free hand from its resting place atop his zanpakutos.

Right when both Shinigami are about to clash their fight get interrupted by a single word.

"Cero." They hear echo across the plaza and both get thrown back violently, bouncing across the floor beneath with a massive crater where they were just about to cross swords.

"Ken-chan!" Jachiru yells and jumps down, taking Kenpachi and leaves the area to have him fixed up by the 4th division.

"Don't worry kitty, he's fine. Just out cold." Zoro says, jumping down to the crater he created after firing a blast from the tip of his pointer finger (AN imagine dbz frieza's ki blasts.)

"Did you have to be so rough?" The black cat asks accusingly.

"I thought you like it rough Yoruichi." Zoro chuckles, impaling his red hilted blade in a piece of Kenpachi's zanpakuto, which dissolves into a shower of energy that his kitetsu sucks up.

"You just be glad we're a couple, otherwise you'd have your balls about to be cut off." Yoruichi remarks with a blush, going over to Zoro, still in her cat form and drops two pieces of zanpakutos at his feet, one being half of Ichigo's zanpakuto and the other being a piece of Renji's zanpakuto.

"Sometimes you really pamper me. " Zoro says, piercing both blade parts which also dissolve into a shower of energy.

"Yeah? Well when is it my turn? You're always training and don't pay enough attention to the women in your life." Yoruichi says.

"Women?" Zoro asks.

"Yeah, me, Rangiku and those two hollows." Yoruichi says with a knowing glint in her eyes.

"Did I tell you about them?" Zoro asks nervously.

"Yes, you told me all about it when you exhausted yourself training." Yoruichi says, jumping on Zoro's free shoulder.

"Right. I forgot about that." Zoro says.

"How come you haven't chewed me out because of it?" Zoro asks.

"Because I know that you love me, even if you have other girls too. Plus those Hollows were together with you before me..." Yoruichi says embarrassed.

"We should get those two someplace safe for now, we can discuss our feelings for each other later babe." Zoro says, picking up Ichigo and carries him under his arm.

"Come on follow me, lover." Yoruichi says, jumping off his shoulder and leads the way to a cave hidden in a mountain wall.

"So, what happened to Chad anyways?" Yoruichi asks, transforming into her real form of a tan woman appearing to be in her late twenties with her purple hair up in a ponytail.

"I knocked him out." Zoro says, picking up a black shirt and leggings as well as the woman's trademark orange jacket which she stored in the cave.

"He was trying to fight Shinsui, here do me a favor and put this on or I may get jealous and beat those two up." Zoro says, hugging the slender woman from behind, wrapping his arm over her belly, while handing her the clothes.

"Uff. Fine but you know how much I hate clothes, so you better make it up to me when we're back home." Yoruichi agrees, giving Zoro a peck on his lips before putting on the clothes.

"Dumb and dumber, wake up." Zoro says loudly, kicking both teens against their legs.

"Wha... what happened? Ugh." Ichigo asks, shooting up and hunching over with pain from his countless wounds.

"Hmm?" Chad asks sitting up, rubbing his head.

"Stay down you idiot." Yoruichi tells Ichigo, standing in front of the two teens next to Zoro.

"Huh? You. You are the one who came to help us, what happened?" Ichigo says, pointing at Zoro.

"I saved the big guy and you from getting skewered by captains." Zoro replies nonchalantly.

"Hmpf. And who are you?" Ichigo asks, glaring at Yoruichi.

"I'm Yoruichi of course." She says proudly.

"Yoruichi is a cat." Chad says.

"Well this is my real form, or did you think a talking cat was normal?" The woman tells them.

"Where are we?" Ichigo asks, looking around the cave after staring at Yoruichi for a moment.

"You're in my old hideout." Yoruichi says.

"Why? I was almost at the tower." Ichigo complains angrily, sitting up, while Chad observes quietly.

"Carrot-top, take a page out of his book and keep quiet. Maybe then the lovely Yoruichi will have a chance to explain." Zoro tells Ichigo, stopping him from talking while he has a vein pulsating on his head.

"Anyways. The reason we brought you here, is that Ichigo needs training. And Chad you were in a dangerous situation apparently." Yoruichi says.

"I was fighting a man with a straw hat." Chad says.

"That was a captain and in his eyes you weren't fighting, you wouldn't have been able to get a scratch on that dude." Zoro informs Chad.

"Oh, I assume you helped me then? Thank you." Chad thanks Zoro, after the green haired man nods.

"No problem. That's what Yoruichi-chan brought me along." Zoro tells him.

"What are we going to do about Rukia? We have to go safe her." Ichigo says, stressing the matter.

"All in due time. Her execution isn't going to happen for another 8 days." Zoro says in a relaxed tone.

"And that makes it better?" Ichigo growls.

"That gives you time to train you fool." Zoro says.

"I need to go see her." Ichigo says, walking over to the cave's entrance and looks outside, finding himself looking to a deep drop while they are in the middle of a mountain.

"How did we get here?" Ichigo asks shocked.

"This thing can help the user fly." YOruichi says, presenting the device she used to get to her hideout while Zoro simply used his mixture of shunpo and sonido to jump the gap at high speeds.

Ichigo wordlessly takes the device and jumps outside, activating the claw like object and flies away.

"Stop! No." Yoruichi shouts after the orange haired boy.

"Chad, you just sit tight, while Yoruichi and I get that dumbass back here." Zoro tells the Mexican giant, getting a nod positive in reply.

"OK, Kitten, let's go." Zoro says, walking towards the cave's exit and the two seemingly vanish from sight, both racing after Ichigo using their high-speed techniques.

|a few minutes later - at the tower|

"What is this spiritual pressure? It's like the one from a captain, but I don't recognize it." Jushiro Ukitake asks, when a large amount of spiritual pressure comes down on him, Byakuya Kuchiki and Rukia Kuchiki, as well as Hanataro, a 4th company member who tried to help the now defeated Ganju free Rukia.

"That pressure… Ichigo." Rukia gasps, while Ichigo floats down to the bridge everyone is standing on.

"Are you OK Hanataro? Sorry I'm so late." Ichigo apologizes to the healer of the gathering.

"That's OK." Hanataro replies.

"Rukia, I'm getting you out of here." Ichigo tells the short black haired girl, turning towards her.

"What are you staring at? I'm here to get you out, so why aren't you happy?" Ichigo complains.

"You idiot. I told you not to follow me." Rukia says saddened, worried about his safety.

"You know what. You can berate me later as much as you want, but first let me beat him." Ichigo says, staring at Byakuya.

"Now listen here, I don't care the slightest bit if you want to be beheaded, I'm a savior and a savior saves, so from now on I'm not going to listen to anything you say." Ichigo then tells her in an aggressive manner.

"Who is that?" Ukitake asks Byakuya, the two of them looking at Ichigo talking to Rukia from in the middle of the bridge.

"He's a nothing. I'll get rid of him and this whole debacle will be over." Byakuya says, starting to walk towards Ichigo, who also makes his way towards the captain.

"I don't know how you got your hold on new Shinigami powers, but I have to admit I'm impressed that even with this spiritual pressure you're seemingly holding your ground." Byakuya tells Ichigo, releasing his own Spiritual pressure.

Moments later Byakuya seemingly vanishes, appearing next to Ichigo, striking at him with his sword, but Ichigo blocks the attack. This repeats two times, before Byakuya puts some distance between them.

"This fight is getting tedious, looks like I'm going to use this afterall." Byakuya says, holding his sword up in front of himself, while it glows in a pink hue.

Before he can release his Shikai however, Yoruichi lands in front of him, having wrapped up Byakuya's blade in a bandage, which seals the release momentarily. While Zoro appears next to her.

"You? And who is that?" Byakuya asks, looking at Yoruichi shocked, before looking over Zoro, not feeling any spiritual pressure from the man.

"former Captain of the second Division of Gotei 13, as well as former commander of the Onmitsukido." Byakuya says, freeing his blade.

"Long time no see, little Byakuya." Yoruichi greets him.

"You vanished 100 years ago. Ever since that incident." Byakuya says, before looking at Zoro again, recognizing him.

"And you were the cause if I remember correctly." Baykuya adds.

"Zoro's the name." He replies calmly.

"Yoriuchi, you're here to help me right? But please step out of the way so I can beat him." Ichigo says.

"Beat him? Are you stupid?" She asks, while Zoro sonido's behind Ichigo, knocking him out with a chop to the back of the neck.

Getting stunned reactions from everyone on the bridge, Rukia and Hanataro, because they thought He was an ally and Byakuya, as well as Ukitake because they weren't able to properly follow Zoro's movements.

"He's your problem." Zoro tells Yoruichi, shoving the unconscious Ichigo over to her, with her catching him and putting him over her shoulder.

"What are your intentions for him?" Ukitake asks Yoruichi.

"Whatever it is, neither of you will get out of here." Byakuya interrupts.

"Funny. Because I can't remember that you've won even once when we were playing tag in the past." Yoruichi says amused, speeding away with her shunpo.

Byakuya attempts to follow her, but after the first shunpo step Zoro appears in front of Byakuya and grabs onto him, before the two reappear in front of Ukitake.

"Who are you? You said your name is Zoro. But the only Zoro I know of was banished to hell." Jushiro Ukitake asks.

"Quite true, but nothing is indefinitely. I got out. Quite some time ago in fact." Zoro tells him relaxed, letting go of Byakuya's shoulder, while the captain puts some distance between Zoro and himself.

"I see. Why are you back then? I don't think Yamamoto will change his verdict." Ukitake asks.

"I came to visit a friend and while I'm at it, I'm helping my sweet Yoruichi-chan and her friends." Zoro replies, while Byakuya uses his Shikai, his blade disappearing into what looks like blossom leaves.

"Don't even bother." Zoro simply says, not bothering to look at Byakuya and releases his spiritual pressure on him, causing Byakuya's eyes to roll backwards while he collapses, falling to the ground unconscious.

"What did you do to him?" Ukitake asks, reaching for his blades.

"He's just unconscious. Couldn't handle a little spiritual pressure it seems." Zoro says, walking past Ukitake.

"I can count on you, to make sure that that Ganju fellow and the division 4 brat won't be harmed?" Zoro asks.

"Yes. We need to question them anyways, in regard to…" Ukitake agrees.

"To Aizen's murder, yeah I heard. I paid my old drinking buddy a visit. Maybe I should go back and see if he has some more Sake." Zoro says to himself, walking away.