20 Chapter Twenty:

Screaming loudly with a battle cry Ichigo charged the monster while swinging at it's legs. Izumi watched silently as the orange haired boy's blade cut into the beast's flesh before stopping abruptly; she knew that no mere swing of a Zanpaktou would cut easily through it's bone like that.

"Ichigo!" she screamed trying to warn him while she caught up with Ishida who was watching the whole thing in shock; he hadn't expected the boy to just charge in with no plan. Blood pooled out from the cut Ichigo had made catching the monster's attention for a mere second before it kicked the substitute soul reaper away with barely any force at all. Ichigo's body flew back before crashing into the ground between Izumi and the Quincy.

"Kurosaki!-" Ishida called out startled before immediately attempting to give cover fire. "I told you so! We need a plan!" he yelled while shooting an arrow up towards the beast's face.

"No Ishida!" Izumi screamed as she bent over the still down Ichigo. She didn't want it to give them anymore of it's attention; she needed to think over a plan for the boys before they got themselves killed. At her voice the dark haired boy turned to her confused; he had never heard such desperation come from her before.

"We don't want it's attention!" she growled not looking up towards the monster as it glared down at Ishida who had shot it in the face; the arrow didn't even leave a scratch, but it sure did get it's attention. The boy stared at her for a moment feeling lost and frustrated with not knowing what they were up against or how to defeat it.

"Is Kurosaki okay?!" he questioned realizing that his comrade in arms was still laying face down from the hit he took earlier. Izumi didn't reply, instead she smiled widely before slapping her hand down on Ichigo's back; she smacked him hard. At that the boy shot up with a scream and rubbed the back of his shoulder tenderly while glaring at the still smiling Izumi; only after a moment did he notice a worried and stunned looking Ishida staring deeply at him.

"Yeah, I'm not too bad." he saluted not knowing that his forehead was drenched in blood that covered the space between his eyes and forehead. Ishida paled at the blood but quickly sucked in his discomfort when rage filled his senses.

"What were you thinking!? How were you trying to take him down with that!?" Ishida paused allowing Ichigo to attempt to explain his reasoning. While they bickered Izumi watched as the beast had paused and was watching her intently, she knew that the boys had gotten it's attention but she had hoped that once they had left it alone the monster would move on it's way. But it seemed to be watching them now.

"Yeah Ichi, what were you thinking?" she questioned staring up into the beast's eyes with a glare that could make anyone shake in fear. Hearing her voice Ichigo looked over to her only seeing that she wasn't looking at him before shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, I wondered if I could cut his feet and work my way up, then the head would fall down last." He mumbled with a small smile on his face like it was the easiest thing in the world.

"Like Jenga huh." Ishida mumbled while Izumi chuckled catching them off guard.

"Geez Ichigo, you forgot about the arms and the fact that nothing on Earth would ever just let you cut it down like our childhood game." Izumi's laugh seemed to be contagious as Ichigo also started laughing making Ishida stare at them like they were crazy. Without his knowledge he reached out and grabbed hold of Ichigo's Zanpaktou while the boy was laughing.

"How can you two be laughing at time like this! How was your brains constructed! Now, stop laughing, Ichigo stand up! We'll rethink our battle plan!" Before he could finish his thought, the bow he still had constructed in his hand grew seven sized startling him. An unknown power surged through him making him call out in confusion.

"What is this! My bow!?" looking back from his bow to Ichigo who was scratching the top of his head while grumbling about being made fun of. Staring at his hand that was still attached to Ichigo's Zanpaktou, was this new power coming from the orange haired boy?

Staring at the new and improved bow in his hand he turned quickly back to the sword he was grasping. Before he could marvel at it anymore a tight grip suddenly pulled him from his thoughts, turning towards the person he was met with the very dark glare of none other than Izumi.

"Yes, this is his power Ishida. Although Quincies and Soul Reapers both use spiritual power when fighting, they both have totally opposite fighting styles; soul reapers use the spiritual power created from their soul and use it with a Zanpaktou to fight against the hollows. You could say it's fighting the using 'power within'. On the contrary, your kind uses the spirit powers in the atmosphere, and combine it with their power to create a weapon. Or you can say it's fighting using 'outside powers'." she paused when Ishida looked deep in thought. "You're spirit weapon transformed because of the power Ichi unconsciously produces; I have masked it for years, but even I can't fully control the amount of power he lets off."

Izumi paused again when Ishida suddenly called out to capture Ichigo's attention.

"Kurosaki!" he called stunned when the boy looked at his bow completely startled and surprised.

"What the hell is that! What happened to your bow!? Why is it so big now!?" he screamed pointing at it like it was an alien object. Then he moved his gaze to the stunned looking Izumi who was still holding onto Ishida's arm. "And why are you holding Zumi's hand!" his startled voice suddenly became serious as a glare settled on his face.