Chapter 37

She didn't realize how bad her complexion was until she returned to the underground training field beneath Kisuke's shop in the Human World. Beads of sweat were dripping down from her brow and down her chin, the quantity of it causing her hair to dampen and stick to her forehead, yet she hardly cared for the discomfort it caused. Instead, she was more focused on catching her breath, hands over her knees to ease her shuddering.

Even now when she closed her eyes, she could still see it, the way that hollow looked at her. Impassive bronze-coloured orbs mired in contemplation as if deciding whether she was worth the effort to intervene.

It wasn't natural.

There was just something within those eyes that contrasted sharply with the nature of hollows, as if the enemy that had stood before her was far more than a corrupt spirit. After all, from the hollow's disposition, battle strength, and image, everything was off.

No mask.

No malice.

It was almost like she wasn't looking at a hollow, but another spirit entirely.

Subconsciously, her hands began to ball into fists, a chill travelling down her back despite the warmth of the artificial light Kisuke had installed within his underground training space.

She admonished her behaviour almost immediately for it was unbecoming of the Captain in charge of the Soul Society's Second Division. At the very least, she had never seen her former Captain Yoruichi lose her composure, therefore, she wouldn't as well.

She sucked in a breath, composing herself before addressing the current issue.

Everywhere around her, the remnants of her squad that had infiltrated Hueco Mundo alongside her were sprawled over the ground. Some were still panting for breath, while others wore grim expressions that mirrored her own.

As Kisuke had been the only Shinigami capable of bridging a path into Hueco Mundo, it was only natural that she and the others would return to his shop where they had initially departed. However, she had forgotten what kind of a man Kisuke could be and had been unable to react in her previously petrified state when she and the others returned falling from the air.

They had crashed to the ground and ended up with their current disheveled appearances, but perhaps the one who had it worse was the little girl employed in Kisuke's shop.

From the first time Soifon had seen her, the girl Ururu Tsumugiya had always given her the impression of a shy and easily frightened rabbit. Ururu had black hair held up in pigtails with long bangs that covered the majority of her forehead. It didn't help Soifon's impression of her much with how unimposing she appeared in a plain white blouse and pink long-skirt.

When Soifon and the others had fallen to an abrupt landing from the sky, they started Ururu enough that she had shattered the pot of tea she had been holding in a tray by dropping it on the ground.

Ururu immediately became flustered and scurried off, probably to inform Kisuke of Soifon's return. Expectedly, he arrived with Yoruichi in the next moment.

Soifon's stern expression gradually melted in the presence of her mentor, but swiftly hardened loathsomely once again when she noticed the smile Kisuke was directing towards her. She promptly pretended as if the man didn't exist.

"You seem pale, Soifon are you alright?"

Yoruichi's question caused her to remember her previous engagement with the enemy, and she quickly sobered.

"I'm fine," she said curtly before lowering her head and falling silent.

She knew that she had failed the mission Yoruichi and Kisuke had given her to set up a monitoring system in Hueco Mundo, but it was hard for to admit without feeling shame. For years, she had always been striving to follow Yoruichi's example as a Captain and perhaps even step out of Yoruichi's shadow, yet to fail on a mission Yoruichi had tasked of her? It was a blow to her pride.

However, she knew that it wasn't something that she could hide.

"I'm sorry," she said critically, bowing at the waist. "I've failed the task given to me."

She waited for her admonishment, yet nothing came. Confused, she glanced up just in time to see Yoruichi glaring at Kisuke when the man had opened his mouth to deliver a snide remark.

It was no secret to Yoruichi that Kisuke and Soifon didn't exactly get along, and she didn't put it passed Kisuke to comment on the situation. Therefore, she stopped Kisuke before he could get any words out to trouble Soifon.

"Its fine as long as you're all safe," Yoruichi said, looking at the state of Soifon and the others. "As much as I'd like to hear the details of what happened, a small break shouldn't delay things for too long."

Soifon mulled over Yoruichi's words and gradually nodded. Her men needed some time to recuperate after overtaxing themselves to supply the spiritual energy necessary to activate Kisuke's return device. As for herself, she needed some time to think.

Time that someone didn't want to wait for.

"Get out of the way!" A hurried voice said irritably, a young girl forcibly pushing passed the Shinigami impeding her. Irritable as the voice sounded however, the desperation within the undertone was unmistakable.

Yoruichi furrowed her brows, her mouth thinning as Karin forcibly shoved her way to stand near Soifon. The Shinigami that had blocked her path were unable to even put up much of a resistance and Yoruichi couldn't blame them.

Karin, was much like her impulsive older brother, a powerhouse.

After what happened in the Seireitei, Yoruichi had taken to training Karin in order to give her a better chance of survival against the supernatural in Ichigo's absence.

Like her elder sibling, Karin's potential was vast due to the nature of her parentage.

What would normally take a soul several years to become a Shinigami, she had done so in weeks with sheer determination. Naturally, the strain on her body was unimaginable.

Yoruichi couldn't count just how many times Karin tore her muscles or passed out due to spiritual exhaustion. Of course, Yoruichi had advised her to ease up on her training only to obtain a single reply.

He wouldn't have given up on me.

Karin's current presence indicated only one fact for Yoruichi.

Ever since Karin had caught wind that Soifon would be taking a team into Hueco Mundo she had been unable to hide her restlessness. Now that Soifon had returned, Karin's patience had long since run out.

"My brother," she said anxiously in front of Soifon. "Did you find my brother?!"

Soifon stared at Karin, and for once didn't know what to say.

As Karin was training under Yoruichi, Karin could be considered her junior, and as such, her impression of her was actually in the positive.

She pursed her lips, letting out a sigh she didn't know that she had been holding before shaking her head.

"Sorry," she said bitterly, watching the way Karin's expression stiffened. "Let alone carrying out the Thirteenth Division and Shiba Clan's request to search for Kaien Shiba, my team and I couldn't even make it out passed the fringes of Hueco Mundo."

Karin stood unnaturally still after Soifon's admission, but Soifon didn't miss the way Karin was eying the device Kisuke had made to breach into the world of hollows. Her brows drew together before she spoke out in warning.

"Don't even think about it," she said, barring Karin's path with an arm. "With your strength, you stand no chance of surviving, more so if you get transported to the place my team and I just escaped from."

She fell silent for a moment, making sure that Karin understood her, yet evidently the girl was having none of it.

Karin moved to step passed her, and when Soifon attempted to intervene, Karin released her spiritual energy.

Much like Ichigo's, hers was an unbridled torrent of power that she hardly attempted to control. It took Soifon by surprise for a moment with its sheer magnitude, tendrils of spiritual energy striking against the earth and cracking it, fissures forming into crevices.

By the time, Soifon fell out of her stupor, it was to see Karin making a mad dash towards the still activated portal in the sky from when Soifon and the others had used it to return.

Fast as Karin was however, the Flash Goddess was faster.

It was with a quick mental apology to Kisuke that Yoruichi pointed a finger at the structure maintaining the portal to Hueco Mundo and fired a burst of Kido to shatter its supports.

Despair flickered across Karin's eyes as the entire thing ceased functioning. Her charge quickly ground to a halt as she screamed.

"NOOO!"

No one understood better than her what the disappearance of the portal meant. She trembled, arms crossing to hug around her as the composure she was barely maintaining shattered. Her eyes moistened, and the lump forming in her throat made it so only choked sobs could escape her mouth as she stared hollowly at Yoruichi.

Everything was almost too much for her to bear.

Her mother was gone.

Ichigo was gone.

Yuzu stopped smiling and the old Goat Face blamed himself for everything.

At first, nothing had really changed in the Kurosaki household: the old Goat Face still acted proactively if just a tad subdued and Yuzu carried on with her days. However, it didn't last after Yuzu slowly realized the absurdity of Ichigo taking a sudden trip in the middle of the academic year.

The concerns only continued to grow until Yuzu did something Karin didn't expect. She hid in the closet when Chad and the others came and overheard Ichigo's situation.

She confronted Karin on the same night and hadn't been the same ever since; not after hearing from the report Rukia detailed from the Soul Society concerning Ichigo's most likely status in Huenco Mundo. Deceased.

It was as if something broke within Yuzu on that night, and Karin no longer felt comfortable staying at home. Every time she returned to her house after training it was too see Yuzu sitting alone by the dimly lit table, her eyes unfocused while the old Goat Face started drinking again.

Her home wasn't how it used to be, and it pained her in a way that was impossible to describe. Thus, when she learned that Kisuke had made a device to enter Hueco Mundo she had tried numerous times to use it. Unfortunately, she didn't know how to activate it.

The chance she had when Soifon and the others returned had been her only opportunity, and it splintered right in front of her eyes.

"WHY?!" She demanded, glaring at Yoruichi.

The despair she was feeling had shifted into anger. If it was Ichigo in her place, then he wouldn't have cared about how dangerous it was. She was the same.

In the face of her emotional wrath, Yoruichi only shook her head before Karin's vision began to swim and she blacked out.

Yoruichi promptly scowled at Kisuke who supported Karin's body in his hands after knocking the girl unconscious.

"You didn't have to do that," she said.

Kisuke tipped his hat down and didn't argue. His method was the fastest method and the one least likely to develop a strain in Karin's relationship with Yoruichi. It didn't matter if she would hate him for it because she wouldn't be the first in the list of people who hated him; one of which was already giving a him murderous glower.

"Had enough of watching?" He called out to his surroundings.

Expectedly, he got his response.

"I swear the first thing I do when I recover is punch you in the face," Isshin said darkly as he stepped out from behind a formation of boulders and appeared in front of Kisuke.

Soifon stared at Isshin for a moment, but couldn't recall where she had seen Isshin from before. Something about him was familiar though and it was irking her that the answer seemed to be just off the edge of her tongue, granted any friend of Kisuke's probably wasn't someone she'd want to keep in her company.

She gave one last glance at Isshin and Kisuke before growing disinterested in their squabbling.

It was then up to Yoruichi to step in and placate, Isshin only calming down after taking Karin into his arms and cradling his little girl gently.

"You know, if you don't like the way I handle her, why don't you just train her yourself?" Kisuke asked, straightening his clothing from where Isshin had grabbed him by the collar. "It's not like you're doing anything by just secretly watching Karin train anyway."

Isshin shook his head.

"She's had enough to take in, and I don't want to concern her with my matters." Isshin hoisted Karin over his shoulders before growing stern. "Unlike my daughter Kisuke, you and Yoruichi can't stop me from going to Hueco Mundo to save my family when my powers fully return."

"And the daughter still at home?"

"…"

Isshin's expression hardened.

Kisuke shrugged before veering the topic away. "I wasn't planning on stopping you, but you should know that going in alone won't end well. With what I know of Aizen, Ichigo and Masaki should be safe for the time being if only for the man's entertainment. That's why what we have to do now is prepare and wait for an opportunity."

Kisuke shifted his attention from Isshin to Soifon. "If you would, Captain, I'd like to hear an explanation of what happened in Hueco Mundo."

Soifon glanced irritably at Kisuke, but relented when Yoruichi gestured for to rest in a guest room where she could brief everyone of her experience.

By the time Soifon left to report back to the Seireitei, only Kisuke Urahara was left alone to ponder.

He sat in his shop, Yoruichi had taken up Isshin's request to spar after accommodating Karin, and the two had returned to the basement below.

Kisuke didn't mind being alone. In fact, he preferred it as it gave him time to think.

His fingers wrapped against the mahogany surface of the short legged kotatsu he was sitting in and allowed his mind to wander.

How long did he have?

Knowing Aizen and what he'd do if he'd somehow recruited another strong hollow into the fold, it wouldn't be long before Aizen would play his hand. The question was, what would counter that hand?

Already, Kisuke had set up a secondary dimension between Hueco Mundo and the Human World as a precaution and even allowed Yamamoto free reign to watch over it. Isshin himself will probably participate due to personal reasons and the Vizards would definitely not miss out, but was it enough?

His gut was warning him and he didn't like the feeling.

Worse, he felt another migraine knocking on his door.

He glanced up to see Ishida, Orihime, Rukia, Renji, and Chad staring at him from the entrance of his shop.

They had already asked numerous times about mounting a rescue operation for Ichigo, but he refused them in consideration of their current strength. However, they were adamant, forcing him to impose a bargain.

If they reached a suitable level, then he would send them along with Karin to Hueco Mundo.

Karin's requirement was Bankai.

For Orihime and the others, it was to prove that they could last against Captain-Class Shinigami. Of course, he wouldn't be the Captain-Class Shinigami to be testing them like they probably assumed.

He was too busy after all.

Instead, like he'd always done with troublesome matters,

He'd leave it to Shinji.

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Hueco Mundo was different from how it was before. Its inhabitants, the hollows that generally remained in isolated groups, had begun gathering.

Feeling all the changes that had occurred within the time span of several weeks, he couldn't help but admit that he had underestimated Aizen and the lure his Hogyoku would bring. Not only did it allow a Hollow to experience an immediate increase to their personal capabilities, but it also allowed a hollow to shed their bulky figures.

Aizen dubbed them Arrancar, Hollows that had broken free of their masks to obtain the power of a Shinigami reflected in the Zanpakuto hung by their waists.

Almost on a daily basis, the number of these Arrancar began to increase exponentially. Perhaps there was something unique in reobtaining the physical characteristics of a human soul, or maybe the change in his own appearance had been too much of a shock to those following under him.

He was the Vasto of White, a moniker of sorts attributed to him due to the nature of his pale exterior.

No longer.

He donned a red mantle, something he insisted that Aizen not attempt to dye white to match the attire Aizen had been distributing. Aizen persisted, explaining the symbolism involved in choosing white compared to the Shinigami's black.

Naturally, he didn't care.

All that mattered was how those that saw him reacted.

Harribel had been the first to see him, attracted to the disturbance he had made weeks prior when dealing with Soifon and the others; he allowing them to leave with Harribel's intervention.

Funnily enough, she hadn't recognized him and attempted to apprehend him only to freeze awkwardly when her eyes met his own. He couldn't fault her for her mistake however as his spiritual energy felt completely different after his contact with the Hogyoku.

He was stronger. Unbelievably so.

In fact, Barragan's previous title of God King was perhaps the most suitable to describe him within Hueco Mundo's space.

After asserting that he was who he said he was and inquiring of what had happened to him, Harribel oddly looked at herself and her hollow bone armour before her brows furrowed. For once, she had felt that the armour covering her was unsightly rather than useful.

She didn't tell him where she had went thereafter, yet Brans had informed him that she had single-mindedly began hunting Aizen down much to his bewilderment.

In any case, similar reactions occurred with many of the hollows in the land of the Vasto of White.

Of particular note however was Barragan.

In the past couple of weeks, Barragan had once again come to challenge him in their near daily confrontations only this time, he reacted differently when he saw him.

"It was you," Barragan had said deeply in realization, the personal veneration in his tone hidden.

Staring at Barragan, the past he had seen surfaced in his mind. He recalled one of the many Hollows that had thanked him before migrating to Hueco Mundo, one famously vilified in the Human World as the terror of the Andes Mountains.

The harbinger of evil.

The Skeletal God of Death sitting upon a throne of bones.

That hollow living in seclusion within the Andes Mountain was Barragan Luisenbarn. The very same hollow who had made a promise spoken of in a vow.

This King will remember it.

Back then, before Barragan had entered Hueco Mundo, he had only been able to avoid eradication due to the war the Shinigami were having with the Quincy. If not for Shirou's intervention, then the reputation he had accumulated in the Human World would have led the Shinigami right towards him.

As such, the way Barragan looked at Shirou after his changed appearance in their last encounter held no trace of arrogance or pride, only something akin to respect.

The long feud between the two strongest rulers of Huceo Mundo ended on that day.

He sighed just thinking about all of the things that were happening as of late, the most recent news he had heard from Brans verifying that Barragan had become an Arrancar.

Unfortunately, that wasn't his main concern.

His resolve hardened as he locked-in on a particular spiritual energy before hesitating.

He was currently traversing the sky, winds blowing across his face and tousling his hair as he abruptly stopped. Already he could feel it, the spiritual energy before him running in an opposite direction from his approach.

It was like a game of cat and mouse, and Starrk and Lilynette were avoiding him.

Of everyone in Hueco Mundo, it was only they who had yet to see him after the transformation induced by the Hogyoku and it wasn't because they didn't know of the current state of affairs.

Arrancar were emerging everywhere and Aizen had already informed him of his contact with Starrk and Lilynette, turning them fully into Arrancar using the Hogyoku. Therefore, the fact that they were reacting to his approach and running away from him was undoubtedly intentional.

Their actions only served to verify his assumptions of their relation to the Vasto Lorde of the past, Coyote Gingerbuck.

Even Starrk and Lilynette's names were too coincidental to believe.

Yet, should he forcibly meet up with them to demand an answer?

Whatever reason they had for avoiding him, it probably wasn't something he should pry into.

It was with such a thought, that he reluctantly didn't give chase to the fleeing spiritual energy he could feel and decided to leave half-way through.

Starrk and Lilynette would come to him when they were ready. It was his duty as a friend to respect that which is why he had abruptly changed his plans.

Starrk and Lilynette's matters left aside, there was only one issue left to consider, the matter regarding the Ōken. To take the lives of a hundred-thousand souls or not?

Obviously, it wasn't an option he could consider, yet what else was he supposed to do?

He settled in a sparse location above a towering quartz tree and considered his options as particles of sand that had clung to his body in the air fell and sprinkled over the ground. Around him, was a view of the entirety of the lands he had so painstakingly protected for years.

The area quieted around him in his contemplation, inspiration striking him when he needed it the most.

He would not sacrifice any innocent souls, he didn't need to.

He had all that he would ever need within him.

"We're at your side,"

Their words were his comfort.

The Swords within him. They who had never once left him and kept him company on his lonely path in life.

His greatest treasure.

He steeled himself, moving away from the quartz tree and moving to the location where he knew Aizen had taken accommodations.

It was a refurbished cave with the interior walls lined with white stones of spiritual rock. Past the cave's exterior and within the cave, it actually resembled the outlying of a house. Gin Ichimaru was often seen guarding the front with Kaname Tousen, and it was only when Aizen invited the hollows in that the two wouldn't intervene.

At his sudden appearance, both Gin and Tousen tensed, Gin far more so than Tousen. It was only to be expected with the impression Gin had of him in his last meeting. Shinso pleading for him to convince Gin to reconsider his plans; everything for the sake of a woman who didn't even know how much Gin cared about her.

"Shirou," Tousen greeted stiffly, a bead of sweat travelling down his brow.

He nodded in return and couldn't fault Tousen for his nervousness. Other than Aizen, neither Gin or Tousen were his match. Worse, he didn't give Aizen notice of his arrival and Aizen had explicitly ordered Tousen and Gin to not let anyone uninvited through. Ergo the predicament.

Fortunately, Aizen himself diffused the situation, Aizen's voice echoing from within the building.

"Come in," Aizen called.

Gin and Tousen glanced at each other, before ushering him through the entrance.

Inside Aizen's accommodations, the man himself was busy leaning over a counter undergoing tests with the Hogyoku.

It wasn't until he was about to announce his presence that Aizen raised a shoulder to indicate that he knew that he was already in the sparsely decorated room. It was more of a laboratory actually with screens and monitors set up at the sides adjacent to a bed.

"I presume the only reason you'd seek me out is that you've come to an answer?" Aizen murmured out as he moved away from the Hogyoku and unwrinkled his garments.

He opened his mouth, but Aizen gestured to him with a hand.

"You don't have to answer, Kyouka's already informed me that you have a solution," Aizen ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "Admittedly, I still don't know how to feel about her finding a second home in your inner world, but the research itself is entertaining."

He remained silent as Aizen cut to the point.

"With one of the two conditions completed to create the Royal Key, all that's left is the spiritual ground in Karakura," Aizen smirked. "When will you be ready to head out?"

Faced with Aizen's question, it didn't take him long to answer. Everything he urgently needed to settle had already been settled, leaving nothing left for him to finish. Therefore, he was ready.

He conveyed the sentiment to Aizen and it was hard to describe the excitement in the man's expression. The Soul Society had a Head-Commander, but Aizen had not only himself, but a Shirou.

With what Kyouka had conveyed to Aizen of Shirou's true capabilities, Aizen was even more confident in his odds.

As Aizen busied himself with preparations, Shirou slowly made his way out while releasing a breath.

What was the reason he had been brought to a world that was clearly not his own?

Only the Soul King could give him his answer, and no one else.

If the Shinigami insisted on stopping him and would not listen to reason or peaceful negotiation, then only one option remained.

War.

And he didn't exactly have the best impression of Shinigami.

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War was an odd thing for it always imposed a distinction between sides, with or against, and Ichigo didn't know which one to choose.

"Cero."

A reddish beam of destruction launched forward, the power held within enough to explode and annihilate a protruding plateau into cinders floating in the wind. The heat of the blast itself travelled outwards in a shockwave comparable to a general Vasto Lorde's.

Near him, Nel nodded in approval.

"Perfect," Nel complimented, walking over to his side and placing her lance down when the shockwave of his attack reached them.

Her spiritual energy formed into a barrier and blocked the incoming dust and debris. Thereafter, Nel reined in her power and smiled as a teacher would to a student.

"You've gotten better, but it doesn't mean you should grow complacent," Nel lectured.

He took her words in yet didn't take it to heart. Lately, he noticed that Nel appeared apprehensive of something that she wouldn't divulge to him.

At first it was hard for him to notice with her general stoicism, yet it was evident with the news Pesche had informed her off yesterday that something had happened. Her calm expression had become grim for a moment before resolving itself. Subsequently, the harshness of his training increased without warning.

If before Nel had only required him to understand the base instincts that his hollow form provided him, now she required him to fully utilize them.

"We don't have much time," he would hear her mutter offhandedly while pursing her lips.

He had been too exhausted then to consider her words, but now that she seemed satisfied with his progress, now was the best time if any to inquire.

"Why's everyone gathering like that?" He asked, his gaze moving to the congregation of individuals forming in the distance. The tone of his voice was still as guttural as ever.

Nel's lips thinned, but the determination never left her eyes. Coupled with her noble disposition, she looked nothing like a hollow. No one in the area did anymore. Instead, they looked human, calling themselves Arrancar.

It was a distinction that he still had trouble wrapping his mind across. The hollows he had thought were blood thirsty monsters turned out to be people that showed compassion, integrity, and companionship that most people didn't even possess. Even Apacci, Mila-Rose, and Sung-Sun who had their reservations about him would still offer pointers when they occasionally dropped by.

Nel herself was evident enough. His teacher, and someone he had bonded and developed a sense of friendship with over time. Without any hesitation, she had taken it upon herself to make him stronger, and for what reason?

Because we're everyone's enemies.

Her answer back then was enough to get him to realize that he had been too judgmental in the past. Humans, Shinigami, Quincy, among all the major factions, Hollows were always the evil to be dealt with, yet were they really?

Nel had told him of the real reason why the hollows invaded the Soul Society. Simply for the sake of saving a single individual, his mother. In contrast, what impression did the Soul Society give him when they sentenced Rukia to death for the action of saving his life and imparting her powers?

His mood soured, but he didn't let it show on his face as he waited for Nel to respond to his question.

Next to him, his mother arrived, smiling at him for his improvements.

It was a shame that she couldn't speak, yet perhaps it was for the best. He wouldn't know how he would react to hearing her voice once again: The same soft tone that used to call out to him, her little Ichigo.

"Their rallying to his aid," Nel said after a moment. "Something we too will be doing for the upcoming battle with the Shinigami."

He startled after hearing Nel's answer.

"Battle?" He stared at Nel confused.

She simply shook her head, a wistfulness in her gaze.

"To be truthful, Shirou hadn't actually wanted everyone to follow him, but everyone insisted," Nel said wryly, her mouth curving upwards. "Our Lord of Hollows is that kind of person. He's always been, and that's why he's the King. Even Barragan has lowered his pride and acknowledges this."

Hearing the fervor of Nel's voice, for once, Ichigo felt like he actually wanted to meet the Shirou Nel had always spoken of in reverence. Yet he needed to clarify.

"Is that the same reason you fight as well?"

Nel nodded her head without hesitation, flashing him the number four marked on her back.

"It's also part of my duty as an Espada," she said, recalling Aizen's explanation of the group.

The Espada were the strongest Arrancar in Hueco Mundo ranked from one to ten. Generally, Nel would have never cared about such a thing, but when Aizen hinted that her rank could reflect how useful she'd be to Shirou, she quickly accepted being in the Espada despite her suspicions that Aizen had tricked her.

Well, it didn't matter. All that did was that she had entered a competition with Harribel for a higher-ranking position, neither able to tolerate the notion that one was more useful to Shirou than the other.

Thoughts reaching to that point, Nel's eyes narrowed as she made her way to where everyone was gathering. She didn't want Harribel to overtake her.

Left behind, Ichigo watched as his teacher in Hueco Mundo single-mindedly headed in the direction of the gathering hollows.

Slowly, he realized that this was his chance to leave with his mother back to Karakura town after Nel had gone to the extent of teaching him how to open a Garganta. The fight with the Shinigami had nothing to do with him anyway, however, he quickly realized the futility of his thoughts.

"Mother!" He involuntarily called out to Silent who was trailing after Nel and quickly leaving him behind.

He was forced to chase after them, sighing in exasperation when he eventually caught up.

By the time he became aware of it, he was in the midst of the crowd of gathered Arrancar. There were so many of them that there was barely any room to stand freely.

Of all the people he could have had ended up next to however, it was his misfortune that he ended up near Sung-Sun and the others.

"Hey, it's the brat's friend," Apacci said looking down on him.

His mouth shifted into a glower.

"I have a name, and its Ichigo," he grunted out.

Speaking of which, he hadn't exactly seen Lilynette in a long time. He had initially thought that it was because she had gone out to search for Starrk, but its already been several weeks. Did something happen to her that he wasn't aware of?

He filed his concerns away for the moment as he attention drifted to the woman he hadn't met before and had only heard in passing from Nel.

It was the Arrancar standing beside Sung-Sun, Apacci, and Mila Rose. The one with the unruly locks of blonde hair and a sharp gaze resembling a fierce predator.

Tier Harribel of the Espada. She was wearing an odd sort of white uniform that only covered her top and bottom half while leaving her stomach exposed. She glanced once in his direction before her attention shifted to Nel.

"You've improved," Harribel commented.

"As have you," Nel said before the two fell silent.

As much as Ichigo knew his teacher saw Harribel as a rival, he could also see that they shared a unique kind of relationship.

They were comrades despite their differences.

Seeing that Nel and Harribel seemed to be communicating even without words, he moved his attention elsewhere.

After Apacci had greeted him, she, Sung-Sun, and Mila Rose seemed as if they wanted to continue conversing with him, but chose better of it to emulate Harribel's stoic disposition.

His mother on the other hand was focused with staring ahead at the group of people approaching, the main target of her attention being the red-head donned with a flowing crimson mantle walking at the center.

Shirou, the Vasto of White.

Shirou's expression was hard for Ichigo to decipher, anxious yet not; a worry in his gaze that wasn't for himself, but for those that wanted to follow him.

Now that Ichigo had seen the King of Hollows in person, it was to his shock that he felt an empathy from one protector to another. It was almost like they were the same kind of person, just that that they stood on opposite sides at the beginning only to meet at the end.

He really wasn't a bad person.

It was just like Nel had said, and like his mother had insisted on.

Thoughts running rampant in his mind, it was only when he noticed another man in the group Shirou was in that he suddenly felt as if he was doused by a bucket of cold water.

Aizen Sousuke.

To Aizen's left and right were two other Captains only one of which he had met before in the Siereitei, the Captain with the silver coloured hair, Gin Ichimaru.

Seeing them, it was impossible for him to mask the anger in his gaze, not after recalling Aizen stab Rukia through with his arm. Agitated as he may have been, no one noticed in the subsequent cheers that resounded.

"For the King!"

"Glory to the Vasto of White!"

The sheer intensity of the shouts around him forced him to recall just where he was, and he promptly quelled his anger. It was a large improvement from how rash he had been before, never considering his situation, but he was different now.

He wasn't certain if the change was just because he was currently surrounded by those he had once perceived as his enemies, or because the notion of having to turn his blade against Nel disgusted him. Either way, he feared the expression Nel would show if he suddenly became her enemy despite all the care she had devoted to him.

Nel was a hollow, but she wasn't evil. She was kind behind her frosty exterior, much like everyone else he had met in the world of white dunes.

He didn't realize it, but he had fallen into a contemplative daze in his worry about where he should stand in the coming conflict.

It was only when Nel placed an arm on his shoulder that he realized that a Garganta had been opened where Aizen and the others used to be standing.

Shirou, Aizen, Gin, and the other Captain had already gone through.

A line had formed with the Arrancar stepping into the Garganta in groups.

Nel beckoned him forward after Harribel, Apacci, Mila-Rose, and Sung-Sun stepped through the hole between dimensions.

The situation as it was, he suddenly found himself having to make a choice of whether to involve himself or not. Would he just stand by while knowing that Nel was putting herself in danger? Could he even do that when he was certain his mother would be keen on following Nel as well?

He cursed his luck, already knowing his answer.

Sandwiched between Nel and his mother, he stepped through the Garganta, a feeling of vertigo hitting him as the world shifted. The dark between dimensions probably wasn't something he'd ever get used to. More so with the sheer emptiness of it all.

When next he blinked, he, Nel, and his mother were staring at Karakura town from the sky. However, Ichigo was the first to notice something off.

There were no people below.

No vendors manning their shops, no students stressing over deadlines, and only an eerie all-encompassing silence.

When he exited the Garganta and it closed behind him, it was only then that he noticed that they weren't alone.

"This is as far as you all go."

The Head-Commander of the Soul Society spoke, beside him the entirety of the Captains and Shinigami of the Seireitei stood in formations of several hundred squads manned by Vice-Captains and Seated Officers.

The gravity of the situation was comparable only to the war of the Quincy in the age of old.

Shinigami vs Hollow.

The clashing of two forces.

A battle that neither side was willing to lose.

Bound by law, held together by duty.

The legion of black, the deliverers of death, and the guardians of the afterlife, keepers of the balance.

Shinigami.

The butterflies soared, resplendent wings of blue and black flapping on the edge of reality. Navigators guiding the wary soul through the immortal gates that separate the dimensions. Symbols of the Shinigami, the Jigokuchō.

Opposed to them stood the Evils of the world.

Scorned, hunted, belittled, the times had changed.

A roar resounded, forceful and conveying the animosity of the numerous years of oppression.

No longer.

This wasn't just about Shirou's objectives any longer, but something personal held within the psyche of every ancient hollow. Barragan's eyes already seemed to be spewing flames, Starrk and Lilynette had it worse. When they saw Yamamoto, they felt such hatred that it nearly overwhelmed them.

As for Ichigo, he was different. For he was staring at only a single direction and stiffening.

His continued exposure to the vile nature of hollow energy had transformed his current appearance to resemble a horned-demon. The mask that had once been on his face now stretched to cover the entirety of his head, the pale-yellow glow of his eyes, menacing.

His only distinguishing characteristics were the tattered remnants of his black shihakusho and the cloth binding Zangetsu to his arm.

He stiffened, not because of the pressure caused by the clashing of spiritual energy in the air, but because of the anguish he saw on the faces of those he knew.

His little sister, his friends, and acquaintances, they stood a distance in front him behind the protective lines Yamamoto had formed.

Even from where he stood, he could see the way Karin's complexion was paling, the quivering of Orihime's lips, and the bitter expressions that surfaced over Chad, Ishida, Rukia, and Renji's faces.

He must have looked like a monster to them. Was this what it felt like to be a hollow?

Guilt welled up from within, but he didn't know what he was supposed to do anymore.

To his left, he felt his mother's warmth, and to his right, he felt Nel's concern for his safety; her spiritual energy wrapping around him like a shield against the energy of the Shinigami seeking to oppress him.

In the end, which side was he supposed to stand on?

The light in his irises dimmed.

Who was he supposed to protect?