//------------------------------//
// Soul Society: Navigating the Seireitei 
// Story: Bleach: Heart of a Hero 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

As Ichigo and Sombra ran down the street that they were on, following the directions that Ikkaku had given them, Sombra found himself wondering what sort of person Captain Zaraki Kenpachi was, because it appeared that the Eleventh Division was dedicated to battle and nothing else. If that was the case, and he believed it was after seeing how Ikkaku and Yumichika acted around them, despite his opponent being nothing like Ikkaku, that told him that the Captain had to be the greatest fighter in the entire Division, which would make sense considering that he was the Captain, and that his reiatsu had to be the strongest out of all of them as well. Thinking about that made him thinking about the Shinigami he had just faced, the same one that had clearly decided that he wasn't worth facing after receiving a single cut, and wondered how someone like that could be in the same Division as Ikkaku, but he guessed that, as a fighter, he was more at home with how his Division handled things and not how someone like him did things. There was also the chance that, since it was clear that only the thirteen Captains and certain Lieutenants knew what an Arrancar was and how they were created, his reiatsu, which was like a Hollow's since he had been one before becoming what he was now, had been what frightened Yumichika and caused him to be defeated so easily.

In the end Sombra shook his head and followed behind Ichigo, mostly because Ichigo was still slower than he was and the fact that he didn't want to leave his friend behind while they were in enemy territory, though at the same time he could tell that Ichigo was already getting annoyed at the fact that the walls on either side of them were identical and that he was having a hard time finding his way around the Seireitei. Sombra suspected that the Shinigami had designed it in this manner on purpose, so if they were invaded by an outside force they would be able to confuse them until a group arrived to finish off whatever was attacking them, or confuse their enemies if they did something like what Sombra and the others did. Just thinking about what they had done made him worry about his friends, as at this point he considered himself friends with Uryu, Orihime, Chad, and Sora, adding them to the list of friends that he had, but, as he felt for their reiatsu as he ran, he found that three of them were together and appeared to be on the run, if he was feeling things correctly, and it appeared that the other one, Chad, was on the move as well... even Yoruichi, who seemed to be incredibly well hidden and he could only sense her reiatsu because he was familiar to it's presence when she was in her cat form, seemed to be safe as well, which was good news.

"Damn, where the hell did that freaking Ganju run off to?" Ichigo asked, speaking out loud because he knew that Sombra was likely feeling the various reiatsu signatures that were in the area of the Seireitei that they were in, as he was also sure that Ganju couldn't have gotten far from where they fought Ikkaku and Yumichika.

"We're closer to his position than we were a few minutes ago," Sombra replied, referring to the area they had landed in, as he was sure that Ichigo was thinking about that area again, but at the same time he knew that there were some Shinigami new Ganju, meaning he either attracted them on accident or was sneaking around them, "Now that we know where Rukia is being held we should take a few minutes and make sure that Ganju is safe, before finding a place where we can hide and wait for the others to catch up with us. Once we've regrouped we should be able to come up with a plan that doesn't involve all of us running around in separ..."

"DAMMIT, GANJU!" Ichigo shouted, causing Sombra to stop for a moment, as he couldn't believe what he was hearing at the moment, especially since they were in the middle of enemy territory and had no idea what the layout of the Seireitei was, "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

Sombra stood there for a moment, with one of his eyebrows twitching in annoyance, because Ichigo just alerted all of the Shinigami in the immediate area to their exact location, meaning that they could be attacked by more enemies like Ikkaku and Yumichika at any moment. Not only would that happened, but he was sure that they would be forced to run at some point, just to avoid being see by too many enemies at one time, which would push them back from their task at finding where Rukia was being held or if the others were okay. Sure enough Sombra heard the sounds that proved his point, as directly to their left, having what appeared to be a cigarette break of some kind, were four Shinigami that spotted them and, as they drew their swords, Sombra heard one of them mention the glory going to the Eleventh Division, making him wonder if he, Ichigo, and Ganju had landed in the area of the Seireitei that the Eleventh Division watched over, but he had to push that thought away as Ichigo started running once more, to which he sighed and followed after his friend as he sought out a place where they could hide and let this blow over.

Instead of dealing with them immediately, as Sombra knew that the noise the four Shinigami were making at the moment would draw even more enemies to where they were, Ichigo insisted on running down the various streets that were in front of them and actually brought them to several dead ends along the way. Sombra knew that they were fortunate that the four Shinigami that were following them weren't anywhere near the level that Ikkaku and Yumichika were at, since these guys ere falling behind and only managed to catch up when Ichigo brought them to a dead end and forced them to back up for a few seconds. Even with Ichigo's terrible sense of direction they were able to reach a larger and more open area than the street they had been following, which would have been great if it wasn't for the fact that they were being chased at the moment, though after taking a few steps into the area Sombra came to a stop, pulled Shokyo from her scabbard, and faced the four Shinigami when they entered the area as well... where he flashed around them in rapid succession and cut them all down, making sure that the wounds were shallow so they didn't die, but also hurt enough to make sure these guys didn't come after them in a few minutes.

Once that was done he landed nearby and sheathed his blade, though at the same time, as he approached Ichigo so he could give him a piece of his mind, the two of them were interrupted when a large firework went off nearby, one that they could see in the air, and Ichigo smiled as he headed in the direction that Ganju was in... to which Sombra sighed as he followed after his friend, while also hoping that the others were having better luck than they were.





Uryu, Orihime, and Sora laid down on the roof of the building they had climbed up onto, so they could get a better view of the area that they were in, and immediately had to hide themselves as all three of them felt a powerful Shinigami, who was accompanied by a lesser powered one, approach the area they were in. At Uryu's suggestion all three of them lowered their reiatsu down as far as they could make it, to keep themselves hidden from their enemies, and soon part of the wall that was near where they were laying collapsed, revealing the Shinigami that they had felt immediately. The first Shinigami they noticed happened to be tall and muscular, unlike the other couple of Shinigami they had snuck by earlier, with a wild and aggressive appearance, meaning that he was a fighter of some type, one that they didn't want to mess with. The man had a long face with pronounced cheekbones, pronounced, hairless brow ridges, green colored eyes and long, stringy black hair, though a noticeable trait in his appearance, one that Uryu and the others noticed immediately, was a long, thin scar running down the left side of his face and across his left eye. In addition to all of that the man was wearing bandages across his midsection, a white haori, his black hair had been molded into stiff stands with small bells attached to the tips, and he had an eyepatch over his right eye for some reason. Resting on the man's right shoulder was a very small, young girl with pink hair, dark pink eyes and a perpetual blush on her cheeks, who happened to be wearing the normal Shinigami attire and some sort of insignia on her left arm.

The trio watched as the man walked into the area that they happened to be hiding in, silently observing him as he smashed his way through the walls that were in his way as he headed off in the direction of the firework that had been in the air a few moments ago... though a few moments later, after the reiatsu of the man finally left the area they were in, the trio breathed a sigh of relief as they got up and looked around the area they had come to at last.

"Thank goodness, he's gone." Orihime said, though she was happy that they had been able to avoid so many fights so far, especially with someone that was as strong as the man that they had seen run through the area below them, as she knew that none of them would be bale to beat him, even if they worked together.

"That's for sure." Uryu commented, as he believed that the only members of their group that might be able to best that man were Ichigo and Sombra, as they were, technically, the strongest fighters they had, so since they weren't here the three of them had to be careful about how they went into battle and when they ran away.

"He seemed to be incredibly strong," Sora added, because while he might not have the same experience as Sombra did while fighting opponents, or controlling his reiatsu to the same degree that his superior did, or even being able to call upon a Cero blast like Sombra could, he knew how powerful that man had been and also knew that they would have been in trouble if he had seen them, "but at least it seems that he, and the little girl that was on his shoulder, didn't notice us."

"That would put him in the same category as Kurosaki," Uryu said, though at the same time he made sure that the man, along with the little girl that was riding on his shoulder, was gone before they did anything else, while he heard the sound of Orihime moving around, "He's ridiculously strong, but it appears that he lacks the detection skills necessary to figure out where we're hiding. But we've reached a problem; we've started to move from where we landed, but, since we're in unfamiliar territory, it's hard to say which way we should go, as there's no telling whe..."

"How about that way?" Orihime asked, as she found something that seemed to be important, though as she pointed at the white tower that she had found she also looked back at Uryu and her brother, as she wanted them to see what she was looking at before they left the building they were on, "There's a tower over in that distance."

As Sora and Uryu turned to look in the direction that Orihime was pointing in they both noticed that they had been found out by someone else, as a Shinigami was standing right in front of Orihime, who hadn't even seen him yet, and he was in the process of lowering his blade towards her. In the following instant Sora drew his blade from the scabbard it was resting in as he moved forward, intentionally putting himself between his sister and her attacker, stopping the blade before it could hit her, while at the same time Uryu, using his own speed quickly flashed to where Orihime was standing, wrapped an arm around her, and flashed some distance back while taking her away from the attacker. Once Sora was sure that his sister was no longer in danger he jumped out of the way and let the blade strike the roof that was below him, before jumping over to where Uryu was standing, where he noticed that Orihime was shocked by what had happened and was likely surprised by the speed that Uryu had just displayed.

"No substance." the Shinigami commented, to which he turned towards Orihime and Uryu for a moment, as they were the ones that he was interested in at the moment, while at the same time observing the other person that was standing next to them as well, "You have quite some skill to escape from that range. Well done. If the opponent you encountered had not been me, you would have survived a little longer. Regret your situation. I will grant the three of you time to regret until the count of ten."

"Sora, Uryu, thanks for saving me," Orihime said, though at the same time the large Shinigami that had spotted them fulfilled his promise and started counting as he stared at them, like they were going to regret their actions and surrender to him, "but I'm fine."

"That you are." Sora replied, as he was happy to see that his sister was unharmed, which made sense since he had stopped the blade from coming down on where Orihime was standing, before he turned his attention back towards the enemy that was standing in front of them.

"Ten! Now then, the time for regret has passed." the Shinigami declared, where he swung his left arm until his hand was pointing at the trio, indicating that he was ready to fight again and that they needed to be ready for what was about to happen in the next few seconds, "Did you regret to your heart's content? Now begins a further time of regret!"

Sora readied his blade as both Orihime and Uryu moved to the sides, as the Shinigami was coming at them with the intent to hurt them, and he parried the attack with all his strength, though as that happened Uryu stated that he would be the one to fight their attacker, who proceeded to fight dirty as he picked up a handful of sand and threw it at him, forcing Uryu to cough as he slipped over the edge and grabbed onto part of the roof that he rolled near. In that moment the Shinigami stated that none of them could tell him who his opponent was, because he was going to choose who to fight at any given moment, and his following statement was that Orihime was going to be his opponent, which enraged Sora as he fought back against their opponent and avoided the cheap kick shot that was coming his way. Even though the Shinigami said that he was going to fight Orihime, who dodged the upcoming attacks that were coming her way, Sora stepped in every now and then, parrying certain attacks and moving out of the way when both of them were sure they weren't going to get hit, but at the same time Sora was sure that his sister was looking for an opening that she could use to attack their opponent and knock him out.

Of course Orihime found that opportunity and used her Koten Zanshun on the Shinigami, though her lack of intent to hurt or even kill her opponent cost her, as the Shinigami swung his blade and clipped Tsubaki, knocking him out of the air and forcing him to return to the hairpin he had come from... but as the Shinigami started to swing his blade, however, Uryu surprised him by firing an arrow and cutting into the back of his hand, while at the same time Sora moved his sister out of the way so they could watch what happened.

"Might you be a Quincy?" the Shinigami asked, looking at the strange bow that Uryu was holding, something that both Sora and Orihime were staring at, while at the same time displaying the fact that Soul Society still had some knowledge of the other clan that had killed Hollows until their extinction two hundred years ago.

"That's correct." Uryu replied, as he didn't think there was a reason to lie, because he wanted the Shinigami to know who had beaten him, though at the same time he was ready to draw another arrow at a moments notice, especially when the Shinigami might attack at any moment.

"This is intriguing." the Shinigami stated, to which his eyes moved over all three of them, as he was studying them and what he had seen them do in the short time since he had arrived, before turning back towards Uryu, while at the same time he turned his blade until it was in front of him and the tip was facing the sky, "One uses an unknown technique, the second is a Quincy, and the third is an unknown creature that has some decent strength and some unknown abilities that he hasn't shown yet. Two of you use projectiles... and appear to be enemies. What a coincidence! What a trick of fate! Then allow me to show you the true form of my Zanpakuto... Flap away, Tsunzakigarasu!"

The three of them watched as their opponent pushed the base of his hand down on top of the blade of his weapon, where the blade disappeared and a large number of curved spinning blades filled the air around him, but at the same time they prepared themselves for whatever was to come next, especially since Uryu was getting ready to fire an arrow.

"What do you think?" the Shinigami asked, sounding like he might care for a few seconds, though that was before he moved his hands to his side and let a grin appear on his face, telling the three of them that he actually didn't care and wasn't about to let them talk, "Now regret! I am the 4th Seat of the Seventh Division, Jirobo Ikkanzaka. Also known as Kamaitachi Jirobo. The title of Kamaitachi is the mark of the ultimate projectile master. Not a single person has ever seen Tsunzakigarasu, these countless blades dancing in the air, and survived! Well, well, how about it? You can't even follow them with your eyes, can you? It is a splendid prelude to death. Such bows and arrows are are powerless as a baby before the Tsunzakigarasu! As another projectile user, regret to the fullest having encountered me and..."

It was in that moment that Uryu pulled his hand back and loosed a volley of arrows that shattered all of the spinning blades that were in the air around the Shinigami, surprising their opponent for a moment, though once that was taken care of he lowered his arms for a moment as he stared at the Shinigami in front of him.

"That's pretty interesting, not like the World of the Living at all." Uryu commented, as he was growing tired of listening to the Shinigami boast about how he was stronger than the three of them, especially when Sora could parry his attacks and he could do all this damage in a single volley of arrows, "Apparently, on this side, 'ultimate master' means a windbag with diarrhea of the mouth."

What happened next was Jirobo declaring that Uryu's attack was just luck and pulled out the handle of his blade once more, which he had returned to the scabbard after releasing his Zanpakuto, but as that happened Uryu sighed and loosed another arrow that not only shattered whatever he was pulling out, but also cut into his left hand and spilled blood on the roof that they were standing on.

"I'm sorry, but if you're the 'ultimate master', you'll have to return that title today," Uryu said, letting the smoke roll off his fingertips once more, as he was keeping his eyes on Jirobo at the moment, because his earlier actions, where he attacked Orihime first, told him that he might try something like that again in the near future, "As far as projectiles go, it seems that I am superior to you and your skill. Although, I honestly don't like the sound of Kamaitachi Uryu. Are you able to feel a little regret over your misfortune at having met me, another projectile user?"

As Jirobo declared him to be an 'insolent boy' Uryu sighed and loosed two more arrows into the area in front of his left foot, as he had been getting ready to charge at him, and he stopped him in his tracks, where he could tell that there was sweat starting to fall from his face as he thought about the situation that he was in. Uryu then proceeded to inform Jirobo that he had missed with that pair of arrows on purpose, to show just how skilled he was against an opponent that didn't seem to understand the situation that he was in, before stating that the next arrow would strike him when it was loosed from his bow. What made Uryu pause for a moment was when his opponent started to saw how he exceeded him in very category as a projectile user and that he was utterly defeated by his techniques, where Jirobo stated that he could do what he wanted with him, as if he was surrendering, to which Uryu banished his bow and stated that the reason he wasn't firing was because he didn't like to torment the weak, like other people he had met and heard about preferred to do. Jirobo stated that Uryu was a kind man, though that was before he spun around and started to reach for Orihime, intending to wound or even kill her if he could, but he failed to account for one thing... and that was Sora, who saw the trick coming, as did Uryu, and immediately slashed a diagonal gash into Jirobo's body, going from his right shoulder to his left hip, before knocking him backwards.

Uryu followed that up with two more arrows that pierced two very specific points on Jirobo's body, the Chain Link and the Soul Sleep, points that he had memorized during his own training, and knocked the Shinigami backwards, though when he recovered from this battle he would be unable to continue being a Shinigami, which both he and Sora felt he deserved for his attempts to kill Orihime in their presence. Once they explained the situation to Orihime, or at least Uryu did, he banished his bow as Sora sheathed his blade, before the three of them headed off the roof, as it was only a matter of time until someone came to investigate the sudden disappearance of Jirobo's reiatsu... though as they fled into the Seireitei, and continued their search, all three of them wondered what the others were up to at the moment.





As it turned out things got even worse for Sombra and Ichigo, because Ichigo insisted on calling out for Ganju several times while they were trying to follow Ikkaku's advice, attracting more and more Shinigami to their location until they had a mobile army following after them. He wasn't sure how many Shinigami there were in the entirety of the Eleventh Division, but Sombra was sure that they were pulling many of them towards a single spot, and that was because he felt another mass of reiatsu coming towards the area that the two of them were in. Right now he was mad with Ichigo, as he had pleaded with the Human to stop calling out for Ganju so they could continue with their mission without having to make so many diversions in the maze that was the Seireitei, but Ichigo just continued to refuse his suggestions and now they were in this predicament. At the very least it seemed like Uryu's group was moving without getting into too many fights, even though he sensed that one had ended and that all three of them seemed okay, and Chad seemed to be using his reiatsu every now and then, but there was usually no one around him when that happened... meaning that he was likely punching holes in the walls that were blocking his path, and he was also getting closer and closer to where the two of them were located.

Of course his thoughts were interrupted a few seconds later as Ichigo turned the corner and headed to the left this time, where they both spotted Ganju running towards them with his own group of Shinigami, who must have started chasing him after the firework that went off earlier. As the three of them got close to each other Ichigo jumped by Ganju and plowed into the immediate enemies that had been behind him, before calling out for Ganju to duck as he pulled Zangetsu from his back and swung it, catching some of the enemies that had been following behind him and Sombra for the last few minutes, while at the same time Sombra sighed as he stared at the enemies around them.

"That was dangerous, you bastard!" Ganju stated, though at the same time he had some tears in his eyes, indicating that he believed that Ichigo would have willingly hurt him in such a manner just to stop the Shinigami in their tracks, while at the same time Sombra groaned, as he couldn't believe that this was happening again, "Swinging your sword around all of a sudden, what are you, stupid?!"

"What? I told you to get down, didn't I?" Ichigo replied, because while he might not like Ganju, not after what he did the night they had encountered each other, he wasn't about to go out of his way and cut down the man that had helped them get inside the Seireitei, even if he caused the cannonball to explode and knock the group apart.

"You swung too soon after you said it, idiot!" Ganju snapped back in return, though while all this was happening Sombra noticed that the two groups of Shinigami that were around them were looking rather eager to come and take them down, which was why he was getting ready to draw Shokyo, in case their enemies attacked them, "Your sense of time is too fast!"

"Enough!" Sombra snapped, causing the two of them to flinch for a moment, as while Ichigo was familiar with him when he was angry, because it had happened when he first fought Byakuya, Ganju was more terrified of his reiatsu, which he had to reign in so he didn't accidentally track any Captains to this position, while also noticing that none of the Shinigami around them seemed to care that much about his power, "Now isn't the time for the two of you to be bickering like children over something that happened, as we have enemies that are ready to fight us and we should be focused on the task at han..."

It was in that moment that Sombra found himself being interrupted by something else, as it appeared that some of the Shinigami that had been following Ganju were shouting at someone as they moved to the front of the line, causing him to raise an eyebrow as he readied himself for what was coming next. That was before a short male Shinigami, who wasn't wearing a Zanpakuto at all from the looks of it, was pushed forward and collapsed on the ground in front of them, allowing Sombra to glance at his chin-length black hair and the strange pack that was on his back, as it appeared that he was a medic of some kind, like Ichigo's father was.

"Oww, that was mean." the Shinigami said, though at the same time it was clear that he was more focused on what he was doing at the moment and not on what, or who, was around him, allowing the three of them to stare at him, though that was followed by Sombra keeping an eye on the other Shinigami as he waited for one of them to come at them.

"Ichigo, I just thought of an easy plan to get out of here." Ganju commented, to which Sombra glanced at him for a moment and found a mischievous smile appeared on his face, showing that he was thinking of something terrible while they were standing there, as his eyes were locked on the Shinigami that was in front of them.

"We must think alike." Ichigo said, to which his eyes narrowed a little as he stared at the Shinigami as well, but as that happened Sombra had the feeling that he wasn't going to like what was going to happen next, as so far these two had terrible ideas and he was sure that the two of them together were going to be even worse, "I had the same thought."

"Huh? Did you just say 'to get out of here'?" the Shinigami asked, though as he came to understand what was going on sweat started to roll down the sides of his face, because he now knew that they were what he and the other Shinigami had been warned about earlier, "U... Uh, don't tell me... you three aren't those Ryoka... are you?"

"Hey bastards, clear a path!" Ganju shouted, though at the same time he grabbed onto the Shinigami that was laying in front of them and pulled him to his feet, while Ichigo, having agreed to the insane plan that they were apparently going to use, raised Zangetsu and brought the edge of the blade close to the Shinigami's neck.

"If you value your buddy's life!" Ichigo stated, confirming Sombra's thoughts on what was happening at the moment, especially with the crazed look on his face that mimicked what Ganju was doing, and the other Shinigami stared at them like they had lost their minds.

Sombra stared at the two of them for a moment, because he honestly couldn't believe that they were even doing this, with all of these Shinigami surrounding them, and he had to resist the urge to bring his palm to his face, as this was even more ridiculous than what Ichigo was doing earlier, when he was shouting for Ganju to show himself and gained those first few enemies that he had to take out. As he stood there, staring at them, both Ichigo and Ganju turned and looked at him for a moment, as if they were expecting him to get in on the action, since he was likely the scariest of all three of them, to which he simply shook his head, indicating that he wasn't going to be part of their stupid scheme.

"Ichigo. Ganju. Release him." Sombra said, as he wasn't going to play this game with them, not while there were this many enemies around them, and he was disappointed that they were thinking that this was going to work out for them, as it didn't seem that the other Shinigami cared about the one that Ganju was holding onto.

"Like Hell we are!" Ganju replied, his tone indicating that he was losing faith in Ichigo's friends, because he was fully committed to what they were doing, just as Ichigo was, and he was a little surprised that he wasn't joining them in their attempt to get out of the area they were in, "This guy's our ticket out of here... once his buddies..."

"What the hell are you guys doing?" one of the Shinigami asked, his tone indicating that Sombra was right in his thinking, that they and the Shinigami that Ganju was holding onto weren't friends with each other, "Does it look like we're buddies with him?"

"Y... You're not?" Ichigo inquired, though while he was directing that question towards the Shinigami that were in front of them he was also asking the one that Ganju was holding onto, as this wasn't what he was expecting when the two of them came up with this idea, while at the same time finding that Sombra might have been right about this.

"I... I'm in the Fourth Division." the medical Shinigami replied, before he beckoned towards the Shinigami that were gathering around them, as he already knew the Division that they were in thanks to the number of times he had seen them throughout the Seireitei, "They're all from the Eleventh Division."

"Looks like it's true that he's a Ryoka from the outside." one of the other Shinigami said, though he lowered his sword for a a few seconds, revealing that he wanted to tell them something, while at the same time the other Shinigami remained at the ready, because once they told them the information they needed they were going to take the three of them down for the glory of their Division, "Clean out your ears and listen well. Altogether there are thirteen Divisions that protect the Seireitei, and we, the Eleventh Division, are honored with having the strongest man in all thirteen of the Divisions as our Captain. We really are the most powerful Division among the thirteen. The Fourth Division, which that runt is assigned to, is a rear Division that specializes in relief and supplies. It is the weakest, dead-weight Division of the thirteen Divisions, and it's the gathering place of all the pansies who can't even hold a sword to save their life. Honestly, I don't know why they exist in the first place... and besides, the Eleventh Division hates their guts!"

It was in the following instant that the Shinigami that had been chasing Ganju charged at them, though as the trio prepared for the attack a light flared from behind the wall to their left and they were knocked out by a blast that Sombra felt Chad's reiatsu behind, but he wasn't able to stay as Ichigo and Ganju, who was carrying the Shinigami he had used as a hostage, headed off in the opposite direction. As such the three of them, along with their unwilling captive, smashed their way through the Shinigami that were behind them as they headed away from the area that they had been trapped in for a few moments, though Sombra was sure that Chad would be able to handle himself once the smoke cleared. Sombra hoped that both of his companions would be smarter about what they were doing from this point forward, because he was starting to get annoyed about their antics and wanted them to take this mission seriously... while at the same time wondering what the others were up to.





Normally the Fourth Division General Relief Station was only busy when the Shinigami of the Eleventh Division came here seeking healing for their injuries, when they got serious about their training sessions and ended up getting hurt in the process, and that was generally anyone that had a lower rank than Yumichika, the Fifth Seat. Today, however, the relief station was busier than normal as the relief teams were bringing in wounded Shinigami from several of the Divisions, but what surprised many of them were the fact that both Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa were brought in and treated the moment they entered the building. Many of the staff members were shocked by the state that Ikkaku arrived in, while at the same time they were equally surprised by the fact that Yumichika had been beaten and was wounded to a lesser extent than his partner was, but that didn't stop them from doing their duties and tending to them, along with informing the Captains that someone had definitely engaged the Ryoka that had invaded the Seireitei. The staff was sure that they had useful information on the invaders, maybe even why this invasion was happening in the first place, and they were thinking that it would be their Captain, Zaraki, that would be the first one to arrive.

The staff was slightly disappointed to see that it was actually Captain Mayuri, with his Lieutenant Nemu, that came to the relief station to interrogate Ikkaku and Yumichika, but, based on the small hole that was punctured into one of the walls a few minutes later, it was clear that he was annoyed about what the duo had told him.

"You sure that neither of you want to spill the beans?" Mayuri asked, looking at the heavily wounded Ikkaku first, as he was the one that had to known exactly who the Ryoka were and what they were doing, before glancing at Yumichika a few seconds later, as he should have known something about the invaders as well, "Eh, Ikkaku-kun? Yumichika-kun? Why don't either of you say anything?"

"Please stop Captain Mayuri!" a voice said, to which Mayuri turned his head around a little and found one of the relief staff standing at the doorway, with a look on her face that annoyed him to some degree, "Such semi-hostile actions are strictly forbidden inside the stat..."

"SILENCE!" Mayuri stated, to which he raised his right hand and pointed it in the direction of the relief staff, where he blasted another small hole into the door frame that she was standing near, scaring her in the process, especially since she came so close to being killed.

"Mayuri-sama." Nemu started to say, but as she started to speak she noticed that her Captain was turning towards her as well, with the same look in his eyes that she had seen when he was looking at the relief staff, to which she stopped herself from continuing what she was thinking of saying and waited for her Captain to do what he wanted.

"You're annoying me, too, Nemu." Mayuri snapped, showing that he was disappointed in something that had happened recently, between the two of them anyway, and the relief staff found that now was the best time to leave the area, before she was the Captain's focus once more, "Just shut up! Do you want to be taken apart again?"

"There's nothing to spit out." Ikkaku said, speaking for the first time since he had woken up in the relief station, but since it was Captain Mayuri that was standing nearby, and not their own Captain, both he and Yumichika silently agreed not to tell him anything, as he'd ruin their Captain's fun, "We don't know anything. Not the Ryoka's goals, not their destination... nothing."

"Then what?" Mayuri demanded, as he was growing irritated with the two men that he was talking to, because he knew that one of them had to know something about the invaders and was growing annoyed that they were holding back the information that they had, "Even though you two crossed swords with the Ryoka first hand, you both just got beat down and came back with a single piece of information. Is that it?"

"That's right." Yumichika spoke up, glancing up from where he was sitting, because since he wasn't as wounded as Ikkaku was he had been able to get up sooner, but he sat in the corner and watched what was going on, "What's more neither of us saw the face, nor heard the voice, of our attackers, so unfortunately there isn't anything we can tell you."

"Very well," Mayuri said, though the annoyed look that had been on his face started to turn to rage, as he was reaching his limits with the duo that had been brought into the relief station, though at the same time he started to raise his hand, "then the two of you shall receive an appropriate punishment for your failure!"

It was in that moment that Ikkaku and Yumichika let a small smile appear on their faces for a moment, as Captain Mayuri's arm was stopped by Captain Zaraki, who happened to appear in the doorway behind him, as he grabbed the other Captain's arm and frowned at him for a moment.

"This is a surprise." Zaraki commented, to which he focused his attention on Mayuri for now, as he was planning on talking to his subordinates and figuring out what they knew about the Ryoka they had battled, because he knew that they had information for him and had been stalling the entire time, "Since when do you have the authority to pass judgement on men from other Divisions, Mayuri?"

"Zaraki..." Mayuri said, knowing that the situation had changed in the Eleventh Division's favor, something that also annoyed him, before he relaxed his hand and convinced the man to let go of his arm, allowing him to rub it for a few seconds as he turned towards the door frame, "Since the Captain's here, there's no choice. No reason for me to go out of my way to interrogate them for what they know. We'll part ways... for now."

Ikkaku turned his head and watched as Captain Mayuri and Lieutenant Nemu walked out of the room that he and Yumichika had been put in, though at the same time the Lieutenant of their Division, Yachiru Kusajishi, showed herself for a few moments... which was followed by their Captain growing serious.

"You two sure got knocked around." Zaraki stated, as he was slightly surprised to see that Ikkaku was the one that was more wounded while it appeared that Yumichika only had a single slash across his chest, but at the same time he pushed that thought away as he focused on the reason he was here, "I heard the two of you lost."

"We did, and we're very sorry about what happened." Ikkaku said, knowing the rules that had set the Eleventh Division up and had separated them from the remaining twelve Divisions, something that Yumichika knew as well, "We returned even though it is a shame to survive a defeat."

"Are they strong?" Zaraki asked, as he was going to cut straight to the point and then depart once he knew the targets that he would be after, because anyone that could take down Ikkaku and Yumichika, and not get killed in the process, had to be strong, which excited him to no end.

"Yes, they are quite strong." Ikkaku replied, knowing that it had to be safe to tell their Captain the information now, as Captain Mayuri must have departed the relief station at this point and wouldn't be around to hear what they had to tell their superiors, "Outwardly, my opponent looks like a Shinigami, as he wore the same robes that we wear, and he's got short orange hair, while carrying a hilt-less, guard-less sword that's as tall as he is. His destination is the Shrine of Penitence, cell four-deep. I told him and his companion of you and told them to be careful. If he and his companion remember my words, whenever you meet them you should be able to enjoy an excellent fight. I'm positive that both his strength and his skills are still developing, so when he crosses paths with you he might have become even stronger since his fight with me... and his name, is Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Interesting." Zaraki said, as someone that could fight with Ikkaku and survive, while convincing Ikkaku that he was going to grow even stronger than he had been during their fight, was getting him pumped for the promised fight that would be coming his way, before he turned his attention to Yumichika, "And what about your opponent? Is he strong?"

"Yes, my opponent was also strong," Yumichika answered, because now that the Captain was excited he knew that he might as well see what happened when he told him about the second foe he might face, "He wears Shinigami robes as well, but while ours are black his is grey colored, and he's unlike anything I have ever encountered before. His appearance looks like a pony that's been given the ability to stand upright and take on a Human form, as most of his body looks like a Human's does, save for the hooves in place of his feet, the pony tail that was coming out of his spine, the pony ears on top of his head, and the strange curved horn that was resting in front of a bone white crown. He carries a Zanpakuto called Shokyo with him as well... and he claimed that he wounded Captain Byakuya in the World of the Living and cut Captain Gin's arm while he was at the Gate of Pure Souls."

"So it's true," Zaraki said, as he remembered what had been said at the previous Captain Meeting, where some of the other Captains didn't believe that a new Arrancar had been born in the last few months, but now this was undeniable proof that one existed and was in the Seireitei, "there's an Arrancar inside Soul Society."

"A... Arrancar?" Yumichika asked, though at the same time he glanced over at Ikkaku, who carefully shook his head for a few seconds, indicating that he had no idea what their Captain was talking about at the moment, to which they paid attention to what was going to happen next.

"An Arrancar is a Hollow that has removed their mask and gained the powers of a Shinigami." Yachiru stated, showing that she understood what Zaraki had told her, back when he learned that information himself since it was something that only Captains and certain Lieutenants knew about.

"So that explains why his reiatsu felt like a Hollow's." Yumichika said, as now it was starting to make more sense to him, while at the same time he felt that there was more to the being that he had fought than what they currently knew, as he still found it odd that his opponent had been carrying a Zanpakuto, one that a Shinigami would possess, before he decided it was time to tell their Captain the last bit of information, "There is one more thing. Both Ikkaku and I agree that our opponents were strong, as they were able to overcome us, but while Ichigo Kurosaki is quite strong, and is only getting stronger, we both agreed on another matter: Sombra, the opponent that I fought, is much stronger than Ichigo is and will also provide you with an exciting fight... maybe one that is even more exciting than the one you would have with Ichigo."

Zaraki grinned as he turned around and started to walk out of the room that his subordinates were sitting in, because while the first opponent, Ichigo, sounded like he would provide an excellent match he also felt that the second target, the Arrancar called Sombra, would be the most exciting match he would have to this date. As he started to head out of the building, so he could head to an area and wait for his opponents to arrive, Yachiru landed on his shoulder once more as he exited the building, as she was interested in seeing what happened next... once he found his prey.





After the run in with what seemed like the majority of the Eleventh Division, and knocking them all out in the process of escaping the area, Ichigo and Ganju looked for an area to hide in while they came up with a plan to use the information that Ichigo and Sombra had received from Ikkaku. Ganju, personally, didn't trust the word of the Shinigami that Ichigo had beaten, as he felt that they might be walking into a trap, but Sombra told him that Ikkaku didn't seem to care about who they were here to recuse and likely gave them this information so that his Captain could meet them, if they were too slow to get through the area anyway. Ganju still didn't trust him, even though Ichigo did, and he still carried the poor Shinigami that he had tried to use as a hostage against the Eleventh Division, who was still shocked by what was going on and said nothing as they moved through the Seireitei. What surprised Sombra was the fact that it was the Shinigami that Ganju was carrying that pointed them to a storage building that they would be able to hide in for some time, to come up with a game plan of some sort.

As they entered the building, and the door was closed behind them once they were all inside, Sombra leaned against one of the walls while the other members of his group sat down on the floor, though the only thing that he was interested in was knowing the name of the Shinigami they had kidnapped and if he was going to rat them out at some point.

"My name is Hanataro Yamada." the Shinigami said, offering them his name without any delay, because by now he had likely determined that they weren't going to kill him, as he had seen them knock out their enemies instead of outright killing them like he had heard stories about, and that eased some of his concerns immediately.

"That's... a hard name to remember." both Ichigo and Ganju replied, to which both Hanataro and Sombra stared at them for a moment, as neither of them could believe that they found the name to be hard to remember, which brought concern to Hanataro's face once more.

"What?" Hanataro inquired, because he knew from past experiences that his name wasn't that hard to remember, though at the same time he found that at least one member of the group, the one that hadn't tried to kill him earlier when he was taken hostage, seemed to think that he was correct in his thinking, "E... Everyone tells me that it's a nice, easy-to-remember name."

"Really?" Ichigo replied in kind, though his face revealed that, despite the fact that he continued to talk about all of this, he really didn't seem to care about Hanataro all that much, as it wasn't his idea to bring him along in the first place, which was going to be something he used against Ganju later, "I'd understand if it was Taro Yamada or Hanako Yamada, but Hanataro... that's harder to remember."

"But more than that, you're our enemy, aren't you?" Ganju asked, though it was at this point that Sombra sighed and brought his palm to his face, as right now the two of them were acting like idiots and making Hanataro be even more concerned for his safety when it was clear that he clearly wasn't a threat to their mission, "What are you calmly introducing yourself for?"

"For that matter, why did you bring him in the first place?" Ichigo asked, as he wanted to address the elephant in the room, as kidnapping a Shinigami wasn't in any of the plans that they could have come up with, not even Sombra with them and could assist them in getting to the tower in question.

It was in that moment that Ichigo and Ganju started to argue over why Ganju had even brought Hanataro with them in the first place, though at the same time Sombra moaned and stepped away from where he was standing, to which he stepped between them and forced them to stop arguing before their enemies found them. As luck would have it Ichigo then decided to talk about the plan and that they knew that Rukia was being held in the white tower in the middle of the Seireitei, where Hanataro revealed that he knew exactly who Ichigo was talking about, as she was both Byakuya Kuchiki's little sister and currently a death row prisoner that had been sentenced to the Shrine of Penitence, the white tower that Ichigo had mentioned earlier. It was in that instance that Hanataro told the three of them that he knew a way that would allow them to get close to the tower, instead of running through the Seireitei itself, which immediately caught the interest of all three of them as he opened the door to the storage building and headed outside, where he picked one of the tiles that were nearby and had them help him remove it, revealing a tunnel into an underground area, one that they used while also closing the hole behind them.

As they started walking, with Hanataro leading the way, Sombra apologized for how his companions were acting towards him, as taking him hostage, threatening to kill him, and claiming that his name was hard to remember were all terrible in their own manner, but, at the same time, Hanataro didn't seem to mind as they moved through the area that he had revealed to them.

"You know, I never actually considered the fact that there might be an underground water tunnel system beneath the Seireitei," Sombra commented, though at the same time he glanced around as he and the others followed Hanataro, as he found that all of the lanterns around the passage they were following were lit and didn't seem like they were ready to go out just yet, "or, for that matter, that we might be able to use one to our advantage."

"Yes, these tunnels run throughout the entirety of the Seireitei," Hanataro explained, as he was happy to find that one of the Ryoka were happy with the situation, even if one of them was staring at the back of his head and the other one, the one that had grabbed him, was annoyed about the entire thing, "and it's possible to go anywhere unobstructed."

"Don't those other guys know how to get down here?" Ganju asked, because he was more worried about their enemies finding them while they were walking down here, something that neither Ichigo or Sombra seemed all that concerned about at the moment, "I mean, we did just enter this place by lifting one of the tiles on the street near the storage building we stopped in for a few seconds."

"Yes, they all know." Hanataro replied, showing that this place was actually something that every Shinigami was aware of, but, at the same time, Sombra suspected that not many came down here and would never think to look for enemies down in a place like this, "But I do not think they will catch up to us. That's because the only Division that understands the complex maze down here are my Division, the Fourth Division, since we deal with relief and supplies."

"So that's why they won't catch up with us," Ganju said, as he now understood why Hanataro was saying what he was saying, before taking a moment to glance at the tunnels that they were walking by, "since these are used as supply routes, it makes sense that the Fourth Division would be the only ones that knew the inner workings of this place."

"Well, that's not exactly true." Hanataro stated, to which he stopped for a moment and rubbed the back of his head, showing the group that there was something he needed to clarify before they went any further, "It's just that cleaning down here is also one of the tasks the Fourth Division is tasked with doing. Since most of us are weak, the majority of the chores gets pushed onto us... but please, don't pity me, the Fourth Division isn't as bad as I make it out to be."

"Hanataro... why are you helping us so much?" Ichigo inquired, as there had to be some reason behind why he, as a Shinigami that had been taken hostage and had his life threatened, would suddenly risk his own neck to help them get even closer to where Rukia was being held inside the Seireitei, "We're the enemies of the Shinigami. Just because we want to go to the white tower, the Shrine of Penitence, doesn't mean that you have to take us there. Why are you so willing to guide us there without asking why?"

"I heard all about you and your friend from Rukia-san." Hanataro replied, to which he turned back towards Ichigo for a moment, where he looked at both him and Sombra for a few seconds, just to show that he was talking to them, before he started talking again, "Ichigo Kurosaki-san. Sombra-san. Please, you have to save Rukia-san!"

Sombra spotted an area further ahead of them where they could take a seat and hear what else Hanataro had to say to them, and he even agreed that such an action would be good for all of them, to which they moved into the square area and sat down, while at the same time Sombra stood and leaned on part of the wall so he could observe the path they had come down in case some Shinigami discovered they had come down here. Hanataro then explained that when Rukia was first captured, before her recent transfer to the Shrine of Penitence, she was being held in the Sixth Division's holding cell, where he had been assigned to clean her cell once per day, and he told them that he was scared of her at first, for being nobility. He revealed that Rukia had 'scolded' him in some manner, which sounded like her asking him to treat her like a normal person instead of a member of the Kuchiki Clan, though her voice, which was much kinder than what he thought it would have been, had been enough to make him excited about cleaning her cell each day, where Rukia would tell him all sorts of things about the World of the Living, like the time Ichigo assisted her with opening that juice container that she couldn't get opened on her own, which surprised Hanataro when he heard that.

He spoke of several other instances after the juice container, like the time that Ichigo had put the pill that contained Kon inside a stuffed animal and the fact that she met a creature that not only confused her some times, but also showed that he was an unusual hero that helped protect Karakura town... though Ichigo and Sombra knew that Rukia had told Hanataro about the two of them. He then repeated the announcement that Captain Byakuya gave Renji when he was standing guard of Rukia's cell one day, which was when they announced that Rukia was going to be executed and that she was going to be moved to the Shrine of Penitence at some point. Sombra could tell that, despite Rukia's attempts to not make any friends while she was in the holding cell, Rukia was able to make a friend of sorts with Hanataro, who further explained that Rukia had clarified who she gave her powers to, believing that he was likely dead by her brother's hand. That was, however, before she told Hanataro that, despite the short amount of time that she spent with them, she found that she completely trusted Ichigo and Sombra, and yet she felt terrible for twisting Ichigo's fate in such a manner and causing him so much pain in the process, something that she was never going to be able to atone for.

It was in that following moment, when Hanataro finished his story and Ganju commented that Rukia was one strange Shinigami as well, since this was all new information for him, Ichigo immediately got on his feet and headed down the tunnel that they had been following, a fierce look of determination appearing as he walked by Sombra. Both Ganju and Hanataro were confused as to what was going on and followed after Ichigo, as they were worried that Hanataro's story had pissed him off, but at the same time Sombra fell in behind them with a determined look on his face as well. Rukia was their friend, there was no denying that fact, and right now she was facing death row because she had chosen to give her powers to Ichigo so he could save his family, but just thinking about that annoyed Sombra, as with his power he could have easily purified that Hollow and avoided this entire mess in the first place. Even now, as he thought about that day, he wondered what had caused him to not speak his mind and let the two of them go through with what they had done, as he could have beaten the Hollow, taken Rukia to Kisuke's shop, and avoided this mess... but, in the end, he guessed that he had been so focused on the Hollow that he didn't even consider stopping them, and there was no way to change what had happened to both of them.

By the time he focused on the path in front of him Sombra realized that he had to be thinking the same thing that Ichigo had to be thinking of at that very moment; they were going to do everything in their power to get to where Rukia was being held, even if it meant fighting their way through all thirteen of Soul Society's Divisions and beating all of the Captains if necessary, to save her from this terrible fate... and he was sure that, whoever they ended up fighting next, wouldn't be able to stand against their determination and their desire to save Rukia from the Shrine of Penitence.