//------------------------------//
// Rebellion: Materialization 
// Story: Bleach: Heart of a Hero 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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Rukia smiled as she walked down one of the many passageways of the Seireitei, because it had been two days since the party she and her friends had, to celebrate the downfall of Aizen and his plans, and so far it seemed like peace had returned to the World of the Living, and to Soul Society as well. She knew Sombra well enough to know that he was worried that something else would happen in the future, something that would shatter the peace that they had fought to create, and while many didn't agree with that thought she found that maybe it was time that the King of Hueco Mundo was wrong for once, even if some Arrancar would dislike her for even suggesting such a thing. It was odd to think of her friend as the ruler of an entire realm, technically two if she were to count the Shadowlands since Sombra was the only one that could open the door to that place, but despite her feelings towards such a thing Sombra had taken to the role with ease, which she guessed made sense considering that he had been a king before his death. The other thing was that despite their new alliance with Hueco Mundo, something that had never happened before this point in time, there were still Hollows for them to take care of, though for the most part a fair number of them seemed to be sticking to Hueco Mundo, as it appeared that Szayelaporro was trying to create something that would sate their hunger... something that Captain Mayuri deemed to be impossible and yet continued to read the updates despite his position on the matter.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she neared the training area that her Captain, Ukitake, was standing in, though he was accompanied by Captain Shunsui, a number of Shinigami from the Eighth Division, the Sixth Division, and the Thirteenth Division, causing her to pause as she wondered what the commotion was all about... though that was when she found out what was going on, as she spotted two familiar figures in the clearing in front of them and knew what was happening.

"Howl, Zabimaru!" Renji called out, though this time he was up in the air, above the crowd that had gathered to watch the training session that was happening at the moment, and he transformed his Zanpakuto into it's Shikai state, which he proceeded to swing down at his target in the hopes of hitting him.

Renji's opponent, as Rukia expected, was none other than her brother, Byakuya, who raised his own Zanpakuto to block the attack and did so without fail, before flashing up into the air behind Renji and swung down at him, forcing Renji to use the side of his Zanpakuto to block the attack. Rukia smiled as she watched them, as it appeared that seeing Sombra's true power, and how he had dominated those that he fought, had convinced a number of Shinigami to continue their training, something that she had been doing the previous day with her own Zanpakuto, Sode no Shirayuki, but she knew that they could only grow their strength until they reached their limit, something that Sombra seemed to be without considering his vast powers. Her thoughts were interrupted by Renji once more, as this time he called out 'Take that!' and tried to push her brother around, like he was the Captain or something, and eventually Byakuya did pull away from where Renji was standing, only for him to called out the Release Call for his own Zanpakuto.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura." Byakuya said, to which his blade glowed and broke apart into the thousand small blade fragments that resembled cherry blossoms, something that Renji had gotten right during one of their previous fights, and he sent the blade fragments flying at Renji.

The lower ranked Shinigami that were observing the battle seemed to think that Renji was in trouble, since Byakuya was pushing him backwards, but at the same time Rukia seemed to be the only one, save for the two Captains she was standing near, that seemed to understand what Renji had up his sleeve.

"Bankai!" Renji called out, after getting some distance between him and Byakuya once more, to which he was shrouded by a red sphere of reiatsu for a few moments, something that broke apart when the snake head burst out of the sphere and he appeared in his Bankai attire, "Hihio Zabimaru!"

"Bankai." Byakuya calmly said, to which he raised his Zanpakuto and pointed it towards the ground, where he let go of it moments later and let it fall, but instead of hitting the floor it faded away like it was falling through water as the area around them darkened, which was proceeded by a number of larger blades forming two rows behind him, rows that shortly transformed into a storm of blade fragments, "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

It was a scene like this that played out every time the two of them trained, as it would start with them in their base forms for some time, then Renji would activate his Shikai and attack again until Byakuya decided to do the same thing, if only to defeat Renji quicker, and it was always Renji who activated his Bankai first, something that Byakuya still didn't need to use in order to defeat Renji, but used anyway to show him the still incredible gap in their power. Rukia knew all of this because she knew those two better than anyone, since one was her brother and the other was her best friend, but that didn't stop her from watching the fight as she wondered when the moment of Renji's first victory would happen, as she had the feeling that he'd beat Byakuya at some point in time, even if it took him a thousand more years before they reached that point. As Byakuya prepared to attack Renji, however, Rukia noticed something that only her brother noticed, as one of the blade fragments actually cut into the glove on her brother's right hand, the shock of such a thing happening stunned him for a moment, but then he regained himself and sent the blades after Renji, forcing him into the air as they continued their training session. What usually happened at this point was that Byakuya would cover his foes in the millions of blade fragments by sending them all straight at his target, but this time around it was Renji who changed the script, as he used his Hikkotsu Taihou, the Baboon Bone Cannon that was fired from the mouth of the snake's head, and broke through the petal cloud that was in front of him, before firing the attack at Byakuya... who swung his hand upward and the fragments quickly reformed in front of him, catching the blast and blowing some parts of the walls around them to pieces without hurting anyone.

Rukia, despite whatever was going through her brother's mind, was impressed that Renji was improving his skills and was getting better at reading what Byakuya was able to do, but what stuck in her mind was the lone fragment that had cut into her brother's glove, as that was something that had never happened before.

"You used your Bankai." Renji commented, while at the same time landing on the ground nearby, as it was always a good sign if he could force his Captain to do such a thing, before he noticed that his Captain was more serious than he usually was, especially since he seemed to be sealing his Zanpakuto once more, "Captain, is something wrong?"

"No." Byakuya replied, though as he said that he knew that Rukia was there and that she was looking at his glove as well, as he had known that one of the few people that could catch up with his movements and see if anything happened to him was his sister, which was why he focused on what just happened.

"My, that was an impressive fight." Shunsui said, to which he and his Lieutenant walked over to where they were standing, clapping because of the short training battle that they had just gone through, and at the same time Ukitake joined them as well.

"Lieutenant Renji, that was most impressive." Ukitake added, voicing his agreement to what his friend had said, not that Rukia was surprised by such a thing, because the two of them were as thick as thieves and usually agreed on whatever was going on, "You've certainly improved your skills since your last training session."

"Thank you very much Captain Ukitake, Captain Shunsui." Renji said, as it wasn't every day that two of the remaining Captains bothered to tell him that he was improving his skills and that he had impressed them in the short amount of time they had been sparring.

"That's all for today." Byakuya stated, though as he said that he turned around and headed for the entrance of the area that they had been sparring in, to which Renji bowed his head and thanked him for taking some time out of his day to train him, before Renji resealed his own Zanpakuto as well.

"Brother..." Rukia said, causing Byakuya to see where she was standing, because once she noticed that the training session was over she had moved herself to the main entrance of the area, where she knew her brother would walk through if he didn't use Shunpo to get out of here, and she was happy to see that she had been right in predicting which method he'd be using to leave the area.

"You saw it, didn't you?" Byakuya inquired, though at the same time he walked out to the area that Rukia had used to enter the training area and headed towards the Sixth Division offices, allowing Rukia to fall in behind him for a moment as they walked down the street.

"Yeah... one of the blades entered your Hurtless Area." Rukia replied, to which she fell in beside her brother, though what she was talking about was the special area of Senbonzakura that Byakuya could stand in without having to be worried about the blade fragments hurting him in the process, hence the reason that it was called his Hurtless Area, and it was something that only they knew about, as she was sure that not even Renji realized it yet.

"It only cut the glove and didn't cut my hand." Byakuya commented, as Rukia was likely the only one that he'd even share this information with, especially since she was the only one that knew about the special area of his Zanpakuto, but that brought another thought to his mind, "Have you been having problems with Sode no Shirayuki?"

"She's been a little unresponsive lately, but I'm not worried about that." Rukia answered, as most Zanpakuto took a great deal of time and training with in order to get their names, their Release Call, and any techniques that they might possess, and her thoughts on the matter might have been because of the fact that her Zanpakuto had been damaged in the fight with Aaroniero, leading to this moment of silence between the two of them.

"Captain Hitsuguya and Lieutenant Matsumoto are supposed to be attempting their own conversations with their Zanpakuto later." Byakuya said, though he didn't say anything more than that, because he knew Rukia was smart and knew that she understood that she wasn't the only Shinigami that was experiencing the same problems, to which she nodded her head and headed off towards the Tenth Division's offices to see if the pair was still there.

Rukia, sensing that something might be wrong, decided to use her Shunpo and headed over to where the Tenth Division's offices were located, though because of where the training had taken place she was actually able to get there rather quickly. When she arrived she found Captain Hitsuguya standing in front of the shrine that was outside the offices, holding his Zanpakuto in front of his face with the tip pointed toward the sky, and she paused for a moment as she felt the chill that came with he used his Zanpakuto as bits of ice danced in the air. Soon enough the ice was dancing around the air and seemed to shift according to Hitsuguya's reiatsu, though as the wind kicked up he snapped his eyes open and called out his Zanpakuto's name, 'Hyorinmaru', at the same time, to which he held his blade to the side and it disappeared as the area around his feet seemed to freeze. Whatever happened next Rukia had no idea, because that was when the Captain's eyes were focused on his inner world, where the true form of his Zanpakuto rested, and knew that he was communing with Hyorinmaru, something that she knew not to interrupt least she weaken the bond between them... though a few seconds later he was suddenly snapped back to reality as his blade reformed in his hand, causing Rukia to rush over to him as he looked around in confusion.

"Captain Hitsuguya, are you alright?" Rukia asked, because now she was starting to fear a trend, because the sudden ejection of the Captain from his own inner world meant that Hyorinmaru didn't want to speak with him, confirming that the Zanpakuto, all of them from the looks of it, were becoming unresponsive all of a sudden.

"Yes... I'm fine." Hitsuguya replied, though he wasn't surprised to find Rukia standing nearby, because thanks to the time that she had spent with Sombra, even if it wasn't all that much, she had learned one or two of his tricks and seemed to know what happened to him, to which he looked down at Hyorinmaru's blade once more, "I'm just... not entirely sure what happened just now, when I tried to commune with my Zanpakuto."

Before Rukia could say anything a cup, one of the cylinder shaped ones that they used to drink tea and other sorts of drinks from, went flying through the nearby window and surprised them for a moment, but then they calmed down when they heard Matsumoto loudly saying 'Come out already', indicating that she was also having problems with her Zanpakuto at the moment.

"Come on out, Haineko!" Matsumoto loudly said, to which she stabbed the tip of her Zanpakuto into the wooden floor and let go of it, where she stared at it's blade from the area near one of the sofas, since this was going to take some of her energy just to get her Zanpakuto to listen to her, "You better not be ignoring me! How dare you call me an old lady?! Quit being such a bitch! Are you even listening to me?! You are such a brat! You're ridiculous, selfish, and fickle! I'd like to see who made such a useless Zanpakuto..."

"Matsumoto!" Hitsuguya stated, as he had opened the door in time to see Matsumoto sitting on the sofa and staring at her Zanpakuto, which wasn't even near her at the moment, and glared at her, though at the same time both he and Rukia entered the room that she was in, "Why are you throwing a tantrum?"

"Don't startle me like that, Captain." Matsumoto said, as if she was behaving like a child instead of the grown adult that she actually was, something that annoyed Hitsuguya to no end, and when she beckoned to Haineko for a moment she noticed that Rukia was present as well, even if she decided to say nothing to her just yet, "I was just trying to have a conversation with my Zanpakuto... not that Haineko wants to listen to me and come out when I tell her to."

Rukia would have said something, but that was when both Momo and Isane entered the room through another door, to which she kept her mouth shut as she listened to what was going on, as it appeared that the due was delivering flyers for the next Lieutenants meeting, something that interested Rukia as well. It was in that moment that Isane asked what Matsumoto was doing, as her Zanpakuto was still embedded in the floorboards, to which Matsumoto simply responded with since they had fought some rather tough foes earlier, the Tres Bestias that followed Harribel being the most recent fight for them, she sought to increase her power for the future, before retorting that Haineko was both 'stupid' and 'useless'. In that moment, as Momo talked about the connection between she and Tobiume, her Zanpakuto, Rukia took a moment to think about Zangetsu, who had abandoned Ichigo because he never got the acknowledgement that he so rightfully deserved, and wondered what Haineko had to be thinking since Matsumoto wasn't treating her like a lot of the other Shinigami treated their Zanpakuto. Even Isane's Zanpakuto, Itegumo, wasn't very responsive and was acting like the other Zanpakuto that were acting the same way, making Rukia wonder if seeing Zangetsu abandon Ichigo had convinced them to do the same thing, before pushing that thought away, since Zangetsu was a special case since there had been two souls inside Ichigo's inner world.

"You know, Momo and Isane are right." Rukia commented, to which the two named Lieutenants turned towards her as Matsumoto pouted for a moment, something that a Lieutenant shouldn't be doing, "Remember what happened in Hueco Mundo, where Zangetsu abandoned Ichigo because he refused to listen to him and treated him like he was nothing, all because he listened to someone he thought was Zangetsu? If you keep treating Haineko the same way she'll eventually try the same thing and leave you behind."

Despite her warning, that Haineko could potentially abandon her of her own accord if she wasn't careful, Matsumoto simply waved her hand and dismissed her warning, stating that Haineko did this all the time and that she was used to it, meaning that she believed that she would get her Zanpakuto to listen to her again at some point in time. Rukia, knowing what Captain Hitsuguya would do, simply sighed and bid the others goodbye, leaving them to their conversation as she headed back to her Division's area, so she could figure out what was going on and if she could determine why Sode no Shirayuki didn't want to commune with her either. It was odd to see so many Zanpakuto not wanting to listen or even talk with their wielders, meaning that something strange was happening at the moment, and she couldn't help but wonder if something like this was happening with Ichigo and Sombra, before she decided that it wouldn't happen to Sombra, as she had the feeling that it might be impossible for such a thing to happen given his current situation as the Dios Hueco. The thought of Shokyo not listening to Sombra would be weird, considering that she was the only Zanpakuto that actually gave her wielder the Bankai information willingly, but that didn't do anything to make her stop worrying about what was going on in Soul Society at the moment.

The rest of the day seemed to go by the same way for Rukia, as there were several Shinigami that she knew, like her Captain and some of the other Lieutenants, mentioning the same thing about their Zanpakuto not being as responsive as they usually were, but for the most part she was able to ignore it and go about her day. When nighttime came around both she and Ukitake got a message from a Hell Butterfly, that an emergency meeting would be held on Sokyoku Hill, the place where she had nearly met her end, and they moved out immediately, because they had the feeling that this was about the current happenings with the Zanpakuto, or maybe something even worse. It didn't take them long to arrive at the area where Rukia had nearly died, not with them using their Shunpo to get up there, and they weren't surprised to see almost all of the remaining Captains and their Lieutenants standing around, though there were some seated members that had joined them, though Ikkaku and Yumichika had joined them to represent Zaraki and Yachiru, who were currently absent and would be back at some point in the future. The only Division without any representatives present at the moment was the First Division, the one that Captain-Commander Yamamoto was in charge of and it was a surprise that his Lieutenant, Chojiro Sasakibe, wasn't there either, meaning that they might be running late despite the fact it was them that called this meeting in the first place.

Not even a few moments after she and her Captain arrived at the meeting area, and started to see just how many of them were actually gathered for this event, Hitsuguya and Matsumoto landed near the group and approached them, but even Rukia could tell that one of them was curious about what was going on.

"Ukitake, what's going on?" Hitsuguya asked, though even then he could tell that most of them seemed to be confused by the message they had received, and Rukia, thanks to her time following Sombra around, knew that something like this meant bad news for everyone, "Why was this meeting called?"

"I have no idea. No one's heard anything about this meeting." Ukitake replied, to which he glanced back at the rest of the assembled Shinigami for a moment, because this was the sort of thing they didn't need at the moment, especially so soon after the end of their war with Aizen.

Rukia remained silent as the rest of the Captains, Lieutenants, and seated members talked for a moment, discussing whatever they wanted while they waited for the Captain-Commander to show up, but what interested her was the odd fog that was rolling into the area that they were all standing in. The fog prevented them from really seeing each other and forced them to stand their ground for a few seconds, though during those few seconds she heard the sound of someone walking over the bridge that connected the execution grounds to the tower she had been imprisoned in. The talking ceased as the fog moved around the area, telling her that everyone was focused on it and what it could mean, though after some time the dense fog moved out of the way and a figure appeared in the distance, one that they soon discovered was actually Lieutenant Chojiro, who was shocked about something and the moment he saw them he collapsed on the ground, causing Captain Unohana and Lieutenant Isane to rush to his aid, finding that he had gone into cardiac arrest while the remaining Shinigami looked for whoever could have put him in such a state.

As they focused on him Rukia, was well as Ukitake and Hitsuguya, noticed a tall thin man with pale colored skin and shaggy, dark brown colored hair, with two bangs that crossed over the bridge of his nose, standing nearby, though he also had turquoise colored eyes that were circled by spiked purple ovals. The stranger was wearing a long, white, robe-like coat, where the collar of the robe was covered with some thick fur and featured a purple ascot that was fastened by a ruby brooch, while in addition to all that he also wore a wide sash at his waist that was decorated by a purple stripe, he had boots that had pointed tips, and, oddly enough, he also had purple manacles on his wrists. The oddest thing about the mysterious stranger was that he had long fingernails, longer than anyone Rukia had seen in Soul Society, the World of the Living, and Hueco Mundo, so she had to wonder why this man's nails were so long, but at the same time she gripped the handle of her Zanpakuto like many of the others were doing.

"Your Captain-Commander won't be joining you." the stranger commented, though at the same time the moon shed some light on him and revealed his features to the rest of the Shinigami, but instead of being annoyed he seemed to like it, like he was showing that anything and everything that happened from that point forward was all part of whatever plan he had constructed and was now putting into effect.

It was in that following moment, just as Hitsuguya was going to ask who the stranger was, that Matsumoto and two of her fellow Lieutenants flashed into the area in front of the main group, though at the same time they were outdone as Komamura touched down in front of the stranger, close enough so he could glare down at the man with an intense look of anger in his eyes.

"You said that the Captain-Commander isn't coming, didn't you?" Komamura asked, though even as he asked that question he growled, because Yamamoto was the one that he owed a debt of gratitude towards, for everything that he had done since Komamura became a Shinigami, and he wasn't about to let it go unpaid by some stranger that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, "You scum! What have you done to Yamamoto-dono?"

Instead of answering the question the stranger just stood there with a smug look on his face, almost like he found something funny about the entire situation and believed that he had the upper hand, to which Komamura's reiatsu spiked for a moment as the rest of the Shinigami held their ground, as they knew that it was unwise to interfere when he was annoyed like this.

"You have no answer? Fine, then I shall force the answer out of you!" Komamura snapped, to which he gripped the handle of his Zanpakuto and drew it, swinging it through the air and forced the stranger back towards the edge of the area they were standing on, though as the stranger loosed a gust of wind at him and the others he focused on what he was going to do next, "Bankai. Kokujo Tengen Myo'o."

Rukia watched as the massive armored Bankai that belonged to Komamura formed behind him, ready for war with the stranger that was standing in front of him, and Komamura even told the stranger that he would be forced to reveal where the Captain-Commander was being held, which only caused his foe to tell him that his Bankai wouldn't work on him, which caused Rukia to wonder what he could have meant. Of course they found out moments later as Komamura swung his blade towards the stranger, believing that his Bankai would do the same, but this time they watched in shock as the giant turned his blade downwards and tried to strike Komamura, who managed to get out of the way before he was even able to be hit.

"Now isn't this fascinating?" Mayuri asked, as he was happy to see that something new was happening, especially after the last stunning failure to get any sort of research material from Hueco Mundo, before he focused on what he and the others had just seen, "His Zanpakuto attacked it's master... how fascinating."

It was in that following moment that the giant was consumed by a gust of wind and reiatsu that prevented them from seeing what was going on, but when all of that was done Rukia's eyes widened when she noticed a large muscular man with red colored skin that was standing near the stranger, one who hadn't been there moments ago. The newcomer had short spiky hair that was blue colored and had an ornate golden headpiece on his forehead, though his eyes and mouth seemed to contain the same bright yellow fire that crackled every now and then, while he wore a black shawl over his neck and shoulders. He was carrying a whip of some kind in his left hand and in his right hand he carried a blade that looked like the sealed form of Komamura's Zanpakuto, though thanks to what Rukia knew, about Zangetsu, she knew exactly what was happening; Tenken, who was Komamura's Zanpakuto, was abandoning his partner, though she only had the feeling that this was going to be the start of a nightmare. She was proven right not seconds later, as Tenken, who frowned when Komamura figured out his name as well, lashed out at his former partner with his blade and used the whip to open a hole in the Captain's defenses, one that was used to cut a gash into Komamura's chest and send him into the ground, shocking those that were present by this turn of events.

What happened next was that Captain Hitsuguya and Captain Soi Fon drew their blades and got ready for battle, using their Release Calls in the process, but as both of them did that, however, Rukia noticed that neither of their Zanpakuto were listening and Tenken knocked Hitsuguya backwards, causing him to look down at his Zanpakuto in surprise.

"Im... Impossible! I can't go into Shikai form." Soi Fon said, though as her eyes widened for a moment, as she couldn't believe that this was even happening, Hitsuguya nodded his head as well, indicating that his Zanpakuto had done the same thing and wouldn't transform like it was supposed to.

Renji, Matsumoto, and even Ikkaku called out their Release Calls as well, trying to unleash the true power of their Zanpakuto, though while both Renji and Matsumoto failed instantly Ikkaku seemed to generate some reiatsu, before his stalled and remained in it's sealed form.

"I... I can't believe it. I can't feel any reiatsu coming from my Zanpakuto!" Renji stated, causing the other Shinigami to look at their Zanpakuto and found that they were in the same predicament, that none of them could feel anything coming from their respective Zanpakuto, almost as if all of them had been abandoned by their partners.

"Indeed, there isn't any reiatsu inside Ashisogi Jizo either." Mayuri commented, though unlike the other Shinigami he was immensely interested in what was going on, because while Zangetsu was the first case of a Zanpakuto abandoning it's master, or 'partner' as many called their blades, he couldn't get his hands on the former spirit, since he was an Arrancar and was under Sombra's rule, but this changed everything, "How fascinating. I'll get to run some experiments anyway. I truly wonder what in the world is going on!"

"Oh, it's quite simple." the stranger said, though at the same time Rukia watched as Tenken walked over to where the stranger was standing and stood beside him, almost like he was the leader, confirming Rukia's earlier thoughts, "Your Zanpakuto are no longer with you. I freed them from you foolish Shinigami."

Rukia noticed something odd, as when the stranger was talking he raised his right hand and put it over his face for a moment, though when he opened his eyes again his right one had blood dripping from it and he leveled his arm to his right, where several explosions rocked the area of the Seireitei that was behind him.

"Don't worry, that wasn't me. That was your Zanpakuto acting on their own." the stranger continued, though as he said that he pulled his right hand away from where it was resting and wiped the blood away from his eye, before bringing it back to his side for the moment, meaning that he might use it again in the near future, "They have been freed from your imprisonment, and now they are taking their anger out on all of you, for imprisoning them against their wills. This is merely a greeting. This is so you will understand just how powerful my comrades are. Behold, the true forms of the Zanpakuto that you thought you owned."

The moment he said that more figures, what Rukia assumed were the attacking Zanpakuto spirits, flashed into the air above them, though the first one was a pair that contained a tall curvaceous woman with green fur covering most of her body, with the exception of her chest and abdomen, who had a boy floating close to her, who had a white robe that revealed his abdomen and his snake tail, though they were chained together by a long chain that connected to a collar around the boy's neck and rested around the waist of the woman. The next one was a tall muscular man that had brown colored skin and long orange hair that reached all the way down to his legs, though what interested Rukia was the black dragon shaped tattoo that stretched across the spirit's chest, a dead give away as to who his partner used to be. The third spirit was an obese man with a flat nose and no shirt on, though he had short red hair that was spiked in five different locations, but that meant he was Omaeda's Zanpakuto spirit, since he was the only obese Shinigami in all of Soul Society, which made Rukia feel a little sorry for the spirit. After that spirit came a dark skinned man, who was really close to the shadows that Sombra controlled, that was thin and well-toned in terms of his body, though he wore dark gray strips of cloth around his neck and shoulders, his wrists, and his lower body, while also wearing gray boots with curled toes.

Near that group of spirits rested another group of five, in the air meaning that they had been attacking the Seireitei as well, though the first one in the lineup appeared to be a little girl that had a nice looking kimino on, though her weapons seemed to be some large bells that could be swung in whatever direction she desired. After that came a pilgrim like spirit, in terms of Japan's ancient past thanks to the wooden object he was wearing on his back, though there were several lightning bolt like marks on the man's attire that revealed what element he was associated with, even though his eyes seemed to be entirely black colored. Following him was a spirit that also wore no shirt, making Rukia wonder how many of them didn't have shirts on, though the interesting part about him was the orange mohawk running down the back of his head and the interesting feathers that were attached to his wrists, almost like they were attached to his arms like a pair of wings or something. Rukia felt sorry for the next one, again she had no idea why, though it was a gaunt man that was carrying a large metal ball above his left shoulder and had a large slab of stone pressed against his back, all thanks to the chains that were wrapped around his chest. The next one caused Rukia to falter, because it was a young woman with pale colored skin and pale lavender colored hair, though at the same time she noticed that the lady was wearing a white kimino and she could have sworn that some ice danced in the air in front of her... making her wonder if Sode no Shirayuki had really abandoned her as well.

What shocked Rukia was that there was also a small female looking spirit that could easily resemble a bee or a hornet of some kind, and her right arm looked like a stinger, which immediately told her that Soi Fon's Zanpakuto spirit was also rebelling against them.

As Hitsuguya questioned if this was actually happening, however, a tall man with an icy blue, X-shaped mark extending across his face, with gray colored eyes and long teal-green colored hair, which reached his lower back, appeared near him, allowing them to see that he wore a dark blue chestplate underneath a pale blue kimono. A tall light skinned man formed near Byakuya, one that seemed to be dressed up like a samurai of some kind based on the armor he was wearing and the mask that covered his face, but it wasn't hard to tell who it was as the Zanpakuto spirit glanced at Byakuya before heading over to the stranger. Near Mayuri stood a small yellow skinned creature with butterfly-like wings and a halo above it's head, though it stared at the area in front of it and walked away from Mayuri, who didn't seem all that upset, rather he was interested in what was going to happen next as he waited for the last of the Zanpakuto to appear. The last one to appear was another curvaceous woman that had turquoise colored eyes, olive colored skin, and chin-length maroon hair, which happened to be styled into two cat-like ears at the top and framed her face with several long bangs, though she also had pink fur covering her forearms, her pelvis, her feet, her left leg, and most of her upper torso. There has also a tuft of white fur covering her neck and extending down to the middle of her chest, along with a ring of white fur around her right thigh, though she also had a long pink colored tail and claw-like nails... and, based on the annoyed look she gave Matsumoto, which turned playful as she flashed over to the stranger's side, Rukia could tell where Haineko stood as well.

"Who in the world are you?" Byakuya asked, though at the same time he walked to the head of the pack and stared at their new foe, because despite the situation they were in Soul Society had a powerful ally that would hear about this soon enough, one that might be able to stop it before it got out of hand.

"My name is Muramasa." the stranger replied, showing that he didn't care if they knew his name or not, though at the same time his tone caused Byakuya to glance at Rukia and Renji, who barely nodded their heads in agreement, before he glared at all of them, "Tonight brings an end to the rule of the Shinigami. From this point forward the Zanpakuto will be ruling over the Shinigami!"

The moment he said that Muramasa formed a blade in front of his hand and stabbed it into the ground in front of his feet, which released a burst of reiatsu that caused the earth to rise up in sections, putting the rebellious Zanpakuto spirits above their partners, though at the same time Rukia knew that they were in trouble... and she hoped that she or Renji could escape so they could send a message to Sombra and Ichigo about what was going on, as she had the feeling that they would be able to help them end this madness before it got out of hand.





Sombra and Yoruichi walked down the street that was near the river of Karakura Town, as they had both decided to take a break from staying inside the castle of Las Noches and ruling over Hueco Mundo, where the two of them returned to the World of the Living and left Ulquiorra in charge of the castle once more. Sombra was actually pleased to have a new place to rule over, allowing him to use his prior knowledge as the King of the Crystal Empire to better himself as the King of Hueco Mundo, and while it was taking time for all of the Arrancars to warm up to Yoruichi's presence she was happy to have the few friends that she had already gained. All in all Sombra really couldn't complain about his new life, as before he came here he had been a hateful spirit that was trying to reclaim the Crystal Empire and had absolutely no desire to even attempt to be a hero, and now, on the other hand, he had been restored to his former glory, without the madness that had plagued his mind, he was the king of an entire realm, and he had at least one beautiful lady that he loved. The only thing that made him pause in his thoughts were Harribel and Nel, the only two Arrancar ladies that had shown some interest in him, though while he knew that Nel might be that way because of the short time they spent near each other, when they were invading Las Noches, he also knew that Harribel might be that way because of his position as the King of Hueco Mundo, and the fact that he was the Dios Hueco.

He still had no idea if he wanted to follow in the footsteps of the previous Dios Hueco, who apparently had a harem of lovers at one point before their demise, but at the same time he was still only two weeks into his reign and there was no need to rush things, which was why he shelved that thought and continued walking. The only other thing about his life that had changed, since he became king, was that he finally replaced his previous gray colored Shinigami clothing with the white Arrancar clothing, one that had an open jacket over his new white robes, though he had two sashes that formed an x on his waist, one that was black and one that was brilliant blue, indicating which of his blades rested on which sash.

"You know, it seems like Ichigo's getting rather lazy since we've been gone." Yoruichi commented, though at the same time she came to a stop for a seconds, as her senses revealed that there were at least five Hollows hanging around the town at the moment.

"True, but in the past he always had me helping him and now he's having to adapt to switching between a student and a Shinigami, depending on what he needs at a given time." Sombra said, though as he said that his own senses found the Hollows that Yoruichi was talking about, as he had been ignoring them in favor of spending time with her, and he could tell that they knew he was there, causing them to back off and return to Hueco Mundo, "Though one perk about being the Dios Hueco is that my mere presence in this world is driving the Hollows in Karakura Town back to Hueco Mundo, so Ichigo won't have to..."

Yoruichi turned her gaze towards Sombra for a moment and found that he was focused on something, as he seemed to be sensing something that she hadn't picked up on yet, but at the same time that made her chuckle, because his level of power allowed him to sense when and where Shinigami, Hollows, and Arrancar were arriving, a power that he used to great effect before the invasion of Hueco Mundo.

"A Senkaimon is going to open soon, roughly in the immediate area around us." Sombra stated, because with his ascension to his new state he could even determine which form of travel was being used, meaning that if he sensed a Garganta opening, despite the permanent one in the abandoned temple, he knew that some Arrancar were coming and the fact it was a Senkaimon meant that more Shinigami were coming to the World of the Living, "I count two reiatsu signatures moving towards the World of the Living; the first one belongs to Rukia, as I'd never mistake her reiatsu, but the second one feels that is should be familiar, even though I've never felt it before."

Yoruichi was sure that this was the first time that Sombra had actually bothered to feel the reiatsu of whoever was coming through a Senkaimon or a Garganta, but that didn't stop her from being amazed by the fact that he was able to tell her exactly who was coming their way, even if there was one signature that he didn't recognize. Before she even had the chance to say something the air shuddered for a moment as she felt the second signature that Sombra had felt, one that she didn't recognize either, though at the same time Ichigo, in his Shinigami attire, flashed into the area that they were standing in and seemed surprised to see them. That confirmed that he had not been practicing his skills like he had been told to do, as Sombra had told Ichigo that he needed to practice his skill in sensing where enemies were located and the whereabouts of his allies, but now wasn't the time for them to be worrying about that, since she knew that both she and Sombra were more interested in the other reiatsu signature that was following Rukia.

"Sombra? Yoruichi? What are you guys doing here?" Ichigo asked, allowing his attention to be taken away from the strange reiatsu that he had been feeling for the last few minutes, though at the same time he was surprised, as he was sure that Urahara would have told him they were coming, since he held the communication sphere that belonged to the World of the Living.

"Just taking a break and enjoying the World of the Living for a few minutes." Sombra replied, as it was not their intention to get caught up in whatever happened next, but since they were already here, and the event was coming towards their position, he knew that he'd assist Ichigo in solving whatever Rukia was coming to warn them about, before he turned his head towards the sky, "Though it seems that the Senkaimon is getting ready to open."

Ichigo glanced up at the area that Sombra was looking at and found that he was right, a Senkaimon was opening right before their eyes, though not a few moments later his eyes widened as a wounded Rukia tumbled out of the passage between this world and Soul Society before falling to the ground, where he burst into the air, caught her, and then flashed down to where Sombra and Yoruichi were standing.

"Rukia! Just hang in there and we'll take care of your wounds," Ichigo said, showing his concern for Rukia's well-being, especially since it looked like she had been in one hell of a fight, one that could rival her battle in Las Noches, before he faced her again, "What happened?"

"Ichigo? Is that you?" Rukia asked, though as she said that she opened her eyes a little, showing that her strength had been depleted from whatever battle she had been in, though she smiled when she saw that Ichigo had caught her, and that smile widened even more when she noticed Sombra and Yoruichi standing nearby, "Good, Sombra's here as well... I won't... have to explain... things twice..."

"Something must have happened in Soul Society for her to come here and seek you out, Sombra." Yoruichi said, not that she wasn't surprised, because at this point Sombra was Soul Society's greatest ally, all because of the sheer power he possessed and the fact that he could destroy most of them in a fight with only his Bankai or his Resurreccion, and she even noticed that Sombra nodded his head as well.

Before anyone could say anything a second Senkaimon started to open and they flashed up to the top of the street that they had been standing near, allowing the second gateway to open on the river side, but this time a young woman stepped out and touched the ground, which seemed to freeze the immediate area around her. Sombra could tell, from the way the lady looked that she wasn't a Hollow or an Arrancar, because she was missing both the Hollow hole and a mask fragment that would have reflected what she used to be, but at the same time, as he felt her reiatsu a little more, he noticed that she was wearing a white kimino and ice seemed to dance in the air around her for a few seconds. Yoruichi carefully took Rukia as Ichigo stood near Sombra, no doubt making some of the same conclusions that he had made mere seconds ago, but that didn't change the fact that this foe was going to provide an interesting fight, especially if she was who Sombra was thinking she was.

"Are you the Shinigami that's on duty here?" the lady asked, though her icy blue colored eyes were focused on Ichigo and not on Sombra, which made sense considering that she had been chasing one Shinigami and would have moved onto the second one that was in her sights.

"Who are you, lady?!" Ichigo asked in return, as he wasn't about to answer the question until he knew exactly who he was dealing with, though at the same time he also noticed that Sombra hadn't even reached for one of his Zanpakuto, as if he wasn't going to assist him in this fight.

Instead of responding to his question the lady shifted her gaze and swung her right arm at the area that they were standing on, releasing a torrent of snow at them, which would become ice when it struck it's target, to which Sombra and Yoruichi, including Rukia, flashed out of the way. At the same time, however, Ichigo jumped into the air, pulled Zangetsu from the cloth on his back, and fired a low powered Getsuga Tensho at the attack, shattering the ice into pieces before racing towards the lady, who moved out of the way as the wave crashed into the area she had been standing in a few moments ago. Sombra, his keen eyes able to track movement and his senses allowing him to tell where someone went, found the mysterious lady standing on the top of one of the nearby bridge's support pillars, putting her in the path of the full moon as well, and a few seconds later Ichigo, once more revealing his poor tracking abilities, followed Sombra's gaze and found his target.

"Hand her over to me." the lady said, her voice reaching them despite the fact that she hadn't shouted at them, but even as that happened Sombra noticed something interesting, the lady was holding the Shikai form of Rukia's Zanpakuto in her right hand, giving him another piece to the puzzle.

"I'm not handing Rukia over to you!" Ichigo stated, as he hated people that hurt his friends and, when he came to their aid and helped them out, demanded that he turn his friends over to those that had been tormenting them earlier, "I don't know who you are, but I'm not letting you take Rukia!"

"I see." the lady replied, to which she flashed through the air and appeared to Ichigo's right, a movement that Sombra caught while surprise appeared on Ichigo's face, but at the same time something seemed to have clicked in the lady's mind as she glanced at Ichigo, "You're the Substitute Shinigami, aren't you?"

"How'd you know that?" Ichigo asked, though at the same time he jumped away from the lady and put some distance between them, showing Sombra that, despite his lack of tracking practice, Ichigo still displayed common sense and moved away from an enemy they knew nothing about.

Just like before the lady didn't say anything to Ichigo, rather she moved her right arm and started making the same movements that Rukia did when she used 'Some no mai, Tsukishiro', the first technique that Rukia had showed off when Grimmjow and his Fraccion invaded the World of the Living.

"Some no mai," the lady said, to which Sombra felt her reiatsu gather for a moment, indicating that she was definitely getting ready for an attack and that she wasn't playing around, while at the same time Ichigo seemed stunned by what the lady was doing, as he was standing there like he had been frozen to the ground, "Tsukishiro."

Ichigo stood there for a moment, just as the ice circle formed in the ground beneath his feet and the pillar started to ascend towards the sky above them, but he once more displayed his common sense by flashing into the air and getting out of the pillar as it turned into a solid piece of ice, which would have kept him trapped there for a few moments, before the pillar shattered and collapsed on itself.

"Tsugi no mai," the lady continued, to which four points were pierced into the ground in front of her and started to pour ice particles into the air in front of her, though as she prepared herself for her second attack she pointed the tip of her blade right at ichigo's position, "Hakuren."

Ichigo, despite the situation that he was in, remained calm and loosed another Getsuga Tensho at the attack that was coming at him, destroying it instantly, though he followed that up and flashing above the lady and swung down at him, only for his blade to get stuck in the ground as the lady's form shattered... but Sombra, keeping track of the two fighters, immediately noticed where the lady appeared and knew that Ichigo would find her as well, and he did so not even a few moments later, without his help this time.

"Who the hell are you?" Ichigo asked, though at the same time he held his Zanpakuto out and made sure that it was pointed in the direction of the lady that had attacked Rukia and was so bent on getting to her, despite the fact that Sombra was standing nearby, before he considered something else, "Both Tsukishiro and Hakuren are Rukia's attacks."

"Actually, they are powers that Rukia is able to use with her blade, because they came from her Zanpakuto," Sombra corrected, as Zangetsu was the one that the Getsuga Tensho originated from and both he and the Old Man that had taken his place had granted Ichigo the use of that technique, and the same was true for the rest of the Shinigami and their Zanpakuto, before he turned his head towards the lady, "which means that you're Sode no Shirayuki."

"I'm impressed, you do catch on quickly." the lady, Sode no Shirayuki, replied, though at the same time she offered Sombra the same smile that she had been wearing the entire time she had been here, one that seemed both happy and sad about what was going on.

Ichigo moved to strike Sode no Shirayuki down while she was distracted, but Sombra flashed in front of him and held his right arm out, stopping him from doing anything, while at the same time giving Sode no Shirayuki the chance to open another Senkaimon so she could head back to Soul Society... and not a few seconds later she was gone, with only the few pieces of ice left behind to even suggest that she was there to begin with.

"Sombra, why'd you stop me from preventing her from leaving?" Ichigo asked, because this was the first time the Arrancar had actually stopped him from putting down a foe that they were fighting, one that was on her way back to Soul Society so she could do whatever she had been doing before she chased after Rukia.

"Because Sode no Shirayuki took on a manifested form and attacked Rukia, acting like she wanted to kill Rukia for some strange reason." Sombra replied, as there were some pieces of information missing from this puzzle, meaning that it was too soon for them to strike down one foe before they knew what they were facing, which was why he turned towards where Yoruichi was standing and moved away from the river, "Ichigo, I'm not sure if you understand what just happened, but a Zanpakuto spirit just tried to kill it's partner, the Shinigami that they are bound to, and if one of them is acting like this, and chased Rukia to this realm, then I'm sure that something is happening in Soul Society. It's better that we let Sode no Shirayuki head back to whoever her master is and get the whole story from Rukia, once we have Orihime tend to her wounds... and besides, I need to contact Las Noches and call in some backup."

"You need to call in backup?!" Ichigo inquired, as that was also a first, since he knew that Sombra could deal with any foe that came to declare war on the World of the Living, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo, before he decided to sate his curiosity and find out who his friend had in mind, "Who are you going to call?"

"Grimmjow might be willing to help, since I know he's looking for a good challenge," Sombra said, because after fighting by Ichigo's side the Arrancar that had set him down the path of the Dios Hueco had mentioned that Ichigo wasn't bad to fight beside, even if he was a little dense at times, "and I might be able to get Nel to come as well. Oh, and I should ask Zangetsu to join us as well. He'll enjoy some time away from Hueco Mundo."

"But... Zangetsu's right here." Ichigo commented, gesturing to this large blade for a moment, as he never understood why Sombra called his former inner Hollow by the name of his Zanpakuto, nor did he understand why Sombra and all of his friends brought their palms to their faces when he said that, "What?"

Sombra sighed and shook his head as both he and Yoruichi headed into Karakura Town, so they could get Rukia to Urahara's shop for some rest, and then he'd make the call to Hueco Mundo, but at the same time he was hoping that whatever was happening in Soul Society, with the Zanpakuto, made Ichigo finally understand who the real Zangetsu was and how poorly he treated him... though even as he flashed through the air he had the strangest feeling that Ichigo might never learn the truth, something that he guessed only time would tell.