• Published 10th Jun 2018
  • 3,847 Views, 581 Comments

Bleach: Heart of a Hero - Blackdrag-rose



Sombra was defeated, but his soul survived and traveled to a new world. He joins Ichigo and his friends as they invade Soul Society in an attempt to save another... while trying to remember his long forgotten past and who he really is.

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Substitute: Quincy's Game

Sombra, as was his custom, made sure that Ichigo and his family got home safely, as well as making sure Rukia snuck into the closest before they got back, while at the same time keeping his senses open for any additional Hollows that might be roaming the town. He was still a little surprised that Kisuke and Tessai showed up, and he wouldn't have been surprised if Yoruichi wasn't stalking in the shadows in her cat form at the same time, but at the same time he guessed that they were there to see Ichigo's strength firsthand, no doubt since he told them a few stories about what Ichigo was able to do. He was still uneasy about the fact that the cameras, as he found out they were called, had scanned the crowd at one point, at the time that Ichigo's soul was knocked out of his body by Kisuke's cane, and he was sure that Rukia had been in full view of one of them while that happened. He still had no idea if Soul Society could use that footage to find and track down where Rukia was hiding, as his knowledge of what they were able to do was limited, but at the same time he had the feeling that letting her be caught on film like that was a bad thing for her.

Despite his worries nothing else happened that night, allowing Ichigo to get some rest from his battle with the Demi-Hollow, and when the morning of the seventeenth of July came he followed the Human to school once more, to stay in the back of the room and watch what happened next as always... until Ichigo, Rukia, Tatsuki, Orihime, Keigo, Mizuiro, and Chad were summoned to the Principal's office for some reason, surprising many of them in the process as they headed towards the room in question.

As Sombra snuck into the room that the others were heading into he found that the Physical Education teacher, the PE teacher as he learned that the students called it, was very ashamed of them heading to the broadcast, as he showed them the scenes that had been caught on camera. What Sombra saw was all of them reacting to the sounds the Demi-Hollow had been making, along with a short clip of Rukia when she was talking to Ichigo about earth-bound ghosts, almost like the people controlling the cameras thought she was being disrespectful towards Don Kanonji for talking while he was in the middle of his 'exorcism'. Of course that only provoked Tatsuki into claiming that she and Orihime were only there to silently watch and react as the crowd reacted, indicating that they had nothing to do with what had happened, of which there wasn't much for them to be punished on, and she dragged Orihime out in the process while the teacher turned on Ichigo and claimed that this was his fault.

What was interesting was when Rukia started acting like she tried to stop Ichigo from talking, as if he had been the one to start the stupid conversation that the teacher was so worked up over, as that gave Ichigo, Keigo, Mizuiro, and Chad the opportunity to leave through an open window while both the PE teacher and the Principal were distracted... though once everyone was outside the room, and the staff were distracted by their departure, Rukia and Sombra headed through the door they used to get into the room and disappeared. Fortunately all of the accused were gathered together outside and started walking away from the building, though while Kegio complimented Rukia on her acting, since it had saved them, Ichigo didn't want anyone encouraging such behavior, only for Tatsuki to state that it was a good thing she acted as well as she did, as Ichigo was able to escape as well. Sombra listened to all of that, though he was curious as to why the one teacher was so bent out of shape because of the fact that several of the school's students had been caught on camera and included in the exciting episode that had been aired... but, at the same time, he guessed that it really didn't matter, as nothing bad had happened as a result.

Of course, while they were walking, both Rukia's phone and Sombra's senses went off, though since Rukia's phone was on vibrate she looked over at Sombra, who nodded his head and flashed into the sky, heading right towards the disturbance that the Hollow was causing. He wasn't surprised that another was showing up, a day after the show was aired, but at the same time it had been quite a while since one had shown up while Ichigo was in school, where he knew that his friend was thankful that he was around to deal with the Hollows that showed up during the day. Fortunately it didn't take him long to find where the Hollow's reiatsu had been coming from, and he saw it chasing a fat man looking spirit, though before he could even draw his sword a light blue arrow, one that appeared to be made out of reiatsu, struck the Hollow and destroyed it, leaving nothing behind. That was a shock to the spirit, as it cowered in a nearby corner, but at the same time Sombra was also shocked, as he had no idea where the arrow had come from and kept his eyes open for anything that might try to attack him... but, after a few moments of nothing happening, he noticed that he was entirely alone, save for the spirit anyway.

Since he knew that the spirit had been running from the Hollow, and thus was focused on what was in front of him, he wouldn't have seen anything, so Sombra simply used his Zanpakuto and performed the Konso, sending the soul to Soul Society, but on the way back he had to wonder what could have destroyed the Hollow so utterly and completely that it left nothing behind... and why the attacker didn't attack him, since he was clearly an evolved Hollow in some manner, but at the very least it gave him time to ponder what had happened as he returned to the school. When he returned to the school he found the others going over their scores, for whatever the teacher had made them do, and found that Orihime was doing well, much to Sora's delight, and both Ichigo and Chad were high in their side as well, much to Keigo and Mizuiro's dismay. What was interesting was that, after seeing two of their friends run off in such a manner, Ichigo checked out the top name on the male list, which happened to be an Ishida Ametatsu, causing some confusion since he didn't know that person... and yet, at the same time, Sombra knew that the only Ishida in the school was Uryu Ishida, making him wonder if he was getting people mixed up or if the student in question was using a different name than what he found out when he started standing at the back of Ichigo's classroom.

Fortunately Orihime came to the rescue and told a confused Ichigo that Ishida Ametatsu was actually Uryu Ishida, though at the same time Ichigo didn't seem to know who she was talking about, but while that was happening Sombra also noticed that Rukia was outside, trying to call Kisuke... and apparently failing by the sounds of it, as she was staring at the phone with a look of annoyance on her face.

Of course, while Rukia was doing that, Sombra felt another Hollow pop up on his radar, making it the second one in a short period of time, an unusual thing when he thought about it, and he nodded his head before he headed off to see where this one was located. As he departed from the building, however, he noticed Ichigo running down the hall, no doubt to ask Rukia what was going on since he was leaving the school, and he happened to bump into Uryu for a moment, to which he apologized for what had happened and continued on his way. Sombra paid no more attention to what was going on below him as he ran through the air and headed towards the new Hollow that his senses were picking up, but this time around he barely crossed half the distance before he spotted another blue arrow flying towards the direction he was heading in and the Hollow disappeared completely, just like the first one. Something wasn't right, he knew that much for a fact, and as such he returned to the school and told Rukia and Ichigo that the Hollows were disappearing before he could reach them, as in completely destroyed and not returning to Hueco Mundo like they usually did... and then he started scouring the town, following the various reiatsu points that he was able to pick up and tried to hunt down the Hollows, only to arrive seconds before an arrow destroyed them.

It was maddening, as this meant that there was someone else in Karakura Town that was capable of fighting Hollows, only this person was utterly destroying them and leaving nothing behind, which worried him greatly, and yet he continued his hunt, trying to beat whoever was killing the Hollows... and eventually night fell and Rukia and Ichigo, in his Shinigami state, joined him at the latest point, only to find that the Hollow that was supposed to be here was gone as well.

"Any luck?" Ichigo asked, though he was beginning to suspect that Rukia's phone might be getting worn out, as he trusted Sombra's senses more than he trusted the phone, because the Arrancar was able to pick up a Hollow's arrival in the town seconds before the phone did and could pinpoint the location much faster.

"No, this one's been destroyed as well." Sombra replied, as he had seen another arrow fly through the air and pierce the Hollow he had spotted, only to watch it disappear as quickly as it had arrived, though he was starting to get annoyed with whoever was responsible for doing this and he could tell that both Ichigo and Rukia were feeling the same way.

"Well that's not good news," Ichigo said, to which he moved over to his body, which Rukia had hauled along when it looked like they might be fighting the Hollow this time, and entered it again, to which he stretched and stood up once more, before turning towards the duo and stared at the phone, "Rukia, you might want to get that looked at, just in case there's something we missed."

"I'll do so once I get a hold of the only person that can help me." Rukia stated, as Kisuke was the only person, outside Soul Society, that might be able to see if there was something wrong with her command phone and fix it before the problem worsened.

"Dissension in the ranks?" a voice asked, to which the three of them turned towards the source of the voice, though at the same time Sombra noticed that Uryu was standing before them, wearing a white uniform that looked sort of like the black one that a Shinigami wore, only of a different material and style, "What a disgrace. Good evening Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, and... whoever you are."

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked, proving that he wasn't fast at determining who someone was, even though Sombra had figured it out the moment he saw who was standing in front of them, while at the same time Sombra was a little annoyed that Ichigo had spoken before he could say anything, "And how do do you know our nam..."

"Kurosaki, you can see ghosts, can't you?" Uryu inquired, though at the same time it almost sounded like he was stating a fact that needed to be clarified for some reason, as Sombra knew that everyone in town knew that Ichigo had the ability to see and interact with ghosts, even if most ignored that information once they learned it.

"Sorry, but we're going to have to talk another time," Sombra said, as a new Hollow had appeared on his radar, one that was closer than all the other ones that had come before this one, and he drew his sword as he took to the air, as he was going to beat whoever was destroying the Hollows this time around.

"At least he's going in the right direction." Uryu commented, nodding his head for a moment, as he was pleased to find that there was someone in the group that could detect Hollows without needing that silly phone, the same tool that both Ichigo and Rukia needed to find them.

"They're both right, we've got orders." Rukia said, though she was surprised that the person in front of them was able to figure out where the Hollow had been before Soul Society could tell her, though she was used to Sombra being able to find them as quickly as he could.

"Kurosaki, if you don't know how to detect a Hollow, then how can you call yourself a Shinigami?" Uryu asked, his tone not changing in the slightest, though at the same time Sombra stopped for a moment as he looked around, before he smiled as he located his target.

Sombra spotted the Hollow as it floated between two houses, clearly trying to decide which to attack first, but before he could reach it another blue arrow flew through the air, nearly hitting him in the process, and struck the Hollow in the side of the head, destroying it instantly... though when he turned around, as he was following the direction it had come from, he found Uryu standing beside Ichigo and Rukia, where he was holding a blue bow, one that happened to be made completely out of reiatsu, in his right hand.

"What the hell are you?" Ichigo asked, though at the same time Sombra landed near them and sheathed his sword, while the stranger sheathed his bow as well, because right now they needed answers and the only one that could give it to them was the person in front of them.

"Uryu Ishida," Uryu replied, informing Ichigo that he was his classmate, the same one that he clearly didn't remember anything about despite the fact that they sat close to each other in the classroom, while at the same time he glared at Ichigo for a moment, "Quincy. And I hate Shinigami."

Without another word Uryu headed down the street and disappeared as quickly as he had arrived, though while Ichigo and Rukia headed back to the clinic, to get some rest before they had to go to school in the morning, Sombra did the reasonable thing and headed over to the Urahara Shop. His reasoning was that if Kisuke and the others knew about Shinigami, how he still had no idea, then they might know something about a Quincy, whatever that was supposed to be, and might be able to tell him what they knew about the group that might hate the Shinigami. Fortunately his desire to figure out what was going on allowed him to get to the shop all that much faster, as he pretty much flew through the air and only jumped off of a few roofs before he landed outside the shop, to which he used the back entrance and found both Kisuke and Tessai discussing something about the shop... and, as he fully took in what was around him, he found Yoruichi, in her human form and wearing the black part of her clothing, sitting in the corner.

"We were wondering when you were coming back," Kisuke commented, as it had been some time since he actually came and spent the night at the shop, though fortunately both Jinta and Ururu weren't present, which was why Yoruichi was out in the open like she was, before Kisuke noticed something about him, "Did something happen?"

"You could say that." Sombra replied, wondering how he was going to phrase his question, especially since these were the only people he could ask since Uryu wasn't about to talk to him since he was friends with Ichigo, before he sighed and decided to get it over with, "Do you guys know what a Quincy is?"

"Quincy?" Kisuke repeated, almost like it was a word that he hadn't used for a long time, while at the same time both Tessai and Yoruichi seemed to be going the same thing, before Kisuke sighed as Sombra took a seat, as he knew that this was going to be important, "It's been a long time since I've heard that term."

"At least two hundred years, right Tessai?" Yoruichi inquired, to which Kisuke's number one assistant nodded his head, indicating that she was speaking the truth, though at the same time that told Sombra that something must have happened to them in the past.

"The Quincys were an anti-demon clan that specialized in anti-Hollow combat," Kisuke stated, recalling everything he knew on the subject, as he knew that both Tessai and Yoruichi were thinking about their knowledge on the clan as well, while at the same time answering Sombra's question, "they were also scattered around the globe... and their clan was destroyed over two hundred years ago."

"Destroyed?" Sombra inquired, though if he thought about that term he began to understand more about the situation, meaning that, if he was right, Uryu might very well be one of the last living members of that clan, which also meant that he likely hated whoever destroyed his clan two hundred years ago.

"That's correct." Kisuke said, though at the same time he was pleased to see that the progress they had made with Sombra was being put to good use, as he was thinking about what he was being told and was comparing it to whatever or whoever had spoken the term earlier, "In today's terms, Humans with powers, like Ichigo Kurosaki, became aware of the existence of Hollows... and in order to stand against them, they began to train. It is said that this was their beginning. In a sense they trained so they could defeat the Hollows the same way that Shinigami defeat them, but there was, however, a defining difference between them and the Shinigami... and that was whether to kill or not kill Hollows. As you know, from what we have taught you so far, a Shinigami can purify a Hollow and send them to Soul Society with their Zanpakuto, as we believe you have done with the very blade you carry as well, despite being an Arrancar. The Quincys are the polar opposite of Shinigami, as they adhered to methodically killing Hollows, destroying them and ensuring that no soul is sent to Soul Society in the process."

"So they wanted to exterminate all the Hollows that were killing their friends and family?" Sombra spoke up, because that was a reason as to why so many would have joined the clan in the first place, to get revenge on the creatures that had taken someone away from them.

"Basically, but there was a problem to that belief," Kisuke said, once more pleased that Sombra was listening and asking questions, as it at least showed that he had an interest in what was going on and could sort of understand what he was talking about, "that belief was what brought about their clan's destruction. Because the Quincys destroy Hollows, and causing the World of the Living to becoming heavy with souls since the destroyed Hollows won't return to Soul Society, they were a danger to the balance of the world, because if the balance shifted too far Soul Society would have spilled into this world and caused the end of everything. As such Soul Society made the decision to exterminate the Quincys, to preserve the balance of the world, and that was two hundred years ago... though I'm curious as to why you would suddenly ask about them."

"Uryu Ishida... he's a Quincy, according to what he said." Sombra replied, knowing that, based on what he had told them from time to time, they knew that some of Ichigo's classmates had power, but then he thought about something else that might be important, "Hey, do Quincys use bows?"

"They do." Yoruichi answered, though she could see the look in Sombra's eyes, he had encountered one and was surprised by the fact that their arrows were fast, even though she knew, from personal experience, that she was still faster than their arrows, "Is something wrong?"

"I just can't shake the feeling that something will happen tomorrow." Sombra stated, as the way Uryu had looked at Ichigo told him that something was going to happen between the two of them, either when they were at school or when they were on their way home, and he needed to be prepared for whatever happened.

Yoruichi could tell that Sombra was worried, because she had the same feeling when she heard that he had met someone that claimed they were a Quincy, and she believed that Sombra was telling the truth on the matter, but at the same time they couldn't use the night to practice anything. Instead she made sure that Sombra had his tea, which he drained as he listened to the others talk, while she wondered what he was actually thinking about, though she had the feeling that he was right that something was coming, as all of his other feelings had been right so far. That, in itself, was strange, as the feelings that Sombra had told them about had been true, despite what she and Kisuke were thinking about, but she trusted him and knew that he'd tell them if anything happened, unless they felt it first.


When the morning of the eighteenth arrived Sombra headed out of the Urahara Shop and headed towards the clinic, so he could see what Ichigo and Rukia were up to, though when he arrived he spotted Rukia heading out in a different direction for some reason, but he decided not to bother her and stood outside the building as he waited for Ichigo to move. An hour or two later, when it was time for his friend to head to school, Ichigo emerged from the clinic and headed down the street, though as Sombra followed he found that Ichigo was thinking about last night and what Uryu had told him, which must have angered him in some manner. That thought was further enforced when they reached the school, as Ichigo made several comments while trying to remember Uryu's name, only for Orihime to come up behind him and give him Uryu's name, where he claimed that she knew a lot, only for Orihime to claim that she knew Uryu's name because they were both in the same handicrafts club.

When Orihime showed Ichigo where Uryu was sitting, in the same seat that Sombra had seen him sit in since he first started following Ichigo to the building, though as they watched a girl named Michiru Ogawa pulled out her damaged stuffed animal and asked if Uryu could help her... where they watched as he actually tossed the stuffed animal into the air, pulled out his sewing kit, and quickly sewed the arm back to the stuffed animal, before he returned it and put his kit away, where he returned to his book.

Sombra was impressed by Uryu's skill, as he wasn't expecting a Quincy to be able to do something like that, but even as he thought about that Ichigo walked away and started to observe his classmate through the rest of the day, as he seemed to be interested in something and didn't want to tell him anything. For the most part Ichigo's classmates didn't care about the fact that he was staring at Uryu, even though the teacher stared at him for a moment before starting the lesson that she had planned for today, something that Uryu seemed slightly interested in and paid attention. Sombra stood in the corner and observed everyone as this happened, finding that nothing interesting was happening in the classroom and that nothing interesting was happening outside the classroom, because there weren't any Hollows in the area, not after what happened yesterday anyway. Eventually the school day was over and Ichigo stayed behind for a moment, pretending to pack up the rest of his pack, before Uryu departed from the classroom, to which Sombra raised an eyebrow as Ichigo followed after him, doing the worst possible job at hiding himself and his reiatsu as he followed the Quincy into the town itself.

Sombra really had no idea why Ichigo was so interested in Uryu, especially after what had happened the previous night, but at the same time he stuck to the shadows as he shadowed both Ichigo and Uryu for a few minutes... though when they reached some stairs, after leaving the school building behind, Uryu stopped and Ichigo did the same at the bottom step, where he hid behind the wall so Uryu didn't see him.

"Are you going to follow me all the way home, Kurosaki?" Uryu asked, to which he turned around and looked down at the bottom step of the stairs he had just climbed, as his senses didn't lie and he knew that Ichigo was still there, which was why he was calling him out like this.

"So you knew." Ichigo said, just as he stepped out from where he was hiding and made it look like this was all a coincidence that he happened to be taking the same route home that Uryu was taking, but with a single glance he knew that he hadn't fooled Uryu and wondered if he knew that Sombra was in the area, "When did you notice?"

"I knew since the moment I saw you spying on me from the doorway with Orihime," Uryu replied, though instead of being smug about having known Ichigo was doing all that he remained neutral and uncaring, as there was a more pressing matter he was observing.

"Really now? That's impressive." Ichigo remarked, though at the same time he considered himself an idiot for not trying harder, as it appeared that his curiosity to find out where Uryu was sitting, to jog his memory, had given him away before he actually tried to spy on his classmate, "You've got some skills."

"It's because you always let your spiritual power leak out like an idiot." Uryu stated, but even as he said that he knew that the creature that was following Ichigo was much smarter than he originally thought, as he still had no idea if he was nearby or if he had taken off, "Even a monkey would notice. Apparently, you lack the ability to sense other people that have high spiritual power, and, as proof, you never noticed my existence until today."

"Well excuse me," Ichigo said, playing it off like it was no big deal, as he certainly didn't think that it was a big deal, while at the same time knowing that Uryu had to be right in some regard, as he knew that Sombra was someone with a high level of spiritual power, as he had a hard time figuring out where he was at any given moment, "I'm not good at remembering people's faces and names."

"That's not what I mean." Uryu stated, to which he turned around and looked down at Ichigo, as he was honestly surprised that he was this dense at times and could only wonder what his mysterious companion was like, "I noticed, the very day you transferred to our school, the inordinate height of your spiritual power. Along with the fact that you gained your Shinigami powers around mid-May, a month before your mysterious friend arrived in town... I even know Rukia Kuckiki's true identity as well."

It was in that moment that he stopped talking that the air around him was filled with energy and a fair number of Spirit Ribbons appeared around his body, surprising Ichigo for a moment since it had taken him some time and concentration before he was able to see them... though at the same time Sombra, who was leaning against the building behind Uryu, raised an eyebrow in interest, since this was a good time to see what a Quincy was capable of.

"Spirit Ribbons?" Ichigo inquired, as he knew the name, since Rukia had told them what they were called once he and Sombra had finished off the serial killer Hollow and sent it's soul to Hell, an event he wasn't going to forget for awhile, before he focused on Uryu.

"Yes, Spirit Ribbons." Uryu replied, taking a moment to look at the white ribbons that were gathering around him, as this would show Ichigo just how strong he really was, while at the same time proving that Shinigami were inferior to Quincys, "Or, in case you have no idea what they are, the compression and visualization of the spiritual auras in the atmosphere into ribbons that spiritually aware beings can follow. And..."

Sombra stopped leaning on the side of the building that he had been leaning on when Uryu disappeared from where he was standing, though as he walked forward he found the Quincy standing in front of Ichigo, crouched a little by the looks of it, and he happened to be holding a red ribbon while Ichigo was standing there with a stunned look on his face, revealing that he was caught off guard by Uryu's speed.

"And this... this is your Spirit Ribbon." Uryu said, though that was when he pulled on the red ribbon and broke part of it off, where he stood up and stared at Ichigo's face as he held the section of the ribbon in front of him, "Don't you know? The Spirit Ribbon of a Shinigami has a different color than the ordinary white ones... though I don't have to tell you that the color I'm referring to is red. Now then, why don't we have a match, Kurosaki?"

"And what sort of match are you thinking about?" Sombra asked, as he had decided that it was time for him to show himself, though at the same time Ichigo grinned a little when Uryu shivered, indicating that the Quincy had forgotten about his existence for a few moments.

"Oh, just a match to show that Quincys are superior to Shinigami, that's all." Uryu stated, though the look on his face told Sombra that he had something planned for such an occasion, something that he wasn't going to like, while at the same time Ichigo sighed.

"Freaking ridiculous." Ichigo declared, to which he crossed his arms as Uryu turned and looked at him again, because he was the one that Uryu was talking to and wanted to have a match with, "Why should I bother to have a match with you? It's stupid. I honestly have no idea what you have against Shinigami, but it's got nothing to do with me. I'm just a Substitute Shinigami until these powers go away. Besides, even if I were to agree to such a thing, there'd be no competition between the two of us."

"That's right, you're only borrowing your power from Rukia Kuchiki," Uryu said, to which Ichigo glared at him for a moment, where Sombra could see that all Uryu was doing was tapping a few of his buttons and was getting a response out of his friend, which explained why he was still doing it, "you couldn't agree to a match without her giving you permission to even raise a finger."

"Ichigo, there's no reason you should listen to what he's sa..." Sombra started to say, though at the same time he noticed a familiar look in his friend's eyes and knew that his mind was already made up, as the moment Uryu said that he couldn't make decisions on his own had snapped something inside him... because, at that very moment, he pulled Kon out of his bag and started to extract the pill that was inside the stuffed animal.

"If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get." Ichigo replied, to which he popped the Mod-Soul pill into his mouth and let his soul separate from his body, to which he touched the ground behind Kon and stared at Uryu, who was calmly staring at him the entire time, "Kon, watch the fight... I'm going to pound this guy concave. Now then, why don't you go ahead and explain the rules of this match."

"Let's use this." Uryu stated, to which he reached into his shirt pocket and withdrew what Sombra guessed was a tablet of some kind, one that he held between two of his fingers as he locked his gaze with Ichigo's, "It's anti-Hollow bait. If you break it and scatter it around, Hollows will gather. The one who beats the most Hollows in twenty-four hours will be the winner... and I'll even let your strange friend join in if he wants. Simple rules, right?"

"How about this; your match is hereby cancelled." Sombra stated, though before Uryu could react he snatched the tablet from his hand and glared at the Qunicy for a moment, as he couldn't believe what he was trying to pull, "I'm all for the two of you fighting, like normal people should, but there's no way in Hell I'm going to let you break this tablet and call in a bunch of Hollows, who are going to endanger the townspeople in the process, just for your stupid match."

"Then it's a good thing I'm always prepared," Uryu replied, though as both Sombra and Ichigo realized that he had a second tablet, one that he had drawn as Sombra was talking about not letting him use such a thing, he crushed the tablet into powder and let it scatter across the winds... though it wasn't long before a small black hole appeared in the sky and a Hollow started to emerge from it, only for Uryu to destroy it with a well placed arrow to the face, "One down."

It was in that moment that Ichigo, enraged by what his classmate was willing to do to show that Quincys were superior to Shinigami, something that he honestly didn't care about, as he was actually putting the entirety of Karakura Town in danger, tackled Uryu to the ground for a moment.

"You should see the look on your face, Kurosaki." Uryu said, his voice still keeping the calm and collected tone that he had been using the entire time they had been talking with him, while his face was as neutral as usual, "But if you're going to ask me to undo the bait, I cannot do that. Soon this entire town will be buried in Hollows that will be drawn in by the bait... the die has been cast, as it were. If you want to save the people of this town you should really get moving, instead of attacking me... and, in case you've forgotten, Hollows like people with high levels of spiritual power."

Sombra wanted to say something, anything, to express how angry he was at the moment, as Uryu had put the entirety of Karakura Town in danger for the sake of this stupid match, but before he could find some words to voice what he was feeling his senses went off like mad, as Hollows were starting to appear all over town now. In fact several of them were actually coming out some distance above them, choosing them as their targets, though before Uryu had the chance to draw his bow again, and kill all four of the Hollows that were above them, Sombra decided that it was time to get serious as he drew his sword. In the next few seconds he flashed into the air and raced towards the first Hollow that was coming down towards them, where he swung his sword and cleaved the Hollow's mask in half as he dodged the incoming attack, before spinning around and moving out of the way as the next two came at him. Yoruichi had told him about Shunpo, the art that she had been teaching him for a month before he met Rukia, and he knew that he was at the practitioner stage, the lowest of the three groups from what he was told... but even then his skill with the art of moving was good for a beginner and he avoided the next attack, before slicing the two Hollows in their masks and purifying their souls.

The final Hollow of the group turned to leave, where he sensed that Uryu was getting ready to draw another arrow, but this time he was more than ready as he flashed in front of the slow moving Hollow and sliced it's mask in two, sending it's soul to Soul Society before he flashed down to where the others were standing... where he found Ichigo staring at him for some reason when he arrived.

"What... was that?" Ichigo asked, as that was the first time he had actually seen Sombra move so quickly, because every other time they had fought something he seemed like a novice, but then he had to remember that he had been around for a month before he got his powers from Rukia, meaning that he hadn't been idle the entire time.

"Shinigami call that technique Shunpo, or Flash Steps," Sombra explained, though at the same time he glanced around the area for a moment, as more Hollows were starting to appear and it was only a matter of time until they went after people like Orihime, Chad, or even Ichigo's family, "I picked it up during my training, before we were properly introduced to each other and before you got your powers from Rukia."

"Yeah, I figured that out on my own," Ichigo said, though he was still amazed by what he had seen, where he could tell that Kon was impressed by his speed as well and Uryu was just staring at him with a look of interest in his eyes, like he was trying to study Sombra or something, "Why have you been holding back the entire time I've known you?"

"Because I didn't think there was a reason to use all of my limited power against the Hollows we've been fighting," Sombra replied, as most of the Hollows he had encountered so far had been purified with a single well placed attack, so he had never seen a reason for him to bother using all of his speed and power to get a task done, even though he was far from reaching the levels that Yoruichi and Kisuke were on, before he turned his head to the side, "Look, I'd love to stick around and chat, but there are more Hollows passing over into the World of the Living and we've got to start purifying them before they kill someone, so we'll have to talk about this later."

"I'll hold you to it, Sombra." Ichigo said, to which the two of them nodded their heads and took off, as he was planning on finding his family and making sure they were alright before he bothered to start fighting the Hollows that were entering the town, though he knew what Sombra was going to do while he did that, "And maybe you'll have calmed down by the time we meet up again, because I've never seen you this angry before."

Sombra thought it was odd that Ichigo was saying that he was angry, when he was the one that had tackled Uryu to the ground, but at the same time he decided not to worry about that at the moment, to which he flashed into the air and got moving in the direction that Chad's energy was coming from. The reason he was heading in that direction was because he could sense a Hollow potentially heading towards Ichigo's friend, though at the same time, as he got further and further away from the bridge that Uryu was standing on, he made sure to keep an eye out for any Hollows that might come towards him. Sure enough he was right in his thoughts, because as he moved in the direction that he was heading in he noticed several more Hollows emerging from the holes in the sky, to which he readied his sword and prepared himself for some trouble as his targets came at him. The insect like Hollows definitely wanted to devour him, since many of them tried to bite him while they charged at him, though he flashed his way through the group of Hollows and sliced all of their masks in half, purifying all of them as they disappeared from the area as he continued forward. Sure, Uryu said that he could take part in the match between him and Ichigo if he so desired, but right now he had no desire to actually count how many Hollows he was taking care of as he made his way through the town as he followed Chad's energy.

He eventually reached the spot where Chad was standing, along with the humanoid Hollow that was currently chasing after him, though what was wrong when he reached the playground that Ichigo's sister, Karin, was playing soccer with her friends, though it appeared that she was heading home. The moment the Hollow reached Chad, and he managed to dodge it's attack despite not being able to see the Hollow very well, Sombra felt another group of Hollows appear in the area and turned around as he spotted the group in question, where all of them rushed towards him and kept him occupied while Chad was dealing with his opponent. As Sombra flashed around the area, taking out the occasional opponent while keeping an eye on Chad, he wondered why he was being targeted by so many Hollows all of a sudden, because it almost felt like someone was sending these enemies at him with the express purpose of keeping him busy when Ichigo's friends were under attack from whatever Hollow went after them. When Chad was hit, and knocked to the side when he was trying to defend Karin and her friends, he found that the Hollows wouldn't even let him go down and see if he was alright, meaning that they were here to keep him busy and when one was purified another took it's place... though that told Sombra that someone was trying to test his abilities.

A few moments later a light emitted from where Chad was standing and the Hollows actually stopped attacking for a few seconds, though when the smoke cleared Sombra found that the Hollow was missing it's left arm and Chad's right arm was now encased in some sort of strange black material that looked like armor with red designs... and, when he charged at the Hollow, which he could now clearly see, he swung his armored fist again and the Hollow was destroyed, it's soul being purified in the process. As Karin moved to assist Chad, to see if he was alright since he had been wounded in the fight against the Hollow, Sombra took advantage of the Hollows staring down at Chad with a look of hunger in all of their eyes, as he flashed around them and hacked apart their masks, purifying them before they could head down and hurt Chad further. When the group of Hollows disappeared, and no more came back, Sombra stood there and looked out over the part of the town that he was in, where he thought about what Uryu had done and the strange fact that all those Hollows had converged on him to prevent him from assisting one of Ichigo's friends.

As Sombra stood there for a moment he had to consider whether or not the stranger from when Sora had been attacking his own sister, before they were able to let him regain himself by breaking his mask, was responsible for him being attacked by all these Hollows. He considered the fact that such a thing would work, since the stranger seemed to know a lot about Arrancars, Hollows, and Shinigami in general, though if that was what was happening he had to wonder what plan the stranger had put in motion, while at the same time praising the fact that, if he was right, the stranger was smart to use Uryu's bait as the perfect cover for what he was doing. This was a dangerous game that Uryu was playing, since it was putting so many people in danger, and there was no telling what the robed stranger was doing, if he was behind why the Hollows were after him at the moment, but eventually he sighed and sheathed his sword for the moment, since it appeared that it would be some time before another Hollow revealed itself. Once he determined that no more Hollows were in the immediate area around him he flashed down to where Chad was resting, to which Karin jumped up and readied herself for a fight, showing that she could actually see him.

"Wh... Who are you?" Karin asked, though her stance told Sombra that she was getting ready for a fight, as if she believed that he was a threat to her and Chad, but Sombra couldn't fault her for thinking that, especially since he had part of a Hollow's mask in the shape of a crown, which Ichigo's sister might be looking at.

"Relax, I'm not here to hurt you or Chad," Sombra replied, to which he held up his hands for a moment, showing that he meant her no harm if she didn't trust his words, though at the same time she kept herself ready in case he was trying to deceive her, "I'm one of Ichigo's friends."

"You're... one of my brother's friends?" Karin repeated, as if the fact that Ichigo had a friend that she didn't know about was strange to her, not that Sombra blamed her since he had been keeping his existence a secret from those that might be able to see him, "Wait, what sort of monster was that? And you still haven't told me who you are!"

"My name is Sombra, and the creature that just attacked you was a Hollow," Sombra said, to which he stepped forward and gently picked Chad up, finding that he was heavier than he thought he would be, before he turned towards Karin for a moment, "Look, I would love to stick around and explain things to you, but there are more Hollows gathering around the town and someone needs to take care of them, so I'll take Chad to someone that can heal a wound inflicted by a Hollow. You should head home and check on your sister..."

"Yuzu!" Karin said, to which her eyes widened for a moment, realizing that if she was attacked, just like the last two times they had been assaulted, that the same thing might be happening to her sister, though that was followed by her turning and running out of the field as fast as her legs could take her.

Sombra stood there for a moment, sort of happy that the mention of her sister was enough to get Karin moving, before he took to the sky and headed towards the Urahara Shop, as he knew that Kisuke was going to be interested in what was happening and would be able to help Chad out. At the same time, however, he felt the pressure in the air shift, centered around the strange dark mass that was in the sky, and he knew that something terrible was coming to Karakura Town, thanks to Uryu trying to prove that Quincys were better than Shinigami, and that both he and Ichigo might not be ready for what was coming next.

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