Bleach: Heart of a Hero

by Blackdrag-rose

Soul Society: The Gatekeeper

After seeing what Ichigo could do with Zangetsu, his new Zanpakuto, Sombra and Kisuke continued their training from where they left off, only this time around Kisuke made sure to point out whatever Sombra was doing wrong, gave him advice on making sure his Zanpakuto was pristine, and a few other things that he might need to know in the future. Tessai, having survived the explosion of Ichigo's raw power, climbed out of the Shattered Shaft while the group was distracted, but he made sure both Jinta and Ururu were safe when Sombra and Kisuke were busy practicing with Benihime and Shokyo, both of which the man stated were beautiful blades in their own rights. In addition to all that Tessai, as Kisuke had promised, lent Sombra some of the Kido textbooks that he still had, where Sombra found that he didn't want to know where he had gotten them from and why Soul Society let him keep them, if they knew he had them, and it was better in the long run since it appeared that he wasn't willing to give up that information. Tessai even insisted that he assist Sombra in understanding the various incantations for the powerful Kido that were in the book, setting up practice dummies whenever Sombra was ready to tackle one of the spells, and offered explanations when he did something wrong.

While all of this was happening Sombra noticed two things, the first being that Ichigo finally snapped awake when he was in the middle of his Kido training, putting it on pause so the two of them could fight to the death with Kisuke, and the second being that he felt Shokyo following along with the lessons as well, no doubt so she might be able to assist Sombra in the future when Tessai wasn't there.

One thing that annoyed Sombra was the fact that Ichigo, who had come to Kisuke looking for help, didn't seem to care much about the essentials of combat and continuously fought both of them at the same time, though at the same time he noticed that Kisuke didn't seem to mind. It might have been because he had one student who had taken on his teachings, along with the ones that Yoruichi had offered him as well, and had become so skilled that he was allowing Ichigo to do as he desired, to which Sombra simply sighed and continued fighting his training partners. There were times where Kisuke insisted that Ichigo face off against Sombra's speed, merely to see if he had what it took to catch someone that was as fast as a Captain when they were holding back their power, and for the most part Sombra found that he was still faster than Ichigo's senses, but he was sure that at some point in time Ichigo would catch up with him, despite the fact that he had an unfair advantage in the fact that Yoruichi taught him Shunpo in the first month of his stay in Karakura Town. Other times it was simply a fight between the three of them and they did nothing other than clash with their Zanpakutos, where the only thing Sombra had to get used to was the length of Zangetsu, as he was unfamiliar with fighting such a long weapon while Ichigo was used to it.

The next five days turned out to be a constant training session for him and Ichigo, as they fought Kisuke from the first hour of the morning until late at night, where they would either be allowed to rest and relax or engage in a battle with each other for a few more hours, until the point where Kisuke would have them stop and get some rest. The one thing that Ichigo didn't full off while they were fighting, either because he had no idea how to do it or he didn't want to fire it off in such an area, was that wave of reiatsu he used to cut open the ground and damage the Blood Mist Shield that Kisuke had summoned to protect himself. Sombra was just fine with the arrangement that they had for their training, as it gave them more experience fighting someone that he knew had to be a Shinigami at one point in time, something that he thought he had figured out from the fact that the Shinigami knew where to find him, as when they sent operatives to Karakura Town they were given cards detailing where to find him, he had a vast knowledge of Soul Society and it's inner workings, which he enjoyed learning about when they had time, and he had a Zanpakuto working with him. He knew that the last point might not be the most convincing, since he wasn't a Shinigami and he happened to have a Zanpakuto spirit, but he still felt that he was right in thinking this way... and, at the same time, he knew that he would ask when the time was right, or maybe never when he considered all the time they were spending on their training.

When at least those five days were up, and Kisuke said that he and Tessai needed the next seven days to prepare the way to Soul Society, Ichigo returned to his Human form and started to head out so he could spend some time with his family and as a normal person before they headed to Soul Society, but he asked Sombra what he was planning on doing for the next could of days. Sombra, instead of relaxing, decided to spend his time continuing his own training, where he devoted the majority of his time to delving into his inner world and learning what Shokyo had to teach him, regardless of whether it was additional bonding between the two of them or her assisting him in learning either the Kido that Tessai was helping him with, her own skills that she offered him, and even let him practice using his black cero. At first Sombra objected to using his destructive techniques against the buildings of his inner world, as parts of the city fell apart when they practiced them in such a manner, but, as Shokyo explained to him, the inner world would regenerate itself in time, which he proved to be true when he left a scarred section of the city during one session and the next time he came back he found that it had been restored to the point it had been earlier. He wasn't sure if Shokyo was using her innate powers to restore the world to the point it had been earlier, or if there was something else happening, but at the same time he was glad that his inner world wasn't going to be destroyed because he and Shokyo practiced their skills together.

Eventually Sombra found that Kisuke wanted him to go out and make sure the town was safe from Hollows, to stop his training and relax a little before they headed to Soul Society, and he guessed that a small break couldn't hurt him in the long run, so he did that and left the shop behind... only to notice that it was the morning of the seventh of August, giving him less than twenty-four hours before it was time for the adventure to begin.

---

What Sombra discovered was that there was nothing interesting to do around Karakura Town that day, as no Hollows seemed to come out of hiding to attack him and the others, meaning that he spent most of his day following Ichigo at a distance, checking to be sure that Chad, Orihime, Uryu, and Sora were alright, or just standing still and looking out over the town for a few minutes. What he discovered, by following Ichigo, was that his normal friends, those that had no powers of their own, seemed to be living their lives as they normally did, apparently believing that Ichigo was going on vacation for the next week and that Orihime was visiting some family at the same time. He was honestly surprised that Ichigo's friends believed such a thing, without asking his father and sisters if they were going on vacation as well, but at the very least it appeared that they wouldn't have to worry about his friends questioning what they were doing in the near future. He also wasn't sure what lie he had told his family, as Ichigo must have told them something while he was training in his inner world, but at the same time Sombra found that Karin and Yuzu seemed to be living their lives as if nothing important was happening... and Isshin, well, he looked like he might know something, but never confronted Ichigo during those last few hours the pair had before it was time to leave.

When the morning of the eighth of August finally arrived, or rather the very early morning since Ichigo was still up close to one o'clock, Sombra stood near the window of Ichigo's room and found that, not a few seconds later, Ichigo opened the window that he was standing near and glanced outside for a moment.

"Let's see," Ichigo commented, glancing out in the direction of the Urahara Shop, or at least that was what Sombra thought he was staring at, before letting out a sigh as he thought about what he had been told, "I think that this is good enough for what Urahara-san wants."

"Is something up?" Sombra asked, because since he had been so concentrated on his own training, and hadn't left the underground training area when Ichigo did, he had no idea what sort of instructions the shopkeeper had given Ichigo before he left the shop.

"Urahara told me this, 'at one am, seven days from now, wait with your window open'," Ichigo replied, to which he tapped the window for a moment, knowing that the Arrancar was watching him and was sure that he would spot whatever the shopkeper had planned before he could, "I know that you trust him, thanks to the time you spent with him before meeting me, but I have one hell of a terrible feeling about all of this."

Sombra started to open his mouth, to ask why Ichigo had such a feeling about what they were going to embark on, but before he could say anything he spotted a flash off in the distance and watched as a spherical ball, appearing to be made out of paper with the stamp of Kisuke on top of it, rushed towards the open window, flew into Ichigo's room, and struck the closet that Rukia had been staying in. The two of them watched, Sombra with some interest in his eyes while Ichigo had a look of horror in his eyes, as the red liquid that erupted from the ball formed a message before their very eyes, one that told whoever was seeing the message to come to the front of the Urahara Shop immediately. As Ichigo started to complain about how this looked like someone's dying message, however, the duo noticed that there was more to the message, one that told whoever was reading the message that they had no humor if they thought this was something as ordinary as a 'dying message', causing annoyance to flash on Ichigo's face for a few seconds... and, at the same time, he tossed his pillow at the closest before getting to his feet.

As they headed outside the house, however, Ichigo found that his father definitely seemed to know something, as the moment he stepped out of the front door Isshin jumped off the roof and tried to do something to Ichigo, who moved out of the way and let his father hit the ground next to him. As Ichigo started to question what was going on, however, Isshin moved a little and revealed a talisman of some kind, one that he immediately held out for Ichigo to take and said that he should have it for the journey that was ahead of him, revealing that he definitely knew something, even if that information seemed to go right over Ichigo's head. When Ichigo asked why he would want such a dirty amulet Isshin revealed that it had been given to him by his wife, making it a cherished treasure for him, and that was reflected in the fact that he was only lending it to his son and fully expected it to be returned to him once the trip was over. It took a moment for Ichigo to promise that he would return the amulet when he returned, indicating that he wasn't actually thinking about it at the moment, and Isshin seemed to be fine with it as he waved Ichigo off... to which Sombra flashed behind Ichigo, when he was in the clear, and grabbed onto him so he could take to the skies once more, where he started the short trip to the area that the Urahara Shop was located in.

When Sombra arrived at their destination he reached the ground and let Ichigo go, though as he did that they both noticed that Kisuke was standing beside the entrance of the shop, while at the same time Chad was sitting on a box nearby and appeared to be ready for anything... where Sombra noticed a smile appear on the shopkeepers face as Chad got from where he was sitting, though his presence still surprised Ichigo.

"Sombra, Ichigo, it's good that the two of you are here." Kisuke said, though he had known that Sombra would have definitely come, even if there was the slim possibility that Ichigo might have chickened out at the last possible moment, as he knew that the Arrancar considered Rukia a friend and knew that he didn't want to lose one of the few friends that he had made since he learned the difference between an associate and a friend.

"Chad?!" Ichigo said, his voice betraying his emotions, as he had figured that it would have been him and Sombra diving into Soul Society to save Rukia, though he wasn't sure why his friend was standing in front of the shop, at one o'clock in the morning, "Why are you here?"

"Rukia Kuchiki... saved me once." Chad replied, referring to the time that he was caring for the cursed parakeet, the one that the serial killer Hollow had been chasing since it had contained the soul of the boy that had killed him while he was still alive, while at the same time indicating that he recalled that day despite what Rukia had done to his memories after the fact, "I'm going as well."

"Wait... what?!" Ichigo stated, as this wasn't something that had been discussed, or if it had he hadn't even noticed it thanks to the fact that he had been focused on his training and nothing else, though at the same time he heard something behind them and turned when he heard a familiar voice.

"Oh? They didn't tell you?" Uryu inquired, to which he stopped walking and faced the group that was standing in front of him, wearing what Sombra had to assume had to be some sort of Quincy clothing that would show what he was to the Shinigami in Soul Society, while he stared at Ichigo's shocked face, "I can't let it end with me losing to some Shinigami. I'm going to Soul Society as well."

"And now we're all here!" another voice said, to which Orihime, along with her brother Sora, stepped out of the alley they had been walking in and came to a stop nearby, to which the two of them smiled as Ichigo stood there with a look of shock on his face, before Orihime bowed a little, "It'll be a pleasure to work will all of you!"

"What is all of this?" Ichigo asked, looking at the people that were gathered around him, as he was pretty sure that this part of the rescue operation hadn't been discussed among them, though at the same time he caught sight of Sombra noticing someone else in the area, or rather a black cat that he picked up and let it sit on his right shoulder.

"He's a bit slow, isn't he?" Yoruichi inquired, to which a look of pure shock appeared on Ichigo's face, as he clearly had forgotten about the fact that he had seen a talking parakeet, and helped purify the soul inside it, and seemed to be stunned by the fact that she was talking to him, "Ichigo, you cannot say that you haven't noticed the bubbling of power inside your friends. While you were training to regain your Shinigami powers, and Sombra was assisting you by training at the same time, each of your friends were training to unlock their own individual powers. You should bow your head to them and thank them, instead of asking questions."

"A... A CAT TALKED?!" Ichigo exclaimed, to which his hands went to his head, as he was beginning to suspect that he was losing his mind or something, though at the same time Uryu looked away for a moment, as he had been shocked as well, while the others were being calm about the situation... and, as he also noticed, Sombra seemed to smile when the cat joined their group.

"This isn't an ordinary cat," Sombra said, knowing that Yoruichi would prefer to keep the charade going that she was male, since it appeared that none of the others seemed to know her true form, and decided that he would play along until she decided it was time to reveal the truth to them, "this is Yoruichi... or Yoruichi-san, if you prefer."

"Okay, that's enough of that." Kisuke stated, clapping his hands for a moment, drawing their attention to the front of the shop, where Sombra noticed that he had opened it a little, and knew that it was time for them to get underway, before he gestured towards the door, "It's not good to stand around talking outside, so lets just go inside first."

The moment Kisuke said that the group started to move into the shop, where Sombra found that the way down to the underground training area was already revealed and also noted that both Ichigo and Orihime remained outside for a few more seconds than everyone else, before they joined the group. A few moments later, when everyone had climbed the ladder down to their destination, Sombra discovered that Uryu was very impressed by the area, Chad seemed happy to find out where Ichigo had been training, and Orihime was excited by what she had seen, despite the fact that her brother rubbed the back of his head at her excitement.

"W... Wow!" Orihime said, bringing her hands together as she looked at the area that surrounded them, surprised by the sheer size of what she was seeing and was confused as to how something this large could have remained hidden from the people of Karakura Town without it being discovered, "Such a huge space under the store, it's so cool! It's almost like a secret base!"

"What a magnificent reaction." Tessai replied, as he actually had some tears in his eyes over the fact that Orihime liked the area that they were in, even though Ichigo didn't seem to care one way or the other, and he was wiping them away with a piece of cloth that he had been carrying as he grasped her hand for a moment, "I, Tessai, am deeply moved."

It was in that moment that Kisuke called attention to himself once more, as he was standing in an area that was a little more open than what he usually stood in, before he snapped his fingers and four square pillars erupted out of the air, forming a rectangle that rested on top of the ground and stretched up into the air a little.

"All right, this is the gate that leads to Soul Society." Kisuke said, to which everyone turned and faced him, as they were all ready to get this adventure started and knew that time was of the essence, even though they had to wait for him to explain some things to them, "It is called the Senkai Gate, and it means 'realm-penetrating'. Are you all ready, because I'm only going to explain this once... but first..."

That was followed by Kisuke flashing behind Ichigo and striking him with his cane, in the manner that separated his soul from his body, surprising Uryu and the others by the sudden transformation, as now Ichigo was standing there in his Shinigami attire and had Zangetsu strapped to his back... but, after telling them not to act like he was a jar of candy, the group turned to Kisuke so he could continue what he was talking about.

"Now then, let's continue." Kisuke stated, where he observed all of them nodding their heads, indicating that they were all ready for what he had to tell them, before he beckoned to the Senkai Gate once more, "This gate was made by piling Spirit Exchangers atop the normal Senkai Gate. As you all know by now, Soul Society is a world of souls, meaning that entering it would be impossible if you weren't in a soul form, like Kurosaki is now and like what Sombra has stayed in since he first came to this world. Since only three of you have a soul form, we have to use Spirit Exchangers to change the rest of you into spirits so you can be sent to Soul Society."

"Basically, even without pulling out our souls," Uryu said, glanced over at Ichigo for a moment, to show that he was understanding what was being said, before glancing back to the gate that was resting in front of them, "if we go through this gate, we can enter Soul Society in our current state."

"That's correct." Kisuke replied, as he was happy to see that some of the group was getting it, namely Uryu and Sombra, which only made him surprised by how quickly the Arrancar seemed to understand things that were explained to him, even with his memory problems, though at the same time Ichigo seemed to be impatient and stepped forward, to which he jabbed the young man in the side and caused him to back off for a moment, "However, the amount of time we can open this gate, and stay connected to Soul Society, is at most four minutes. Normally it would be impossible to reach Soul Society in that amount of time, especially since this is an unreasonable endeavor in the first place, and we can only stretch the time you have to those four minutes. If you can't reach the other side in that amount of time, you will be permanently imprisoned in the space between Soul Society and the World of the Living."

"W... What should we do?" Orihime asked, though the tone of her voice revealed that she wasn't sure if she had what it took to go through with this, as one wrong step in the space between realms meant that they would be unable to leave and would be unable to save Rukia.

"Move forward." Yoruichi replied, where she jumped off of Sombra's shoulder and touched the ground, where she approached the gate and stopped in front of it, so she could look at the group that was assembled before her and the others, "I told you, your heart and your soul are connected. The important thing is the state of your heart. The will to move forward. Don't worry, I will be your guide. So move forward, that is what you should do. Only those that have the will to do that will come with us."

"Why do you think we gathered here?" Ichigo stated, to which he stepped to the front of the group for a moment, while at the same time the rest of his friends nodded their heads, despite the fact that Sombra felt that he was being a little rude to Yoruichi, "All we have to do is win our fights, free Rukia, and get out of Soul Society. Nothing to it."

Sombra sighed in annoyance for a moment, as it appeared that getting his Zanpakuto had actually made Ichigo a little arrogant, but that was only because he knew that the Captains, and likely the Lieutenants, of Soul Society were much stronger than what Ichigo thought they were, and that was because he had personally felt Captain Byakuya's power. Ichigo seemed to think that the level of power he had fought against was the peak of the power that their opponents would be able to use, but he really hoped that such a thought didn't come back to bite them later on. As the group settled down Kisuke informed them that they would have to join into the Senkai Gate simultaneously when it opened, to which the group braced themselves as he and Tessai activated the gate that was resting in front of them, though when a bright light flashed before their eyes Yoruichi jumped forward and the group followed after her, disappearing from the World of the Living and entered the space between it and Soul Society. As the group started to run through the strange tunnel they had found themselves in, with walls on either side of them that appeared to be moving and the way behind them sealing itself up as it chased them, the majority of them focused on the strangeness of the area around them and why the walls were moving in such a manner... while Sombra, on the other hand, put those thoughts off for now and focused on getting out of here, since he didn't want them to get imprisoned between Soul Society and the World of the Living.

As he ran, only a few steps behind Yoruichi, the cat explained that if they got caught in the Koryu, or the Wresting Flow as it was also called, they were done for, and when a part of the wall crashed into the ground behind Uryu, stopping him in his tracks because it caught part of his cape, Yoruichi stopped Ichigo from attacking, because if Zangetsu got stuck in the ooze like wall it would also trap him at the same time. Fortuantely Chad had a better idea, as he simply grabbed onto Uryu and ripped the area where his cape was located, before picking him up so they could continue to run down the tunnel that they found themselves in, but that was quickly followed by Uryu pointing out something that appeared to have been modeled after one of the trains that Sombra had seen in the World of the Living, only created from the same material as the walls were. Yoruichi explained that this was the Kototsu, the Wresting-Surge, and that it was only supposed to come out once every seven days to clean the Dangai, the tunnel that they were in, while also stating that she couldn't believe that it was coming out at a moment like this, especially when the group was trying to reach Soul Society. As it turned out the Kototsu was faster than the speed they were running and it appeared that they were going to get caught before they could reach the exit that was in front of them, only for Orihime to use her Santan Kesshun to shield them... and force an explosion that knocked them out of the Dangai altogether.

From what Sombra discovered, after allowing the smoke to clear and picking himself off the ground, the group had landed in what appeared to be the middle of a street, in an area that resembled the older style buildings from what he had heard Ichigo's instructor talk about in his classroom... and, to top it all off, most of the group was laid out in some manner, due to the shock of the explosion, save for Chad, himself, and Orihime.

"Is everyone alright?" Orihime asked, to which she earned some moans, as none of them had been expecting her to do what she had done, even though her brother was happy that she had saved their lives in such a manner, before she looking over at Ichigo for a moment, "Kurosaki-kun, your landing pose is so artistic!"

As the rest of the group started to pick themselves up, and dust off their clothing, Uryu surprised Chad, Ichigo, and Sora by having a spare cape prepared ahead of time, as he pulled the spare out and immediately switched out his now ruined one with the new one... though as Orihime commented that it was good that no one had gotten hurt, however, there was someone who had something to say to her comment.

"Good my tail!" Yoruichi snapped, to which Sombra watched as the cat actually jumped at Orihime and headbutted her in the face, surprising Sora for a moment, but he was stopped when Sombra shook his head, because he knew that there was a reason for Yoruichi to act this way and agreed that Orihime, despite saving them, had been a little reckless with her powers, "Didn't you listen to what I said? If one of your six Flowers had touched the Kototsu, instead of the shield that they generated, you would have lost your life in an instant!"

"Come on, you don't have to be so angry at Orihime," Ichigo said, though at the same time he glanced around the area they were in while Uryu continued to mess with his cape, something that Ichigo personally felt that he could have gone without since it was the cape's fault they were nearby hit by the Kototsu in the first place, "in the end it's all thanks to her that we got here unharmed."

"You don't seem to grasp the gravity of the situation." Yoruichi commented, though her tone told Sombra that they might be in trouble, as he had to believe that the Shinigami had some sort of system in place in case something that was unauthorized emerged from the Dangai.

"So, this is Soul Society?" Ichigo inquired, though at the same time an annoyed look appeared on Sombra's face, as he couldn't believe that he was actually ignoring Yoruichi at the moment, especially when she had information about the situation that they were in, but the cat shook her head and indicated that it was alright, to Sombra sighed and glanced at the area around them, in case some Shinigami showed up.

"That's right," Yoruichi replied, to which she looked around as well, because she fully expected something to happen soon and knew that it was best if they understood what was going on at the moment, "this place is commonly known as Rukongai, which means Wandering Soul City. This is where the souls that are led to Soul Society first reside."

"So this is where I would have ended up if I had been purified," Sora commented, as he was interested in what he had to learn, as he had been close to sending himself to Soul Society when Ichigo and Sombra stopped him, while at the same time glancing at the more impressive structures that were off in the distance.

"Yes, it is." Yoruichi said, knowing that Sora was the only soul that Sombra and Ichigo had saved by, somehow, helping him regain control over his body and convincing him to remove his Hollow Mask, creating a second Arrancar in the process, before she turned her attention to the situation that they were in, "Anyway, the area called Rukongai is located on the outer edge of the Court of Pure Souls, or the Seireitei, which is where the Shinigami live. This is the poorest, most liberated part of Soul Society and it is where most souls live."

"What's that?" Ichigo inquired, as he had seen the impressive structures that Sombra and Sora were staring at, even if there was a reason that they were staring at it, and immediately got an idea in his head, one that, when Sombra noticed what he was doing, he didn't like at all, "Oh, that has to be whatever it's called, the place where the Shinigami live."

As Yoruichi started to warn Ichigo about the perils of his actions, as he was running right towards the Seireitei, Sombra noticed something in the sky above them and immediately flashed over to where Ichigo was running, where he grabbed onto the back of his clothing and pulled him back a little as whatever was in the sky finally struck the ground in front of them. Through the dust and debris that was kicked up from the object hitting the ground, along with more of the same thing stretching off in the left and right directions, Sombra was able to make out that he and Ichigo were now standing in front of a large wall and, directly in front of them, rested an equally large gate. At the same time he was able to tell that they weren't alone, because standing in their path, right in front of the gate, was a large humanoid creature that he could only describe as a giant, one that was going to be blocking their way and that meant that they needed to knock him out or figure out a different plan of attack. The giant had his hair is tied into a pony-tail, which extended down towards his waist, with what Sombra knew to be long sideburns, which continue down onto his neck and long enough to be tied up in small pony-tail like tufts, while at the same time wearing armor on his left shoulder and upper arm, plus a red hat with tassels... and, to top it all off, the left side of his chest was left exposed by his uniform.

Right now he didn't see the giant carrying any weapons, which was bad since he might be hiding one anywhere on his body, to which Sombra prepared himself, because he had the feeling that something was going to happen in the next few moments and wanted to be ready for whatever that something was.

"It's been a long time," the giant said, though as the smoke fully cleared, however, Sombra noticed that his earlier thought had been wrong, as their opponent was actually carrying a large axe with some decorations on the head of the weapon, while at the same time he was staring down at him and Ichigo, "since someone has tried to come through the Gate of Pure Spirits without a pass. Long time since I've had a visitor... much less two visitors. I'll take good care of you, little boy and young man."

Before either Sombra or Ichigo could say anything the giant, who apparently called himself Jidanbo Ikkanzaka, raised his axe and slammed the base of it against the ground, declaring that they would have to pick which of the two of them would come at him first, showing that there was some sort of rule where Shinigami had a one on one fight with others, despite the fact that Sombra felt that not all Shinigami might follow that rule. While the two of them stood there Yoruichi told Uryu and the others that Jidanbo was a hero of Soul Society and had been chosen to be the guardsman of one of the four Great Pure Spirit Gates, the one that was called the Gate of the White Way. She also explained that the way forward was to defeat Jidanbo, which wasn't as easy as one would assume it would be, as the giant had been standing guard at this gate for three hundred years and, in that length of time, the gate he guarded had never once been breached. While all that was going on Sombra heard a tone that he was familiar with, as Yoruichi knew that, if Ichigo allowed him to fight instead of tackling the giant himself, the gate would be breached in no time, indicating that the gatekeeper might have have experience in fighting an Arrancar.

Of course both Chad, Orihime, and Sora charged towards the pair, so they could fight Jidanbo together as a team, but the giant saw them coming and used his axe to carve open some parts of the ground, causing the pieces to rise and act as a barrier to prevent them from interfering with what he was doing... not that Ichigo and Sombra needed assistance, as Sombra was sure that either of them could take the giant out on their own.

"You three have bad manners." Jidanbo stated, staring down at Chad, Orihime, and Sora for a few seconds, his tone revealing that he had a dislike of some kind for people that had bad manners, but not strong enough to make him attack them before he finished with whoever he decided would be his first opponent, "I bet you're from the country. Listen up, in the city we've got things called 'rules'. Number One, when you come home from outdoors, wash your hands. Number Two, don't eat things that fall on the floor. Number Three, when you duel, come one at a time. My first opponent will either be the boy with hair like rock colored candy, or the strange man with pony ears. Until I am finished with the two of them, you two should sit there and be quiet."

As Jidanbo turned back around and headed to his post, so he could wait and see who his first opponent was, Sombra overheard Chad, Orihime, and Sora making plans to attack the giant while his back was turned, only for Jidanbo to call them out on mumbling stuff and immediately freaked them out to where they didn't want to attempt their plan.

"Chad, Orihime, Sora, don't worry about us." Ichigo said, to which he leaned against the rock wall that Jidanbo had created and spoke to his friends, while at the same time Sombra stood nearby and kept his eyes on their opponent, as he was being awfully calm given the current situation, "Sombra and I are as fit as a fiddle. Though, while I'm at it, would the three of you stand still right where you are?"

"No, I refuse!" Uryu stated, to which he stepped forward and stood beside the rest of the group, while at the same time Yoruichi stared at all of them as they talked, as she couldn't believe what she was seeing, "Our time is limited. Right now, instead of one of you fighting alone, we should confront the situation together and proceed in a timely manner."

"Quit talking in that annoying manner, Uryu." Ichigo replied, though this time around he shifted his gaze back towards the giant that was standing in front of them, as he knew that Sombra was already trying to figure out his weaknesses so he could bring Jidanbo down.

"Ichigo, can you two take him?" Chad asked, to which Sombra noted that there definitely was some history between the two of them, as it almost sounded like Chad was expecting his friend to do great things and beat the gatekeeper that was standing in front of him.

"I'm positive that I can take him out," Ichigo answered, though this time around he sighed as he stood up, because the more time they spent on this side of the wall the closer Rukia would be getting to her execution, as well as the fact that the stronger Shinigami might be on their way to their location, "though, if it comes to it, Sombra can take him out easily."

"Go ahead and have a crack at him," Sombra said, because he already knew that, from the reiatsu he was feeling, that he would be a severely unfair opponent for the giant, to which he backed up a little and let Ichigo take the center stage, as this was going to be over in a matter of seconds.

As Sombra did that, and Uryu continued to complain about the situation, Ichigo revealed to the others that he was supposed to have spent the ten days before Kisuke needed to spend seven days preparing the Senkai Gate for their journey, but since he had gotten his powers back within five days both he and Sombra spent those five days fighting both each other and Kisuke. Because of how he worded it Uryu started to believe that they had learned the essentials of combat, to which Ichigo revealed that Kisuke didn't really teach him much and that the person that likely knew what Uryu was talking about was Sombra, but, as he gripped the handle of Zangetsu and undid the cloth that was covering the blade, he also told them that he got stamina and guts for his efforts. As that happened Sombra patiently waited where he was standing and observed what was going to happen next, as he was sure that the giant was going to strike soon and that had to be when Ichigo was going to knock him out of the way.

"You done talking?" Jidanbo asked, as he had put himself in a ready position the moment he had created the wall between him and the rest of the group that had been coming to join their friends, though at the same time he was pleased to find that they had chosen someone to step forward and be the first one to fight him.

"I don't remember asking you to wait at all." Ichigo countered, almost as if he was trying to piss off Jidanbo in some manner, or at least that was what Sombra guessed he was trying to do, despite the fact that such a thing wasn't even necessary at the moment.

"So you're a country kid, too." Jidanbo stated, which was accompanied by a hint of annoyance as his right eyebrow was raised just a tiny bit, confirming Sombra's thoughts on the matter as he crossed his arms, though at the same time he started to raise his axe, "You ain't showin' proper etiquette. When someone waits for you... YOU SAY 'THANK YOU'!"

It was in the following moment that he loudly stated those words, intending for all of them to hear what he was saying, that he slammed down his axe on where Ichigo was standing, kicking up a good amount of dust and force in the process... though when it all cleared a surprised look appeared on Jidanbo's face as he found Ichigo standing beneath the head of his axe, as Ichigo had used Zangetsu to stop the axe in it's tracks.

"What are you..." Jidanbo started to ask, though at the same time it appeared that the act of stopping his blade was something that the gatekeeper wasn't used to, as he appeared to be in shock at the moment, and Ichigo decided to take advantage of that expression.

"Attacking me before I'm in position," Ichigo commented, to which he locked his eyes with his target, as he was interested in getting this over with so he and the others could move on and start their mission, as there were a lot of Shinigami between them and Rukia, "ain't that a lack of etiquette?"

Jidanbo glared at Ichigo for a few seconds, almost like he was annoyed with him about having his own line used against him in such a manner, before he removed his axe from where it was resting and started to laugh, though while Ichigo had to move back a little Sombra just stood there and waited for this to be over.

"You're pretty good." Jidanbo stated, showing that he wasn't as annoyed as Sombra first thought he was and that he appeared to be having a good time at the moment, which only confused Ichigo since he and the others were on an important mission at the moment, "It's been decades since anyone has stopped my axe. Alright, for the first time in a long time, I'll fight without holding back. Out of those who've tried to enter this gate, the number of people who've stopped my first axe attack is three, including you. But there ain't a single one who's stopped my second attack!"

Jidanbo, true to his word, struck Ichigo again with his axe, where all Ichigo did was use his Zanpakuto to block the incoming attack, creating the same effect as the previous time their weapons collided, and that only made Jidanbo happy that he was still standing, as that allowed him to move into what he called Juppon Jidanda Matsuri, or Ten Buffalo-Red Strikes Festival. Sombra assumed that it was going to be nine or ten downward strikes, similar to the first two he already delivered, but the reality was that he actually delivered fifteen of those attacks on where Ichigo was standing before raising his axe high into the air and unleashed a horizontal attack that carved up the defensive barrier he set up to stop Orihime and the others from interfering. At the same time Sombra, seeing the attack coming, simply used his Shunpo to get out of the way of the shockwave that he had been standing in the path of, before stepping back down where he had been standing moments ago and looked at the fight... where a nervous and surprised Jidanbo was staring down at a serious Ichigo, who didn't have a single scratch on him at all.

In the moment that Ichigo pushed the axe backward, and took up a stance that indicated that he was ready for battle, Jidanbo actually surprised him by stating that he wanted to 'test' the power that Sombra had, meaning that he was hoping on fighting a weaker opponent, and Ichigo simply sighed as he switched spots with the Arrancar. When Jidanbo swung his first axe attack, however, Sombra didn't even bother to draw Shokyo from her sheath, as it wasn't necessary to do something like that at the moment, and raised his right hand into the air, where he blocked the attack with just the palm of his hand. Jidanbo seemed worried for a moment as he unleashed the second of his first two attacks, where Sombra just repeated what he had done the first time around, and when that failed to hurt him Jidanbo moved into his special technique, the same one he used against Ichigo. This time around Sombra simply used his right hand to parry the attacks that were coming his way and, when the final attack came at him, he switched to his left arm and stopped the axe head in it's tracks, just like Ichigo did... and, at the same time, caused a confused and annoyed Jidanbo to switch back to fighting Ichigo as his opponent, though as Sombra backed away he found that the giant was planning on using a technique that was called Banzai Jidanda Matsuri, or the Ten-Thousand Buffalo-Red Strikes Festival.

This time around, instead of letting things get out of hand, Ichigo patiently waited to see what was different about this attack, which was Jidanbo pulling out a second axe and breaking the metallic armor that he was wearing to release all the strength he possessed, before he made his move... to which Ichigo muttered something about him being sorry about having to smash the axes, which was followed by him swinging Zangetsu. The result was that both of Jidanbo's axes were broken in an instant, the giant was struck in the chest by the sheer force of the attack, and Jidanbo was knocked backwards, where he slammed into the gate that he was supposed to be protecting with a surprised look on his face.

"Wh... What the hell?" Jidanbo commented, his tone betraying his shock for a moment, thought that was followed by him getting back onto his feet with a happy smile on his face, as if he had found someone that he would want to fight repeatedly until neither of them were able to move again, "Whoa, that was close. I got distracted and let myself slip and fall on my can. What's with that look on your face, little boy? Oh, I bet you thought that you tossed me through the air, didn't you? I have no idea why you're thinking that, because there's no way that someone like me would get tossed through the air. This is why country hicks are such a hassle. Just you wait, I'll hit you with my axes again..."

It was in that instant that Jidanbo discovered that the heads of his axes had been smashed, as the fragments were laying all over the area around them, especially since Sombra spotted Yoruichi sitting on one of them, which only caused tears to form in Jidanbo's eyes as he started slamming his fists on the ground, revealing that he was emotional over the destruction of what appeared to be his precious axes... though Sombra guessed that everyone had something that was precious to them and would act in the same way if something like this happened.

"L... Look man, I'm... I'm sorry for breaking your axes." Ichigo said, because if he had known ahead of time that the giant was going to act this way, when his weapons broke, he would have attacked Jidanbo's chest directly and put him out of commission, though now he only felt slightly bad for breaking those huge axes, "I really shouldn't have broken both of them at the same time like that."

"You're... such a good guy!" Jidanbo stated, showing that he was now abandoning his earlier thoughts of Ichigo being a country hick that didn't care about etiquette and was accepting a new thought about him being a nice and considerate person, especially after breaking something that wasn't his, "You and me are enemies, but you still worry about a loser like me. So big! What a big-hearted man you are!"

"Well, actually," Ichigo replied, as the moment Jidanbo mentioned that he was 'so big' he dropped the fragments of his axes' handles and rested both of his hands on his shoulders, preventing him from moving for the moment, especially since he couldn't take the crying, "seeing someone cry so much in front of me, I couldn't not comfort them..."

"And in comparison, what did I do?" Jidanbo suddenly asked, while at the same time suddenly getting onto his feet with a strange happy look in his eyes, as if Ichigo's act of comforting him had somehow changed his mind, "I sobbed like a baby because my axes broke. I'm a disgrace to all men. It's a total defeat. As both a warrior and as a man, I lost totally to you! As I said, it has been three hundred years since I became the guardsman of the Gate of the White Way, and I've never lost once in that amount of time. You are the first one to defeat me... as such I, Jidanbo Ikkanzaka, give you and your followers permission to pass through the Gate of the White Way."

Of course as Jidanbo turned towards the gate, and everyone gathered behind him so they could finally enter the Seireitei, Uryu was the only one that had an objection to Jidanbo calling Ichigo their 'leader', since that was supposed to be what Yoruichi was, but Chad moved a hand over his mouth and shook his head, indicating that it was wise to accept it for the moment and get inside while Jidanbo was being nice. Of course Uryu used Ichigo's last name and Ichigo had to tell Jidanbo that his name was Ichigo Kurosaki, only to clarify that his name meant 'first place' for the 'ichi' part and 'guardian angel' for the 'go' part, only for that to pass over the giant's head as he warned him, and the others, that there were nothing but strong guys on the other side of the gate. When Ichigo told him that they knew that, however, Jidanbo didn't actually seem to care, though he did squat down for a moment and grabbed the underside of the gate, which he heaved up with all his strength, allowing the group to observe as the gatekeeper opened the gate before their very eyes. Sombra figured that it would require a lot of strength to open such a large gate, and it appeared that he was being proven correct in his thoughts, though as Jidanbo moved under the gate, however, it seemed like he was frozen in fear.

As Sombra stepped forward, and was followed by a curious Ichigo, he discovered that the reason Jidanbo had stopped was because of a man that appeared to be in his early to mid twenties, who was unusually thin and tall with very sharp features, giving him a skeletal appearance of sorts, and happened to have unusual silver colored hair. The only odd thing about him, besides the white haori, without the sleeves as he noticed, that was resting over his normal Shinigami attire, was the fact that his eyes were narrowed to the point where they looked like slits, and Sombra noticed that his Zanpakuto appeared to be a wakizashi, instead of a katana.

"Who's that guy?" Ichigo asked, as he had no idea who the person was or why Jidanbo was so scared of him, because all he knew was that this person would need to be taken out if he and the others were going to be able to get inside the Seireitei and begin the search for where they were keeping Rukia.

"Th... That's the Captain of the Third Division," Jidanbo replied, though his voice revealed that he was terrified, which made sense to Sombra, who had felt the sheer power of Byakuya when he released his full power back in the World of the Living and already knew that Captains weren't to be underestimated, "Gin Ichimaru!"

"Interesting," Sombra said, to which he raised one of his hands to his chin as he thought about something, as he was trying to remember what he had learned shortly after Byakuya stated that he was an Arrancar, before recalling that there were thirteen Divisions in the Gotei 13, "Hey Jidanbo, you wouldn't happen to know what Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki commands, would you?"

"B... Byakuya Kuchiki?" Jidanbo inquired, though at the same time Ichigo glanced at Sombra, trying to figure out why he wanted to know which Division the Shinigami that had nearly killed him commanded, before turning his attention to the captain in front of them, "He's the Captain of the Sixth Division."

"Hey, that ain't right at all." Gin commented, turning their attention back to him for a moment, even though his focus was on someone else entirely, though for Ichigo and Sombra it was hard to tell who that someone was, but at the same time Sombra had the feeling that he knew who the Captain was staring at.

In the following few seconds Sombra noticed Captain Gin draw his Zanpakuto for a moment and heard the sound of Jidanbo in pain, where he watched as the giant's right arm, everything from the hand up to his shoulder, was severed in an instant and forced the others that were behind the giant to move as the arm hit the ground, while at the same time the unfortunate giant lowered to one knee and rested the gate on his back.

"That ain't right." Gin stated, though at the same time he left the stance that he was in and faced the trio that was currently standing in front of him, while at the same time Sombra knew that he was more focused on Jidanbo, "The gatekeeper ain't there to open the gate."

"I lost." Jidanbo replied, though as he spoke both Ichigo and Sombra could hear the pain in his voice, indicating that he was struggling against the pain that his body was in at the moment, but while Ichigo focused on the giant for a moment Sombra faced the Captain, "A defeated gatekeeper opening the gate... makes perfect sense!"

"What are you talking about?" Gin inquired, where Sombra frowned for a moment, as he was talking with a tone that reminded him of Captain Byakuya's tone, only that it sounded like someone that was used to getting his way and punished others when they failed, "A defeated gatekeeper doesn't open any gates. When a gatekeeper's defeated, it means death."

That was followed by Ichigo rushing forward and bringing his Zanpakuto down, forcing Gin to draw his for a moment to defend himself, before the two of them were forced away from each other, though that was followed by Ichigo stating that anyone that was going to attack an unarmed man, or anyone for that matter, was his to kill. Yoruichi, on the other hand, called for Ichigo to pull back, as this wasn't the sort of fight that he was able to win at the moment, but Ichigo wasn't going to have any of that, as he claimed that he could finish a fight with Gin in a matter of seconds, only for Gin to interrupt them for a moment.

"You're Ichigo Kurosaki?" Gin inquired, causing Ichigo to stop what he was doing at the moment and turn towards him, though his tone caused Sombra to tense, as there was something in the way he said those words that raised alarm bells in his head, even if Ichigo didn't seem to think that way.

"You know about me?" Ichigo replied, because the only Shinigami, besides Rukia, that knew about him were the ones that had captured her, her brother Byakuya and Renji, though at the same time that only made him tighten his grip on his Zanpakuto as he prepared for whatever was coming next.

"Oh, so it really is you." Gin remarked, though at the same time he turned around and started to walk away from the gate, as if he was letting them into the Seireitei, but Sombra knew that the Captain wasn't about to let them do that, "Then that's all the more reason to make sure you and your friends don..."

Sombra, despite knowing that it would be better for them to retreat and not engage the Captain at the moment, drew his Zanpakuto as he flashed through the air, where a brief look of surprise appeared on Gin's face as he parried the incoming attack, shaking the ground around them for an instant, before he noticed his opponent raising his left arm for a few seconds. That was all he needed, as he twisted his wrist for a moment and shifted where his Zanpakuto was hitting, where the tip of his blade cut through the fabric of the clothing above his left arm, though Sombra mentally smiled for a moment as a small gash appeared on Gin's arm and a few drops of blood fell from Shokyo's tip. A few seconds later Sombra separated himself from his current opponent, who seemed to frown for a moment as he looked at his left arm, as if he wasn't expecting that, but that was when he decided to stop messing around and called out the Release Call and the name of his Zanpakuto, which was 'Shoot to Kill, Shinso'... thought that was followed by Ichigo, who raised Zangetsu to protect his chest, getting hit in the center of his body and was knocked right into Jidanbo, where they were forced back into the Rukongai area of Soul Society.

Sombra glared at the Captain for a moment, wondering if he could take him and then find some way to meet up with the others later for a few seconds, before he turned around and flashed through the opening that was getting ready to close, though once he was on the other side he immediately turned back towards the gate as it closed. The only thing he saw was Captain Gin waving 'bye-bye' at them as the gate finally closed and cut them off from the inner part of the Seireitei, though as Sombra sheathed Shokyo he had the feeling that they'd cross paths with some powerful foes once they finally got inside the massive area that was blocked off at the moment... and he was sure that Yoruichi might have something in mind to help them do just that.

Comments

[Ze1a7in]

Jidanbo sounds like a fun guy to have at parties.

[Emperorxeno]

Moar!! Also, you’re doing good!

[Cosmic Flare]

The party is getting started!!

[Silent_Knight]

I think that this is good enough for what Urahara-san wants."

Yup ichigo gets his ass whupped and he goes from "mr. Hat-and-clogs" to proper respect in record time. Seems legit

[HeartfireFirebrand]

When Jidanbo swung his first axe attack, however, Sombra didn't even bother to draw Shokyo from her sheath, as it wasn't necessary to do something like that at the moment, and raised his right hand into the air, where he blocked the attack with just the palm of his hand.

Yeah Ichigo stops your attacks with his weapon but Sombra can do that with hands. Fighting him would be foolish

[Black--Soul]

Comedy relief enemy. Check.

Sooo... The Gate keeper is one average or weak Warrior. Inefficent...

[Black--Soul]

That was followed by Ichigo rushing forward and bringing his Zanpakuto down, forcing Gin to draw his for a moment to defend himself, before the two of them were forced away from each other, though that was followed by Ichigo stating that anyone that was going to attack an unarmed man, or anyone for that matter, was his to kill. Yoruichi, on the other hand, called for Ichigo to pull back, as this wasn't the sort of fight that he was able to win at the moment, but Ichigo wasn't going to have any of that, as he claimed that he could finish a fight with Gin in a matter of seconds, only for Gin to interrupt them for a moment.

But he has one arm left since his left arm is still there