Shinigami goes Yokai

XxX

Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD, Bleach or any other franchise that may be mentioned during this fanfiction.

"I will not give up!" People speaking

"I will not give up!" People thinking

"Call out my Name!" Zanpakutō/Sacred Gear/Dragon talking

"Be calm." Zanpakutō/Sacred Gear/Dragon thinking

XxX

Chapter 06: Gathering Allies

XxX

Ichigo was inside of Yasaka's personal dojo in 'their' palace, yes, Yasaka still refused to stop her teasing of Ichigo's situation. He still blushed in embarrassment whenever she teased him about being Kunou's father and it didn't look like Yasaka would stop anytime soon.

Ichigo currently was dressed in an outfit that strongly resembled his Shihakushō he wore as a Shinigami, to be more precise it resembled his first outfit as a soul reaper, an unassuming black Shihakushō.

He went through some Zanjutsu stances Tsukuyomi taught him, wielding Sugari no Ontachi in her sealed form. The beautiful white Zanpakutō vibrated in content as her wielder showed his appreciation as they went through the movements as one.

Even if Ichigo no longer considered himself to be a Shinigami, he would never stop treating his partners like any Shinigami should. He never understood how it could be that the soul reapers began to see their Zanpakutō as weapons and no longer treated them as a part of their being like they should.

Zaraki was a prime example, he treated his Zanpakutō like it was nothing more than his weapon and he still managed to gain the position of Captain in the Seireitei. Well, Zaraki's men weren't better, Ikkaku refused to use his Ban-Kai out of fear that his captain might be displeased and Yumichika didn't use his Zanpakutō's true power because it was a Kido type.

Hopefully the eleventh would change in the coming weeks and months, otherwise they would be hard pressed against the Quincy's assault.

"That's true…" Jitō commented from his inner world. "Imagine the powerful warrior Zaraki could be if he managed to unlock his Ban release. From the memories I saw, Zaraki is already a powerful man but he is weak compared to other captains because he refuses to work with his Zanpakutō, if he could realize this himself, he surely would be among the strongest of Soul Society."

Ichigo nodded in agreement before he took a deep breath, "Jitō, you ready?" he asked his partner for this dance.

"Always."

Ichigo smirked, it was time to see what Sugari no Ontachi was capable off.

"Lo, our great Sovereign, a goddess,

Tarries on the Thunder

In the clouds of heaven!"

Ichigo's body began to emit blue sparks of electricity and Sugari no Ontachi began to glow brightly.

"Sugari no Ontachi!"

Ichigo shouted the name of his Zanpakutō and finished the release chant.

The entire dojo was blinded by a flash of light as Ichigo's Zanpakutō was released into it's Shi-Kai state for the first time. Once the light dimmed and Ichigo's form became visible again, Sugari no Ontachi's true form became visible.

Gone was the beautiful white Katana and in its place was an equally beautiful ornate spear. It had a long white shaft that had ornate golden engravings, the tip of the spear had a silver blade and golden ornaments. The entire weapon gave off an aura of absolute power and demanded obedience by everyone that gazed upon it and its wielder. It was truly the Zanpakutō of an Emperor, Sugari no Ontachi was one of a kind, truly deserving of the title strongest Elemental Zanpakutō.

"Beautiful…" Ichigo muttered as he allowed his eyes to wander over the spear he held in his right hand.

"Why thank you." Jitō said in amusement, clearly happy that her new wielder was pleased with her Shi-Kai state.

"But I think we'll have a little problem, I never wielded a spear before." Ichigo said out loud while clumsily moving the longer weapon around, trying to get a feel for it.

He could hear Sugari chuckle in his mind, "just act the way you'll always have, and you will soon be able to wield me like a master. But for now, let me show you some movements."

Ichigo nodded and allowed Jitō to lead him through the movements to wield a spear, he went through different thrusts, blocks, slashes and rotations. It wasn't perfect but he could at least attack and defend himself with the spear, still he would need training to fully master Sugari no Ontachi to her fullest potential.

Unbeknownst to Ichigo two pairs of eyes followed his every movement with rapt attention. Yasaka and Kunou had arrived a few minutes ago to see what the little girl's father was up to, as they saw him completely engrossed in his training they decided to sit aside and watch what he would do.

To say they were shocked when they heard him utter some words and see his weapon transform was an understatement. While Yasaka was aware of Ichigo's past and heard the tales of the Zanpakutō's prowess, it was still spectacular to see such fabled powers with her very own eyes. Ichigo was welding a weapon capable of reaping souls after all, any being, mortal or not, should fear this power and respect it.

Kunou on the other hand had sparkling eyes, the little girl couldn't believe how awesome her father was… She would get him to teach her stuff like that! She would be just as awesome as her father!

Slowly Ichigo got the hang of wielding a polearm instead of a cleaver or a sword, it was different but not exactly in a bad way, he could already see the value in having more reach and being able to keep opponents at bay. It certainly would've been useful in some of the tougher battles he had to go through in the past.

"Are you saying that I wasn't good enough?" Ichigo began to sweat slightlyas his true Zanpakutō cut into his thoughts. "While I might not be our hollow friend, I still am very much capable of making your life hell, Kingie."

Ichigo shuddered as Zangetsu mimicked his hollows voice perfectly, "N-no, I didn't mean it like that!"

"That's what I thought." Zangetsu hmpfed before going quite again all the while Sugari's giggling could be heard.

Ichigo sighed in relieve, who knew that Zangetsu could have a vengeful side? Damn he really needed to watch what he thought about from now on. It wouldn't do to have Zangetsu as an enemy, would it?

With a small shake of his head Ichigo went back to practicing the stances Sugari told him to use…

While Ichigo trained in peace and quiet Yasaka couldn't suppress the small blush that rose to her cheeks as he watched that hunk of a man train himself. She wasn't ashamed of her more feral side she had due to being a Kyubi and Ichigo certainly woke feelings she had buried with the death of her mate almost six years ago.

It was hard on her but ever since the death of Kunou's real father she never gave into her lust again and suppressed every feeling of lust or heat that came up. It was hard but certainly not impossible, mainly due to the fact that there were no men in Kyoto that could get her going…

Now though, with a powerful and handsome man right in front of her… Damn, things were going to be hard on her that's for sure. Not only was Ichigo a powerful, handsome and friendly individual, he also had his heart at the right spot, was a good role model, exceptionally good with children and had a soft spot for her daughter.

How he was still single was beyond Yasaka… In the world she knew and lived in her entire life, any woman would've counted her lucky stars at the chance of gaining even half the man Ichigo was. Many supernatural females settle for sharing a man with many others simply because the man was decent and not a complete asshole.

Someone like Ichigo could have a harem large enough to make King Solomon jealous and then some.

Well, that was another mystery about the man in front of her that she needed to solve.

XxX

It has been a little over three weeks since Ichigo arrived in Kyoto and already things picked up for the Shinto and Yokai factions.

The devils replied to Yasaka's warning in agreement, they wouldn't cause any problems for her and her faction as long as Yasaka promised to keep the incident buried and didn't mention the fact that another devil went against the Satan's orders.

Other than that, Ichigo has been keeping Kyoto's streets clean of any filth, he still allowed other races to come to Kyoto and spend some quality time there but if anyone acted out, well they were dealt with according to the severity of their actions against the Yokai. Some were thrown out and told to never return, others simply vanished without a trace…

It was safe to say that the fallen angels and many other races became weary to go to Kyoto for a quickie with some slutty Yokai girls or guys.

The relationship between Ichigo and the little fox-girl that was still convinced that he was her father also continued to grow, no matter what he thought at first, Ichigo truly began to see the girl as a part of his family.

He couldn't claim that he felt comfortable at the thought of calling her his daughter but that was mainly due to the fact that he wasn't actually ready to be a father anytime soon. He was willing though to see Kunou as a little sister figure and he treated her as such, he didn't mind the fact that Kunou clung to him like glue, it was cute and reminded him of a younger Yuzu.

"So Ichigo, how have you been liking it here in Kyoto?" Yasaka asked the young Kyubi that sat across from her on a couch in her homes living-room.

It was about ten in the evening and Kunou was already asleep leaving the two adults alone. Ichigo looked up from the newspaper he read, old habits die hard and he was still interested in how the human world was doing, so he read the news to keep up with things.

"Hm, well… it's a new experience I suppose, though it has been a good experience so far." Ichigo answered in a calm tone, "I never would've thought that leaving Karakura behind would be that easy to me…" he muttered the last part quietly.

"I think that some distance from the town that caused you so much pain in the past was actually a good thing for you." Yasaka mused out loud.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow before he smiled slightly, "I guess. Anyway, I quite enjoyed my time here so far, things have been refreshing and even though I miss my friends, I'm content in knowing that they will do fine without me. If something should happen, I can always interfere…"

"I'm glad to hear that Ichigo, our little girl would be sad if you suddenly left." Yasaka smirked but soon pouted as she noticed that Ichigo only looked at her blankly, she wanted to see him blush damnit!

"You're still going on about that? Here I thought that we Kitsune are supposed to be cunning… I may have been embarrassed about my predicament about two weeks ago but after being constantly teased by you my embarrassment wore off. Don't tell me that is all the great Yasaka-sama is capable off?" Ichigo smirked, it was time for some payback.

"Oh really? Do you really want to challenge me to that game I~chi~go~kun?" The young Kyuubi's smirk vanished as Yasaka's persona of a caring mother and strong leader changed and was replaced by a sultry woman that gave him the most alluring bedroom eyes he ever saw. "If you truly wish to see what a female Kitsune is capable off, I would be happy to show you…"

Blood rushed to Ichigo's face as Yasaka leaned towards him, giving the young man a good view of her cleavage. His old prudish nature immediately resurfaced, and he once again proved that Rukia was onto something by calling him strawberry, his face currently resembled one.

"And there we have the blush I wanted to see…" Yasaka smirked, damn was it a boost to her ego to turn a hunk like Ichigo into a blushing mess by showing some cleavage.

Ichigo turned away from the smirking woman while muttering, "That was uncalled for…" causing the older Kitsune to giggle slightly.

Their relationship was certainly developing into a really close friendship and both of them couldn't wait to find out where it would lead them…

XxX

-(Kisuke's Shoten)-

Yoruichi Shihōin was certainly not a woman that could be described as calm and collected, she also wasn't someone known for her patience. Most of all though, Yoruichi wasn't a woman to be trifled with and no one would get away with playing her for a fool.

Especially not her little prodigy gone AWOL…

The nerve of that brat to just up and leave like that! The nerve of that brat to lie to her! The nerve of that brat to plan a conspiracy against Soul Society without telling her! HER! The former fucking captain of the Stealth Force!

Secrets were her thing!

"I-I'm gonna skin him alive!" she ranted in her mind while pacing circles in Kisuke's Shoten.

Said owner of the little shop was cowering in a corner, hugging his loyal sidekick and friend, Tessai, close to him while shuddering violently. He never saw Yoruichi being this pissed off and he never thought that he would either, not even Aizen managed to get this reaction out of her.

Thinking about it Kisuke nearly face palmed, it would've been so goddamned easy to defeat Aizen, all he needed to do was piss Yoruichi off like this.

Aizen wouldn't have lasted a minute!

"C-calm down Yoruichi! Ichigo didn't exactly have a choice, he was acting on the will of freaking Gods-"

"Do I look like I care!? So, what if he acted on the will of Gods!? WE too carry the title of Gods you idiot! We're Death Gods! If I'm not completely mistaken, we're kind of important to natures system, aren't we? My little prodigy went out on an amazing adventure to kick some major ass and didn't tell me about it!" Yoruichi complained loudly.

Kisuke and Tessai both sweat dropped, "wait a minute, you've been ranting here for two hours, because Ichigo will kick ass without you?" Kisuke asked his best friend slowly.

"Of course! I'm all for his plan of leaving the Soul Society hanging high and dry, or at least making them think that he is, but I wanna be part of that scheme!" Yoruichi cried out with fake tears streaming down her face.

Kisuke facepalmed, "you really are something else Yoruichi…"

"Damn right I am, I also haven't forgiven him for playing dead like he did…" Yoruichi reminded the Shop owner, "he still will receive his just beating for that as well!"

"So, what are you going to do now?" Kisuke asked as he stood up from his cowering position.

"I don't know to be honest. I want to just barge into Kyoto and confront the Strawberry, but I'm not sure how the Yokai would react." Yoruichi pouted, why couldn't things be easy.

Kisuke sighed, "listen just do what you want Yoruichi. You, Tessai and I aren't Soul Reapers anymore and Ichigo is a big player in the Shinto religion now, so he would do nothing if you dropped by in Kyoto."

"You think so?" Yoruichi perked up.

Kisuke nodded, "as I said we aren't connected to Soul Society officially anymore so this can't be used politically in any way, more so you are actually closer tied to Yokai as you are to Shinigami with you family's connection to Nekomata."

Yoruichi had to give Kisuke right about that little tidbit, her family was very closely tied to Yokai due to an ancestor that was a Yokai. "You're right! I will go and greet my prodigy and then I'm going to kick his ass!"

"Forgive me Ichigo." Kisuke thought mournfully.

XxX

-(Kyoto)-

Ichigo was getting ready to leave for his home in Karakura Town, he told his father that he would return soon but now it has been over a month that he spend in Kyoto. Yasaka and Kunou were with him in their palaces huge living room, both wanting to see him off properly.

"Are you sure that you have to leave Otou-sama?" Kunou asked lowly, her little fox ears clung to her little head and her tails laid on the ground.

Ichigo smiled and kneeled down in front of Kunou, "don't you worry Chibi-hime, I'm going to be back in a week or so, okay?" he petted her head and scratched her behind her fox-ears, causing them to perk up slightly.

Kunou looked into her father's eyes, "you promise?"

"I promise." Ichigo said before standing up and turning to Yasaka, "it was nice being here, but I need to make sure that things in Karakura Town run smoothly and I need to tell my family that I'm alright."

"Don't worry I understand, and you will always have a place in this palace, just make sure that you return soon. Kyoto and the Shinto faction needs it's protector…" Yasaka wanted to include that she needed him as well, but she wasn't too sure of those feelings just yet. All she was sure off was that Ichigo grew on her and she considered him to be a true member of her little family and an important friend to herself.

"I will and if something should happen give me a call and I will be here in the blink of an eye." Ichigo said to Yasaka before he turned to Kunou once more, "and you little lady be strong and watch out for you mother alright?"

Kunou nodded her head vigorously before she jumped into her fathers' arms and hugged him tightly. "I will! Just come home soon!"

Ichigo and Yasaka chuckled and the young man nodded his head in agreement while hugging the little fox-girl back. After a few moments Ichigo placed Kunou down and opened a teleportation circle for himself and stepped into it.

In a flash of light, he was gone…

XxX

-(Karakura Town)-

A teleportation circle opened high above the clouds in Karakura Town, Ichigo stepped out of it and once more he took on the appearance of his former human form. He smiled slightly as he looked at his family's clinic down on the ground, but he had to do something else right now…

He flash-stepped to Kisuke's shoten and opened the Shoji doors before stepping in, he looked around the familiar store and searched for his mentor. "Hmm, where is that bucket hat wearing maniac hiding?" Ichigo mumbled to himself.

"Ahh Kurosaki-dono, how can I help you this fine day?" Tessai said as he came from the back of the shop. "Kisuke and Yoruichi just talked about you."

"Oh, they did? I just wanted to ask Hat 'n Clogs how the preparations for the Quincy were going." Ichigo said pleasantly.

"Well, then just head into the back room, Kisuke and Yoruichi should still be there, though be warned, Yoruichi is very angered by your recent behavior and she is out for your pelt." Tessai said with some humor in his voice.

Ichigo paled slightly and shuddered, "great, I guess I should get ready for a few rounds of Flash-tag." He muttered before he passed Tessai and walked into the back of the Shoten.

Rounding a few corners Ichigo came to the room he knew Kisuke used for all meetings, he opened the Shoji doors and saw Kisuke and Yoruichi conversing with each other. "Hey there, sorry to interrupt but I need to talk to you Kisuke."

Yoruichi's head snapped to the door of the room and her eyes widened as she noticed her prodigy casually standing there as if nothing ever happened. "You!" She shouted and stormed up to Ichigo before giving him a bone crushing hug. "I was so goddamned worried about you Ichigo."

Ichigo was surprised, he expected to get punched through a few walls and not hugged tightly like that. He broke out of his stupor and hugged Yoruichi back gently, "ahh, sorry about worrying you like that, I should've talked with you about my plans after the Shinigami left back for Soul Society."

"Yes, you should've done that and don't even think that I'm through with you, I will kick your ass for worrying me that much. Once I've done that, I will kick you ass for keeping me out of you little schemes against Soul Society and going out on an adventure without me!" Yoruichi shouted after she released Ichigo from her hug.

Kisuke chuckled in the background, damn was it fun to see Ichigo getting scolded like a little kid.

Ichigo sighed and hung his head in acceptance, "I figured as much… But back to why I'm here, how have things gone Kisuke?"

"They've gone well Ichigo, I've begun to train Yuzu and Karin in earnest, they've cursed me to the depths of hell, yes even your soft-spoken sister cursed, quite loudly but they both improved nicely. They aren't ready for a real fight and won't be for quite some time, but they can become true Shinigami now and I believe that Isshin will cut their Soul Chain any day now and then we'll give them their Zanpakutō's." Kisuke explained with a smile.

Ichigo nodded, "that's good but how are the other's handling themselves?"

Kisuke rubbed his chin in thought, "I can't say for sure, Sado and Uryū have been training somewhere private and haven't showed themselves much. From our friends in Soul Society I've managed to gather that all the young Shinigami with Shi-Kai are ordered to try to achieve Ba-Kai, the Head Captain also took more control back from Central, but the nobles are pushing him to order your return to the Seireitei, even by force if necessary."

Ichigo smirked at the last part, something that didn't go unnoticed by Yoruichi and Kisuke, "let them try. For all I care they could send an entire division after my ass but all they would get is a bunch of injured Shinigami and a humiliating defeat."

Kisuke and Yoruichi chuckled at that, "well, other than that, your friends have been training themselves into the ground. Rukia is trying to achieve Ban-Kai while Renji is bettering his own, the eleventh division has been ordered to stop their idiocy and allow their fighters to use any ability in their arsenal, and the captains of the other divisions too have been ordered to increase their training regime."

"I see, that's good I suppose, any other changes in Soul Societies policy I should be aware off?" Ichigo asked his mentor.

"Well, the older captains are pushing for a change, but the Head Captain is still indecisive. It seems like he does want to change the ways of the Shinigami but right now with the Quincy threat on the Horizon he can't really change the fundamentals of Soul Society." Kisuke explained with a tired sigh. "How have things gone on your end?"

Ichigo thought about Kisuke's question for a few moments before he decided to answer, "so far so good I would say. I have managed to create myself a foothold in the Yokai faction of Kyoto and became acquainted with Kyoto's leader and her family, many of the Yokai have accepted me with open arms and look up to me for my strength but there are problems as well…"

Yoruichi perked up at that and turned to Ichigo, "what problems?"

Ichigo sighed and combed a hand through his hair, "Yokai aren't held in very high regards in the Supernatural community. I haven't met many warriors of the Yokai faction yet, but those that I did meet seemed unorganized and underequipped, wielding simple Katana's, Spears and other Steel weapons while being dressed in feudal armor or Shrine servant garb. When I arrived in Kyoto, I came upon a group of men trying to kidnap Kyoto's princess, the daughter of Kyoto's leader and if I didn't interfere, they would've been successful. From what I've been told the princess was protected by some of Yokai kinds finest guards, yet a group of ten people, none of them stronger than a Lieutenant in Soul Society, managed to take out six of the Yokai factions finest without losing a single man in doing so."

Kisuke and Yoruichi frowned at that, "damn, seems like you've got your work cut out for yourself. But seriously, Steel Weapons!? Here I thought that we Shinigami live in the past…" Yoruichi muttered, she could hardly believe that Supernatural beings would use inferior weapons to even human firearms. Even if the Shinigami lived in the past, they had their Zanpakutō as well as Kido to defend themselves with.

"I'm afraid that it's the truth, then again so far I've only met Kyoto's Yokai faction. There is apparently a faction in Europe and another one somewhere here in Japan, I haven't been told much about those other two factions but they all work together, so I at least won't have to worry about a small civil war going on in the faction that I am to protect." Ichigo said as he sat down at the small table in the room.

"I see, but can you tell me more about the Yokai faction as a whole? It seems to be very interesting and maybe Yoruichi and I could help you out some?" Kisuke asked as he too sat down across from Ichigo.

"Kisuke is right, I will join you in Kyoto anyway so I might as well get up to speed on how things are run there." Yoruichi said as she joined the two men.

"You will? Why?" Ichigo asked the dark-skinned woman.

"Yep I will, my little bee isn't ready to give up her division yet and she is quite capable of leading it without me by her side, Kisuke and Tessai too can live without me lazing around the Shoten all day, besides my family has some ties to the Yokai, one of my ancestors was apparently a Nekomata giving us Shihōin the ability to change into felines. I don't know the full story and I'm not really on talking terms with the elders of my family to go and ask them about it, but I want to see if there is someone in Kyoto that can tell me more about my ancestors and heritage." Yoruichi explained.

Ichigo had to digest that information before looking at Yoruichi, "how did a noble family from Soul Society come into contact with Yokai?"

Yoruichi shrugged her shoulders, "beats me. It happened a long time ago and as I said, ever since I betrayed the Soul Society a hundred years ago my family hasn't contracted me once and I doubt that they would talk to me if I returned, so I can't ask them about it."

Ichigo nodded and turned back to Kisuke, "well what do you wanna know?"

"You said that the Yokai use steel weaponry, is that the only way they fight? No other abilities or powers?" Kisuke asked, he knew that there was more about Yokai than meets the eye, but he never had the time to study other species besides Shinigami, Hollows and Quincy so his knowledge on other races was very limited.

Ichigo began to explain some things about Yokai kind that he has learned from the Gods in Takama-ga-hara. Kisuke and Yoruichi listened in intrigue and were quite surprised by the raw potential a Yokai had in terms of fighting abilities. After a few minutes Ichigo finished his general explanation of the Yokai and their abilities, if he would've truly delved into everything, he knew about Yokai they would sit here for the next few hours.

"Interesting…" Kisuke muttered, "truly interesting, I think that you won't have a hard time in improving the Yokai faction's military, all you would need to do is to create a form of Academy that would teach young Yokai how to harness their powers, especially this Chakra you explained about, it seems far more potent than Magic and Yoki."

"You would also have to better equip the Yokai warriors, feudal armor and steel weaponry are a no go for any supernatural race. Even if you would give them firearms and modern military grade armor would be better than what they currently have, the best would be to find a way to give them real supernatural weapons and armor…" Yoruichi said as he thought about the things Ichigo explained to them, she could see herself getting along quite well with some of the Yokai she'd been told about.

"Yeah, I know, the problem is that I'm new to the greater Supernatural world and while the Gods have explained the necessary things to me, there is still so much I don't know. I don't know the general technology the other races in the universe have at their disposal as not even the Gods new much about other races…" Ichigo muttered, damn who would've thought that being in charge of a faction and race was such a hassle.

"So, you need spies and scouts?" Yoruichi asked with a smirk.

Ichigo looked at her as if she'd gone insane, "you crazy? The different factions around the world are already at each other's throats, the only reason the Shinto faction is left alone is because we haven't involved ourselves with anyone in ages."

Yoruichi pouted at that, "you're no fun… still once I am with you in Kyoto, we could sit down with the Yokai factions' leaders and talk about a way to bolster the military of your new faction. Create a training regime and possibly an Academy, what do you think?"

Ichigo nodded, "That sounds good."

"I could share some of my own technology with the Shinto faction, in return I would only want some deeper information on the races that are under the banner of the Shinto. I could also try to develop weapons that Yokai could use, weapons and armor that correspond to Chakra, Yoki and Magic but I would need a sample of those different energies so that I know what I'm working with." Kisuke said, getting a raised eyebrow from Ichigo.

"Aren't you occupied with finding a way to fight off the Quincy?" Ichigo asked the Shopkeeper.

"Please Ichigo, that fool Mayuri wants to do everything himself and even if he were to work together with me, we still wouldn't be able to do anything as long as we don't know what the Quincy are capable off or where they are hiding." Kisuke sighed, "helping you out would be a nice little project to clear my mind and who knows, if I extend my hand to the Yokai faction they might just return my kindness one day, it's always good to make new friends, ne?"

Ichigo chuckled and nodded, "that's true. Well, I need to get going, I still want to visit Chad and Uryū before heading home for a few days. By the way, you never mentioned how Orihime was doing? Did you already start her training?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"I have, Orihime and Arisawa-san are coming to the Shoten every day to get some exercise in, though I haven't been able to train them properly yet, as you can probably imagine, my schedule was full for the last few weeks." Kisuke chuckled slightly.

"You're training Tatsuki as well?" Ichigo asked in surprise.

"Yes, after you came clean, she wanted to become stronger and who am I to deny her? Besides, she has quite the interesting power, one that made even Yoruichi jealous." Kisuke smiled mysteriously and flipped open his trusty fan to hide his lips with it.

Now Ichigo was interested, he looked to Yoruichi and noticed that she had indeed an annoyed look on her face, "well, don't keep me waiting. What's so special about Suki's powers that even the Goddess of flash is annoyed about it?"

"Arisawa-san has the ability to double her power four times, it's very interesting and something I've never seen before." Kisuke said.

"Hax, that's what her power is…" Yoruichi muttered.

"What's so special about increasing one's power four times? If I went into my Ban release, I would increase my power up to a hundred-fold." Ichigo wasn't exaggerating either.

"That's you Ichigo and you are a special case, the typical Shi-Kai release increases a Shinigami's power three to five times. The typical Ban-Kai increases a Shinigami's power ten times, Arisawa-san's still untrained ability allows her to increase her base power sixteen times, twice with the first increase, four times with the second, eight times with the third and sixteen times with the fourth. In short, Arisawa-san may have an ability that has the potential of outclassing a Captains Ban-Kai, which is unbelievable considering that she is a human." Kisuke explained.

Now Ichigo was impressed, he seriously forgot for a moment that comparing Tatsuki's power to his own was a bit unfair. It was an unusual ability that was for certain, maybe he should look into it? It certainly would be good, that ability seriously sounded like those Sacred Gears Amaterasu told Ichigo about.

"But the scary thing about Arisawa-san's power is that I think it will still evolve like Sado's power did, so who knows how powerful she could become. The same could be said about Orihime's power, her too worries me greatly, the power to reject reality is not something that can be allowed to fall into the wrong hands…" Kisuke voiced his concerns, both Ichigo and Yoruichi nodded in agreement with the Shopkeepers assessment.

"You're right about that but let's worry about those things later, I seriously need to get going. Yoruichi I call you once I'm ready to head back to Kyoto, alright?" After receiving a nod from the were-cat Ichigo left the Shoten and headed for Chad's home.

He decided to walk today and enjoy the lively scenery of Karakura occupants going after their daily dealings. He smiled and greeted the people he passed getting waves in return, he had to admit that he slightly missed the old days, when everything was easy and all he had to worry about were the bullies at school as well as the insanities his father cooked up at home.

Now he was the 'father' of a six-year-old girl and started to develop some feelings for his fellow Kyubi, feelings he didn't know what to do with. He was sure that Yasaka wasn't interested in him, he was after all just a boy and had so much more to learn. Not only that, he was also tasked with protecting a complete faction, something that weighted on his mind ever since he was resurrected, he still wasn't certain if he was capable of living up to the god's expectation.

Only time would tell Ichigo supposed, for now he was content with doing the best he could and find out if it was enough.

He rounded some corners and soon arrived at the Apartment complex his Mexican friend lived at, he walked up some stairs and soon arrived at his friends' doors, he knocked a few times, but no one seemed to be at home.

"Well, doesn't seem like he's at home. I wonder where he could be?" Ichigo thought, he stretched out his senses and tried to locate Chad's spiritual pressure, after a few seconds of searching he found it and it seemed too be only a few blocks away from him, Ichigo couldn't help but smile as he noticed that Chad seemed to be several times stronger than the last time, he met him.

Ichigo used shunpo to quickly get to Chads location and in only a few flash steps he was on a building overlooking a small park in Karakura where he found Chad, sitting by a small pond while playing his guitar.

Ichigo jumped down from the building and began to walk up to Chad, stopping a little ways away from the dark-skinned man to allow him to finish playing the guitar in peace. Chad was an amazing musician and Ichigo enjoyed the piece the dark-skinned teen played greatly, it was a clam and slow song that had a slightly melancholic edge to it.

Ichigo leaned his back against a tree and closed his eyes as he listened to the music until Chad finished, with a sigh Ichigo pushed off the tree and walked up to the park bench Chad sat on.

"Hey there, how are ya doing my friend?" Ichigo asked with a wave.

Chad perked up and his one visible eye widened slightly, "Ichigo, what are you doing here?" He asked in his deep baritone voice.

"I came to check on you and the others of course, did you honestly believe that I would turn my back on you guys?" Ichigo answered with his own question.

"Not even for a moment, it isn't in your character to betray anyone." Chas said with some amusement before he stood up and gave Ichigo a strong handshake, "it's good to see you again."

"Likewise, so how have you been?" Ichigo smiled as he and Chad sat down on the park bench.

"I've been good, had a lot of work and training to do but otherwise things have been smooth, how bout you?" Chad said.

"Hectic, very hectic." Ichigo chuckled slightly, "but not bad, how have the others been?"

"Uryū has been throwing himself into training as much as I did, I think there is some history between him and that Quincy King. Orihime too has managed to grow up slightly, she still hates violence but she's starting to realize that sometimes it can't be helped, and one needs to fight, mainly due to Tatsuki beating it into her head." Chad explained.

"I see, so how has Suki been, I've heard that she managed to grow into some power as well?" Ichigo asked.

"She has, became quite the powerful warrior in her own right, she always has been a spirited person with a strong will to fight and her martial arts is second to none. Now that she has received that power of hers, she became quite the capable fighter." Sado explained.

"I can imagine." Ichigo commented. "Kisuke has given me a quick rundown of Suki's new power and I have to admit, I'm impressed. Sounds like she will become someone to look out for in the future. But tell me, how have you been doing with your training? Anything I can help with?"

"No, nothing you could help with I'm afraid but I'm doing rather well. My powers have once more evolved so to speak, now instead of just covering my arms I have breastplate like armor protecting my vital areas. Not only that but my attack power too increased significantly; but that's not what I'm working on currently. I'm trying to increase my speed more than anything at the moment, I've learned in the past that it doesn't matter how strong I am if I cannot hit my opponents." Chad explained.

Ichigo whistled appreciatively and gave a curt nod of approval. The two friends continued to talk for a good hour or two before Ichigo had to take his leave.

Next on his to do list was to find Uryū and find out how he was doing.

From what Chad had told him, Uryū was throwing himself into training like never before and Ichigo was curious what that had to do with the Quincy King, Ryūken too seemed awfully interested in Yhwach.

Ichigo had to search for a while before he managed to find traces of his bespectacled friend's Reiatsu and he began to follow the trail until he found Uryū training on a deserted field on the outside of Karakura Town.

The entire field was shielded off from mortals by what seamed to be several Quincy Runes or Seals and Uryū himself was looking rather worst for wear. It seemed like the young Quincy had been here for hours; the field had several craters, some of them were still steaming ad giving off residual spirit particles.

Uryū stood in the middle of the field with his Spirit Bow raised high, his white Quincy garb was ripped, torn and dirtied on several places. From his position high in the sky, Ichigo could make out that Uryū's draw hand had several burns and his fingers were bleeding.

At first Ichigo had believed that Uryū had not noticed him but that changed once the bespectacled teen spun around and fired several Heilig-Pfeile at him. Ichigo was slightly surprised but his far superior speed made it easy to simply evade the attack by flashing away with a quick shunpo.

"I see that you're still as good at sensing Reiryoku as ever, Uryū." Ichigo said with a smirk as he appeared on the ground, standing a little away from the Quincy.

"Or it could be that you are just as bad as always at hiding yours." Uryū shot back, his lips curling into a smirk as he pushed his glasses up with a finger. "But I'm thankful that you came, I'm I need of a sparring partner and you just happen to fit the bill, so what do you say?"

"Sure, let's fight."

XxX

A/N: I'm so sorry for the long wait my friends!

I still hope that you enjoyed the chapter even if it was on the shorter side.

Now then, I hope that Sugary no Ontachi's Shi-Kai was satisfactory to you guys, her release chant is a Poem that Empress Jitō herself wrote, so I figured that it was more than appropriate.

Now as for Yoruichi, yes, I decided that it would be nice to make her partially Yokai through an ancestor in the Shihōin Clan, mainly to give her a reason to go with Ichigo.

Tatsuki's powers will be explained in later chapters, but I believe that I left enough clues that you should have no troubles figuring out what she was gifted with. (But no, it's not the Boosted Gear)

Another thing that I have decided on was the timeline of this fic, due to the helpful advice and ideas that several of my reviewers(you guys rock!) have kindly given me I decided that instead of making Kunou younger, the fic takes place several years before cannon.

To be more precise, the fic is exactly eleven years before Cannon starts. That will give Ichigo ample time to secure himself a name in the Supernatural World and amp up the Shinto Clans reputation and power to a degree that they will become relevant when Cannon begins.

So, with that out of the way, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter!

R&R

I wish you all a good time!

-Just4fun23000