The wind gently blew through the open window, the curtains swaying slightly as a result. While the teen inside the bedroom knew it was coming, he resigned himself to the fact it was completely ridiculous. Kurosaki Ichigo was waiting for the 'signal' or so he was told to do. He should have known that Kisuke was a man of theatrics by now. It had been the same months ago when he was called upon to meet Kisuke at his shop after his training had been completed when he first ventured forth to the Soul Society to rescue Rukia. It seemed long ago now. So much had happened after rescuing Rukia from her own execution which led into what he was told was the Seireitei's largest crisis being Sōsuke Aizen, the Arrancar, and the whole ordeal with the Winter War.

But, all of that was over now. Seireitei had come out on top, the War was over, the Arrancar defeated and those that weren't killed were forced back to Hueco Mundo and Aizen was detained for the next twenty thousand years from what Ichigo knew. Since Aizen could not be killed, execution was off the table and imprisonment was the only option. After all, for everything Aizen had done, a simple slap on the wrist wasn't possible.

After everything that had happened, Ichigo had been left completely powerless due to the events of the final battle between himself and Aizen, sometimes he had to wonder how his life had become so battle orientated. He had been just a normal high schooler with a strange ability to see ghosts, then he was a some kind of spirit warrior in the events of a war. But because of the use of the Final Getsuga Tensho, he had been left powerless. As far as the members of the Seireitei were concerned, he still was powerless. However, that wasn't the case. It was only just a few short weeks, not even a month had passed since he had awoken, and Rukia had disappeared right before his eyes. It was believed that once Ichigo used the Mugetsu, sacrificing all his power, he would return to the normal life he had before the events of that fateful night.

However Ichigo hadn't been idle during this time. No, Ichigo had regained a sense of himself back through rigorous training with Kisuke and Yoruichi. The only other person, other than these two who knew that he had been his closest friend, Yasutora Sado. In truth, it was all because of Chad that Ichigo had been able to discover this unknown power deep within him. After the origin of Chad's power had been found by Kisuke, it was easy for the Ex-Captain to trigger such a reaction in Ichigo, kick-starting Ichigo's powers once more. Ichigo could never thank Kisuke enough for what he had done, but Kisuke had informed him Ichigo deserved his respect and aide. Damn the rules of society.

Since the discovery of his new found power, Ichigo had delved into developing it, becoming accustomed to his new power as fast as he could. It took a few weeks, but now his power felt complete. While he didn't know how he knew that, it was more of an instinctual feeling and with how Kisuke had explained to both Ichigo and Sado, which their power was hollow related, he fully accepted the instinctual aspect of it after having had experience already dealing with his inner hollow prior. He believed that if he fought the idea of using Hollow abilities, something sinister like his inner hollow might once more emerge so he accepted it.

Even Sado had become stronger, once Ichigo was ready to practice alongside him once he had gotten his baring with his new power; both had jumped leaps and bounds in their strengths. Since their power relied on their own body's physical strength they were sure to keep it up. In a way, this had once again mended the friendship that had dwindled over the course of Ichigo's time as a Shinigami; the feeling of unease in Sado had been lifted now that Ichigo was on the same strength level and not soaring above where Sado believed he could never reach. It felt much like before, how they both relied on one another. But despite their even strength at the current time, Sado believed that Ichigo would soar high above soon enough, and he had no intention of being left behind by his best friend. Not again.

Ichigo didn't intentionally withhold the information that he had received a way to fight again, no, that decision was made by Kisuke. Even Ichigo's own Father didn't know about the change in his son's Reiryoku levels. Kisuke had made it perfectly clear that he had no intention of placing Ichigo in such a position to fight Soul Society's battles for them like he was forced to do with Aizen. Kisuke had made Ichigo and Sado swear to secrecy about the return of Ichigo's power, if it was somehow found out that Soul Society came to know of it, Kisuke believed that Ichigo might be targeted. While Ichigo didn't like hiding from his friends in such a way, he trusted Kisuke despite the unease in his heart and to be honest, he was enjoying himself. He didn't feel the tremendous weight of responsibility at having to look after Karakura Town; the Shinigami currently residing in Karakura was doing a good job. He had the freedom to explore his own powers with no shackles that Soul Society might have placed on him. It was somewhat enjoyable able to dive into his own powers now that he had the time to do so.

Ichigo had wondered why his newly regrown strength was a secret, but he figured that Kisuke was just keeping him out of Soul Society's line of sight, despite the fact that Ichigo had affected the other realms in a drastic way; he would still be subject to their laws despite him being human. His power as it was right now was solely that of a Hollow. While Chad's powers were still a question to the Seireitei, they had made no move to investigate either Sado's or Orihime's powers. Leaving them free to walk around freely for the time being, Kisuke would make efforts to keep the origins of their powers secret for as long as possible. It was told to both Ichigo and Sado that Orihime's powers were not like either of theirs; it didn't resemble that of a Hollow at all and was there for nothing to do with their own powers. So, as long as Chad's power was kept from the Soul Society he would have no troubles. After Central Forty Six was re-instated, Kisuke wanted to take no chances. Hence the secrecy.

Ichigo sat by the window fully dressed, wearing a black shirt underneath a white long sleeved jacket, white pants and white shoes, this time he had taken precautions of Kisuke's little retrieval habit of a balloon filled with an unknown substance to call upon people. In truth, Ichigo had no idea way Kisuke was requesting Ichigo and Chad so late, or earlier depending on your thoughts, it currently being 3:00am by what his alarm clock said. One thing did stick in the back of Ichigo's mind though; the way Kisuke had requested both Chad's coin from his Grandfather and the Substitute Badge from Ichigo. Both of these were used in manipulating their powers.

Kisuke, upon discovering how their powers worked, found that they were able to manipulate the souls contained within matter. Everything, even rudimentary objects such as lampposts and chairs possess a soul, however small. By using their power to "pull" on this soul, they can manipulate the object's movement or even alter its physical characteristics. By developing an affinity for a particular object, such as Chad's coin or Ichigo's substitute badge, items both had a strong bond with; they can alter its form, granting powers that vary greatly among individuals.

"He better not screw with my badge." Ichigo muttered as he leaned back against the window frame with more than enough room for any projectiles to whiz by him should for some 'unknown' reason that it might happen. Kisuke had told Chad and Ichigo earlier that he had a job in mind for the two; he was requesting them since he didn't want the Soul Society in the know just yet. What the job was, Ichigo had no idea and quite frankly it was unnerving him just how secret Kisuke was keeping it. He had even been secretive around Yoruichi. This had just irritated Yoruichi and made her more determined to kick their ass in training. Ichigo could still feel the blows she had landed on him before he called it a day and both he and Chad limped away from Kisuke's shop.

Casting his head back he looked up to the ceiling, a small smile tugging at his lips. Now that he had his powers back, he felt whole again. Not that he regretted what he had done when he used the Final Getsuga Tensho, but there had been a part of him that had been missing after he had awoken.

'Message Received'

Ichigo's eyes blinked in surprise as across the room sitting on his desk, the light of his phone was illuminating his room as the device vibrated on the desk slightly. Disregarding the fact it was way passed any reasonable time to send someone a message he shuffled across his bed, before looking at the phone and his surprised expression turned to a scowl. The message was from Kisuke.

'All preparations are complete, if you would please make your way over to the shop.' Ichigo could feel his hand tightening around his phone; he was about ready to throw that damn thing across the room, however...

'Message Received'

'P.S, Ichigo, if you thought you would stay awake with your window open, what do you think I am, a one trick pony?'

"Screw you Kisuke!" Ichigo growled to himself as he shoved the phone into his desk draw before slipping on his shoes, having already prepared them when he was getting ready to wait for Kisuke's message. Glancing out the window he swore he could see a glint in the sky, probably Kisuke watching off from the distance with some kind of telescope just to see Ichigo's reaction. Simply flipping the bird at the light he leapt out the window, the soles of his feet housed a green luminescent glow before he shot off across the sky. Karakura was not a lively part of Japan, so the streets were practically empty at this time of night, the odd car or two and a few street lights were on but other than that nothing. Ichigo landed in the clearing before Kisuke's place, the small shop located on the large block of land. It was a surprise that no one actually came to Kisuke's to buy anything with how suspect it looked to be.

"Ichigo." Chad's familiar voice reached him from behind causing Ichigo to look over his shoulder at the large teen standing a few meters behind him. Just as always, Chad stood tall due to his heritage, his build just as massive as ever.

"Morning Chad." Ichigo greeted in return as the two fell into step as they headed towards Kisuke's shop; the light was on so they had no problem with entering. The two entered like they always did and headed for the back of the store to where they knew Kisuke would be. Tessai was not present, nor was Yoruichi or Jinta and Ururu. As the two walked through the store, Ichigo looked around as he walked through the Shoten, remembering all the times he had sought Kisuke out for information on anything Soul Related that he didn't know himself or couldn't figure out. Kisuke was a well of information and secrets. The two entered the back room only to find it empty, they glanced at one another before looking to the hatch of the basement to see it slightly open, shrugging both teens opened the hatch and jumped down, using the same green light to slow their descent to the training ground below.

"You two finally made it." Kisuke chuckled from where he was sitting on a rock, his legs crossed with his bucket hat by his side. It wasn't often that you saw Kisuke without his trademark hat on his head.

"What's with all the secrecy Kisuke?" Ichigo questioned as both walked towards him.

"Hmm..." Kisuke hummed as he rubbed his chin looking at Ichigo before grinning. "Well, I've been asked by the Soul Society to look into something." He started.

"And that needs our attention why?" Ichigo questioned, still confused on the particulars. "You were rather frank about me not being discovered by the Soul Society yet, so why would you send me on a job for them?"

"Ah, a marvellous question." Kisuke nodded. "They simply won't know of your assistance, trust me on that." Kisuke explained rather seriously. "They simply believe me to be fixing a certain anomaly in the Dangai is all, what I need of you two is beyond that." He grinned, Ichigo and Chad both sweat dropped as they stared at the man. "Jinta and Ururu are busy with Tessai on another project, so I'm in need of two strapping young men I can put in harm's way." The grin on Kisuke's face didn't falter once.

"So... you're openly telling us you want to put us into danger for some experiment?" Ichigo questioned with a deadpan.

"I'm well aware that the both of you can handle yourselves, since training together you've become capable of handling yourselves against the majority of the hollows that you've come across, not to mention both of you together have been pushing Yoruichi." Both teens felt a bit of pride at those words, Yoruichi was no slouch and Ichigo knew Yoruichi was never one to hold back in training, from his prior experiences with her. He hadn't actually taken into account that both his and Chad's teamwork had come so far since training together. "So, without restraint I fully believe with the two of you working together and the experience the both of you two have I'm sure that you'll be fine."

"Can we know about the experiment before we agree?" Chad questioned making Kisuke pout.

"Then you might be inclined to say no..." He told them making both sweatdrop in unison. "But I'll tell you what I can." He agreed making both shake their heads, Kisuke should just get to the damn point sometimes, and it would save a lot of trouble in the long run. "My good old former subordinate, Mayuri Kurotsuchi." Both teens shuddered at the name of the Captain of the Squad Twelve, both knowing full well just how creepy the Captain was. "Has come across an anomaly within the Dangai that has caused a certain amount of discomfort, it has the Soul Society slightly concerned."

"What kind of anomaly?" Chad questioned.

"We're not fully sure." Kisuke told them. "But, upon inspection it's some kind of rift."

"A rift?" Ichigo questioned not understanding.

"Indeed, a rift to somewhere that leads neither to the Soul Society, nor to Hueco Mundo that can only be entered within the Dangai precipice world." Kisuke explained.

"So... where does it go?" Ichigo asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Don't know." Kisuke simply stated with a happy smile causing Ichigo to run his hand down his face, he should have expected as much. "If I knew that, I wouldn't need my two assistants."

"You're kidding!" Ichigo groaned at being forced into another of Kisuke's blatant excuse for an experiment. "You expect us to go into it!?"

"Would you be surprised if I said yes?" Kisuke questioned hesitantly getting blank stares from both teens in return they really wouldn't be surprised in the least. "Look, I know this is all very sudden, that you need all the time in the world to think of the possibilities that could happen." Both teens glanced at one another before turning back to Kisuke. "But in truth, there is really no one else I can ask this of." He stated seriously. "I'm a scientist; the rift opens up into a brand new world of possibilities I can't ignore it. I personally cannot go and if Soul Society had their way, I needn't explain what would happen now do I." Chad nodded while Ichigo rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I've bargained with the higher ups for time, meaning they've allowed me to quarantine the sections of the Dangai off until they've given me the go ahead."

"Then why not just wait for the go ahead?" Ichigo questioned. "Why drag us into it?"

"Because knowing what I know of Mayuri, the moment I'm given the go ahead, he'll take all the credit and make it his own research." Kisuke pouted getting a groan from Ichigo as Chad hung his head; this was just a massive petty grudge the two scientists have for one another! "Plus, nobody would expect the two of you to be involved."

"Oh yeah, and what happens when questions about our whereabouts get brought up?" Ichigo questioned in irritation.

"Don't worry; I have all that planned out." Kisuke waving away Ichigo and Chad's follow up questions. "So, we will now enter the Dangai, I will show you the anomaly rift, and you'll enter." Kisuke began. "Upon emerging the other side..."

"That's if we do emerge." Ichigo muttered to Chad who nodded in agreement.

"Ehem, once you do arrive." Kisuke began again with a glare at the two. "Ichigo, you'll communicate with me through the communication device in your badge." Kisuke stated tossing Ichigo the wooden object. Ichigo sighed but nodded, Kisuke had destroyed any and all traces of the Soul Society's surveillance on his badge once he had begun training again, only to insert his own that the Soul Society wouldn't be able to track, this allowed Kisuke to communicate Ichigo, whenever he saw was necessary. With Kisuke, it really wasn't necessary.

Several times Ichigo had awoken in the middle of the night with Kisuke whispering about his shops sails only for Ichigo to throw the badge into a draw just to shut it up. He had even awoke to Yoruichi trying to give him subliminal messages to hit on woman and get a date. It really wasn't for the best the two had unauthorised access like that.

"Why did you take his badge and my coin?" Chad questioned as Kisuke produced the coin and tossed it across to Chad, the large teen throwing the chain over his head and smiling as he held the coin in his grip.

"Great question!" Kisuke cheered joyfully only for Chad and Ichigo to groan in unison.

"Please just explain in layman terms." Ichigo stated, holding his hand up to stop Kisuke going on a random spout of nonsense that neither Chad or Ichigo would probably understand and being 3am, neither wanted to begin to understand.

"Fine, spoil sports ruin all my fun." Kisuke mumbled. "I implanted a way for me to locate either of you anywhere on the other side of the rift, also it will allow me to monitor your strength and how this other realm will affect your powers." Ichigo and Chad glanced at one another, seemed feasible, and if anything happened with either of their powers they at least knew who to blame it on. "Now, here is a pack of supplies, once it runs out you'll probably have to fend for yourselves." Kisuke explained as he picked up a large duffle bag at his feet and tossed it to Chad.

"Wait, just how long do you expect us to be over there for!?" Ichigo shouted at him as Chad caught the bag with ease; however Chad glanced down at the pack feeling a slight movement within. Kisuke simply looked up at them before simply shrugging. Ichigo face palmed, dragging his hand down his face with a groan. "Alright, I get why you want to send us to deal with whatever, I understand why you can't have Tessai, Ururu and Jinta do your dirty work, but why isn't Yoruichi involved?" Chad had to nod in agreement while a nod originated from the bag hidden from Kisuke and Ichigo while Chad was all too aware of it.

"What's wrong with a guy trip huh? You and Chad, Chad and you! Come on, you don't need a baby sitter!" Kisuke began to argue only for Ichigo to sweatdrop.

"You'd just miss her, is that it?"

"Pfft, no, in fact the complete opposite, I'd be more than happy to throw her into that rift for a while." Kisuke muttered to himself. "But with her suddenly disappearing it'll send alarm bells to Soul Society, which would then be a pain to deal with." Kisuke explained. "Not to mention, I have work for her to do."

"You mean, Soifon would be a pain." Ichigo retorted getting a grin from Kisuke in return. "You're a dumbass Kisuke, Yoruichi disappears for weeks at a time, I'm sure it would have sorted itself out." He began before recalling what he had just said. "We will be back in a few weeks time right!?" He growled.

"So how about we get into the Dangai and start of this little adventure hmm?" Kisuke ignored Ichigo's outburst as he turned to open the Senkaimon.

"Kisuke!"

Kisuke was grinning as he walked through the Dangai precipice world, with the Kōtotsu still being repaired after being completely destroyed by Aizen, the Kōryū was in a frozen state much like how it was when Ichigo had been training however instead of a single Shinigami like Isshin had done so, the entire Dangai had been stopped via the Kaikyō Kotei so that the scientists could work without worrying about the Kōryū. Chad and Ichigo now knew the reason as to why Kisuke had called them so late to enter this so called rift. The entire scientist team repairing the Kōtotsu would have returned to Soul Society at this time of night and there were no guards posted seeing as there was no need to be while the scientists weren't present. Kisuke led both of the teenagers through the Dangai instead of the straight and narrow path between the realms Kisuke led them through by a labyrinth of mazes. It was a wonder that Kisuke knew where he was going.

"Just up ahead." Kisuke assured the two, feeling their scepticisms that he was lost, the young they had no faith without a GPS. Just as Kisuke told them, around the next bend was a large chamber. Neither Chad nor Ichigo knew that the Dangai had such winding ways, always being straight and true to where they had to go. They never even thought it possible to explore the Dangai with the Kōtotsu. With it being destroyed by Aizen, it seems that there had been a few people curious to explore the place leading them to where they were now. In the centre of the area was the rift that Kisuke had told them. Neither of the two was expecting a tear in the centre of the room. It wasn't connected by anything, just a simple gateway into wherever it led. "Alright, this is it." Kisuke stated turning to face the two.

"No backing out now." Ichigo sighed, having come all this way and he wasn't about to bail on this now. He owed Kisuke for re-training him over the past few months after he had sacrificed his powers, if this was a way to start repaying him for that, he'd do it.

"Let's do it." Chad nodded in agreement, already knowing full well Ichigo had no incline to turn the task down despite his open annoyance to said task.

"Oh, just one thing before you two disappear into another realm of existence." Kisuke began walking towards Chad Ichigo tilting his head slightly as Chad nodded and handed out the duffel bag getting a grin from Kisuke who only shook the duffel bag roughly. Ichigo raised an eyebrow, not understanding the full extent of Kisuke's actions before an all too familiar black cat dropped from the bag causing him to sweatdrop.

"Gah Kisuke, what the hell!" Yoruichi groaned on the floor as Kisuke crouched down picking up the feline warrior by the back of her neck.

"Nah, ah uh Yoruichi, no skipping on work." Kisuke smiled only for a razor sharp set of claws to scratch his face. "Now, now, there is no need for that." Yoruichi folded her paws and glared at the shop keeper as he turned to Ichigo and Chad. "Well, now that our little stow away is dealt with, I guess I'll be seeing you... whenever." Ichigo's brow twitched still not sure on the whole basic time frame that this was going to take up.

"Keep up your training, don't be slacking off on me next time I see the two of you, you'll be in a world of hurt if you haven't kept your skills up." Yoruichi smirked at the two, less intimidating when she was a cat being held up by the scruff of her neck but both knew the threat was all too real.

"Yeah, yeah we get it." Ichigo waved it off as he walked towards the rift. "So how's this thing work..." He trailed off as he reached out his hand, the moment his hand passed through the rift he was sucked into it disappearing from sight. Chad glanced at Kisuke who ushered him forward making him hang his head as he picked up the duffel bag Kisuke had dropped and walked towards the rift, and just like Ichigo rose his hand up only to be sucked through the rift. Kisuke and Yoruichi were left in the Dangai Yoruichi now perched on Kisuke's shoulder as the two watched the rift for a short time.

"How come you didn't mention you were sending those two there?" Yoruichi asked her voice serious. "Especially Ichigo, if Soul Society catches wind of this."

"I'm aware of the consequences, but right now Ichigo being there is probably the safest place for him I couldn't keep his powers re-developing hidden forever. I've already set countermeasures for his disappearance here." Kisuke explained as he turned and began to walk back through the labyrinth. "I would have let you go to continue training them, but they need to learn to grow on their own." Yoruichi frowned; she was aware just how far the two have come in the recent months of training.

"You said you had work for me to do?" Yoruichi asked getting a nod from Kisuke.

"I've picked up traces of some certain individuals with similar powers to Ichigo and Chad." He began surprising Yoruichi. "They've seemed to have created a small group under the first Substitute Shinigami." Yoruichi's eyes narrowed slightly, there was only one other Substitute Shinigami other than Ichigo and he had turned against Soul Society. While she had been exiled with Kisuke at the time, she was aware of the happenings in Soul Society when the law had been created about making Substitutes. "Soul Society is also becoming aware of their actions, which would only eventually lead them to finding out about Ichigo and Chad's powers."

"You want me to track them down?" Yoruichi questioned, making sure she was understanding Kisuke right.

"If you would be so kind." Yoruichi rolled her eyes. "There is more I don't fully understand about Ichigo and Chad's powers, the more I learn the more we can help them to grow stronger. I've already witnessed through Ichigo's stages of his power that it could be a link to him regaining his Shinigami powers." Kisuke stated surprising Yoruichi. "I implanted a modified Asauchi into his substitute badge, just to see if it would take effect and maybe a little something from his mother as well." He smiled.

"You do realise if he finds out your experimenting like this, he'll punch you in the face again." Yoruichi stated with a slight smirk. "But if he awakens the truth behind his powers, it'll be interesting to see." Kisuke nodded in agreement. "When do I get to go over there?"

"We'll see in due time there is also a few more things I'll need you for over here before I can let you go join them." Yoruichi nodded as the two headed for the exit of the Dangai.

"I feel as though we're missing a whole lot of context." Ichigo stated as he stared down the barrel of what he could only assume to be an outdated pistol from the late 1800's. The man holding the weapon now inches from Ichigo's face was visibly shaking as he had just witnessed the two teenagers appear in front of them out of thin air. The orange haired man had come out of nowhere, as if a rip through the very fabric of space had dumped him right before the man. The teenager had simply raised his hand with a 'Yo' before another man, much larger than the orange haired one appeared right next to the first. It was then when the man drew his pistol and aimed it at the two, demanding to know who they were.

"Agreed." Chad responded only for the man to turn his pistol onto the much larger teen, this was the man's first mistake as Ichigo saw the opportunity to grab the man's wrist with his left hand and twist causing the pirate to shout in pain as Ichigo spun his wrist around to his back, swept out with a kick forcing the man to lose his footing causing him to land awkwardly on the ground as Ichigo still held his wrist in place behind his back, the pistol now on the ground next to Ichigo. With his unoccupied hand Ichigo grabbed the pistol seeing that it was very outdated and tossed it to Chad. The man watched in horror as the large man grabbed the pistol from the air examining it momentarily only for an echoing crunch to be heard as the remains of the pistol fell to the ground. With a swift punch to the face from Ichigo, the man was out like a light.

"What now?" Chad questioned as Ichigo rose up by his side, well they had discovered a few things upon first arriving here. There were people here. The time zone was clearly different since it seemed to be early morning as the sun was up. They could understand the language after engaging the man that had drawn a pistol on the two. Also, the rift didn't turn them inside out. But Chad was right; they had no idea what to do now that they were here. Both looked around only to see the street completely deserted off all life apart from this one guy. Ichigo nudged the man with his foot before sighing.

"He'll be out for a while." He stated reaching into his pocket, pulling forth his badge before raising it to his mouth as one would do with a walkie talkie. "Kisuke, we're here, now what?" Ichigo questioned only to get silence in return. "Kisuke?"

"HEY!" Their attention was drawn to a few more men that had appeared down the street all holding swords in their grips. "Who the hell are you two!?"

"Pirates?" Chad questioned Ichigo, seeing the way the three were dressed, by any standards one might figure them to be pirates but the two weren't sure if they were or not.

"Hey they knocked down Kevin!"

"Not Kevin!"

"Bastards!"

Ichigo and Chad didn't have the time to defend their actions against this 'Kevin' fellow that Ichigo had knocked out and were swiftly set upon by the three pirates. In truth, the squabble only lasted a few moments as the beat down by the two teenagers on the nameless pirates. It only made the two teens feel a little better now that they had got a slight workout but it wasn't enough of a warm up to get either of them ready for a real fight, instead of one pirate at their feet there were now four in total. Ichigo cracked his knuckles as he glared down at the only pirate still conscious after their beating with a deadly grin on his face causing the man to pale in fear.

"I've got a few questions for you." Ichigo gave an evil grin making Chad sweatdrop; it would seem that Ichigo needed to let off some pent up aggression after dealing with Kisuke. Ever since he had known Ichigo and he had wanted information from them, he had always given the same 'talk or you're dead' look. Chad simply watched Ichigo try to interrogate the terrified man, but only ended up making the man relieve himself of bodily fluids and scream like a schoolgirl. Ichigo was never really good at negotiations. While Ichigo was attempting to get information Chad crouched down figuring Ichigo would grow bored soon enough and they could move on, however movement caught Chad's eyes and he turned his head to find a tall and slim girl with blond hair and brown eyes standing in the entrance to what seemed to be a tavern of sorts. She wore a blue T-shirt and green and white chequered shorts. In her hand was a sheathed sword.

The girl spotted the two teens, and not really registering the situation at hand drew the sword in her grip and charged. It was clear to Chad that this girl was no pirate, and from the looks of it didn't hold the skills of a master swordswoman, he himself had been on the offending end of master swordsman and had been able to pick up a few signs. It was clear she knew the basics maybe a few skills, but from Ichigo's level of experience with a blade, she would be far outclassed.

"Ahhhhh!" She charged making Ichigo look up to see what the shouting was about only to see the blonde running towards them. However Chad rose to his full height and stepped in front of the girl causing her to falter, not having expected such a large man, not being able to tell his true size from his crouched position. The girl swallowed nervously as she came to a stop a few feet in front of Chad having to crane her neck to look up at his height. She had clearly misjudged her competence to deal with such a person.

"Hello." Chad spoke softly. "We're not pirates." The girl blinked in surprise as Chad stepped to the side to reveal Ichigo surrounded by the four unconscious pirates, the one he had been 'interrogating' having passed out. Ichigo tilted his head unsure of the girl. "We just happened upon these pirates."

"Chad's been talking a lot more." Ichigo mused to himself as he walked towards the two. "Yo." Ichigo greeted raising his hand up. The blonde looked between the two before she hung her head letting out a breath of relief, now that she saw the two if she had to fight them, she doubted she would come out the victor especially when they had defeated some of Galleys men with ease from what she could see, neither of them had a scratch on them. "Hey, mind if we ask you a couple of questions?" Ichigo asked.

"Eh, uh, sure." The girl nodded. "Come inside."

"Wait." Chad spoke up raising his hand, figuring there was more pressing matters if these pirates were anything to go by, Pirates usually have crews yeah? This blonde girl wouldn't have come out looking ready to take them head on if this was just an ordinary occurrence. "Wouldn't it be best to deal with the pirates first?" Chad questioned as he looked between Ichigo and the girl, the blonde seemingly having realised that the town was still being attacked by pirates while Ichigo thought for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, no harm in helping out right, not like we're pirates or anything." Ichigo stated getting a nod from Chad. "Alright, we'll get rid of these pirates for you and in return, you'll answer a couple of questions, that sound fair?" He asked.

"Seems like I'm getting the better deal here." The girl smiled but nodded regardless. "It's a deal." She happily stuck out her hand to which Ichigo took. "I'm Silk."

"Ichigo Kurosaki, this big guy is Yasutora Sado." Ichigo introduced them to the blonde. "You know which way to these pirates?" Ichigo asked figuring it would be faster to head straight to them.

"They'll be at the town square." Silk told him as she gestured down the street that would likely lead them to this town square. "They've gathered the rest of the town's people there." Ichigo nodded and began to walk down the street, Chad simply following after him leaving Silk a little nervous; shouldn't they come up with some kind of plan? "Wait! We should strategize shouldn't we? We're completely outnumbered here! They've got a whole pirate crew, we're just three people, and they have hostages!" Ichigo glanced over his shoulder at her with a grin.

"Should be interesting."

"Eh!"

Galley the newest member of the wanted men in the East Blue sea was grinning as he watched the townspeople throw their treasure, gold and valuables all into a large sack in the centre of town, all the exits were blocked off by his crew, there would be no escape and he had even made it so no one could contact the Marines. His first raid on a town since becoming a wanted man was going so easily! There was no doubt after this; he was the strongest man in the East Blue. With a crew that respected him and all the gold he could want at his fingertips there was no way anyone could stand in his way.

"Gah!"

"Captain help!"

Galley's thoughts were interrupted by the screams of his crewmates in agony; he looked over to see that more than just the two that had screamed out were now unconscious. Three people stood at the street entrance and he had no doubt in his mind that they were responsible for the interruption. From left to right there was a young blonde teenage girl with a sword that looked nervous to be there, in the centre was an orange haired teen with a grin as he cracked his knuckles ready to deliver whatever he believed to be his own personal justice and lastly a massive man that Galley was instantly wary of, the guy was huge!

"What are you waiting for you idiots? Get them!" Galley shouted at his crew who were just staring dumbly at the three. The pirates fled into actions with war cries. What Galley didn't witness as his crew blocked most of the view that he had, was Chad grab the pole of a nearby signpost and with no effort at all ripped it from the ground. This even left Silk speechless as she witnessed the man's strength, however Ichigo didn't wait for Chad to start swinging his improvised weapon already fully aware of Chad's monstrous strength even before he started to develop his powers, instead Ichigo charged straight in.

Silk was left unsure on what to do; instead Chad gave her a nod before heading after Ichigo. She sweat dropped as she watched Chad swing the sign post clearing multiple pirates with a single swing. Even Ichigo was taking on several pirates at once, while Chad relied on brute strength, Ichigo on the other hand relied on speed and reflexes and from what she saw he didn't lack power either.

Silk nodded to herself, she couldn't let Ichigo and Chad fight all alone for the sake of her town. Drawing her blade she held her head high and charged into the fray. Taking on opponents that she believed she could, with Chad and Ichigo on either side of her it was like they had her back and wouldn't let her get overwhelmed while fighting and if she were to get overwhelmed either of them would step into aide her. She, just like Ichigo and Chad was smiling as she parried and swung her sword and she was enjoying it more than she thought she would. Before long the crew of pirates lay defeated at their feet leaving both Galley and the townspeople completely speechless. Silk was breathing slightly heavy as Ichigo and Chad didn't seem the slightest bit worn out.

"Are you alright?" Ichigo questioned with a smile as he looked down at Silk who had hunched over with her hands on her knees.

"Yeah." She offered a smile up in return as she stood up. "Now it's just the Captain." She told him as Ichigo looked over to the pirate captain the only one still standing, his beard made Ichigo raise an eyebrow and he was dressed in what would seem to be normal pirate captain attire, at least to him. He held a pistol up, his hand visibly shaking his nervous form trembling at having just witnessed his entire crew being decimated by three teenagers.

"You ruined everything!" Galley shouted. "Die!" The echoing shot of a pistol echoed out, Ichigo's eyes narrowed at where he had aimed, if it was at him or Chad he knew they would be fine but he had aimed straight for Silk. His hand gripped his substitute badge as Chad moved in front of Silk with the use of the green luminescent glow of Bringer Light, Silk watched as Chad's right arm was covered with a black liquid which solidified into a form of armour. Only for the armour to morph into a shield, this extended from his hand to some distance beyond his forearm, with an intricate pattern. Hollow-like teeth lie in the centre, with a rose-like pattern or skeletal nose and eyes near the end. The bullet hit the shield as Chad defended Silk from the shot.

Silk caught sight of Ichigo's movement and Chad stepped to the side allowing Silk to see what was going on, Silk's eyes widened at what she saw. Extending from Ichigo's right hand was a strange energy that Silk had never felt before, as she watched it began to take shape into what looked like to her a four pronged bent out to form shape of a manji. But what happened next surprised Silk even more, with practiced precision Ichigo cast the energy off to the side before flinging it forward, straight towards Galley. The spinning energy spun wildly its prongs forming a complete circle at the speed it was thrown. Galley had no time to deal with the sudden development, both Ichigo's and Chad's actions having happened in the short time span of him firing his pistol and the bullet hitting Chad's shield.

The energy hit Galley with a massive force that Silk hadn't been expecting, Galley was blow off his feet with a scream of pain from the blow and was sent crashing into the building behind him. Silk ran towards the building, just to inspect what damage had been done only to find Galley unconscious on the other side of the building, Ichigo's attack having sent him straight through the outer wall, a few interior walls and the far side of the house to where Galley now was indented in the building on the opposite side that he had gone through.

"Man, that guy was a pain in the ass." Ichigo growled, the moment that pirate had put Silk's life in danger, both Chad and Ichigo had changed their tactics, they weren't about to hold back and let her get injured. They had no reason to hide their powers now that they were here in this new realm, from what Kisuke told them they had no risk of alerting Soul Society and had free reign to use their powers, Kisuke wouldn't have trusted in their strength otherwise. Looking around at the townspeople that were still awed at the sight of the three dealing with the entire pirate crew. Turning across to where Silk was still looking at the force of the blow that had.

"Yo, Silk." The blonde turned to Ichigo who gave her a smirk. "Care to answer those questions now?" Silk could only dumbly nod her head.

"This is good." Chad said as Silk placed more food in front of the two teens that were rather hungry; it was odd neither were out of the ordinary when it came to their appetite but right now the two were ravenous after their fight. With her experience in dealing with the restaurant and customers she had no problem in dealing with the two's appetites. After the fight with Galley and his pirates, the townspeople had thanked the two teens and offered their thanks to Silk as well. Chad had offered to help them apprehend the pirates, but the townspeople assured the large man that they were able to do so. So instead Silk led the two back to their restaurant and fed them while answering what questions she could. In fact she was more than happy to oblige the two as she answered their questions. Well, Ichigo had questions Chad was rather quiet and simply let Ichigo ask what was needed to be asked.

It was somewhat odd, some of the questions that silk had answered were the basic of the basic, where were they, how common were pirates, questions concerning government, just really basic stuff. She had half expected the two to ask questions that she would struggle to answer, instead they were questions that were answered in schools by children. She didn't voice her own thoughts at these questions but she certainly made a mental note of it.

"Ah, I think I overate." Ichigo groaned as he laid his head atop the table next to the stack of plates he had finished off. Chad simply leaned back in his chair while Silk grabbed the dishes and returned them to the kitchen, figuring she could do them later she returned to the eating area and sat down at the table.

"Are those the only questions you need answered?" Silk questioned.

"No idea." Ichigo breathed out causing Silk to raise an eyebrow, unsure what he meant.

"It's a long story." Chad told her, seeing her questioning her gaze. "Do you have questions?" He asked Silk making her perk up slightly.

"Your abilities, are they that of the Devil Fruit?" Silk questioned quickly making Ichigo raise his head up and Chad raise a hidden eyebrow behind his hair. This was something new to the two, they hadn't heard mention of this Devil Fruit and if she assumed that their powers were that of a Devil Fruit then there might be those elsewhere with unnatural abilities. This was something they could definitely report to Kisuke, something he himself might find interesting.

"Something like that…" Ichigo trailed off as he looked to Chad for backup.

"Amazing! I've only ever heard stories of Devil Fruit powers!" Silk exclaimed. "Is it true that eating the Devil Fruit takes away your ability to swim!?" She questioned excitedly. "Oh, how did you get your Devil Fruits, did you return from the Grand Line, I wouldn't be surprised with your strength." Ichigo had to sweatdrop as Silk barraged them with more questions before they could even begin to answer one of her prior questions. More and more questions got piled up causing Ichigo to inwardly groan, so many questions that he had no idea on how to answer any of them. However, Silk was interrupted by the door to the restaurant opening. Turning their attention to the one who entered, they were surprised to find the Mayor with a few men carrying in large sacks.

"Good, you're both still here." The Mayor smiled as the men placed the large sacks on the ground beside the Mayor.

"Ah yeah, haven't left yet." Ichigo stated. "Not sure how we're going to if we have to travel by boat everywhere." He mentally added, after finding out that this world was mainly inhabited by ocean, Ichigo had already figured that they were going to need some kind of boat to get around.

"Mayor, what's going on?" Silk questioned.

"A few men searched Galleys Pirate Ship." The Mayor stated. "We found these aboard, as thanks to these two men I'd like to offer it to them as their reward for saving our town." He explained as the men that had brought in the sacks opened them to reveal piles of gold within each. Ichigo's jaw dropped as he saw the amount of treasure in the two sacks. Chad's mouth gaped open slightly as he was just as stunned as Ichigo was.

"Seriously, this is not needed." Ichigo stated rising from his chair. "We didn't do it for a reward; sure we might have asked for a boat we could borrow, but not this."

"It's too much." Chad agreed.

"We won't hear of it!" The Mayor laughed. "Take it, it's yours." He continued. "We'll even give you a ship, you could take Galleys ship but I doubt the two of you could get the thing moving on your own." Ichigo had to agree, a ship the size of Galleys would need a full crew to operate it properly something they did not have.

"I'll get provisions for the departure; there are too many people who don't prepare when going out to sea. You have to be careful out there." Silk exclaimed happily rushing off making Ichigo run a hand down his face.

"Come, I'll show you the ship that we can spare to give you, it's nothing fancy but it'll do." The Mayor assured the two as Chad picked up the two large sacks throwing them over his shoulder. "These men will help Silk with your provisions." The Mayor continued, ushering them out as the two men headed after Silk, the Mayor leading them down the street and towards the docks.

The boat that the Mayor had led them to had just been like the Mayor had said, it was nothing compared to Galleys massive ship docked nearby but there would be no way that Ichigo and Chad alone could operate the massive vessel of the pirates. It was a ship designed to house a full crew to effectively sail it. Plus with both of their inexperience in such things, they wouldn't have a clue on where to even start. The ship that they would be using, offered by the townspeople wasn't much in the way of design, or what Ichigo and Chad were familiar with. They were use to more sleek designs from the 21st century not the 'Legendary Age of Pirates' that Silk had informed them about. Kisuke would have a field day when they finally got in touch with him.

The boat was a relatively small vessel without any visible armaments aboard not that it mattered to either of them, its outward appearance was based on a saucepan on top of a frying pan painted blue and white. Ichigo jumped down from the dock landing on the deck and began exploring it while Chad dealt with the massive bags of treasure, now that they were at the docks it was revealed that there were a few more sacks awaiting them filled just like the two brought to Silk's restaurant. They had tried to turn down the extra sacks of treasure but the townspeople wouldn't see to it. It was awkward taking such riches for such a simple task but they couldn't very well refuse it. Ichigo took to exploring the inside of the ship as he went. Inside was an onboard kitchen which housed a chimney which from what Ichigo mused was also used as the ship's mast.

Seeing a hatch off to the side of the kitchen he pulled it open revealing a room below. Climbing down the rope ladder he looked around, there were two hammocks set up at the end of the room, at the opposite end there was a large net in place, obviously used to keep any stock in place but it was currently empty of anything.

"We could put the sacks of gold in there I guess." He mused to himself as he continued to explore the small room. While it didn't hold much, a small separate room for a toilet but there was no bath or shower on the small vessel. Heading back up into the kitchen he felt the boat sway slightly and poked his head out the door to see that Chad had brought all the sacks of gold onto the boat. "There's a place down below we can store them for the time being." Ichigo told Chad getting a nod "Need a hand?"

"I'm good." Chad replied with a thumbs up as he began to maneuver the sacks of gold inside without much problem, for anyone else it might have been. Ichigo decided to leave him to it. Ichigo spotted Silk appraoching, the Mayor and the teen spoke for a few moments before heading down the dock; it seemed as if the whole town had gathered at the dock to see them off. Not that they had any clue as to where they were headed but figured Kisuke would want them to move on and see a bit more of this world. With a quick greeting Silk and the Mayor began to pass down the provisions that they had brought with them, several more sacks this time filled with all manner of food.

"Also this." The Mayor began tossing a rolled up parchment to Ichigo who caught it, looking at it quizzically. "Silk told me you didn't know the area, it's a map of the East Blue."

"Thanks, Silk." Ichigo smiled at the blonde who nodded, happy to help. "We owe you one."

"I'm pretty sure we owe you a couple for what you did, it's not every day a wanted man like Galley shows up." The Mayor laughed causing Ichigo to blink; there was a bounty on Galley's head? Well figuring that he was a pirate there might be a bounty system in place. Something he and Chad could look into maybe, they'd also need to find a place to transfer all this gold into the proper currency. They had no idea how long Kisuke was ditching them in this world, it was best to make a living as they went so that they atleast could survive out here.

"Well you can just turn in Galley to the proper authorities and fix the damage that I caused." Ichigo told them, figuring the reward should at least cover the cost of the house Ichigo had blasted him through. "Sorry about that by the way." Laughter erupted from the Mayor and Silk making Ichigo smile, they were nice people. But he and Chad had a job to do for Kisuke and couldn't exactly stick around. Plus, they were eager to explore. As much as it was a pain in the ass, it wasn't everyday you got to explore a new world. They had free range here.

"How much was Galley worth?" Chad questioned, having overheard the conversation and decided to ask.

"Five million berī." The Mayor stated pulling out a flier and handing it to Ichigo showing a wanted poster of Galley, Ichigo half expected it to be a crude drawing not an actual photograph, not thinking that the technology of this world had progressed that far since they were still using flintlocks but they would soon see for themselves. "He was a notorious pirate in the East Blue, you've done this sea a great service." The mayor bowed to the both of them.

"Can I keep this?" Ichigo questioned gesturing to the wanted poster.

"Of course." The Mayor smiled, Ichigo nodded his thanks.

"Five million for a guy like that?" Ichigo pondered to himself as he looked down at the wanted poster. "But he did try to ransack a village with a pirate crew and probably has done it in the past, maybe that somehow works into the actual bounty given?" Deciding he could think on it later he placed the wanted poster into his jacket.

"What are your plans now?" Silk questioned making Ichigo and Chad look up to her, before the two glanced at one another still unsure on the answer to that. They still hadn't heard from Kisuke and from that map that Ichigo had quickly glanced at it looked to be like they were going to need to travel to get anywhere and with the world covered mostly by ocean this boat would be their home for the time being. Ichigo just hoped that they could get into contact with Kisuke so that they could start to figure things out, and actually have an objective here.

"Now that we've got a boat, we'll make our way to the Grand Line." Ichigo stated recalling the name from their talk with Silk after they had dealt with the pirates. Figuring that it must be somewhere important if Silk believed that their powers were that of the Devil Fruit and they had come from the Grand Line, meaning there were others in this world with strange abilities. Kisuke would undoubtedly be interested in studying something like that so tracking down people with these Devil Fruit's would probably be something Kisuke would be interested in, and if at all possible track down an actual Devil Fruit that he could examine.

"You're heading back there then." Silk stated, believing the two were actually from the Grand Line having never witnessed powers like theirs before and believing them to be Devil Fruit abilities, neither of the two had confirmed it, but she had heard the stories about Devil Fruit users.

"You're welcome to join us." Chad spoke up surprising Ichigo slightly as he glanced at Chad, unsure what he was getting at. Sure she had held her own against those pirates, despite both himself and Chad keeping an eye on her so she wasn't overwhelmed but dragging her into this mess with Kisuke? But now that he thought about it, someone in this world surrounded by the ocean, with pirates and the chance at adventure. He could see why Chad had offered it to her; she was probably waiting for such an adventure to come her way.

"I'm sorry, I can't." Silk bowed to the two. "Thank you for the offer, but I don't think I'm ready." She told them honestly as she raised her head. "I would just drag you two down I saw the way you fought, you both protected me." Ichigo frowned slightly; he'd never say she couldn't come along because of something like that; she had the chance to develop her skill further. "But I'll get stronger." She declared with a confident glint in her eye as she raised her fist. "I'll train daily! I'll make sure that if any pirate comes to our village, that I'll be able to defend it!" She declared making Ichigo smile as Chad nodded.

"We'll keep you to that then." Ichigo stated. "We'll be sure to come back, make sure you're holding up on your end."

"Right!" Silk smiled happily.

There wasn't much more said between the two spiritual teens and the blonde girl they had met. Instead, they wished one another farewell, Chad and Ichigo untying the ropes from the dock the boat began to drift away. The wind caught the sails and the small boat began to drift further out to sea. Both Chad and Ichigo could see Silk waving from the docks until the island had disappeared from sight. Now that they were out at sea, business.

"Alright." Ichigo began looking at the map he had been given by the Mayor. "Which way to the Grand Line?" He spoke aloud, in truth he had no idea what island they were even on at the moment, hadn't even asked. He would have been too embarrassed to ask the Mayor or Silk, both of them had helped them already he didn't want to look like a fool in front of them, in hind sight he should have at least asked that, it would have helped them in the long run. Looking over to Chad, a silence rose up between the two teens before both hung their heads. "Yeah, I've got no idea either." He groaned.

"We'll figure it out." Chad stated getting a nod from Ichigo who tucked the map back into his jacket, it was useless until they actually had an idea on their actual location.