Notes: Yeah, it's back. Though, after working on this for a while, and re-watching the relevant episodes, I decided to go in a slightly different direction, so the previous chapter summary will be a bit off.

Remnant

A Bleach Fanfic by

Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)

Chapter 4: Relative

Orihime woke up to the feeling of something warm and wet flicking against her cheek. Her first thought was that someone had brought a puppy in to see her. This only served to remind her of Nel's "puppy", which had been less cute and more frightening, and the thought of it licking her was rather unnerving, so Orihime opened her eyes at once. She was relieved (though still very confused) to find that it wasn't a dog licking her, but Nel instead.

Nel stopped once she noticed that Orihime was awake. "Orihime!" she cried, rearing back as if to dive onto Orihime and give her a huge hug. Then Nel paused, and settled for carefully hugging Orihime's neck. "Nel was worried."

Orihime blinked and glanced around the room. She instantly spotted Ichigo beside her hospital bed, as well as Sado and Uryū near the wall. It was only when she looked to the right that she noticed Tatsuki in the bed just beyond Ichigo. Without even thinking about it, she began to summon her Shun Shun Rikka, but Nel squeezed her neck gently.

"Don't do it, Orihime. You're still hurt." And then, for no reason that Orihime could guess, Nel leaned in and began licking her cheek again.

"According to Kurosaki, Nel's saliva has healing properties," Uryū explained, though it was easy to hear the doubt in his voice.

"You really think I'd let her lick Inoue if I wasn't sure?" Ichigo demanded angrily.

"I think I'm more interested in how you discovered this rather obscure fact," Uryū replied with a smirk.

Ichigo scowled. "Let's just say she was using another delivery method entirely previously, and that this one is a lot less gross."

"Nel isn't gross!" Nel whined, pouting cutely.

"Of course you're not, Nel-chan," Orihime agreed weakly, reaching up to pat her head. "Thank you for taking care of me." Then she frowned. "Why do you need to take care of me in the first place? And what happened to Tatsuki? Is she okay?"

"She's fine, and you both have the same injuries," Uryū replied. "You were each attacked on your way home yesterday evening. You both suffered a broken right arm, a heavy blow to the back, and numerous small bruises. From what Tatsuki was able to tell me earlier, the attacker was definitely male."

"I... I don't remember any of that," Orihime murmured. "Did Tatsuki say why he attacked us? Did he want money?"

Uryū shook his head. "You still had your purse when you were brought in, and there's money in it. He didn't rob you. From all indications, he only wanted to hurt you, and not even that badly. Someone strong enough to break your arm could have done far worse. I think this is a message. I just have no idea what it is right now."

"It doesn't matter what the message is," Ichigo stated firmly. "Because when I find out who did this, I'm going to give them a message. And a broken arm will just be the start of it."

Orihime started to protest, but when she saw the determined look in his eyes, she knew it would be pointless. Really, she wasn't surprised. Ichigo hated feeling powerless, especially when people he cared about got hurt. And since the attacker was apparently human with no known special powers, this could actually be a problem that was within Ichigo's ability to handle.

"What will you do, Ichigo?" Sado asked. "Tatsuki barely got a glimpse of the guy. You won't be able to find him based on that."

"Tatsuki and Inoue weren't together when he got them. That means he knew who they were and targeted them. That means he's probably really looking for one of us."

"A surprisingly reasonable assumption," Uryū agreed.

"So I'm going to train again today. It's probably just some creep that doesn't have a problem hitting girls, but with the timing..."

"You think it's Shishigawara," Sado concluded. "And you want your powers restored before you face him."

Ichigo shrugged. "The guy took down Tatsuki, for crying out loud. No way he's a normal punk."

"Well, someone should stay here to protect the girls, in case the attacker returns," Uryū pointed out.

"Nel can do it," Ichigo said at once.

Nel grinned, glad he trusted her, but then frowned. "But you won't be safe if I'm here, Itsygo!"

"I'll be safe," he promised. "And I'll feel a lot better if I know Inoue and Tatsuki are safe, too."

Nel pouted. "I came to protect you and your family, Itsygo. I like Orihime, but she isn't family."

"Then do it as a favor to me, Nel. This is really important."

"At least take Dondochakka with you! He can drive you!"

Remembering how dead set against Hollows that Yukio and the others had been, Ichigo shook his head. "No, it's better if I go alone."

"You can't trust them, Itsygo!" Nel blurted out. "It's dangerous!"

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"I... I don't know!" Nel admitted. "They just don't feel right to me!"

"I could go with you, Ichigo," Sado offered.

"No," Ichigo answered. "I need you to do something else. Nel had a point earlier. If this guy has no problem hurting girls close to us, he might go after my sisters next. They'll feel safest with you, Chad."

"Because I wouldn't make them feel safe at all?" Uryū asked indignantly.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I was hoping you'd keep an eye on things at school, in case someone was attacked there next. Don't even pretend you were going to skip today."

"Maybe I was going to volunteer to stay here and make sure the nurses are taking good care of the girls. Did you ever consider that?"

"No. I just know you aren't going with me. I don't think these people are ready to meet a Quincy yet. Or at least not you." Ichigo turned to leave, but a hand grabbed his pants leg. He looked down to see Tatsuki glaring up at him. "Tatsuki? What is it?"

"Don't you kill him once you find him," she growled.

Ichigo smirked. "Right, because that's your job, once you get out of here."

"Damn right," she agreed, letting him go and closing her eyes. She had fallen asleep again in seconds.

"Don't forget to lick Tatsuki, too, Nel," Ichigo called over his shoulder as he left the room with Sado and Uryū behind him.

Nel immediately climbed over Orihime, sprang to the window, and opened it.

"Nel-chan, what are you doing?" Orihime asked.

"I can't stay here. Itsygo won't listen, but maybe Giant and Nerd will."

"What are you going to do, then?"

"Get a replacement," Nel replied. She had barely spoken when a man with a bug-like head appeared at the window. "I told Pesche and Dondochakka to stay close in case anything happened. They'll protect you until I get back."

"Have no fear, Nel-chan," Pesche said, bowing to her after he climbed in. "Nothing will happen to your friends while I am here."

Nel smiled at him and patted his head. "Thanks, Pesche. I won't be gone long." She scooted out of the window and dropped out of sight.

"You weren't really close by just because she asked, were you?" Orihime asked at once. "There's something else going on."

Pesche frowned. "I cannot say for certain, but things seem very strange recently. We expected the only threat to you and your friends to be other Hollows, and we never expected these people that Ichigo has been associating with. More importantly, whoever attacked you doesn't seem to be part of either group. That means there are far more threats than we may be prepared to deal with."

"What happens then?"

"Then... we may have to call for reinforcements," Pesche sighed. "And trust me, there's a reason why Nel-chan wanted to come here alone."

While Rukia still did not fully trust Ginjō, she decided he was a little hotheaded, but basically a decent Shinigami. He also seemed to have no great love of the 12th Division, which went a long way in explaining why Rukia was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. They had planned to meet up on the roof of a coffee shop later that morning to discuss strategy. Rukia was a few minutes late because Yuzu had come into Ichigo's bedroom to clean, badly startling Rukia, who had still been in the closet at the time. It had taken some very careful maneuvering to avoid being detected, and even then, Rukia felt sure that Yuzu had sensed something familiar, even if she had no clear idea what.

But as it turned out, not only was Ginjō late for their meeting, he failed to show up at all. Rukia was angry at first, but considering her own close call that morning, decided to give Ginjō the benefit of the doubt until she learned exactly what had happened with him. This was a good move, because it didn't take her long to lock in on Ginjō's reiatsu, and when she did, she could tell it was on the losing end of a clash with a much stronger but unfamiliar reiatsu. Although Rukia raced to the scene, by the time she arrived in the vacant lot, Ginjō was face-down and bleeding badly from a stab wound in his side.

"What happened, Ginjō?!" Rukia demanded after carefully rolling him over and trying to stop the bleeding. "Who did this to you?"

"Arrancar," Ginjō gasped. "Face... like a bug."

Rukia's panic gave way to shock: she, of course, knew such an Arrancar. "You... you're sure?"

Ginjō snorted. "Yeah, I don't often get ambushed by cackling, bug-faced Hollows. I'm sure. Just patch me up and I'll be fine, Lieutenant."

Rukia said nothing as she focused on cleaning the wound. If she took Ginjō at his word, then a bug-faced Arrancar had attacked him. It was entirely possible that there could be another Hollow with such a face in Karakura Town, however unlikely. But two bug-faced Arrancar in the same town were either connected, or the exact same Arrancar: coincidences just did not extend that far in Rukia's experience. And considering that on the previous night, she and Ginjō had seen a tiny, dog-like Hollow more powerful than anything that size had a right to be, Rukia wasn't in the mood to accept any further coincidences. So even if Pesche had not been the Arrancar that attacked Ginjō, then certainly someone in Nel's party had to know something. Because it was just not habit for any number of Arrancar to be in close proximity and not be either aware or wary of each other. That would go against nearly everything that Rukia had learned about Hollows in general and Arrancar in particular.

Fortunately, despite the seriousness of the wound, Ginjō insisted that it not prevent them from carrying out their duties. Once Rukia had ensured he would survive the trip, she made him promise to return to Soul Society for proper healing, while she remained behind to keep an eye on the situation. Again, Ginjō was particularly concerned about the possible experimentation on Hollows by humans, rather than the Hollows themselves, which Rukia found to be very curious considering his current state. But Ginjō's absence gave her the chance she needed to approach Nel without having to explain herself to another Shinigami, and it was looking like they would have plenty to discuss.

Nel caught up with Sado and Uryū just outside the hospital, where she shared her concerns about Ichigo spending so much time with Xcution. She had expected them to agree with her, since Uryū seemed so sensible to her, and Sado already had trust issues with Xcution. But she would be disappointed by their response.

"It's not as if we haven't considered everything that you've told us already, Nel," Uryū admitted. "But the fact is that we are spread a little thin at the moment, so if they can restore Ichigo's powers, whatever their intentions after that, we may need to risk Ichigo's being involved with them just long enough for them to be useful."

"I don't think they'll hurt Ichigo," Sado added. "They seem to need him to regain his powers, and once he does, Ichigo won't exactly be easy to control or defeat. I think we just have to trust him on this one."

Nel pouted at them. She had been hoping that they would side with her, and then the three of them would convince Ichigo, but it looked as if she were on her own. Her first instinct was to rush after Ichigo, but she knew he would only say the same thing, plus he'd be upset that she hadn't listened to him. Even if she was mad at him for being guilty of the same, that wouldn't help her convince him. It looked as if the only thing she could do now was exactly what Ichigo had had asked her to: watch over Orihime and Tatsuki. That would at least leave Pesche and Dondochakka free to keep an eye out for any odd humans in town.

Sado felt a little guilty as he watched Nel walk away. "You can tell that she really cares about Ichigo. And just because she can't explain her feelings, it doesn't mean she's wrong."

"I doubt that she's wrong at all," Uryū replied. "This is someone who was happy to put her life on the line for Ichigo, multiple times, against far stronger and totally merciless opponents. I may have had mixed feelings about Nel to begin with, but when it comes to Ichigo, she is completely transparent, especially in her current form. And as a Quincy, I'm far more inclined to trust the devils I do know over the ones I don't. So it's not that I think she's wrong. But for now, I think it may be best to act that way, so as to give the enemy a false impression.. Also, I have a theory, but I can't confirm it just yet."

"Tell me," Sado encouraged at once. "Somehow, I doubt that you're wrong, either."

Uryū smirked. "From an outsider's perspective, the only thing Orihime and Tatsuki have in common, other than being classmates, is being friends with us. And Ichigo is usually the ultimate target of schemes like this, so I have to assume this is no different. But if they're starting with his friends, that means that you and I are next."

Sado frowned. "Something tells me that you're not going to school, are you?"

"I am, but only long enough to make sure nothing's happened there. While it's true that Ichigo does have more friends there, I don't think any of them are targets. I think Orihime and Tatsuki were chosen to provoke him. Someone wants to awaken Ichigo's desperate need to protect those closest to him. Nothing does that quite so well as targeting females that he considers to be under his protection. And since you're going to be with his sisters, you'll be in the way. So that makes you the next target, and I think we stand a better chance of at least getting a more solid description of the attacker if we stick together. Besides, if I'm right about this, I doubt Ichigo will complain if it means his family has two protectors instead of one."

"So this is... definitely progress," Ichigo murmured a few hours later, staring at the badge in his hand. Only moments before, the badge had the focus of his newly developed Fullbring, or at least the start of it, according to Yukio.

"You realize that normally it could takes years for someone to get this far," Yukio reminded him. "Your growth rate is impressive, but perhaps we should stop for the day. We have been at this for a few hours now."

"No," Ichigo replied at once. "All I can really do right now is defend myself. That's not enough, and it's not the point. I'm not leaving until I can protect my family and friends."

Yukio frowned at him. "You don't make the rules here, and you should rest. If you-"

"So why don't you just restore his HP so he can keep going?" Riruka suggested from her seat on a nearby couch. "The faster we do this, the happier we all will be."

Yukio glared at her. "We need to be careful! if this fails-"

Riruka snorted. "Ichigo! Are you going to fail?"

Ichigo grinned. "Hell no."

"See?! He'll do fine! He's already not going to school today, so we might as well make use of the whole day, right?"

With a sigh, Yukio shook his head. "Fine! But when he finally passes out from exhaustion, he's going to stay that way until he wakes up on his own."

"Whatever! You worry too much, Yukio," Riruka complained.

"At least let Giriko fix you a drink before we continue, Ichigo," Yukio insisted. "It'll take me a few minutes to create a healing area for you, anyway."

Ichigo shrugged and wandered over to the bar.

"You are worried too much," Riruka said as she walked over to Yukio. "If you remember, it wasn't the Shinigami's power that was the problem last time."

"I know that," Yukio replied through gritted teeth. "But maybe you don't remember that the last Shinigami was in perfect health when he got killed. So I'd rather limit the amount of time that Ichigo is at less than his best, because even in peak form, he could still be killed just as easily."

"He won't die," Riruka snapped. "Tsukishima said Ichigo would protect me, no matter what."

"And how effective will that protection be if your beloved Shishigawara kills Ichigo?" Yukio countered. "I imagine Jackie will be the next target. So rather than have complete faith in the word of someone who isn't even here, maybe you should start considering an alternate solution. Which I am."

"So you have some brilliant plan if Ichigo fails?"

"I have a plan, assuming that Ichigo fails," Yukio corrected. "Became it will only work if Shishigawara actually does kill him."

Riruka stared at him and swallowed hard. "Will it really work?" she finally asked.

Yukio smiled grimly. "It better. Because the backup plan I have if that one fails is even worse."

Nel did not want to return to the hospital. Pesche and Dondochakka would make sure that nothing happened to Orihime and Tatsuki, and the boys were each keeping themselves occupied elsewhere. But Ichigo was still exposing himself to danger by associating with Xcution, and Nel didn't like that one bit. She couldn't stop him, though. Well, technically, she could. If she thought Ichigo was in mortal danger, Nel felt certain she could force a shift to her adult form, go get Ichigo, drag him back to his house, and then sit on his head until the danger passed. Ichigo wouldn't like that, however, and more importantly, he might not trust her if she forced him to do anything.

But Nel felt sure that Ichigo was in danger, and that he was doing it solely because he still didn't completely trust her to keep his family safe. The knowledge hurt, but it was a sobering hurt: Nel had to show that she was serious and capable when it came to her task. There was no more time for games or fun.

So Nel marched into Urahara's shop, climbed up onto the counter, slapped the pocket change that Orihime had given her on said counter, and told Ururu exactly what she needed. "I need to find someone who can produce massive amounts of Cero without actually trying to kill me."

Ururu stared at her for a long moment, then slowly turned around. "Um, Hiyori-san, I think you have a customer..."

There was an enormopusly loud crash from the storeroom, and then a blonde girl stomped out into the open, angrily throwing a box of merchandise across the room as she emerged (both Ururu and Nel winced as the box hit the wall and dropped the floor, thoroughly shattering whatever was inside, by the sounds of it). "Dammit, Ururu! I said I would wait until that idiot came back with my prescription, but for the last time, I DO NOT WORK HERE!"

"But, but," Ururu whimpered, flinching as Hiyori glared at her. "Nel-chan needs someone with lots of Cero..."

"Without trying to kill me," Nel repeated, not caring for the apparently permanent sinister gleam in Hiyori's eyes.

Hiyori frowned. "Other than getting to work off some of my frustration, what's in it for me?"

"Nel-chan is a friend of Kurosaki-kun," Ururu murmured.

"Ichigo, huh?" Hiyori stared at Nel for a few seconds. "Okay, I'm in."

"Please remember to do this out in the backyard," Ururu said quickly, obviously being very aware of Hiyori's habit of breaking things and not being the least bit sorry about it. Already she was keeping a mental tab of exactly how much product Hiyori's latest visit had cost them.

"Nah, we better do this back at my place," Hiyori corrected. "If I was to blow up your shop, that idiot might never find his way back here. You just make sure he's got my medicine the next time I see him, Ururu, or there'll be hell to pay."

Nel frowned as she followed Hiyori out of the shop. "Excuse me, but... are you a Hollow?"

Hiyori froze. "Nope. Why?"

"Well, only Hollows can make Cero. I was hoping I would just be able to find a somewhat friendly one somewhere that was pretty strong. So why does Ururu think you can help me?" Nel asked.

There was a slight pause, in which Hiyori's head lowered and her shoulders shook, as if she were laughing or crying. Nel couldn't be sure from her position behind Hiyori, and just as she was about to step closer and ask if Hiyori was okay, something truly unexpected happened. Hiyori spun around, her face now covered by a gruesome Hollow mask that vaguely resembled a snarling rhino, and a ball of violently crimson Cero charging in her mouth. Nel was so startled that she had no chance to dodge, and an instant later Hiyori fired. At such close range, the explosive impact should have greatly harmed them both. But as the beam of pure destruction neared Nel, instead of slamming into her body, it was all pulled directly into the eye sockets of her Hollow skull, leaving Nel totally unharmed and Hiyori equally shocked as she pushed up her own mask, staring at Nel in disbelief.

"What the hell was that?" Hiyori demanded. "What did you do with my Cero?!"

Nel hesitated before replying, "I really don't think you want me to give it back."

Hiyori scowled at her. "You... you absorbed it... all of it. How did you manage that, and at close range? You should have at least gotten a little burned!"

Nel pouted. "I said I needed lots of Cero, what did you think I was going to do with it?"

"Well, you're getting any more from me until you tell me just who the hell you really are!"

For a long moment, Nel said nothing, wondering exactly how trustworthy Hiyori was. But then, Nel realized that she and Hiyori might have a lot in common. Hiyori had agreed to help once Ichigo's name was mentioned, and she did seem pretty angry. Perhaps Ichigo had thoughtlessly abandoned her as well? If so, then maybe all Hiyori needed was a little reassurance. And possibly a hug.

"I used to be an Espada, but then I got injured and kicked out, but then Itsygo found me and took care of me, so I helped him when they tried to kill him, but he thought I wasn't strong enough and left me behind, so I got stronger and came here to protect him, but now these weird people are trying to trick him, and I have to get even stronger fast so I can protect him from them!" Nel blurted out.

Hiyori stared at her blankly, giving no sign that the story had the intended impact.

Sensing an opportunity, Nel rushed in and gave Hiyori a big hug.

Hiyori stiffened at once, automatically made a fist and raised it over Nel's head, clearly intending to strike her. However, she changed her mind, and slowly lowered her hand, placing it on top of Nel's Hollow skull, and seizing it in an iron grip. "I can sense a second Hollow in you, and I don't think I like the way it feels. So one last time, pipsqueak: who are you? Tell me or I'll take you out here and now!"

"I can't die yet," Nel whispered, tightening her grip on Hiyori's back. "I have to help Itsygo."

Without warning, Nel's body seemed to explode in a cloud of green smoke, and Hiyori quickly backed away, her eyes flicking back and forth, trying to catch a glimpse of the shorter girl. There was no need, however: the sheer force of the reiatsu that hit Hiyori seconds later made the location of the source all too obvious.

"So you're done holding back, pipsqueak?" Hiyori chuckled, pulling her mask back down over her face. "Good. I was starting to get bored." With that, she charged a significantly more powerful Cero and fired into the midst of the green cloud.

After a quick but odd healing session inside Yukio's game console, Ichigo had been allowed to resume his Fullbring training. Jackie had volunteered to be his next opponent, which was both good and bad. As Riruka's best friend, Jackie's motives in helping Ichigo were obvious, so Ichigo didn't need to wonder what she was all about. Unfortunately, as a direct result of being Riruka's best friend, Jackie was that much more determined to help Ichigo master his Fullbring faster, so she wasn't interested in taking breaks or holding back at all. It was fortunate, then, that Ichigo seemed to learn best by getting pounded into the ground, because Jackie turned out to be terribly good at it. By the time that Yukio insisted they stop, Jackie's boots were so stained with Ichigo's blood that it was nearly impossible to tell they'd ever been another color at all. But Ichigo had managed to advance his Fullbring from merely being a handheld shield into a sort of black reiatsu that covered his body and mimicked his Shinigami powers. While still incomplete, Ichigo was much more comfortable with this form and had at least been able to get a few good hits in on Jackie, which had been impossible beforehand.

But Ichgio was not so excited by his progress that he failed to pick up on the looks of concern when he emerged from his latest healing session. "What is it? What's happened?" he demanded.

"It's Sado," Riruka said after a tense moment. "He's been attacked." She barely had time to step aside as Ichigo rushed past her. "Shouldn't we stop him?" she asked the others.

"There would be no point," Yukio replied. "He can only think of his friend's safety now, there would be no point in keeping him here. And I don't think this is an attempt to draw Ichigo out, merely one to aggravate him. He'll be fine, physically, at least. But don't be surprised if he returns wanting to fight two of us at once so as to further his training. Riruka, you and Jackie will have to handle that. I need to acquire some additional resources."

"What about Chad?" Jackie asked. "Maybe he can identify his attacker."

"I honestly don't think it matters at this point," Yukio said with a shrug. "It's either Shishigawara, or someone he intimidated into doing his dirty work."

Sado opened his eyes and immediately became aware of a slight weight on his chest. He looked down his body to find Nel perched on top of him, her little hands bathed in green light as they poured more energy into his body. He understood instinctively that she was healing him, just as he also now understood that their respective energies were likely compatible because he was a Fullbringer.

It should have disturbed him, he supposed, but Nel was a friend first, and a Hollow second. More importantly, whatever the source of his power, that power had allowed him to fight alongside and save his friends repeatedly. He did not regret it. Rather, he was grateful that he had been cursed with it. The exact opposite of Xcution, who wanted to be rid of theirs. And not for the first time, Sado questioned that motive. He had met many different people with many different powers. Almost none of them wanted to decrease or lose their power. Certainly it made no sense to him in this case: if one of his parents had been easy prey for a Hollow, then he wanted to be as strong as possible to keep it from happening to him. He wouldn't want to give up his power and be completely defenseless. And if his power attracted stronger Hollows, then he would keep getting stronger until he was able to defeat them all. And now that he had seen just how powerful Arrancar were, he would never try to be rid of his powers completely. He had seen what that life was like for Ichigo, and Sado wanted no part of it: not the burden it would place on himself, or his friends.

So Xcution either had no idea how strong some Hollows truly were, or they were lying about wanting to lose their powers. And despite all appearances, Sado didn't believe them to be ill-informed. Not if they had possessed their powers for as long as they clearly had. Surely at least one had encountered another Hollow in that time, and only survived because of their curse. So unless they all shared the same death wish, losing their powers was not truly their goal. It was debatable how much of that Nel actually knew or had guessed, though: Sado suspected that she or her adult form instinctively considered Xcution enemies for some reason that neither one could explain. But he felt sure that Nel thought that way not because of any threat they posed to her, but because of the threat they might pose to the Kurosaki family.

After a few minutes of silence, Nel noticed that Sado was awake. "Don't worry, Giant," she said, patting his chest gently. "Nel will fix you right up."

"What happened to me?" Sado asked softly, glancing around. He wasn't sure at first how he'd ended up lying in an alley. He had spent most of the day wandering around near Yuzu and Karin's school. Uryū had assumed that the attacker would wait until the twins were either leaving school or at home alone to make his move. So the plan had been for Uryū to join Sado just as Yuzu and Karin got out of school, and then walk the girls home. In retrospect, however, the plan had two huge flaws: both Sado and Uryū would basically be without backup if they were attacked early, and while Uryū would at least have been surrounded by other students, Sado was essentially on his own, a fact that the attacker had exploited.

"Somebody hit you," Nel explained. "There was a big, knuckle-shaped dent in your chest. Like they wanted it to be a hole, but weren't strong enough to do that. It's lucky you're so strong. Did you see who did it?"

"Not exactly," Sado replied. "I thought I heard a noise over my shoulder, so I turned to look. And when I turned back around, that's when I got hit. They were fast, and shorter than me, but I didn't really get a good look. I think it was a human wearing black, though."

"I'm not so sure it was a regular human," Nel disagreed at once.

Sado blinked. "What? Why? Did you see something?"

"No, but..." Nel hesitated, then nodded. "When I was checking your wound, I found Hollow energy. Really faint, though."

"I've been told my power is very similar to a Hollow's."

"This wasn't yours," Nel insisted. "Nel knows the difference. I think you got attacked by someone like you."

"Another Fullbringer? That's not really surprising. It's actually what I expected to happen. And if they're weaker than me, that's even better." Sado grunted as he slowly began to sit up. Nel moved to his lap to accommodate him, but continued healing his chest. "It's lucky that you were close by."

"Not really," Nel said. "I was probably farther away than Ichigo, but I'm faster than him, even like this."

Sado stared at her for a long moment. "...don't you mean 'Itsygo', Nel?"

She paused, then blushed. "Shut up!" she cried, smacking his arm. "I can grow up if I want!"

Sado made a thoughtful noise and continued to stare at her. "You do seem... different somehow. More grown up, I guess. Could you be merging with your adult form?"

Nel shook her head. "That's not really how it works. I have two forms but only one body. Even in this form, I can still remember my time among the Espada. And in my adult form, I still have urges to play tag or eat sweets. So that means that my two distinct sets of memories have merged somewhat."

"So... not so much growing up as growing back in?"

"I guess that's one way to look at it."

"CHAD!" Ichigo shouted as he raced onto the scene, only to find Sado and Nel staring at him blankly. "Uh... you okay?"

"Nel healed me," Sado explained, getting to his feet with little difficulty.

"But... what happened?!" Ichigo demanded anxiously. "They said you got attacked!"

"Yes, but it was nothing serious," Sado assured him.

"That's not true!" Nel cried. "Ichigo, he was attacked by a human with Hollow powers! I told you, you can't trust them!"

Ichigo sighed. "Nel, a while back, I wouldn't have trusted any Arrancar, either. I made an exception for you. How can you be so sure that these guys aren't an exception, instead of the rule?

"Then why didn't they come with you to check if Giant was okay?"

"Maybe they sensed you nearby and decided to hang back? They already told me they wouldn't get involved if you were around, so all this means is they're keeping their word. Sounds trustworthy to me. Why are you-"

"Ichigo!" a voice shouted, and then Riruka ran up, slightly out of breath. "Was it him?! Did Moe-kun attack Sado?"

There was no warning for what happened next: one moment Riruka was just standing there, and the next, she was frozen in shock as she stared down at Nel's small hand, which was buried up to the wrist just below Riruka's throat. Most disturbing of all, there was no hatred or anger in Nel's expression, merely a flat stare, as if Riruka was no more than an insect that happened into her path and was to be immediately stepped on. Nel did not even seem to be aware that anything was wrong until Riruka began to make a soft, gurgling noise. Then Nel's eyes widened, and she quickly withdrew her hand. Riruka collapsed backwards into Ichigo's arms, blood gushing from the hole in her chest.

"I didn't mean," Nel began nervously, then stopped. "I mean, I did, but-"

"STOP!" Ichigo roared, glaring at her as he clutched Riruka's weakly twitching body to his chest. "Just... stop, Nel!" It seemed to be taking him a tremendous amount of effort to maintain his anger, despite what he'd just seen. "I didn't want them to be right about you, but now..."

"No! She's an enemy, Ichigo!" Nel pleaded. "I'd never do that to anyone who didn't deserve it!"

"There was a time when you never would have done it at all," Ichigo whispered. "You're... different, Nel."

She recoiled, realizing it was anything but a compliment this time. "Ichigo... please?"

He shook his head and carefully lifted Riruka in his arms. "I'm taking her to Inoue. After that... I don't know. Just... stay away!" Ichigo turned and ran off, leaving Nel staring after him with tears in her eyes.

Sado knelt down and placed his hand on Nel's shoulder. "You're that certain that Riruka and the others can't be trusted?" he asked.

Nel looked at him with wide eyes. "You believe me?"

"I believe the Nel I know would never do that that to someone we could trust. Even so... Ichigo may never look at you the same again."

Nel burst into tears and clung to Sado's arm. "I only wanted to protect him!"

Sado just gently patted her back, wondering over the changes in Nel. Most of all, he wondered if, as troubling as those changes might seem now, they'd be necessary to save them all from whatever the threat truly was.

There were many things that Orihime had said over the years that Ichigo hadn't understood. But after examining and then removing the hole in Riruka's body, Orihime said something that Ichigo thought he would never understand.

"I don't think Nel-chan wanted to kill Riruka."

"...you're gonna have to explain that," Ichigo insisted.

Orihime hesitated, her gaze flicking nervously around the hospital room. After being healed, Riruka had headed straight for the nearest vending machine for some juice. Apparently she was worried that Orihime hadn't completely healed her, and wanted to make sure she could drink liquids without springing a leak. Tatsuki had gone with her, less because she wanted to and more because Orihime had asked her to. This wasn't entirely out of concern for Riruka. Orihime was sure that she needed to speak to Ichigo alone, but now she was dreading the conversation.

"You don't know this, but when you suffered a similar injury, the wound was filled with the attacker's reiatsu, which made it extremely difficult to heal. Nel-chan knows that, she watched me heal you. But there was almost no trace of any reiatsu in Riruka's wound. The only explanation is that Nel-chan wanted me to be able to heal it easily. She wouldn't do that if she really wanted Riruka dead."

"But she punched a hole in Riruka's chest!" Ichigo shouted.

"That is... disturbing, but Nel-san was an Espada. I'm sure if she wanted to kill Riruka with one attack, I would have had to do a lot more than fill in a small hole."

"Why doesn't this bother you more?" Ichigo snapped.

Orihime stared at him sadly. "Because Nel-chan is my friend, and I trust her. Riruka seems nice, but I don't really know her that well. So if you're asking me to choose sides, I choose Nel-chan, no matter what she's done. I know Riruka and her friends are trying to restore your powers, and if they succeed and truly mean us no harm, then I will of course apologize to them for what Nel-chan did."

"They might not even want to keep teaching me after this," Ichigo muttered.

"Oh, we're going to keep at it," Jackie said angrily from the doorway. "And after all this trouble, you had better master Fullbring. Because if you don't rid us all of our powers, then I'm going to use mine to make your life a living hell." She paused, then nodded stiffly to Orihime. "Thank you for saving my best friend. She's not an easy person to love, but I do."

"You're very welcome," Orihime replied. "I know you have no reason to believe this now, but not all Hollows thoughtlessly attack people. Nel-chan has never done anything like this in all the time we've known her."

Jackie frowned at her. "I know you meant that to be reassuring. But it only tells me that either you don't know her well, or she's recently become violently unpredictable. Neither makes me want to get near her anytime soon."

"I'll make sure that Nel keeps her distance," Ichigo promised.

"Riruka has to accept part of the blame, too," Jackie sighed. "She wasn't supposed to go after you, but she thought she might be able to talk some sense into Shishigawara."

"Has that ever worked before?" Ichigo asked doubtfully.

"Yes, actually, but not enough times where I would suggest that you depend on it. He can be violently unpredictable, too."

"Do you think he'd hurt her?"

"He'd be more likely to hurt her friends instead. Despite everything, I think he actually does love Riruka too much to ever seriously hurt her. But he has a temper, and he would have no problem killing anyone who stood between him and her. I've never seen him punch a hole in someone's chest, but it does sound like he actually tried it with Sado and failed. Which is pretty odd, given the nature of his Fullbring."

"Which is what?" Ichigo asked. "You guys haven't actually told me anything about it."

"To put it simply, he's almost always lucky in a fight. The only person I know that's beaten him is Tsukishima, and that's more because Tsukishima trained him than anything else." Jackie laughed bitterly. "But, since Tsukishima is easily the best fighter among us, that just makes things worse."

"So why doesn't he stop Shishigawara, then?"

Jackie shrugged. "Trust me, I suggested that more than once. He always claims he can't bear to hurt his student, which I think is a load of bull. But no one else will stand to hear anything bad about Tsukishima, so I always get overruled. Plus he tends to pull this damned disappearing act whenever I get too insistent."

"It sounds like Tsukishima is simultaneously part of the problem and the best way to fix it," Orihime murmured.

"That's pretty much him in a nutshell," Jackie replied. "Problem is, he does all the manipulating, so it doesn't work at all on him. Force won't work, because as I said, he's better than all of us and we all know it."

"So why did he get me involved?" Ichigo asked. "I still don't even know how he knows me at all."

"No idea. All I know is we needed a Shinigami, and Tsukishima suggested you."

Karin scowled across the table at Uryū, who did his best to pretend he didn't notice. Ichigo had some weird friends, but Uryū was the only one that Karin didn't actually consider her brother's friend at all. They always ended up yelling at each other, for one thing. Ichigo could be a jerk sometimes, but Uryū seemed to be that way all of the time in Karin's opinion. Except around Yuzu, who he made a genuine attempt to be nice to. Around Karin, he mostly kept his mouth shut, probably because he knew what she thought of him.

The only reason Karin hadn't put up a fight when he'd insisted on walking them home was because he'd mentioned that Sado was supposed to join them. But Sado hadn't shown up, which was both annoying (it left them stuck with Uryū) and worrying (it wasn't like Sado to no-show without warning, unless he was unconcious or seriously hurt). Uryū had been concerned as well, but tried not to show it.

Thankfully, the doorbell rang about an hour before dinner. Karin immediately ran to the door and yanked it open. Sure enough, it was Sado. He seemed quiet, even for him, but otherwise fine.

"So where were you?" Karin demanded, glaring up at him. We were worried sick!" She gave him a kick to the ankle that probably hurt her more than it did him.

Sado had the decency to fake a wince. "Sorry, Karin. Something came up, and I had to help a friend. Let me introduce you." He moved aside, allowing Karin to see the tall, unassuming young man accompanying him.

"Hello," the man said, offering his hand to Karin. "You may call me Shū-chan."

Karin frowned and shook his hand. "Uh... why would I do that? I don't even know you."

"Of course you know me, Karin-chan," the man said as Yuzu and Uryū joined them in the front hall. "You all do. I know it's been a long time, so allow me to refresh your memories..."

Things had officially gotten out of hand, as far as Rukia could see. There were just way too many problems and she didn't have enough information or manpower to solve them all.

Oddly enough, Ginjō getting injured wasn't even at the top of the list: while his supposedly being attacked by Pesche was worrying, he would survive. It had been impossible to track Pesche, as apparently all of those years of hiding Nel from enemies had taught him plenty about concealing himself. In fact, if Pesche had not been guarding Orihime, who thankfully was not hiding, Rukia never would have stumbled across him. But talking to Pesche only brought up more questions: he denied attacking anyone, just as Rukia had expected, and had not even seen any Shinigami other than her and Urahara Kisuke since his arrival in Karakura Town. Furthermore, Nel had ordered him to stay at the hopsital, and he had done so, which Orihime and Tatsuki were able to verify. More than that, during the timeframe when Ginjō had been attacked, Pesche had actually been in the hospital room, bragging about his heroic exploits, so there was no way he had attacked Ginjō. Which meant there was either a convincing body double (which Rukia never even seriously considered, who would want to look like either of Nel's brothers?), or Ginjō was lying.

Then there was the matter of why Orihime and Tatsuki were even in the hospital at all. Rukia had gathered no real evidence on the mystery attacker, having been preoccupied with Xcution and their possible experimentation on Hollows. But in another blow to Ginjō's trustworthiness, there was no evidence of that, either. If anything, Xcution preferred to have nothing to do with Hollows, and surely that was the case now, with Nel's attack on Riruka. Rukia wouldn't have believed it if Orihime hadn't assured her that Ichigo had witnessed it himself. And it only made Rukia more certain that she needed to speak with Nel.

That, however, was something of a problem. Pesche either didn't know where Nel was, or wouldn't say. Rukia couldn't blame him with all that was going on, and with the way Ichigo had reacted to the attack, Nel was probably in no mood to talk to anyone. But Rukia felt sure that if Nel could explain why she'd felt the need to attack Riruka, it would help Rukia expose Xcution's true motives.

Finding Nel turned out to be pretty easy: even a former Espada would have stuck out among the Hollows that usually frequented Karakura Town, but just as with Pesche, there was almost no trace of her. That meant someone was helping her hide, and Rukia knew of only one person capable of and willing to do that. But since Nel wasn't at Urahara's shop, that left only one place she possibly could be, and Rukia couldn't figure out why Nel would ever go there. But sure enough, the moment that Rukia was allowed into the abandoned warehouse that the Visoreds called home, she was instantly able to sense Nel among them.

"Your barriers are amazing as ever, Hachigen-san," Rukia commented as the large man escorted her inside. "If I hadn't been here before, I never would have known to look for Nel here."

"I cannot take all the credit, Kuchiki-san," Hachigen replied. "Nel-chan is rather good at concealing herself, but she wanted to be sure that she'd be left alone while she was practicing."

Rukia frowned. "Practicing what?"

Hachigen paused notably. "Nel-chan has asked me not to say. In truth, the only reason I permitted you to enter is because I fear what will happen if Shinigami become involved without some advance warning. Nel-chan means well, but sometimes she still thinks like an Espada, and forgets that Shinigami may view her as such if they do not understand her intent."

"What is she doing here that could be misunderstood?" Rukia asked, genuinely worried now.

"Nel-chan believes that Xcution represents a very real threat to Ichigo, and is desparate to protect him. She has begun intense training in hopes of stabilizing her powers. Her goal is to return to her adult form permanently."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"Oh? You do not think that the Gotei 13 would be at all alarmed at the revival of a former Espada?"

Rukia hesitated. "Well, it's not as if Aizen is around to command them. And we've all grown stronger since then, so one Espada wouldn't be as much of a threat to us now. From what I heard, Nel wasn't even a real threat to the Espada in her adult form. Anyway, I'm sure I could explain that Nel means no harm."

"Except to those she considers enemies, and as I told you, she isn't exactly friends with all Shinigami." Hachigen sighed and shook his head. "In case you have forgotten, we Visoreds are a shining example of the Gotei 13 not appreciating subtle differences. True, they have accepted us now, but only after we were hidden away to keep them from hunting us, only after we proved our usefullness to them in combat. I doubt it will be any better for Nel-chan."

"I know that you had a bad experience, but I think-"

"Let me be clear," Hachigen interrupted, firmly. "I will not allow your misguided intentions to harm Nel-chan. The moment you set foot in here, I erected a barrier. The only person I know of who could possibly penetrate it without my permission is Orihime, and I am sure she would agree with my choice. You will stay until Nel says you can leave. It shouldn't be long now."

"What shouldn't be?" Rukia wasn't happy about being a prisoner, but she understood why it had been done, and so didn't protest. "How exactly is she training, and why did she need your help?"

"Each of the Espada had a unique, unmatched ability. Nel-chan's was her ability to safely absorb Cero, even at the Espada rank. We have been exploiting this to rapidly increase her power reserves."

"You actually think that's going to work?"

"It already has. Based on the results after only a single session with Hiyori, we-"

"Wait," Rukia cut in. "This would have been just before Nel decided to put her fist in a girl's chest, right?"

"Correct," Hachigen agreed.

Rukia stared at him in disbelief. "You don't seem at all concerned or convinced that there might be a connection between the two events."

"Because I am already sure. Nel-chan was very clear on that when she explained it to us in detail. Her rise in power is directly related to her increased aggression. There is no question of that."

"Then shouldn't you stop making her stronger, rather than help her intensify her training?"

"There are factors you are and must remain unaware of for the time being," Hachigen replied. "I can only say that the sooner Nel-chan has permanently regained her adult form and stabilized her power, the sooner she can ensure that such behavior will no longer occur."

Rukia said nothing more as Hachigen guided her to an underground room that more closely resembled a desert landscape. She instantly recognized the other Visoreds, all of whom were sprawled about the ground in various positions and looked fairly exhausted. Rukia had no idea how much energy was required to fire a Cero, but it looked as if they'd given their all and then some in order to help Nel. She didn't think they would have bothered if there was no real chance of success, based on what Ichigo had told her about them.

"Rukia-chan!" a voice cried happily.

Rukia turned and was nearly bowled over as an adult-sized Nel slammed into her and gave her a crushing hug. "N-Nel?" she gasped, hoping she could be heard over what she was sure was the sound of her ribs cracking.

"I'm so glad you're here! I missed you!"

"Nel, you're... big again?" Rukia asked weakly, wincing as Nel gave her another squeeze before letting go.

"Yeah! Hiyori and the others gave me all their Cero, and it worked! I think I can finally stay in this form for good!

"So your training is complete now?"

Nel frowned. "Um... no, actually. I still need more help."

"More?" Rukia asked in shock. "But why? You're already-" She trailed off abruptly, finally noticing something truly odd. Nel was an adult now, at least in body, so there were some clear changes in that respect, but nothing too unexpected (although Rukia personally thought that certain women had no right to be quite so busty). There was one change that Rukia found a bit disturbing, however: Nel's Hollow skull now had a third eye socket, positioned slightly higher and between the expected ones. And for no reason that Rukia could explain, she felt that third socket wasn't quite so empty as the others, and that the eye hidden within it might be watching her closely.

Hachigen suddenly cleared his throat. "Nel-chan, your guests have arrived. I shall let them in now."

"Thanks, Hachi!" Nel squealed, giving him a big hug. "I can't wait for you guys to meet my family!"

Rukia wondered if she should explain to Nel that meeting her "brothers" for the first time was actually annoying at best and downright terrifying at worst, but decided not to spoil the mood any worse than the sight of Dondochokka's face would. However, it suddenly occured to her that if Nel's brother's were here, then it meant Pesche was no longer guarding Orihime and Tatsuki at the hospital. Before Rukia had the chance to worry about this, she saw that her fears were misplaced.

Well, not misplaced, exactly. More like she had just been worrying about the wrong problems.

Because while it was indeed Dondochokka who entered the trapdoor first, it was not Pesche who followed him in. Instead, there was a tall, slender woman with long, olive-green hair. That was all Rukia really got to see before Nel rushed past, blocking Rukia's view of the woman with a delighted cry of "Sun-chan!" The woman was soon on the recieving end of one of Nel's crushing hugs, though Rukia noted that the woman's discomfort with it seemed to extend, not from pain as expected, but from the act of affection itself. Almost as if she was presently so terribly strong that Nel's embrace couldn't actually hurt her. Because the alternative explanation was that Nel had actually shown some restraint during a hug, which Rukia had never known to happen.

That was odd, but not yet a cause for concern. At least, not until Rukia spotted the creature sitting patiently at the woman's feet. It was the exact same... "dog" Hollow that Rukia had seen earlier, with strength that easily surpassed a Gillian-class. And if it was this woman's pet, that could only mean that she was even stronger.

"You had us all greatly worried, Nel-dono," the woman said sternly, peeling Nel off with some effort (not, Rukia guessed, because Nel's grip was too strong for her, but because the woman seemed to be trying her best not to hurt Nel in any way during the process). "You should not have run off without telling us, and you should have asked for our help the moment you first found yourself in trouble."

Nel's whole body seemed to droop. "I'm really sorry, Sun-chan," she apologized, on the verge of tears. "I just wanted to be on my own for a while. I didn't want to be a burden anymore."

"What an incredibly foolish and wholly inaccurate thing to say. I have no choice but to punish you now." Sun reached out and began to rub Nel's head, as if she were a puppy. "You are not a burden, Nel-dono. You are our most precious and troublesome little sister. Now, promise to never shame your big sisters by repeating such a thoughtless lie in Harribel-sama's presence."

"I promise!" Nel cried at once, showing clear signs of wanting to hug again.

Sun sighed and nodded, rolling her eyes as Nel latched onto her again. "You should also make sure to thank Ayon and Dondochokka. They brought me directly to you."

Nel immediately rewarded them both with a hug and a kiss on the head. For some reason, Nel rewarded Ayon first, then returned after rewarding Dondochokka and picked the dog up, cuddling it in her arms.

Sensing this was a good time to interrupt, Rukia hesitantly stepped forward. "Excuse me, but... I wasn't aware Nel had any sisters. May I have your name?"

Sun stared at Rukia for a long moment, and then replied, quite rudely, "No, you may not. I am not in the habit of allowing unknown Shinigami to have my name."

Rukia frowned. "Then I suppose I will have to refer to you as 'Sun-chan' until-"

With no warning, Rukia suddenly found the sharp, middle tip of a sai pressing against her throat. "That is 'Sun-sama' to you, Shinigami. You are addressing the second most powerful Arrancar in Hueco Mundo, and you will show me the proper respect."

Nel pouted and tugged on Sun's sleeve. "Sun-chan, Rukia-chan is my friend. You can't hurt her."

Sun hesitated, then made the sai vanish back into her long sleeve. "Very well, Nel-dono. But in the future, advise your... 'friends' that I do not tolerate such rudeness. You may have a few moments to rest, and then we will immediately continue working on this project of yours." She turned and walked away abruptly, muttering to herself. Dondochokka looked torn for a moment, glancing between Sun and Nel uncertainly, but at Nel's nod, he quickly dipped his head and rushed after Sun.

"I'm not sure I care much for your sister, Nel," Rukia admitted, rubbing her throat carefully.

"That's what most people say about Sun-chan," Nel agreed. "But she always takes really good care of me, and she never yells at me no matter how mad I make her."

"What is this project you're working on, Nel? Can you tell me about it?"

"No." Nel turned away from her. "I made a promise. If you knew, you'd try to stop me. And if you did that, I don't know that I could stop Sun-chan from killing you. I don't want you to die, Rukia-chan. I don't want any of my friends to die."

Ichigo returned to his home physically and mentally exhausted. He had spent the majority of the day attempting to master his Fullbring, and the rest worrying over what Nel had done to Riruka. He was thankful that he had friends like Sado that were willing to step in and look after his family, or he'd never manage to get anything done.

The house was oddly quiet even for the late hour: Ichigo half-expected his father to come flying around the corner with a welcoming dropkick at any second, but it didn't happen. Even odder, there was no note from Yuzu telling him that she'd made a plate from dinner just for him, and no sign of the aforementioned plate on the stove, in the oven, or in the refrigerator.

There was one note, however, but it wasn't downstairs at all, or from anyone in his family. It was upstairs, pinned to the girls' bedroom door, and with each line that Ichigo read, his blood ran a little colder.

"Kurosaki, your Hollow put a hole in my girl's chest, so maybe I'll return the favor on your two girls. Bring me Riruka, you can have Yuzu. Bring me the Hollow, you can have Karin. Agree to become my new underling, and I'll leave your friends out of this. Don't keep me waiting. Oh, and if you kill the Hollow in front of me, as a sign of good faith, I'll tell you exactly why you can't depend on Xcution to get you out of this mess. Best wishes, Shishigawara."

"It's my fault, isn't it?"

Pesche turned away from the window to find Orihime staring at him from her hospital bed. "What's your fault?"

"The way Nel-chan is acting now. It's because of the favor she's doing for me, isn't it? Please don't lie to me, Pesche."

"I have no reason to lie. You are mistaken."

Orihime shook her head. "It's obvious to me. The way she attacked Riruka... it's the exact same way that Ulquiorra attacked his enemies. I've changed Nel-chan for the worst, haven't I?"

"You are mistaken," Pesche repeated. "Nel-chan has not changed at all."

Orihime stared at him in shock. "How can you say that, after what you saw today?"

"What I saw was Nel-chan protecting a friend, even though she knew that friend might not appreciate her help. She has always been that way, and I would know better than you."

"Then how do you explain her using his signature attack?"

Pesche shrugged. "It is possible that his persona has begun to take root in her mind, but Dondochokka and I would know at once if that was dangerous to Nel-chan."

"It seems to be more dangerous to those around her, actually," Orihime disagreed.

"Those who should not be around her," Pesche corrected smoothly.

"So then... she's not in any danger of being taken over?"

"No. Even if she was, we have ways of preventing that. We have watched over Nel-chan for a long time, and we are quite good at it."

"You are quite certain you can do this safely, Nel-dono?" Sun asked for the third time. "Harribel-sama would never forgive me if I caused you serious injury. I would have a most difficult time accepting it myself."

"I can't promise it won't hurt me," Nel admitted, "but I'm sure it will help a lot either way, and we need to do this fast. I never expected it to be completely painless."

Sun sighed and shook her head. "I never imagined that one of the perks of my new station would involve harming you, but I am under orders to assist you in any way you deem necessary."

"And I really do appreciate it, Sun-chan. I knew I could count on you."

"Stop being cute, you're only making this harder for me," Sun snapped, rummaging around in her sleeves.

"They're just talking," Rukia complained from her position behind a large boulder several yards away. "I thought they were going to do something extremely dangerous?"

"They are," Hachigen assured her. "You do not seem to understand just who Sun-san is."

"One of the few surviving Fracción, but why is that important?"

Hachigen shook his head. "That is merely who she once was. Things have changed drastically in Hueco Mundo since Aizen's war ended. According to Nel-chan, the former Espada that Sun-san serves is now the ruling power there."

Rukia shrugged. "Process of elimination can do that, and Hollows have always been good at eliminating, especially each other."

"I'm afraid it is not quite that simple. You have seen how devoted Nel-chan's Fracción are to her. That is not at all typical of the bond between Espada and Fracción, and that only makes the nature of the bond all the more uniquely strong. Sun-san did not merely happen to become a high-ranking Arrancar simply because her master did, or because there was no left to challenge them. They seized power and ruthlessly crushed anything and anyone that stood in their way. She may have been bragging when she stated how powerful she was, but it was far from a lie." Hachigen paused and cleared his throat. "You said that the Espada would no longer be a threat, because Shinigami as a whole had grown stronger. But I'm afraid you are mistaken. The Espada are not in the habit of merely allowing their rivals to surpass them due to their own inactivity. The very nature of the Espada demands that they constantly grow stronger, or else risk losing their position, or their very lives. And that is merely to protect them from their own kind. Nel-chan was outclassed when she faced an Espada in battle, yet she had once been one of them, and should have had a better idea than anyone how powerful they were. So when I tell you that you have no idea how powerful Sun-san is, trust me, it is all too true."

Before Rukia could say anything else, a brilliant, pink light washed over them, and an instant later, the boulder began to move, slowly but surely, away from where Sun and Nel had been training.

"It has begun," Hachigen murmured, slamming his hands together and quickly erecting a barrier around them.

Rukia peered around his arm and was shocked by what she saw. Sun was charging a Cero with one arm, but it was nothing like any Cero that Rukia had ever seen before (and that was saying something, since she'd nearly had her head vaporized by one at point-blank range in the past). As the energy formed a ball, jagged bolts constantly seeped out, tearing out large chunks of ground and making the attack resemble a rapidly growing spider. "W-What is that?" she gasped.

"They call it Gran Rey Cero," Hachigen explained. "It is a far more powerful variation that is unique to the Espada."

"Then why is she using it?!" Rukia demanded.

Hachigen slowly turned to look at her. "I believe I just told you why," he responded, and any words after that were lost in the massive explosion that followed.

Continued in Chapter 5: Deadlock

Ichigo finds himself in a three-way struggle between Shishigawara, who holds the Kurosaki sisters hostage, and Xcution, who insist that he master his Fullbring before challenging Shishigawara. But there are several factors Ichigo is unaware of, including the return of old foes who are now new friends, and old friends that are now new foes.