Yo everybody! I'm kind of surprised at myself. I wrote 'First Steps' largely to exercise a persistent plot bunny out of my head. Try to work on other things and it won't leave my head. Ended up writing bits and pieces here and there until just a couple days ago when I started writing this. I just couldn't stop writing.

I should note that there are some spoilers for Kingdom Hearts 3D so if you haven't played it, watched a walkthrough, or read the plot then you may want to consider stopping here and doing that first. Oh and read 'First Steps' first if you haven't otherwise this won't make much sense.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Kingdom Hearts, just this story.

Ichigo Kurosaki roared as he slashed Tensa Zangetsu across the walls of his prison with every ounce of strength he had. But it didn't even scratch the walls. He could still hear the sounds of the Vandenreich's invasion of the Seireitei, the agonized death cries of the shinigami as they fell. If things were as bad as they sounded the Seireitei wasn't going to last much longer. He had to get there before it was too late! "Getsuga Tenshō!" he howled as swung the sword down, throwing everything into the attack.

The black energy slammed into the side of his prison but again it had no effect. Ichigo let out a frustrated snarl, clutching Zangetsu in a white knuckle grip. For all he could do he might as well be throwing pebbles at it. It would have the same effect. He was trapped in this cage while people, friends and comrades were fighting and dying out there.

"Ichigo!" a voice suddenly called out from, piercing the screams and cries of battle. "Ichigo can you hear me?!"

The substitute shinigami froze at the sound of the voice. Ichigo knew that voice but it couldn't be him. He was dead, utterly obliterated nearly eighteen months ago by Aizen. Urahara had said that there wasn't anything left of them, no bodies to bury, no souls to send to the Soul Society, just nothing. So then how could it be him? "Keigo?!" he uttered glancing over his shoulder, half expecting the teen to scream out his name and tackle him.

"What?!" the voice….Keigo replied.

Ichigo couldn't believe. It had to be some kind of trick. He seen them being killed, he had gone to their funerals. How could he be alive? "Keigo… is that really you?!"

"It's Keigo! Speak up! I'm having a hard time hearing you! Just hold on Ichigo I'll get ya out of there!"

"How?!" Ichigo shouted back as loud as he could.

"Don't worry about it! I got something here that can unlock just about anything!" Keigo yelled back.

A pinprick of light appeared in the center of the wall, slowly growing in size. The electric crackling filled the air, joined an instant later by an agonized scream. "Keigo!" Ichigo shouted, worry and panic in his voice.

"I'm alright!" his friend called back. "It's just fighting back!"

Ichigo grimaced as the crackling increased and Keigo cried out again. Another nasty surprise from Quilge. Undoubtedly if he had managed to damage cage it would have started lashing out at him, instead it was harming Keigo. It wasn't like this was Chad or Renji or some of the others who could take a beating, this was Keigo, one of the scrawniest, wimpiest guys he knew. He wouldn't last long against whatever was attacking.

"Don't worry about me Ichigo!" Keigo yelled out as though sensing what he was thinking. "I've been hit by-AAAAARGH!" There was a pause and for a moment Ichigo feared the worst but then he heard his voice continue, "Been hit by a lot worse than this! You won't believe what I've seen and done!"

The crackling intensified and Keigo screamed again, louder and longer. Ichigo winced at his friend's cries, his eyes still on the growing light. It was now the size of a fist but at this rate Keigo wouldn't survive long enough to complete whatever it was he was doing. "Keigo! Don't worry about me! Just get out of here!"

"Can't do that Ichigo! We don't abandon our friends!"

"But-"

"We couldn't do anything to help you back then but this time we can!"

'We?' Ichigo stopped, realizing that the 'we' could only mean…

"Hi there!" Mizuiro Kojima greeted as approached the battle. A tall, thin masked woman in white standing triumphant before a badly wounded shinigami, both surrounded by a floating cherry blossom petals. Nearby a massive masked man was pinning down a vaguely familiar red haired shinigami. The instant those words left his mouth all eyes were on him. "Sorry for interrupting but I think he's had enough."

"Who are you? Another shinigami?" the woman demanded, the petals withdrawing behind her.

"A shimigami? What gave you that idea? I'm not exactly wearing black, am I?" he nonchalantly replied, his hands tracing over his armor for affect. "No, I'm just a human with some armor and a key."

He and the others hadn't changed out of their Keyblade Armor when they arrived here, these spirit layers of Earth weren't meant to support flesh and blood humans like them. They wouldn't survive here outside their armor anymore than they would in the Lanes Between Worlds. Of course the added protection helped too.

The woman seemed to relax a little, undoubtedly seeing him as no longer a serious threat. "Human? You work for the shinigami then?"

Mizuiro shrugged his shoulders. "No I don't work them. I mean I really only know two and one of them just barely at that."

"Then why are you helping them?"

He couldn't help but smile beneath his helmet. Why indeed. Why help one group of people on a single world when they were facing a threat to all the people of all the worlds? "Allow me to introduce myself, Mizuiro Kojima, Keyblade wielder and good friend to Ichigo Kurosaki," he said, giving her a slight bow. "May I ask your name?"

"Äs Nödt of the Stern Ritter," the woman answered.

"Äs Nödt…" Mizuiro said aloud slowly, sounding the name out. "That's a strange name ma'am-"

"I'm a man," his opponent sharply retorted.

The Keyblade warrior blinked his eyes. Where they really a man? He losing his eye for women if that was the case. "Really? Sorry about that. You really look like a…" He shook his head. "Never mind. I don't suppose I could ask to stop, can I?"

"I won't stop until every shinigami is dead," Äs coldly replied.

"Then we have a problem," Mizuiro commented, flexing his left hand. "Like I said before I don't really know these shinigami or why your kind is trying to wipe them out and truthfully I don't care about it, I have far bigger problems to concern myself with."

"Then leave."

Mizuiro let out a drawn out sigh. "But here's the problem, Ichigo is friends with these guys and I know how important they are to him and as one of his friends I can't let this continue."

With that he lifted his left hand up, summoning his Keyblade, Falsus. Äs responded by summoning floating spikes around him. "Then die."

"Don't let the thorns touch you!" the red haired shinigami before getting hit by his captor.

The spikes took off, racing towards him. Mizuiro held his Keyblade up, its teeth glowing with magical power. "Reflega!"

A dome of hexagonal plates surrounded him just before the thorns reached. They harmlessly struck the shield and disintegrated. "Hmm… I thought that would have been stronger," Mizuiro admitted as dome faded away. "But if that's the extent of your power than this won't take long."

Äs narrowed his eyes, rising up a badge in his hand. "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!"

The cherry blossom petals that were still floating behind him surged forward. Instinctively his Keyblade shot up again. "Reflega!"

The petals crashed down on the shield like a wave of pink breaking on a rock. But unlike with the spikes they didn't disperse, pushing down with an immense force on his shield. Cracks started to form, small at first but quickly growing and spreading across the surface of the shield. Then it buckled and the petals slammed into him, raking across his entire body. Mizuiro cried out but the sound was muffled beneath the mass of petals.

And just when he thought he was about to be smothered to death by them they withdrew, returning to Äs. The teen groaned but quickly got back up to his feet. There were cuts all over his body but his armor had taken the worst of it, with only a few shallow ones bleeding. Fortunately the Keyblade Armor's magic would continue to protect him from the hazardous environment of the Soul Society even when damaged. As long as the core stone wasn't broken and remained on him he'd be safe.

"Your shield ability is useless against Senbonzakura Kageyoshi," Äs gloaded.

"You stole that power from Captain Kuchiki!" the red haired shinigami shouted, earning a bone-crunching punch from his massive captor.

Interesting. If that power was stolen then that badge must be the means of controlling it. If he could get his hands on it… A grin spread across his face. Yes, that could work. "Well than I just won't block it next time," he replied. "But that will be the last time you hit me with it."

That seemed to amuse Äs, predictably rising the badge up again. Arrogant opponents were always so much easier to manipulate. The razor-blade blossoms flew towards him again. Mizuiro lifted up his weapon and waited. If this was going to work he couldn't cast until the last possible second. It wasn't until they were mere inches away that he cast the spell. "Zero Graviga!"

The pink mass suddenly stopped, harmlessly drifting apart in every direction. Mizuiro took off, sprinting through the mass as though it was nothing more than falling rain. The second he cleared the mass more spikes appeared, soaring towards his head but he swatted them aside with his Keyblade before pointing the head of his weapon as Äs. "Fira!"

A fireball leapt off the tip of his weapon, racing towards the lanky man but Äs was faster, already moving out of its path. But that was just as Mizuiro predicted, his arm swinging upward the instant the fire was thrown. "Thundaga!"

Bolts of lightning started dropping from the sky on Äs. He managed to evade the first and second but the third, fourth and fifth hit him one after another. The bolts stunned him, his body twitching from the electricity. Mizuiro lunged at him, whacking his arm with his Keyblade. The medallion flew from his hand, sliding across the ground. He dove for it, scooping up the badge. Smirking Mizuiro climbed back up to his feet, presenting the badge to Äs. "I told you it wouldn't take-"

Suddenly a fist slammed into the side of his head with the force of a meteor, sending him crashing into a pile of rubble. It had been that masked giant, the one pinning that shinigami. Slowly Mizuiro picked himself up, chastising himself for ignoring the other one. Worse he had lost the medal.

"What'd he think he could do with this," the massive man grunted, holding it. He turned back to Äs who had recovered from the spell. "You alright-"

This time a fist slammed down onto of his head, toppling the giant.

"Don't you know it's rude to interfere in someone else's fight?" Tatsuki Arisawa said, landing on top of his bulk. She glanced over at him. "You alright Mizuiro?"

"A little bruised but fine," he answered, summoning back his Keyblade. "I was beginning to wonder what was taking you so long."

Tatsuki shrugged her shoulders in response. "I wanted to see how the rest of the battle was going. It's bad everywhere."

"Of course it is," Äs replied, creating more spikes. "We're going to exterminate every last shinigami."

"Don't you know what they do?" Tatsuki exclaimed in disbelief. "They're vital to this world's survival, to mankind's survival! You'd destroy the world and yourself too!"

"And your point is?"

That set her off and as he had long learned, a mad Tatsuki was never a pleasant Tatsuki. Undoubtedly she was already on edge from all the carnage going on here in the Soul Society. "Alright that's it! Screw Xehanort and Organization XIII!" she shouted. "We're not leaving until these guys are gone!"

"Such a strange weapon and armor you have," Quilge Opie mused as he continued to swing and slice his sword. "It emits energy unlike anything I've ever felt before. Or is that just you?"

Chizuru Honshō gritted her teeth as she defended herself. While she managed to keep up with his speed, parrying and blocking his blows with her Keyblade she couldn't match his massive strength. Every blow was pushing her further and further back in the sand. Not surprising given the man's huge form. The whole left side of his chest and arm had grown so large they had torn out of his damaged uniform, giving the tall man a truly twisted shape. The manic glint in his inhuman eyes didn't help.

"In fact I can't sense any reishi whatsoever within your body," the man continued, their blades clashing. "Quite strange don't you think?"

"I have no idea what 'reishi' is but my body isn't made of it," Chizuru replied, just barely managing to parry a thrust to her left side before quickly countered with a horizontal slice. "I'm nothing more than flesh and blood."

But Quilge was faster, disappearing and reappearing a dozen feet away, ribbons of energy emerging from the guard of his sword. "Impossible," he scoffed, his sword glowing. "A flesh and blood human couldn't survive in this world. They'd be dead in seconds."

With that he fired off the energy from his blade, the shot racing towards her. It was too fast to dodge, too fast to shield herself, all she could do was block it and hope for the best. The energy slammed into her raised Keyblade and the explosion consumed everything.

The blast threw Chizuru off her feet, her helmet flying from her head. She crashed back down, rolling across the sand. For a moment all she could was lay there, her ears ringing. Slowly she started to push her body up from the sand. Chizuru spat on the ground the taste of copper in her mouth. The projectile had been powerful but not as bad as she feared, certainly nothing compared to what Tatsuki had thrown at her in the past.

"…to answer me?" Quilge said, his voice piercing the fading ringing. "No matter. I'll just kill you and your friend trying to kill free Ichigo Kurosaki."

She looked up at him just as his sword descended on her. Chizuru threw up her Keyblade to block it, the blade catching on the crescents that made up the shaft. "I thought as much," Quilge commented, an arrogant sneer on his face. "I noticed that you have harder time reacting to attacks on your left, like you have a hard time seeing on that side." He drove his foot into her chest, knocking her onto her back. "Or like you don't have a left eye."

Chizuru couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah I'm missing an eye," she said as she climbed up to one knee than onto her feet. "What's your point? You think I'm weak causing I'm missing my eye?"

She lunged at Quilge, swinging her Keyblade down in a diagonal arc. The man effortless brought his sword up, blocking her strike. "Hmph. No I know you're weak with or without both eyes."

The Keyblade wielder twisted her weapon, its curved edges locking around the blade. Pulling with all she had Chizuru knocked the weapon from his hand. She followed up with a quick slash across his chest, followed by another then another and another, striking him as many times as fast as she could. Blow after blow hit Quilge, staggering him before she finished him off with downward strike on his head. There was a sickening crunch and the man crumpled.

Chizuru shouldered her Keyblade as she stared down at her fallen opponent, his neck at an unnatural angle. It was over. "Hmph. Who's weak now," she spat, turning to leave.

"You are," Quilge calmly replied.

Eyes wide in shock Chizuru spun around. Quilge had climbed back up to his feet, his neck still twisted. "Your attacks are incapable of piercing my Blut Vene," he continued, snapping his next back into place. "You can't hurt-"

Suddenly Chizuru drove her armored knee into his groin. Quilge shrieked in agony, keeling over from the blow. It didn't matter what kind of defensive powers they had no man was immune to that. "You…you bitch…" the man wheezed, glaring at her with hatred. "I'm going to-"

WHACK!

She hit him in head with her weapon like a batter hitting a home run. Given he had endured her last attack it was unlikely it had hurt him to any really degree but it still felt pretty damn good. True to form Quilge rose up, his right hand brushing sand off of his uniform. "My turn."

He took off in a burst of speed, cocking back his oversized left arm. Chizuru lifted up her Keyblade, preparing for whatever he had in store. The fist slammed into her with the force of an avalanche, shattering her Keyblade and throwing her once more into the air.

Tumbling Chizuru landed on her back, red hot pain flaring through her ribs. Groaning she glanced down at her chest, a spider web of cracks across her breastplate.

"Blut Arterie, the offensive form of Blut," Quilge explained, pulling his sword from the ground. "Submit to your death woman, even if your weapon wasn't broken you can't break my defense anymore than you can withstand my offense."

Chizuru gritted her teeth and threw away her broken weapon before staggering back up to her feet. He was right about one thing she wouldn't be able to take many more of those attacks. With her left arm wrapped around her chest she felt out her right, resummoning her intact Keyblade.

"Amusing," the man commented. "But restoring your weapon doesn't change a thing."

Again he was right but that was because she had been holding back, unwilling to tap into it. She didn't want to use his teachings, use his power. But there was no choice. At this rate she was going to die, so would Keigo, Orihime and everyone else if she couldn't stop him.

"As if! Admit it Red, you love it!"

She reached down into her heart, into that dark place. Her anger, her sorrow, her pain, her darkness, Chizuru pulled it all up. The Darkness reinvigorated her body, the pain of her wounds fading as a dark aura surrounded her and her Keyblade. Quilge paused, eyeing her cautiously. Chizuru leapt off her feet, racing towards him. He raised his sword but he wasn't fast enough, her Keyblade shattering the blade with a single swing. But she didn't stop there, slicing and slashing at the man with a wild fury, her strength and speed augmented by the Darkness. Blow after blow struck Quilge, he staggered back blood beginning to pour from the wounds on his body. Chizuru stopped, pulling her free hand back. "Dark Firaga!" she shouted, wisps of purple fire dancing on her fingers.

Her arm flew forward striking his chest, a growing ball of dark fire slamming into him. The man flew backwards, chest burning. But he didn't stay down long. Somehow Quilge got back onto his feet, his eyes filled with rage and agony. His broken sword shot up, energy erupting from it.

Chizuru let out a groan. What was it going to take to put this guy down?! "Just die already!" she shouted as he dropped his weapon while hers shot forward. "Mega Flare!"

A ball of fire flew from the tip of her Keyblade hitting him dead on, instantly erupting into a blazing firestorm that engulfed both of them. Chizuru herself was protected by the magic of the spell, Quilge was not.

After a few moments the fires flickered and faded away, leaving Chizuru alone in a field of glass. But given just how resilient he had proven she wasn't about to let her guard down yet. She took at step forward, glass crunching under feet as she scanned the area. After a few seconds she found the only trace of Quilge, a small burnt piece of metal, like a badge or a metal lying about here he had been standing. There was nothing else, no other trace of him. He was gone. She crushed the badge under her heel, satisfied that it was over.

With the fight over she allowed herself to collapse to one knee, exhausted and pain of her wounds returning. Quilge had pushed her more than she expected but not as badly as past battles. Yet once again she had been forced to tap into the Darkness despite her promise. No matter how much she buried it, it was always there, baiting her to use it. Worse she like it, she always had.

"Chizuru?" a voice called out, startling her.

It was Orihime, a worried look on her beautiful face as she stood at the edge of the field of glass. The Keyblade wielder couldn't help but smile at the sight of her onetime crush. She got back up to her feet, taking in the sight of her. The last time she saw Orihime she was beautiful, now she was absolutely stunning. Chizuru tensed, her lost eye throbbing, reminding her that while time had been kind to Orihime, it hadn't to her. Still it was great to see her again after so long.

"Hey Hime."

Tatsuki Arisawa roared, lunging at the tall man, Äs, swinging her Keyblade and fist at him. Unlike the others she had come to favor the reverse grip stance, allowing her to mix her martial arts skills into her fighting style. But Äs was just a little too fast, narrowly evading her attacks before pulling as far away from her as possible. Though they had been fighting for all of a few minutes she had already gotten a good feel about what thing of fighter he was. He was a long range fighter, likely his scrawny frame as weak as it looked. Unfortunately he also seemed unusually resistant to magic. Then again magic wasn't really her specialty. Still she had other abilities at her disposal.

Pulling her arm back Tatsuki flung her Keyblade, the weapon spinning as it flew after him. Äs tried to dodge it but the Keyblade tracked his movements, striking him across the chest. But unlike other warriors who simply threw their Keyblades and waited for it return she took off after it, hitting him the instant after her weapon did. Punches rained down on Äs, staggering him back. Tatsuki stopped, lifting up her right. Effortlessly she caught her Keyblade and swung it down, smashing it across his head.

Äs collapsed as she landed on her feet, her knuckles aching. Punching him had been like punching a mountain. So maybe he wasn't as physically frail as she thought. Still that had hurt him. The man quickly got back up, blood trailing down his forehead. A trio of his thorns appeared, lunging at her. Mizuiro had warned to avoid them but at this range all she could was block. Two struck her raised Keyblade, the third grazed her shoulder but didn't penetrate it. It probably was an effective weapon against the unarmor shinigami but against an armored foe it was lacking.

"Hey Äs!" the other warrior suddenly shouted, breaking away from his fight to Mizuiro to throw something at his comrade. "Catch!"

"Stop him!" Mizuiro yelled out.

The object, a medallion, flew through the air. Tatsuki leapt after it but so did Äs and unfortunately he was still just a bit faster than her. He plucked the medal out of the air, smirking as he spun around and pointed it at her. "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi," he proclaimed.

"Run!" Mizuiro screamed as pink pedals pour out from the medallion.

She didn't need to be told twice as a tidal wave of pink descended on her. The two of them took off running, the mass close behind them. But they couldn't outrun it for long, the unwavering swarm reaching closer and closer.

The two of them spun on their heels, turning to face the wave. Her left hand grabbed his right. "Reflega!" the two Keyblade wielders shouted, thrusting their weapons into the air.

Their magic intertwined, combining two strong spells into an even greater one. The shield surrounded him just as the petals reached them. Like a thousand knife blades they raked across the shield, slowly cutting into it. "This isn't going to hold for long," Mizuiro said, stating the obvious. "He supposedly stole this power from a shinigami and put it in that medal. If we can get it out of his hands he can't use it."

"You got a plan?"

"At the moment, not really," he admitted. "But if we can-"

Suddenly the shield shattered, the petals cutting into their bodies. Then the pedals withdrew, the two of them collapsing to their knees. "You know… I think I'm actually starting to miss the Heartless, Nobodies and Unversed," Mizuiro grunted, bleeding a bit more than her. "Ichigo can have these guys."

"Hmph. We've faced tougher," Tatsuki replied as she staggered back to her feet. "Like those two in the Coliseum."

Mizuiro said nothing as he got back up to his feet. Though his face was concealed behind his helmet she knew he was smiling… most likely. But he did get what she was suggesting. "Yeah they were tougher and at least their clothing wasn't struggling to hold back their fat."

The masked giant tensed. "What did you say?" he demanded, anger building inside of him.

"Or have the worst taste in clothes imaginable," she casually added. "I mean who wears that much white?"

Äs scornfully shook his head. "Are you trying to-"

"MOUTHY LITTLE BRATS!" his partner howled, jumping into the air at them probably intending to do some kind of flying body slam.

"Stopga!" the two of them shout back, combining their magic once again.

The giant froze, temporarily suspended in midair. But they didn't stop to admire their handiwork, both sprinting for Äs the moment the spell had hit. The tall man once again summoned the razor petals, the wave descending on them.

But this time they were ready. Mizuiro stopped, thrusting his glowing Keyblade at it. "Deep Freeze!"

Ice and frigid air pour out of his weapon, spreading across the mass of petals freezing them into a solid, pink block of ice. Tatsuki bounded up and over it, leaping off the top. She threw her Keyblade as she lunged at him. Stunned by what had happened to Senbonzakura Kageyoshi he didn't manage to get his guard up in time, the Keyblade slamming into him a second before she did, throwing both of them to the ground. Oddly his body didn't seem as hard was last time.

The fall had sent the medal flying from Äs's fingers, bouncing across the ground. Both their eyes darted for it. Tatsuki leapt off him, diving for the object. Her fingers brushed against only to be pulled back, Äs's hands wrapping around her ankle. He started to pull while she kicked back with her free leg but his skin had returned to its tough, iron-like state. But that didn't stop her, fighting with everything she had to get the badge, her fingers edging closer and closer.

"Fira!" Mizuiro called out.

A fireball slammed into Äs's side, breaking his grip on her leg. Freed, Tatsuki dove forward scooping up the badge. "Mizuiro!" she shouted, throwing it into the air.

The medallion flipped in the air towards Mizuiro who raised his Keyblade up, stabbing it as it reached him. Light erupted from its surface and behind him the ice exploded. But the petals didn't attack instead they slammed together into a ball, shrinking smaller and smaller, condensing into a simple katana that clattered to the ground.

"How did you do that?!" Äs angrily demanded as he picked himself up from the ground. "You shouldn't have been able to free his Bankai!"

Already standing on her feet Tatsuki grinned. "A Universal Key," she answered using Keigo's nickname. "Among other things it unlocks just about any and all locks."

Suddenly everyone froze, or in the case of the oversized wrestle unfroze, a heavy, hot pressure on the air. It rapidly drew out the moisture from the air, leaving it dry and arid. Something big was happening, something big and something terrible…

"His Majesty…" Äs uttered in a mixture of awe and worry.

He and his partner took, heading for the source of the pressure. "Not so fast," Tatsuki called out, she and Mizuiro moving to intercept them.

No sooner had those words left her lips than an explosion roared above them, all eyes on the sky. An opening formed in the middle of the air, smoke billowing out as a figure emerged. He looked a little older but there was no mistaking who it was. It was Ichigo, shouldering an unconscious Keigo on one arm, clutching his black sword in the other. He peered down at them for a second or two before jumping down, landing by the two Keyblade warriors. Tatsuki reached up and pulled off her helmet. "It's about damn time Ichigo," she said to him. "I was beginning to think we'd have to fight this whole army by ourselves."

Ichigo's face twitched, unsure of how to express itself. It looked like he wanted to smile like he use to when they were little but at the same time knew how serious things were and that it wasn't appropriate to smile right now. Either that or he knew how stupid that grin was and didn't want to ruin his image by smiling like the goofball he was carrying. Instead he settled for a small but warm grin. "Tatsuki," he quietly said, almost like he was afraid it was all a dream. "It's…it's good to see you again."

Tatsuki couldn't help but return the smile as he laid Keigo down. It felt like a lifetime since she had last seen him which really wasn't all that far from the truth. "Same here Ichigo, same here."

"Not to interrupt but this isn't really the place for a reunion," Mizuiro commented, his helmet still on.

The bright haired shinigami cocked an eyebrow. "Mizuiro?"

"Ichigo," the Keyblade wielder replied, nodding his head.

The three of them turned to the two white clad foes. They looked torn between running off to their master or stay here and try to stop Ichigo. Tatsuki snorted. Either way they weren't going to succeed. "We'll handle these two Ichigo," she said, calling back her Keyblade. "You find their leader and take him out."

Ichigo hesitated for a moment, probably thinking they were still like they were back then, weak and helpless. She was annoyed but given what happened the last time they saw each other she could understand, kind of. Whatever his concerns were they quickly passed and he nodded. "Right," Ichigo agreed just before taking off.

But the nameless giant took off after him. "Ha! Like we'd ever let you touch His-"

In his zeal to stop Ichigo he didn't notice Tatsuki had caught up to him, driving her armored fist into his chin. The giant crumpled like so many others before him at the old Dojo. Who would have thought the big guy had such glass jaw? Behind Äs attacked with his spikes again but this time Mizuiro intercepted them, creating a barrier to block them.

"You gotta get through us first to get to Ichigo!" Tatsuki said eager to finish the fight.

Keigo Asano lifted his helmet up to his face, inspecting the damage. The lightning from the cage had marred the metal with burns and small rents but nothing the armor's magic couldn't repair. He was lucky it hadn't been much strong or he may not have been able to free Ichigo. Satisfied he placed the helmet beside on the large chuck of stone he had been sitting on. At one point it had been either a part of a road or a wall before the invasion, now it was just another piece of debris.

"You're hair's standing up Mister Asano," Mizuiro commented, startling him as he and Tatsuki approached.

He put a hand over his head, feeling the brown locks standing up from his scalp. "How bad is it?"

"Looks a little bit like Terra's," Tatsuki replied, setting down next to him.

Keigo groaned, desperately brushing his hair down. While Terra had many admirable traits, his hair style was not one of them. "Better?" he asked after a moment.

"By your standards, yes," Chizuru replied, joining the group. "By everyone else's, not by a long shot."

Unlike the rest of them the red head's armor was pristine and unscratched, her face unmarred save for the scar poking out from under her eyepatch. Out of the left corner of her mouth was her pipe, a wisp of purple smoke wafting from it. "Orihime and the others are safe," she announced, adjusting the lens over her lone eye.

He nodded his head. That was good news considering how bad things had been when they arrived. "Mister Steroids?"

"Took care of him."

"Hmph. Must have been a pushover, not like the pair we took down," Tatsuki commented. "You don't have a scratch on you."

Chizuru shook her head before pulling the pipe from her mouth and breathing out a puff of smoke. "No, Orihime just healed me afterwards. Somehow her healing ability fixed my armor too." Then she paused, her eye looking up at something behind the rest of them. "He's here."

It was Ichigo moving cautiously towards the group, a few bandaged wounds on his body but nothing that looked too serious. Yet he looked nervous and unsure of himself. It was kind of strange to see someone who could kick anyone and everyone's ass looking so awkward. "Ah… Hi…" he said with a wave of his hand.

For a few seconds no one said anything. Silently Keigo stood up, dusting himself off before taking a deep breath as everyone watched him. "IIIIIIIIIIICHIIIIIIIGOOOO!" he shouted as took off running, unable to resist.

Instinct and reflex took over, Ichigo's foot rising up to kick him in the face like so many other times in the past. But things had changed since those days. Keigo caught Ichigo's leg with one hand and pushed it off to side, throwing the taller teen off balance and before he could regain it Keigo embraced him. A second later Ichigo returned the hug.

"That's not going to work any more on me Ichigo," he said, grinning as he broke the hug. "I've gotten a lot strong since we last met."

Ichigo chuckled. "I can see that," he admitted.

Keigo couldn't help but swell with pride. Ichigo had always been saving his ass but to actually be able to help him for a change… There was no word to describe that feeling.

"Please, I can still kick your ass from here to Twilight Town with a hand tied behind my back," Tatsuki grunted, killing the mood.

"Hey! Who's the Keyblade Master here?" Keigo huffed, crossing his arms.

"I still say the Masters had to be blind or something to make you Master before me. Besides I still kicked your ass back then just like how I can kick his ass," the dark haired girl said, gesturing at Ichigo.

But he didn't respond, his eyes drift back and forth between him and Chizuru. No doubt he was put off by Chizuru's missing eye or the scar running across his face, a parting gift from the Battle of the Keyblade Graveyard. "My face doesn't look that bad," Keigo said, a grin on his marred face. "Besides chicks dig scars."

"As a woman I can safely say that your scar doesn't make me attracted to you in the slightest," Tatsuki dryly replied.

"Well you and Chizuru don't count."

The dark haired girl snickered. "The last woman you spoke with threatened to castrate you," she said, almost cheerfully.

Keigo gritted his teeth. Relena was…complicated. Besides she also didn't count. "Okay that was about something else entirely!" he shot back.

"Yeah Mister Asano here left her waiting a long time," Mizuiro added. "It's only natural that she would become angry at him. It's funny how a Master can be so clueless at times."

"That wasn't my fault! How was I supposed to know what was going to happen to us?!" he exclaimed, frustrated at how they were picking apart their nonexistent relationship. "And stop calling me Mister Asano! Do I look like a wrinkled up old man to you?!"

"Keigo's a Master?" Ichigo asked. "A Master what?"

The Keyblade Master could feel a vein on his forehead start to throb. Of all the things he could have asked about what they were talking about and he asks about that, implying like it was impossible… After everything he had done, all the battles he had fought why couldn't he get a bit of respect?

Mizuiro lifted up his hand, summoning his Keyblade. "A Keyblade Master, the highest rank a Keyblade wielder can achieve," he explained. "Out of the four of us he managed to achieve the rank of Master."

"Keigo's a Master?" Ichigo repeated.

"Is it really that hard to believe?!" Keigo shouted at the heavens, frustrated beyond all belief.

No one said anything, deafening silence descended on the group. The brown haired young man let out a sigh, hanging his head in despair. He had become a Master before Riku, before the King, before Aqua yet this was how he was treated… "How come I never get any respect…" he grumbled dejectedly.

But everyone ignored him and continued their conversation like he wasn't even there. Ichigo turned back to the others. "So he's the strongest out of all of you?"

"Hell no," Tatsuki replied. "I can kick his ass one handed."

"Strength and wisdom are not the main criteria for Mastery," Mizuiro added. "It's more a matter of one's heart and spirit. The Masters judging his Exam decided that he had the qualities of a Master. Even if we don't necessarily agree with them."

Keigo let out a groan like he had been stabbed in the back, falling backwards onto the stone. "Haven't you guys kicked me enough already?" he moaned, earning chuckles from everyone else.

"How bad were the shinigami hit?" Tatsuki asked, changing the subject.

"Pretty bad," Ichigo grimly admitted, turning his head away from them. "They lost their leader before I could get there."

"And the enemy?"

"Got away."

"Where's that sword of yours?"

"Broken," he answered. "Mayuri's taking a look at it for me."

"Damn," Tatsuki grunted in annoyance, banging a fist on the stone they were sitting. "I wanted to challenge you."

That figured. Tatsuki had been itching for a chance to knock Ichigo around ever since that day a lifetime ago when Orihime disappeared. Of course back then Ichigo was in a whole other league, now the two of them could probably go toe to toe in a fair fight. If such a fight happened, his munny would be on Tatsuki.

"So how long has it been?" Mizuiro said, asking the question they had all wanted to ask but had been too afraid to.

All eyes were on Ichigo now, desperate to know how much time they had lost. Ichigo hesitated for a moment, a frown on his lips. "Nearly eighteen months," he admitted.

"That short?" Keigo replied, his mouth moving faster than his head.

It didn't make sense. They had spent two and a half years training in the Land of Departure, another ten trapped in a limbo of sorts and finally another year confronting the original Organization and the return of Xehanort after that. Even with the temporal variations between worlds it didn't account for the disparity. He glanced around, everyone else looked just as confused expect for Mizuiro. Keigo could tell the gears were turning in his head, undoubtedly forming a theory as to what could have happened though who knew if he'd ever actually tell them.

"It's been a bit longer for us," Mizuiro calmly said.

"How long?" Ichigo asked

"Nearly fourteen years, give or take."

"Fourteen years?" their bright haired friend exclaimed. "But you don't look that old."

Mizuiro shrugged his shoulders. "It's a long story," he answered. "A very long story though I suppose you have some stories to tell as well."

Ichigo shook his head. "Not really. I lost my powers that day and only recently got them back. Most of the time my life was pretty ordinary."

"Lucky you," Keigo commented, a grin on his face. "I would kill for a year and a half vacation. We've running from one adventure to another. I don't know how you guys managed to make it look so easy."

Everyone laughed, letting out a fair bit of tension. After a moment the laughter died and everyone was silent, the other question they didn't want to ask hanging in the air.

"Ichigo…" Chizuru quietly said, speaking up for the first time. "After we disappeared what happened to our families?"

Ichigo winced, the guilt etched into his face. "We all thought you were dead," he said. "If we—if I had known I would have thought of something to tell them before they…"

He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence but they all knew what he was going to say. Keigo knew that it would have happened given how long it had been, even before Ichigo revealed how much time had passed but to actually hear it… well that made it real.

"They buried us," Mizuiro finished, saying what none of them wanted too.

"Yeah… I went to all your funerals," the taller teen replied, staring down at the ground. But then he perked up, turning for the four of them. "But you're back now, we can go to them and-"

"And what? What could we possibly tell them to make things right?" Chizuru angrily snapped. "No, we're dead Kurosaki. Its better we stay that way."

With that the one eyed girl stood up and stormed off, leaving the four of them in silence. Chizuru had always been moodier than the rest of them. She had never wanted this life. It was why she had so easily succumbed to Darkness and why the rest of them were concerned about her. Mizuiro didn't trust her, not after Xehanort's return and the formation of the True Organization XIII. He had privately expressed his concerns about her to him and the other Masters afterward but none of them were willing to take any direct steps against her. Tatsuki, who had always known her the best hadn't said anything about her but he could tell she was worried about Chizuru. As for him… well he always was an optimist.

"Don't worry about her Ichigo," Tatsuki said. "Chizuru has always had a hard time about all this."

Keigo nodded his head. "The three of us kind of wanted this," he added. "We wanted to be able to help you, Chad and the others. But Chizuru… well she didn't."

"But she is right, we can't go back to our families if we're dead and buried to them," Mizuiro wearily commented.

"You're back now and once this fight with Vandenreich is over we'll get something worked out," Ichigo offered.

Keigo had to admit that it was appealing. He had wanted to return home for so long and it was being threatened by these Vandenreich people. But how could they, how could he when Xehanort was threatening everything, not just this world? A part of him wanted to laugh, a part of him wanted to scream at just how absurd it was. He was home and it was endangered but he couldn't actually stay to help out! Fate could be a real bitch some times. "Well… the thing is Ichigo we can't stay," he said. "We'd like to help out, we really would but the problem is…we…well we-"

"We have our own war going on," Mizuiro explained. "Truthfully we came back here because finally managed to find our way back, not because we knew you were in trouble."

"Yeah we returned because King…" Keigo paused realizing that Ichigo would probably have a hard time accepting a Keyblade wielding, talking mouse who was also the king of another world. He had probably seen his fair share of odd things but that was probably too much. "A wise man suggested that we take a bit of time off from our preparations. As much as we want to stick around and help we can't."

Ichigo was silent for a moment before a slight smile spread across his lips. "So how long can you stay then?"

"Probably just a couple of days," Tatsuki answered.

The substitute shiniami nodded his head. "So what happened after you-"

"Disappeared?" Mizuiro finished. "Well like I said that's a long story. But I suppose we have the time."

"You already know how it started, with that freaky butterfly-man trying to kill us back in Karakura," Keigo spoke up, eager to tell the story. "But after that happened…"

And done. Certainly this one's a lot more action packed than the first one. As you can tell this is set after KH3D but as its implied their adventures began at Birth by Sleep. If I did turn this into a full series (which would be a third separate story rather than an addition to this one) I would actually start right here, with them telling the story to Ichigo in the prologue, the first chapter jumping backwards to that time.

If I write that will largely depend on the response to this one. If I get five or more favorites for this story I will write their adventure during Birth by Sleep which will among other things explain what happened to Chizuru as I imagine some are wondering about her lost eye and her use of Darkness.

Oh yes and just because Keigo and Ichigo hugged that does not mean they're a couple or gay. They're just two friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time and hugged, that's it. Please do not ask for more Ichigo/Keigo cause it's not going to happen.

Love it, hate it, review it.