章 11: Chapter 11: Kicking A Nobel's Ass.

It was the day of Rukia's execution and the entire Seireitei was still trying to find Ichigo. During his training, Ichigo had learned about all of his other friends being captured and are being kept in a holding cell. Ichigo could not stop himself from thinking that this had complicated things more but put it in the back of his mind to focus on his training. Even if they were captured, they were safe and that is all that matters for Ichigo. Currently, Ichigo and Yoruichi were standing on the branches of a few trees waiting for the right moment to step in and rescue Rukia. They stood and watch as Rukia was placed into position before being raised up the execution stand in the crucifying position. Ichigo was surprised by the number of people who showed up to the execution. Yoruichi had said all squad captains were supposed to show up but instead, only a few of them showed up. The captains and lieutenants from squad 1,2 and 8 were there and the lieutenant of squad 4 was there, but that is it. Ichigo was about to ignore the people there and only focus on Rukia when he saw a lone man walking to join the rest of the captains. Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the man and could not help but smirk.

"It seems Byakuya is all better now," Ichigo said in an amused voice. Yoruichi who was standing next to him chuckled before speaking.

"It would appear that he is out for revenge," she said. Ichigo could not stop himself from taking on a blood-thirsty look before he replied to Yoruichi.

"Looks like I will have to teach him how a big brother has to act," he said to which Yoruichi gave a giggle. "Looks like they are getting started," Ichigo commented as he saw a bright blue flame that went about 20 ft into the air coming from Sokyoku Hill. Then the one large flame split into six towers of blue flames surrounding the really large zanpakuto. Suddenly raging fire started coming from the zanpakuto. Ichigo and Yoruichi could both feel the heat from the flames all the way from where they were standing. Ichigo stared wide-eyed at the sheer power that resided in the blade.

"Holy shit." was all Ichigo could say.

"Impressive isn't it?" Yoruichi asked to which Ichigo nodded dumbly, "That is the power of one million zanpakutos." she said as they watch the zanpakuto start to change its shape. What was once a tower of raging flames was now a gigantic phoenix made entirely out of flames. Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the Phoenix before speaking.

"Looks like I'm up," he said before disappearing. Ichigo reappeared on top of the execution stand just as the flaming bird was making its way towards Rukia. From the moment Rukia saw the bird coming towards her she closed her eyes and accepted her fate. She waited and waited for it to hit her, but it never came. She knew it was there because she could still feel the heat from the flames. She decided to open her eyes to see what was going on, and when she did, she saw something she never taught she would have ever seen. No longer was she in the execution stand, but instead she was slung over Ichigo's shoulders while he was standing there with his zanpakuto blocking the Sokyoku. Ichigo stood there with a smirk on his face as though holding back one of the most powerful zanpakuto that exists with one hand like it is nothing.

"Hey there," he said as he looked back at her. Rukia gasp before replying.

"Ichigo...Idiot I said don't come back!" She yelled. Ichigo stared wide-eyed at Rukia, "What's it going to take for you to finally realize? You can't defeat my brother!" She yelled to which Ichigo simply chuckled before speaking.

"I kicked his ass pretty good five days ago," he said smugly. Rukia said nothing just looked down at the captains to see all of them staring at Ichigo wide-eyed. Ichigo then turned towards the Sokyoku and took on a serious look on his face while staring into the eyes of the giant bird. The Phoenix then pulled back putting some distance between itself and Ichigo before giving a loud and angry squawk directed towards Ichigo. "Backing up for a second attack huh? Well, bring it out you oversize chicken!" Ichigo said as he sat Rukia down on top of the execution stand before he raised his zanpakuto in the air while channeling his spirit energy into the blade. Ichigo then brought it down in one swift motion while he spoke in a cold icy tone.

"Chimamire (Blood-Fang)!" As Ichigo said that a wave of blood-red spirit energy was released from his zanpakuto. Everyone on the ground could only watch in awe as the wave of spirit energy sliced through the giant bird right down the middle, effectively splitting it into two. It was not enough to destroy the Sokyoku as they can see the two halves starting to come together again, but some of the captains and lieutenants there could not help themselves from thinking one common thing.

'I can't do that' they all thought in a depressed tone. Ichigo however, was standing there trying to think of a way to destroy the Sokyoku for good but came up with nothing. As the two halves of the bird came back together, the giant bird was about to launch an attack at Ichigo when suddenly something wrapped around its neck. Ichigo was now confused until he looked down where the captains stood to see Jushiro and Shunsui about to stabbing some sort of shield. It is a large, shield-like item with a long cord connected to it. As they were about to stab the shield Ichigo heard someone yell.

"Stop them! They are going to destroy the Sokyoku!" Soifon yelled. Soi Fon was a relatively petite woman who stood 4'11 with gray eyes and black hair. Her hair is worn short with two long braids bound in white cloth, each ending in a large golden ring. She wore a traditional Shinigami captain's uniform with a sleeveless haori, and a yellow obi tied around her waist. Instead of wearing the standard Shinigami sandals with tabi, she wore traditional Chinese shoes with ordinary white socks. As Shunsui and Jushiro stabbed the shield the cord that is wrapped around the neck of the Phoenix and also connected to the shield glowed orange as it races its way up to the bird. When it reached the bird, the entire thing exploded in a rain of fire causing all those on the ground to try not to get hit by the falling flames. Ichigo then picked Rukia up again before raising his zanpakuto above his head once more. Rukia looked at Ichigo to see him with a serious look on his face. If she could have seen behind his glasses, she would have been able to see his eyes glowing blood red with the sheer amount of power he was channeling into his zanpakuto.

"What are you doing Ichigo?" she asked in a worried tone.

"Isn't it obvious! This stand is about to tumble down," he replied. Rukia gasp before she started to yell.

"That's crazy. Ichigo you cannot. You'll only end up killing up both!" she screamed. Ichigo tilted his head down a bit giving her a look of his eyes before replying.

"Don't worry about it. Just shut up and watch," he said as he held his zanpakuto in both hands with the tip of the blade pointing down at the stand. He then stabbed the blade into the stand causing the entire stand to glow with red spiritual energy before an explosion of power occurred which sent shockwaves through the entire Seireitei. Rukia had her eyes closed during the whole thing, it was as though she was expecting to die but got a surprise when she heard Ichigo's voice.

"I don't want you to rescue me you said. Just go home you said. You know sometimes you talk too much Rukia. It is a good thing I do not listen to you. Now, this is the second time I have to tell you this. I have come here to rescue you. Got it?" Ichigo said while holding Rukia with his one hand on the now broken stand. Rukia could not stop herself from getting teary-eyed as she spoke.

"What a fool. I'm not going to say thank you, I won't," she said as she started to cry. Ichigo smiled before he replied.

"I didn't expect you to," he said with a smile. Everyone on the ground could not hide the shocked look on their face.

"He destroyed the stand!" Isane said.

"How can man do such a thing." Isane's younger sister Kiyone said.

"Just what kind of man is he!" the lieutenant of the second division, Marechiyo Ōmaeda said. While everyone on the ground was trying to comprehend what Ichigo just did, Ichigo had his eyes fixed on one man, Byakuya Kuchiki. Ichigo sat Rukia down on the broken stand before he turned towards Byakuya and spoke.

"Oi, Kuchiki!" Ichigo called out making everyone look at him. "When I am done here, I am going to kick your ass...Again!" Ichigo said putting emphasis on the 'again'. Everyone turned towards Byakuya only to see the usual stoic captain of squad 6 seething in anger. "Just you wait, Kuchiki. I'll make you my bitch!" Ichigo said causing Shunsui to chuckle. Ichigo then sensed something that made him smirk before she looked past Byakuya to see a heavily breathing Renji. "It's about time you got here Renji," Ichigo said. Rukia looked to see her childhood friend looking as though he is about to collapse any minute now.

"Renji!" she yelled out. Renji heard her and looked up at her before yelling back.

"Rukia!" he yelled.

"Oh Renji, it's you. I am so glad you are still alive." Rukia said sounding relieved.

"I figured you would show up," Ichigo said as he looked at Renji.

"Heh, what choice did I have? I couldn't just rely on you to save Rukia, could I?" Renji said. As he said that He saw Ichigo disappear from the top of the stand. Faster than he could have blink Ichigo was standing beside him with Rukia in hand. The captains and Lieutenants there had their eyes widen by the speed of the ryoka.

"I guess Ichimaru wasn't kidding when he said he was fast," Jushiro said right before Shunsui grabbed the back of his haori and flash-stepped away only to be followed by the head captain.

"Here, take Rukia and go," Ichigo said as he handed Rukia over to Renji. Renji took her from Ichigo and then took off running. Ichigo then turned to where the remaining captains were standing to hear Soifon giving the lieutenants orders.

"Don't just stand there watching you fool! Go! All lieutenants after them!" Soifon yelled out. As she said that the Lieutenants of the first, second, and fourth divisions took off after Renji but were intercepted by Ichigo. Ichigo stood there with an impassive look on his face, staring at the three lieutenants before he placed his zanpakuto back into its sheath.

"Run, Itegumo!" Isane shouted as she released her zanpakuto. The next person to release their zanpakuto was the lieutenant of the first division, Chōjirō Sasakibe. Chojiro has pupil-less eyes, short silver-gray hair, and a small black handlebar mustache with lightly tanned skin. He wore a white jinbaori over a standard Shinigami uniform with long white arm guards. He wore a white turtleneck under his uniform and has his lieutenant armband on his left arm.

"Pierce, Gonryōmaru!" He yelled out as his katana transformed into a rapier. The last person to release their zanpakuto was the giant lieutenant of the second division, Marechiyo Ōmaeda. Marechiyo is a large man with black hair and wears the standard Shinigami robes with a large purple collar. For some reason which Ichigo could not understand, he was sweating a lot just from running a short distance. Ichigo had to suppress the urge to laugh at the poor excuse of a lieutenant.

"Crush, Gegetsuburi!" His zanpakuto transformed into an over-sized spiked ball attached to a long chain, similar to a flail, allowing for it to be thrown at a distant target. The chain was attached to the hilt of his sword. Before Omaeda had time to properly hold his zanpakuto, Ichigo was already in front of him with his fist reared back ready to strike. Ichigo then smashed his fist straight through the giant spiked ball and planted his fist into Omaeda's stomach knocking him back 15 ft. Ichigo then turned towards Chojiro, before he could react appeared in front and gave him a serious uppercut knocking him 8 feet into the air before he came crashing down. Ichigo then turned towards Isane who was staring at Ichigo with a look of pure fear. Ichigo then did the unexpected and instead of attacking her, he stood up straight before he spoke.

"You know, I would really like to avoid fighting someone as beautiful as you," Ichigo said in a smooth and silky voice causing Isane to blush. Before Isane had a chance to reply Ichigo appeared in front of her and grabbed her by the front of her soul reaper uniform causing her blush to turn a darker shade of red.

"W-what are you- Eep!" Isane was interrupted speaking when Ichigo then tossed her to the side and unsheathed his zanpakuto and in one swift motion, he blocked the downward slash from Byakuya which was aimed at the very same spot that Isane was standing. Isane saw this and had her eyes widen.

'He...He saved me.' she thought as he saw Ichigo holding off Byakuya's swords.

"You know you almost killed her," Ichigo said in an emotionless voice. Byakuya stared back at his reflection in Ichigo's glasses before he spoke in his usual pompous tone.

"It would have been a small price to pay in order to uphold the laws of the Soul Society," he said making Ichigo even angrier. It was a rare sight to see the usual emotionless face of Ichigo now take on a look of pure anger. Ichigo jumped back putting some distance between himself and Byakuya before he cut his thumb with his zanpakuto and let a few drops of blood fall on the flat side of the blade before he yelled out his release command.

"Feast on their fear, Alucard!" Ichigo yelled and was encased in a tower of black spirit energy. When the tower dropped Byakuya could see for the first time Ichigo's Shikai. Byakuya could honestly say he had never seen a Shikai like that before.

"That's an interesting Shikai you have there," Byakuya said as he held his zanpakuto in front of him with the blade pointing upward, "I won't be underestimating you again," he said.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura" The blade separated into a thousand tiny, slender pink cherry blossom leaves, which flew away from the hilt, leaving only the sword's handle in Byakuya's hand. Byakuya was about to speak but before he could open his mouth a loud gunshot rang out through the entire hill before some slammed into Byakuya's chest sending him tumbling five feet back. Byakuya stood up and looked towards Ichigo to see him standing there with a bored look on his face while holding up a smoking Jackle.

"Release you Bankai or this is going to be boring," Ichigo said in a bored tone which pissed Byakuya off. He was about to send the cherry blossom leaves at Ichigo, but before he some something pierced through his shoulder. It was odd he felt no pain but knew something had pierced his shoulder. He looked at his right shoulder and saw a 1-inch-wide hole with blood pouring out. Then it finally hit him, all the pain he was expecting finally came full force. "Is this the power of a Captain? Kenpachi gave me a better fight and he doesn't even have a Shikai." Ichigo said trying to piss Byakuya off even more. The captain of the sixth division resealed his Shikai which caused Ichigo's eyebrows to raise. He then held his zanpakuto in front of him pointing downwards this time, then he released it. Instead of it sticking in the ground it somehow seems to phase into the ground, as though it were a pool of water.

"Bankai!" He said as energy ripples expand out, turning the surrounding area dark, and within seconds, two rows of a thousand giant blades rise up from the ground. "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!" As he said that Those thousand swords scatter, and countless flying cherry blossom leaves.

"It seems as though you Bankai simply increases the number of cherry blossom leaves. Am I right?" Ichigo said in the same bored tone to which Byakuya nodded. Ichigo aimed Casull at Byakuya and pulled the trigger but was surprised when the cherry blossom leaves protected Byakuya and blocked the shot. Ichigo then took on a blood-thirsty grin before speaking. "Seems I will finally get to have some fun!" As he said that he brought both pistols up and aimed it at Byakuya before he began an all-out assault of rapid-fire shots. Byakuya was having a hard time blocking the shots due to the amount of power being a single shot. He then realized something, and he quickly flash-stepped behind Ichigo. With a swipe of his hand, thousands of cherry blossom leaves followed the flow of his hands and slammed into the side of Ichigo cutting open the side of his stomach.

"There is one thing all ranged weapon users have in common, they have a poor defense but, in your case, you have none," Byakuya said smugly with a smirk on his face. His smirk instantly disappears when Ichigo turned around to him with the same blood-thirsty grin on his face and spoke.

"Like I told Kenpachi, who needs defense," he said. As he said that Byakuya looked at the wound he gave Ichigo to see that it was regenerating. Byakuya's eyes were as wide as dinner plates and tried to quickly launch an attack at Ichigo but stopped when he felt something pressed against his back. He looked in front of him to see the Ichigo who was standing there slowly fading away. He then turned his head slightly to look behind him only to see a bored Ichigo holding Jackle pressed against his back. All Byakuya could do before Ichigo shot him as utter two words.

"After-image." *Bang*

*Chapter End*

That's another chapter. I really wanted to put in the stuffy Ichigo learned from Alucard in this chapter but I decided to save em for his encounter with Aizen.

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