Sombra moaned as he pulled himself out of the rest that he had been in, for who knew how long, and slowly opened his eyes, though his reason for moaning was a combination of of the fact that his body was sore and the fact that the morning sun was shining right in his eyes. As his eyes settled he found that he was back in the room that he had been given while he was in the Urahara Shop, which he often wondered if it was Yoruichi's room that Kisuke used as a spare room, since she was usually in her cat form all the time, unless she was training him in Shunpo. When he could see again he coughed as he gently pulled himself up and leaned against the back of the bed he was sitting in, though once he was in position the covers that had been over his chest fell off and he found that the chest part of his Shinigami style clothing had been burned off, if the edges of what remained where anything to go by. For a moment he couldn't exactly remember what had happened to cause such a thing, causing him to wonder if whatever had happened had robbed him of more of his memories, before he recalled that he had been in a brief fight with a Menos Grande and had taken a Cero to the face... before replying in kind by erasing the Hollow's head with the same type of attack, one that he hadn't known the existence of until the first Menos used it against Ichigo.

As he remembered all of that he looked down at his hands and thought that his body would have been injured because of that fight, but when he searched his body for wounds or injuries he found that his entire body was injury free, making him wonder what was going on... and then he remembered that someone had brought him to the underground training area and put him inside the healing hot springs that were beneath the Urahara Shop. As he thought about that he immediately remembered who had done such a thing, including the fact that she had gotten in the hot springs as well so she could make sure that his entire body recovered from his ordeal, to which he decided that he needed to thank Yoruichi the next time the two of them were in the same room together.

"Good morning Sombra," a voice said, to which he turned towards the doorway and found that Yoruichi, only wearing the black bodysuit part of her clothing, standing in the doorway, though at the same time she smiled at him as she walked into the room, closed the door behind her, and held up the cup that she was holding, which happened to hold the tea that he preferred to drink, "How are you feeling?"

"Slightly tired," Sombra replied, though at the same time he accepted the cup that had been offered to him and took a sip from it, finding some of his energy restored in the process, before he pulled the cup down and turned his attention to Yoruichi, who seemed worried about something, "Yoruichi, did something happen while I was out? You look worried about something, or worried for someone's safety."

"Well, I have a right to be worried about one of my friends, right?" Yoruichi inquired in kind, though at the same time Sombra could see the smile on her face was still there, despite the fact that she was clearly worried about something else, something that wasn't related to him, "I mean, you took on a full powered Cero from a Menos Grande, which burned off the top part of your clothing and cut numerous gashes into your body, and survived the encounter, by firing your own Cero and defeated the Menos in seconds. Kisuke had me wait until Ichigo and the others left, as he didn't want me to show myself to them just then, and when they were gone I flashed into the area, grabbed you, and carried you back here, where I used the hot springs to mend your wounds. Honestly, I wasn't expecting you to awaken until this afternoon, after you had a decent amount of time to rest, but it appears that Arrancars heal faster than what we thought you would, especially with the aid of the hot springs."

"Well, at least Ichigo and the others are alright," Sombra said, to which a slight smile appeared on his face as he leaned back for a moment, because despite how tired his body actually felt, from the battle he was in, he felt that he could engage some more Hollows and take them all on, but at the same time his mind focused on the stranger and the look that he had seen on Kisuke's face when Sora followed him to the shop, "Hey Yoruichi, is Kisuke mad at me?"

"Why would he be mad at you?" Yoruichi asked, though at the same time she knew exactly what was going through Sombra's mind at the moment, as she had been slightly surprised by the sudden arrival of the second Arrancar, who was apparently Orihime's brother from what she discovered, "From what I understand you didn't tell us because you were confused and were trying to make sense of what you had discovered that night."

"You mean that I discovered that an Arrancar is actually a Hollow that has removed their mask and gained Shinigami like powers," Sombra stated, to which he thought about the life that he didn't remember, which he knew had been stored inside the Zanpakuto that was trapped within Hueco Mundo, and actually wondered how many souls he had taken before he tore his mask off and became an Arrancar, "I'm still shocked by that information, even with all the time I've spent thinking about it... though, right now, I'm more shocked by the fact that the robed figure that had told us how to turn Sora into an Arrancar was there yesterday, when the two Menos Grande showed up."

"Robed figure?" Yoruichi inquired, as that wasn't something that Sora Inoue had mentioned when she was listening to the conversation that he had with Kisuke earlier, as the other Arrancar hadn't noticed that a cat was in the area and spoke like it was only the two of them, until Orihime came to and noticed that her brother was back.

"Yeah, there was a black robed figure near the Menos Grande that I fought," Sombra said, though he had guessed that if Yoruichi was in the area, to pick him up like she had, that she and Kisuke would have seen the figure before it had fled from the area, but it appeared that she hadn't seen it, meaning that the shop manager hadn't seen it either, "The first time I saw it was when Sora, who was still a Hollow at the time, tried to end his cursed life and purify his soul, to head to Soul Society, only for the figure to arrive and tell him that there was a different path he could take. That's when Sora became an Arrancar, the second to call Karakura Town home, and neither of us saw the figure until I spotted it yesterday, standing near the second Menos... almost like it was trying to test something or someone with such a powerful creature."

As Sombra explained what little he knew about the mysterious figure, and sipped from his tea cup while he did so, Yoruichi leaned against the wall and thought about what he was saying, as it almost sounded like someone or something was experimenting and testing Sombra's abilities. She guessed that it sort of made sense, as he was an unknown entity to whoever or whatever was observing the town, which was something that she and Kisuke would have to look into in the future, but at the same time that made her worried that there was something out there that was watching him. At the very least Sombra appeared to be thinking about what had happened, trying to remember anything that would be of some help to them, which Yoruichi was happy to see, though at the same time it appeared that, despite the surge of power he had used, he was still restricting his reiatsu, as if he was worried that Soul Society was behind the figure and didn't want to expose anyone that was around him. That brought a slight smile to Yoruichi's face, as that meant that he had finally overcome thinking about everyone as associates and was considering those closest to him as his friends, which had to be her, Kisuke, Ichigo, and Rukia at the very least, but for now she needed to focus on the task at hand, which was making sure that Sombra was fine.

Sombra found that, as the first few hours of the morning ticked by, that Yoruichi insisted on making sure that he was fine before letting him do anything else, though once he was allowed to leave the bed he found that his body moved as well as it had before he fought the Menos and survived the Cero blast. Once he was allowed to leave the bed, however, Yoruichi surprised him by allowing him to head out into the town, as there was something that she needed to look into before the day was over, though she insisted on him replacing the ruined grey Shinigami attire that he was wearing at the moment. Sombra still had no idea where Kisuke was able to get the spare pairs of similar colored attire that he stored in this same room, as it was the only place that Jinta and Ururu weren't allowed to enter, but at the same time he didn't care all that much as he changed into a fresh set of clothing before finding that Yoruichi had switched back to her cat form while he was distracted. From that point he walked out of the room and headed to the kitchen area, where Kisuke insisted on making sure that he was fine before allowing him to leave, though once he was outside Yoruichi nodded her head and disappeared... while he, on the other hand, flashed up into the sky and headed out to Ichigo's place, as he wanted to check there before heading to the high school.

When he arrived at the clinic he found that he must have missed Ichigo and Rukia, as neither of them were in Ichigo's room and he didn't hear his friend fighting with his father, to which he turned and flashed towards the school, but while he was doing that he could have sworn that he felt a slight difference in the reiatsu in the air... because as he flew through the air he felt two new reiatsu signatures that reminded him of the Shinigami that was there the day Ichigo's family visited his mother's grave, or at least that was what he thought it was.

It didn't take him long to arrive at the high school, though as he made his way towards Ichigo's classroom it appeared that he and the others were already outside for their sports class, but when he headed outside the students were apparently done for the day and headed back inside the main building. Sora, as he suspected, was keeping his distance from his sister while making sure that there weren't any additional Hollows in the area, not that he could blame him after what happened the previous day, though at the same time it appeared that he was proud of Orihime taking out a Hollow on her very own. As the students returned to class, however, he also glanced at the room that they would be back inside in the next few minutes and found Rukia staring down at them, or more accurately Ichigo, with what appeared to be a sad look on her face, one that seemed out of place when he thought about it, especially after everything they had done the previous day. When everyone was back in the classroom he also found that Uryu seemed to be missing at the moment, though that was before he entered the room and revealed that the reason he was late, and had bandages on his arms and some of his fingers, was because he 'fell down some stairs'.

As Sombra soon discovered that the excuse Uryu used was cliche and that it only caused the other students to talk about what had actually happened to him and Ichigo actually seemed worried about him, based on the look that was on his face, but Rukia told him that it wasn't his fault... which only escalated into Ichigo asking Uryu to join him for lunch, while Rukia was invited to join Orihime and the other ladies at the same time, which she accepted eagerly.

The rest of the day was slightly ordinary for Sombra, as Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Chad, and Uryu went to school while he and Sora made sure that there weren't any Hollows in the area that needed to be taken care of, only to find that there wasn't much for them to do since no Hollows wanted to come to Karakura Town. Sombra guessed that, if the Hollows were capable of thoughts and weren't focused on their instincts, his thoughts would be accurate, but at the same time he didn't know one way or the other, though he was thankful that there weren't any enemies to fight at the moment. It gave him time to relax a little, as the last few days had been quite chaotic with all the Hollows and people that they had to deal with, and soon enough the school day was over and everyone started to head home, though Rukia stayed behind for a moment so she could think about something, allowing Sombra to walk outside with Ichigo as they waited for her to join them. A few minutes later, when Ichigo was getting ready to leave the school, Rukia finally came outside and actually started to ask how he was feeling, reminding Sombra as to what happened that morning, when Yoruichi asked him how he was feeling after his battle with that Menos.

Of course the conversation was cut off when Kon, who apparently came running up the street and said he was sorry for running away, jumped up and grabbed onto Rukia's chest, though when Ichigo noticed that the stuffed animal was damaged he took him to Uryu... and, when the Quincy was tricked into fixing up Kon, both Ichigo and Rukia escaped the room, to which they headed home with an angry Kon following after them.

When night came, and most of the town started to fall asleep, Sombra remained in the shadowy part near Ichigo's room, so he could observe the main door and keep track of what was going on with Ichigo, but after some time he quickly noticed that something strange was happening. That was because a few minutes after the family dinner started, and he heard Ichigo head upstairs to share some with Rukia, as was the custom they had created, Sombra spotted Rukia emerge from the alley between the clinic and the building that was to the left of it, where she simply stared at the clinic for a moment before turning around and running down the street. For a moment he considered following after her, as he was worried that there might be something that she wasn't telling Ichigo, but before he could move he sensed a change in the wind once more, where he turned towards the air that was above a nearby pole, where two Shinigami appeared and were clearly not aware of his presence, to which he kept himself in the shadows as he observed them. Both of them were wearing the standard Shinigami, but as he observed them he noticed that one of them was wearing some sort of headgear, and that was the one with crimson colored hair, while the other had a white scarf around his neck, along with long black colored hair.

"Rear appearance match, 113. Neural attachment ratio, 88.5." the crimson haired Shinigami commented, as if he was either talking to himself or sharing information with the Shinigami that was beside him, who Sombra noticed was glaring down at Rukia with an uncaring look in his eyes, "Are you serious? She's really in a faux body. And I thought the Imaging Agency's information was useless. Rukia Kuchiki, we found you!"

The moment the crimson haired Shinigami said that he raised the headgear that he was wearing and grinned, while at the same time his companion said nothing, before the two of them flashed through the air and followed after Rukia, to which Sombra stuck to the shadows as he tailed them. Normally he would have involved Ichigo, but he was having a moment with his family and he deserved that, especially after everything that he had been through recently, though what Sombra was thinking was figuring out what these Shinigami wanted before calling Ichigo to assist him. At the same time he noticed that Rukia had no idea that they were even following her, as the one time that he flashed up close to see what she was doing he noticed that she was deep in thought and seemed to be running on autopilot, but at the same time it appeared that the Shinigami hadn't noticed him yet. He wondered if the two of them were so focused on Rukia and weren't paying attention to what was around them, but after seeing what happened with the first Shinigami he met after Rukia, who was shocked by his appearance, he knew that appearances could be deceiving and they might be trying to lure him into a false sense of security.

This also made him think about the fact that the other Shinigami they had encountered said something about them eventually finding Rukia, no doubt for her crimes of giving her powers to a Human, which he hadn't known about when she did that with Ichigo, and potentially spending this much time in the World of the Living. That worried him, because these two Shinigami seemed to be ready for a fight, if the crimson haired one was anything to go by, and that meant he needed to be ready for anything. Rukia, on the other hand, seemed to be making her way to the outskirts of the town, trying to put as much distance between her and Ichigo's place, though as all that happened Sombra noticed that the two Shinigami moved ahead of Rukia and positioned themselves accordingly, which meant that he'd find out what was going on soon enough. His instincts told him that a fight was going to break out when the Shinigami revealed themselves to Rukia, if what happened when Ichigo went to visit his mother's grave was any indication, and that made him keep a hand close to his Zanpakuto, as he had the feeling that he was going to need it in the near future.

"YES!" the crimson haired Shinigami declared, while at the same time crouching on top of one of the electrical poles that were in the area, to which Rukia paused and glanced up at the sky in shock, finally noticing that she had company, though while that happened Sombra stopped behind a tree and readied himself for battle, as the Shinigami was drawing his Zanpakuto from it's sheath, "You do get it! Well, to put it another way, since you stayed on this side for so long you basically got to live a little while longer... Rukia!"

"Renji... Renji Abarai?!" Rukia asked, though her tone revealed that she knew the Shinigami in question, while at the same time being shocked at seeing him again, almost as if she couldn't believe that Soul Society had selected him to come here and find her.

It was in that moment that the crimson haired Shinigami, who Sombra now knew was called Renji Abarai, jumped off the top of the pole that he was standing on and swung his Zanpakuto down on where Rukia was standing, though at the same time it appeared that he purposely missed, as the moment he landed Sombra noticed that the ground in front of where Rukia was standing was cracked a little...

"You had a pursuer from Soul Society closing in behind you, and you were so lost in thought that you didn't notice it until I spoke?" Renji inquired, though the grin on his face told Sombra that he found something amusing, but considering the fact that he had attacked Rukia, who was now frozen in place due to how close she had come to dying, Sombra readied himself to step out once the other Shinigami revealed himself, "I don't care if you are in a faux body, in just these two or three months you've gotten way too soft. Spit it out, Rukia. Where's the Human that took your powers?"

"What are you talking about?!" Rukia replied in kind, regaining herself as Renji raised his sword and rested it's edge against the back of his neck, as if he was relaxing for the moment, but that didn't stop Sombra from being ready for anything and everything, as the other Shinigami was still out there, "Just because I'm in a faux body doesn't mean my powers were taken from me! Furthermore, what makes you think the one who supposedly took them was Human?"

"He is Human." Renji stated, his smile turning into a frown as he glared at Rukia with an odd look in his eyes, as if he found something about the situation to be annoying, once more worrying Sombra at the moment, "Otherwise you... wouldn't have that stupid Human expression on your face! You're just another kid from Rukongai, just like me, and still you were lucky enough to get taken in by the Noble House of Kuchiki. With all that money and effort spent on you, weren't you supposed to become one of the Shinigami elite?! Eh?! You're Rukia freaking Kuchiki, damn it! There's no way that it's right for you to wear that Human expression... ain't that right, Captain Kuchiki?"

It was in that moment, after Renji's rant to Rukia, that he turned and looked behind her, where both Rukia and Sombra changed where they were looking and found the scarf wearing Shinigami from earlier standing some distance behind Rukia, who was both surprised and shocked by who was standing near her... and, oddly enough, Sombra noticed a number of flower petals flying through the air at the same time, making him wonder if there was a connection between the Shinigami and the petals.

"Byakuya... brother..." Rukia said, clearly unable to actually form any full sentences at the moment, showing how shocked she was at the moment, but her words told Sombra everything he needed to know, that this was Byakuya Kuchiki, Rukia's older brother by the sound of it, and she appeared to be quite shocked by his arrival, as she appeared to be unable to move at the moment.

"Rukia," Byakuya said, his voice carrying the indifferent and unfeeling tone that Sombra had guessed he would have, which only ticked him off since he was addressing his sister, though before he took a step out of his hiding spot he noticed that Renji was on the move again.

Renji charged at Rukia, while she was distracted by her brother's arrival, and swung his Zanpakuto at her, something that she noticed at the last second as the attack connected and knocked her away from where she hand been standing, to which she used her hands to stop herself, some distance behind her brother, before a light gash appeared on the right side of her face, right where her cheek was.

"'The transfer of Shinigami powers to a Human' is a felony, you know?" Renji inquired, as if he thought that Rukia had forgotten something that she had been taught and was reminding her of what she had forgotten, while at the same time he unknowingly gave Sombra more information on what was happening at the moment, before he held the blade of his Zanpakuto in front of Rukia's face, "Leaving the execution to us, instead of the Corrections Corps, was probably the Brass' version of kindness. Now, spill the location, Rukia. We're here to capture you... and kill the guy that took your powers. Don't protect him. You realize it, don't ya? You didn't dodge my first two attacks, I let you dodge them. The next attack will definitely kill you."

Rukia stared at Renji for a moment, now aware of the danger she was in, and backed up a few times, which caused Renji to advance on her, before things got exciting when Renji swung at her and missed because she jumped over him, but Sombra, who was observing how the Shinigami moved, noticed that it was another ploy, as Renji used that to jump into the air and slam down where Rukia was standing, forcing her back down the path she had used to reach this point and got a cut on her right arm in the process. Renji, sensing that the time had come to end this, approached Rukia and prepared himself to execute her, to which Sombra readied himself to flash in and stop it from happening, though that was before a Quincy arrow flew through the air and forced Renji to dodge it, only for him to turn and glare in the direction that it had come from. Sombra smiled as Uryu stepped out of the shadows and stared at the Shinigami, as that meant that there was someone that knew that the Shinigami were in town, but at the same time he noticed that Uryu didn't have his bow out anymore and that he was carrying a bag that looked like it came from one of the many shops around town.

"Two men with weapons attacking an unarmed girl," Uryu said, to which he came to a stop and focused his attention on the Shinigami that were in front of him, while at the same time he barely looked over at Rukia as he observed the trees near their location, as he knew something that his foes didn't, "that's not a very pleasant thing to see. I don't really like that sort of thing."

"You can see us," Renji commented, where Sombra noticed that the Shinigami was annoyed about this, as if he expected to remain unseen while he and his Captain captured Rukia, while at the same time Sombra saw that Byakuya didn't seem to care about Uryu at all, "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm one of Rukia's classmates," Uryu answered, which was partly true, since Rukia had chosen his classroom to join because Ichigo was in it, though at the same time it didn't appear that he was willing to give away what he was just yet, since the Shinigami had wiped out the Quincys anyway, "one who just so happens to hate Shinigami, that is."

It was in that instance that Rukia, who was able to get back on her feet, asked Uryu why he was here, to which Uryu claimed that it was just a coincidence, as he held up the bag he was carrying and said that he suddenly felt the desire to go to an all day seamster chop chain, a place called Sunflower Sewing, and had gotten some supplies while he was there. What ruined his excuse, in Sombra's eyes anyway, was that he then said that it wasn't because he sensed the reiatsu from some Shinigami and had used the bag as an excuse to come outside and investigate what was going on, though he was surprised when he was interrupted, as Renji swung his Zanpakuto and sliced part of the bag off, causing the lower part to fall to the floor and reveal that nothing was in the bag to begin with, while at the same time cutting a light gash into his left arm in the process.

"I'm asking you a question over here." Renji growled, as he hated it when he asked a question and the person he was talking to didn't give him a straight answer, or if they did answer it was something that was unrelated to the question he had asked, "I said... who the hell are you? Though, if you don't feel like answering the question, I can always start by killing your first!"

"Very well then, I am Uryu Ishida." Uryu stated, as he had the feeling that this was going to be a one sided battle if he stepped in, as he was still slightly wounded from the previous day and didn't think he could beat two Shinigami in his current condition, not after what Rukia had been through, "though I must admit, the two of you must be getting rusty in your skills if you didn't notice us until now."

"Us?" Renji asked, to which he glanced around the area that they were in, as he didn't see or feel anything out of the ordinary, besides from Rukia and the man that was standing in front of them, who he turned his attention to not a few seconds later, "Nice try, but there's only you and Rukia at the moment."

"That's not exactly true," Uryu said, to which he shifted his glasses for a moment as a smirk appeared on his face, as it appeared that the being that followed Ichigo around had understood what he was saying and had come out of hiding to assist them, "isn't that right, Sombra?"

"You know, not to sound arrogant or anything, but I expected more from the two of you." Sombra spoke up, as the moment Uryu had revealed that he was in the area, even if Renji and Byakuya didn't believe his words, he had flashed into the area behind the Captain, so he could surprise them, to which both Uryu and Rukia noticed a look of shock appearing on Renji's face and surprise appearing on Byakuya's face as they turned around, "I'm surprised that neither one of you even sensed my reiatsu, especially when I was standing behind that tree over there."

"W... What are you?" Renji asked, as this was the first time he had seen something like the person that was standing behind Captain Byakuya, who he had turned to look at the moment he started talking, while at the same time noticing the figure's strange grey Shinigami clothing, the strange hooves, tail, ears, and horn he possessed, the bone white crown on top of his head, and the Zanpakuto that he was carrying, "And for that matter, who are you and where did you get that Zanpakuto that you're carrying."

"My name is Sombra," Sombra replied, knowing that it was polite to offer his name to those he was talking to, this way they had something to address him by, before he focused on the task at hand, even though he could see an accusing glare coming from Renji, "and I'm..."

"An Arrancar." Byakuya stated, though this time around, while Rukia was surprised that her brother knew this type of information, and Renji looked confused at the same, Sombra was shocked to find a Shinigami that actually knew what he was without him having to spill the beans.

"That's correct." Sombra said, though at the same time that didn't improve his mood, because if Byakuya knew about Arrancars then it was likely that he knew how to fight them and might actually lessen his chances of getting out of here with Rukia safe and sound, "I'm genuinely surprised, as you are the first Shinigami that knew what I was before I told them that I was an Arrancar."

"That's because only the Captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, or the Gotei 13, and certain Lieutenants know of the existence of Arrancars," Byakuya replied, his gaze never wavering as he stared at Sombra, though the information told him that Rukia must have been a low level in whatever squad she had come from, which he would have to ask Kisuke and Yoruichi about later, and guessed that Renji was the same way, "and we also know that there hasn't been an Arrancar for the last few hundred years, yet you bare the remains of your Hollow mask, a sign of what you truly are. We need not worry ourselves with the likes of you, as your power is nowhere close to the previous Arrancar that the Gotei 13 fought and destroyed the last time one rose in the World of the Living."

"Is that so?" Sombra inquired, though at the same time he flashed through the air and appeared right behind the Captain, where he noticed that both Rukia and Renji were shocked, surprised, and stunned by his speed, while also sensing that Byakuya was surprised as well, "Well then, since you think I'm so weak, why don't we just settle this now? I'll beat the two of you with everything that I've got and stop you from taking Rukia."

Byakuya stood there for a moment, surprised by how fast the Arrancar was, and knew that he was incorrect in his earlier thoughts, as he had been assuming that Sombra was just an average Hollow that had removed it's mask, but after seeing his speed, and feeling his power as he released it, he knew that he was dealing with a Gillian ranked Arrancar, maybe even an Adjuchas ranked Arrancar if there was more to his power than what he was revealing. What worried him at the moment, which he hid from those that were around him, was that there was the possibility that the creature's power was far greater than what he was feeling at the moment, putting him at the highest rank an Arrancar could reach, the Vasto Lorde level, something even he would have trouble besting on his own. He knew that Sombra was at least a Gillian ranked Arrancar, that much was for certain, and at his current level he needed to undo something before he was in trouble, to which he turned around and beckoned towards Renji, who seemed to snap out of his stare and rushed over to him as Sombra stepped away from him.

"Captain, what do we do now?" Renji asked, as he already had a bad feeling about fighting the creature, whose speed was at least as fast as his Captain's was, when he was using the current level of his own power, and knew that his Captain had a plan in mind already.

"Call Soul Society and tell them I want to remove my Gentei Rein," Byakuya whispered, as right now he knew that Rukia and Sombra had to be connected in some manner, friends if he was getting the word right, and Rukia might tell the Arrancar what was going on if she heard what he was saying, hence the reason why he needed Renji to be close while he whispered his instructions to him, "I'll deal with the Arrancar... you take care of Rukia and the other annoyance."

Renji was surprised, as it was rare that, when he and his Captain ventured out into the World of the Living on these even rarer occasions, one of them needed to undo the Gentei Rein, the Spirit Restriction Seal, and unleash all their power against a foe, which told him that Captain Byakuya was going to take the Arrancar seriously. That also told him that his full power wasn't necessary at the moment, not when all he had to deal with was a weakened Rukia and whoever the person wearing glasses was supposed to be, to which he nodded his head and backed away for a moment as he lowered his headgear back into place so he could call Soul Society with his Captain's orders. He knew that the Arrancar was strong, as his speed was enough to match his Captain's speed when he was only using twenty percent of his power, but he never thought that Captain Byakuya would have to pull out his full power for someone like this, to which he connected to Soul Society and began to relay his Captain's wishes, knowing that it would take some time before he was given an answer.

While that was happening Sombra drew the Zanpakuto that was attached to his belt and readied himself, where he watched as Byakuya drew what appeared to be a normal katana, which had a guard that looked like a four-pane window, and readied himself as well. The two of them stared at each other for a few moments, each daring the other to make the first move, before Byakuya decided to move first and flashed over to an area behind Sombra, who smiled as he flashed behind his opponent and swung his sword, causing Byakuya to flash out of the way before coming back and attacking him in a similar fashion. They played that game for a time, flashing around the area as Rukia, Renji, and Uryu observed them, and neither of them were willing to give the other an edge, as neither of their Zanpakutos could reach their opponent and that only meant that they continued to chase one another around. When they did clash, however, their blades collided with each other and the air shook for a moment, revealing that their powers were colliding, but not even a few moments later the two of them had to separate from each other and they continued to flash around the area... only occasionally allowing their blades to collide in such a manner, which was just fine for Sombra since it kept one of them away from Rukia, since she was their target.

Sombra had to admit that his opponent knew the various techniques that a Shinigami should know, from what he had discovered during his training with Kisuke and Yoruichi, and that actually made him weary to actually get in close and fight, as he had no knowledge of the various Kido spells that existed and had no idea if Byakuya knew any of them. At the same time, however, he had to stay close and keep the Captain from going anywhere, as one wrong step would allow him to get at Rukia, something that Renji might be able to do now that he thought about it, but he also figured that if he could force a Captain to back off that might make Renji, whatever his level was, back off as well. It was an interesting plan, one that he had no idea if it would work or not, but at the moment it was better than allowing them to take Rukia back to Soul Society so they could kill her, as he had grown fond of calling her his friend, one of the few that he had, and he honestly didn't want to lose one of them. Just thinking about that made him wonder if Ichigo had even felt the reiatsu from both himself and Byakuya yet, or if he even realized that Rukia was missing, though at the same time he dodged the swing that was coming his way and replied in kind, finding that his opponent seemed to be testing his reaction time... or whatever it was that happened to be going through Byakuya's mind at the moment.

Not even a few moments later Sombra noticed that Renji was on the move and was advancing towards Rukia, with his headgear no longer covering his eyes, and Uryu, who stepped in front of him, was cut down, as he fell to the ground and blood started to form around his body... though before Sombra could flash over and stop him, and before Rukia could run away, Renji's next attack was stopped as Ichigo, in his Shinigami form, slammed the edge of his sword down on the ground and cracked some of it, all while forcing Renji backwards.

"Who the hell are you?" Renji asked, while at the same time noticing that his Captain's fight had been put on hold as well, as Byakuya was staring at the newcomer, though Sombra was smiling, as if this meant that the tide had been turned in their favor or something.

"The name's Ichigo Kurosaki," Ichigo replied, though it was in that moment that Sombra, focusing on what was going on around them, noticed a look of annoyance flash over Rukia's face, only to be replaced by worry, as if she knew something that they didn't know, "and I'm the man that's going to take you down. Nice to meet ya."

"Shinigami clothes?! What squad are you with?" Renji asked, as he was curious as to what was going on, as this wasn't what they had planned on doing when they came to this world, though he was fortunate that Rukia hadn't run off yet, before he noticed that the new arrival had a look of confusion on his face, "And what the HELL is up with that huge Zanpakuto that you're carrying?"

"What? You mean I'm the only one with a Zanpakuto that's this large?" Ichigo inquired, while at the same time lifting his sword up and moving it so that part of the blade rested on his shoulder while the remainder of it was pointed diagonally towards the ground, though his mind was thinking about the Shinigami he had met so far and how all of their swords had been the size of a katana, "You know, at first I thought it was pretty big after seeing Rukia's, but you just confirmed the size of my Zanpakuto verses all the Zanpakuto that the other Shinigami carry."

"The hugeness of one's Zanpakuto is the hugeness of their reiatsu," Renji commented, though Sombra felt that such a thing was wrong, otherwise he, Byakuya, and he guessed all Shinigami would have massive blades like Ichigo, where he couldn't see himself using a weapon that was that big, "How could a kid like you have such a large Zanpakuto... oh, I see how it is. You're the Human that Rukia gave her powers to."

It was in that moment that Renji jumped down towards Ichigo and started bringing his sword down on Ichigo's blade, which he was using to defend himself with at the moment, while at the same time showing Ichigo that the Shinigami were much stronger than he originally thought, even though Sombra was keeping Byakuya occupied as they continued to flash around the area and cross blades every now and then. It wasn't even a minute later, not even thirty seconds, before Ichigo was cut on his right shoulder and was forced to kneel on the ground for a moment, causing Renji to land behind him and inform them that Ichigo was going to die, allowing Rukia's powers to return to her, before they took her back to Soul Society so she could face her sentence for the crimes she committed recently. Renji then went on to say how stupid Ichigo was for coming all the way out here, since it was because Rukia wanted to protect him that she ran away from where he lived, so he wouldn't get caught up in her mess, while at the same time saying that it was a good thing she did that since it also flushed out an Arrancar that Soul Society had been seeing on their radar for quite some time. It was in the moment that Renji stated that, since Ichigo was only a temporary Shinigami and therefore couldn't measure to a real one, that he had no hope of putting a scratch on one of them... which caused Ichigo to get up and swing his sword, putting a small vertical gash on Renji's chin, surprising him by the fact that Ichigo could still stand and that he was able to wound him.

Sombra, on the other hand, smiled as he blocked the incoming attack that was coming his way and then flashed behind Byakuya, as it appeared that Ichigo was showing that he wasn't to be looked down upon and that he was just as skilled as an actual Shinigami... despite the fact that he wasn't trained in such a manner, which was the main reason he was able to keep up with Byakuya and parry his attacks, otherwise he was sure that the Captain would have totaled him and left with Rukia before Ichigo even arrived.

"You relaxed too much, Renji." Byakuya commented, to which he and Sombra stood near the others, still staring at each other after the Captain decided to flash over to this area, but that only allowed Sombra to quickly understand that there was something that he wanted to say before the battle continued, "That child, 'Ichigo Kurosaki', I thought I had seen his face before this moment. The other day we had a report from the Secret Mobile Corps, one that revealed that he had inflicted a sword wound on a Menos Grande and sent it back to Hueco Mundo, while at the same time there was a sighting of a black Cero being fired and a second Menos Grande being killed in the process... which must have come from you."

"Yeah, that was me." Sombra said, though at the same time that meant that his opponent might either be waiting for him to fire one off, to show that he was like a Hollow and didn't care about the people around the town, or that he had a plan in place to stop him before he even fired the attack, something that he had no idea if he was able to do or not.

"I can't take it anymore." Renji said, looking annoyed over something, as if he refused to believe what he had been told, though at the same time Ichigo stared at him with a look of confusion on his face while Sombra wondered what was going to happen next, "The quality of the S.M.C.'s been slidin' lately. This KID wounded a Menos Grande. I can understand an Arrancar, whatever the hell that is, wounding a Menos Grande... but a kid like this?! I couldn't believe that story even if I wanted to! I mean, just look at him. His Zanpakuto is nothing but a total disgrace! It's obvious that he can't even control his reiatsu. Hey kid, what's your Zanpakuto's name?"

"Huh? It's name?" Ichigo asked, as that wasn't something that had been covered in the various brief explanations that Rukia had given him after he had taken her powers, though when he glanced over at Sombra, who was shaking his head, he found that he wasn't the only one surprised by the information, "You name every one of your Zanpakuto?"

"I knew it. You can't even ask your own Zanpakuto it's name." Renji stated, his smug attitude from earlier reappearing in full force, though at the same time he held his sword horizontal in front of him and rested his left hand on top of the side of the blade, "A bastard like that, trying to fight me as an equal, is two thousand years too early. Howl, Zabimaru!"

It was in that moment that both Ichigo and Sombra watched as Renji's blade, Zabimaru as he called it, transformed into an even longer six-part segmented blade, where each segment was wider than the one preceding it from the hilt, with two pick-like protrusions on the front and back of each segment, where the ones on the front much longer than the ones on the back. Sombra was surprised that such a thing was possible, more so than Ichigo was, and that was because all of this was information that neither Kisuke or Yoruichi had given him, likely because he hadn't reached the part of his training where he would have originally been given that information. When Renji moved to attack, however, Ichigo blocked the attack with the side of his blade, only for Zabimaru's blade to separate, revealing that it would also extend itself in some manner, and bit into Ichigo's shoulder, before Renji ripped it out of him and caused him to hit the ground, while also dropping his Zanpakuto at the same time. Unfortunately Sombra couldn't move to assist him as Byakuya attacked him again, seeking to keep him distracted while he waited for Renji to do whatever it was that he had him do earlier, to which Sombra growled in annoyance as he dodged the attack and continued to use his speed to keep his opponent in the stalemate that they happened to be in.

What happened next was even stranger, as Rukia ran forward and grabbed Renji's hand, trying to stop a death blow from being dealt to Ichigo, though they were all stopped when Ichigo grabbed his sword, stood up, and seemed to concentrate for a moment. The reason it got stranger all of a sudden was because Ichigo's reiatsu was increasing and was rushing out of the area around his body, revealing just how much power he truly had inside him, and while Renji seemed surprised by his power Byakuya didn't seem to care, while at the same time Rukia was shocked and Sombra smiled, as he knew that Ichigo had been stronger than everyone had originally believed. That was followed by Ichigo glancing at Renji before rushing forward at a speed that he wasn't used to using, as he cut a gash into Renji's left shoulder before landed on the ground nearby and rushed towards Renji again, where he swung his sword upwards and knocked Renji into the air for a few seconds. When Renji landed on his feet, and turned to look at Ichigo, the headgear he had been wearing cracked in half and fell to the ground, along with revealing that his forehead had been cut a little in the process, but at the same time he was thankful that he still had a communicator in his pocket so he could figure out what Soul Society wanted to do in terms of his Captain's orders... while Ichigo, on the other hand, made a comment about Renji getting slower, despite the fact that he was much faster than he previous was, and that his body didn't hurt anymore, before he jumped into the air and prepared to end the fight between them.

It was in that very moment that Byakuya, before the blade even touched Renji, flashed through the air and cut Ichigo's Zanpakuto blade into two pieces, a large one that he carried off with him as he sheathed his sword and the smaller part that remained attached to what Ichigo was holding. When Ichigo touched the ground in front of Renji, as this had all happened in the span of a few seconds and he hadn't seen any of it, he was surprised by the suddenness of his blade missing and quickly discovered who the culprit was, though when Byakuya dropped the blade he flashed forward again and appeared behind Ichigo, where Sombra watched as he stabbed Ichigo twice without appearing to move or draw his sword, though he had to strain himself to see the second attack hit a different area than the first one. It was like Byakuya had grown tired of something and had decided to act, as his speed was as fast as what he had been using against him the entire time, though before Sombra could say anything Ichigo slowly fell to the ground, while at the same time Renji stated that his Captain didn't have to intervene when he was in the middle of a fight, to which Sombra flashed down to an area near them and glared at them... because right now they had hurt three of his friends and it was starting to really piss him off, while at the same time he felt a slight headache starting to develop.

Byakuya was even calm about the exchange, as he told Renji to not say such things and that even his skills would rust if he didn't practice every now and then, especially if he stood on the sidelines and let Renji take care of everyone that they came across. Rukia, getting over what was happening before Sombra did, rushed forward and was immediately pinned to a pole by Renji, who stated that Ichigo was dead, which was wrong since Sombra could still feel some power coming from him, and that Rukia would only worsen her sentence if she touched him. That was followed by Byakuya stating that the reason she wanted to run over to him was because Ichigo resembled someone, likely from her past that must have died at some point, only for Ichigo to show them that he wasn't dead by grabbing onto the edge Byakuya's leggings, which was swiftly followed by an even stranger thing when Rukia broke free from Renji's hold and kicked Ichigo's hand, to stop him from dying a painful death. Sombra barely heard most of what she said, though she seemed to have reverted back to the noble speech patterns that she had used before coming to the World of the Living, though the only problems he had at the moment were that he was being ignored and that his headache refused to go away... and, for the oddest reason, he found that he had an immense dislike for noble people, as it seemed to strike a nerve that he didn't know existed before.

"How... How dare you ignore us and treat us like we don't matter!" Sombra snapped, to which he felt his own reiatsu rise for a moment as a faint dark aura started to gather around his body, while at the same time the air shook in a similar manner to when he used the Cero, only he wasn't doing that this time, though he did notice a shocked look on Renji and Rukia's faces at the moment as he focused on someone in particular, "Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, member of the Noble Family that is the Kuchiki Clan, you'll pay for what you have done today."

Byakuya barely had time to move as Sombra flashed through the air and only reappeared right in front of him, though as he moved his hand to draw his Zanpakuto, to defend himself, Sombra growled as he raised his own sword into the air and cut a diagonal gash into the chest part of his clothing, followed by some blood flying as a look of pure shock appeared on his opponent's face. Sombra took advantage of his opponent's shock and spun around, where he kicked Byakuya in the chest with his right hoof and knocked him away from where he was standing, though at the same time, as he planned out his next attack, Byakuya called out to Renji for a moment, who pulled something out of his pocket and held it up to his ear for a few seconds. That was followed by the crimson haired Shinigami calling out to his Captain for a moment, saying that something was approved, and that was when Byakuya called out "Gentei Kaijo", where his power skyrocketed almost immediately, though at the same time Sombra continued his advance. Before he could move, however, Byakuya held his Zanpakuto in front of his face and pointed the tip towards the sky, where he said "Scatter, Senbonzakura" and the blade of his weapon glowed pink for a moment, before the entire blade part seemed to disappear as he was left with the handle and the guard.

An instant later Sombra felt what he could only describe as a thousand slashes being cut all over his body, at a speed that was faster than what he could see at the moment, and knew that it had to be tied to what Byakuya had done, though a few seconds later his body went into shock as he crashed to the ground that was below him. As his head hit the ground, and he found that he could look in the direction that Rukia was standing in, all he saw was Rukia being led through a doorway that appeared in the air in front of her, before it closed behind her as she glanced back at him and Ichigo. After that he guessed that Byakuya had decided that his attack had done so much damage that he was dead before he even touched the ground, but he couldn't move and could feel his life fading before his very eyes, and this time he didn't think that anyone would be able to save him. He was lucky the last time, as Yoruichi and Kisuke had been nearby when the Menos Grande had showed itself, but this time they were far away and he was very sure that his life was about to end before he even found out who he had been before his memories were taken from him.

As he started to close his eyes, and his body started to shut down, he could have sworn that he heard the worried and concerned voice of Yoruichi for a moment, though the thought of her coming to his aid again brought a smile to his face as he slipped into the darkness once more... and this time around he was sure that he wouldn't be coming back.