Yoruichi stood on the rooftop with the three Shinigami, each of them wielding their Zanpakutou and Ichigo was in his Bankai form. "We're here." she announced.

However, the Reigai noticed their presence from far, and a number of them gathered at the Senkaimon, preparing to attack them. "Hey!" called Ichigo. "There are more of them now."

She clicked her tongue in response. "So they were on to us after all!" she said. "They can only hold off the boundary wall of the Precipice World for a short time. We don't need to attack. We'll bust through them and make it through the Precipice World. Let's go!" At this cue, all four of them charged towards the Senkaimon.

"They're charging in." said Reigai-Hisagi while swinging the chains of his Shikai.

"All we need to do is keep them from going through the Senkaimon." said Reigai-Hitsugaya while reaching for his Zanpakutou and unsheathing it. "First, we need to slow them down!"

Halfway in mid-air, Rukia and Ichigo had to use their swords to block Reigei-Renji and Reigai-Ikkaku's attacks. "What's up, Rukia?" shouted Reigai-Renji once he'd pushed her a few feet back. Before she could respond, something tugged onto her Zanpakutou, making her glance to see Reigai-Hisagi's chain bound to the blade and prohibiting her from moving it.

"Rukia!" called Ichigo worriedly while dodging and blocking Reigai-Ikkaku's attacks.

"Stop looking around!" shouted the latter before delivering a blow strong enough to send Ichigo skidding a few feet back.

"Damn it!" he cussed. At that moment, Reigai-Iba suddenly appeared behind him and attempted to attack him with his sword, which took on the form of a large sword with a pick-like protrusion a short distance below the tip. Ichigo used Flash Step to move away, just in time for the sword to pulverise the ground, and joined Rukia. The two of them were soon surrounded by the Reigai.

Not far from them, Yoruichi was heading towards the Senkaimon when Reigai-Komamura approached her and swung his sword, only to have her dodge in time before the impact that was strong enough to pulverise the ground hit her. Asa then used this as an opportunity to move towards the Senkaimon, but Reigai-Hitsugaya appeared next to her. "Hyoryu Senbi!" He swung his sword at her and she quickly moved away before the overflowing ice could hit her. Once she and Yoruichi had their backs against each other, Reigai-Komamura raised his sword and prepared to attack them with his Shikai, the two women suddenly popped, followed by Rukia and Ichigo, revealing themselves to be portable Gigai.

"What happened?" asked Reigai-Renji, who skidded to a halt when Rukia and Ichigo suddenly disappeared.

"I didn't do anything!" said Reigai-Ikkaku.

"What just happened?" questioned Reigai-Hitsugaya.

"Getsuga Tensho!" The real Ichigo suddenly launched the attack at the Senkaimon, destroying it in an explosion. The four of them then grabbed the chance to run towards it while the dust clouds obscured the Reigai's vision.

"Moron!" shouted Rukia. "I ended up bursting mine before it got hit because you screwed up on the timing!"

"I can't help it!" shouted back Ichigo. "That thing was difficult to operate!" When they saw a rubble flying towards them, they leapt at the same time, allowing it to crash into the ground and shatter.

'Damn that Kisuke!' thought Yoruichi. 'I told him to develop something that anyone could handle.'

'I'm starting to understand the purpose of a Reigai.' thought Asa. 'They are Reigai originally created for the purpose of battling. Their personalities and strengths might not be near-perfect copies, but compared to the originals, they appear a bit aggressive. That being the case, they won't hesitate to attack me, Ichigo, Rukia or Yoruichi. That is why a single blinding blow was effective enough to destroy our Gigai. If they had hesitated in their attacks as the originals would have, it probably wouldn't have been as effective.'

"We're going to keep going right through the Senkaimon!" yelled Yoruichi as she led the group towards the open gate. However, before she could even get closer, a force knocked her back and the other three stopped.

"Yoruichi-san!" called Asa worriedly.

Rukia turned around and was shocked to see who was standing at the Senkaimon. "Nii-sama!" she said.

"Did you think I'd be oblivious to what you were thinking?" he questioned coldly.

With a grin, Yoruichi recovered and plowed herself into the back of the Reigai. "Did you think I'd be oblivious to what you were thinking?" she mocked.

"Are you sacrificing yourself?!" he asked with disbelief.

"If I said I was, what of it?" she responded before kicking him away.

"Yoruichi-san, what're you thinking?!" asked Ichigo.

"Go!" she ordered. "I'm not going to get killed by the likes of them!" When he tried to argue, she turned around and yelled, "Go, Ichigo! Protect the people in the World of the Living!"

The said boy's eyes widened with realisation before he finally understood the situation they were in. "Thank you." he said, turning around to leave with Rukia and Asa.

"Don't let them go!" ordered Reigai-Hitsugaya as the others took off to follow them.

"I'm not letting you pursue them!" declared Yoruichi. "Shunko!" Using this technique, she easily defeated the Reigai that attempted to go after the three Shinigami.

Meanwhile, an injured Uryu laid on the ground. "I apologise for taking so long, Kira-fukutaichou, Ise-fukutaichou." said the attacker to the two Reigai Lieutenants, with Reigai-Izuru holding the unconscious girl Ichigo and Rukia wanted to protect. "I will handle eliminating the Mod Soul." At this, Kon, who was in Ichigo's body, panicked and began to struggle against the Kidou binds cast by the man himself. "I'll put you out of your misery quickly." However, he was immediately distracted by Uryu who managed to stand on his two feet. "So you were still alive, huh?"

'His movements...' noted the Quincy while looking at him over his shoulder. 'It's not a simple issue of him being fast. It was as though the movement he moved was somehow cut out.'

"I dearly apologise if it seems like I'm toying with your life." said the attacker before turning around to face him. "I'll end it now. Hado #4 Byakurai." But before the lightning could reach Uryu, it was deflected by an orange shield. Sado then crashed down and attacked, only to have the man dodging it completely.

"Ishida-kun!" called Orihime worriedly as she ran over, just in time to catch him when he fell unconscious.

"Inoue, heal Ishida's injuries." said Sado.

"But..." she began, trying to argue.

"I'll do what I can to give you time." he added.

"Give her time, you say?" repeated the man mockingly. When he rotated the double-headed voulge with red markings on it, he suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Sado, stabbing him in the back. "You speak as if you own time."

"Sado-kun!" called Orihime as the said boy fell to the ground, unconscious and bleeding.

"Now then, shall we put an end to this?" asked the man while walking towards the scared girl. "I've taken a bit too long." He swung his weapon at her but the attack was blocked by Ichigo, who managed to arrive on time. The latter swung his blade once more, but the man used Flash Step to move to the top, avoiding his attack.

"Kurosaki-kun!" called Orihime.

"Are you alright, Inoue?" asked Rukia while placing a hand on her upper arm.

"Kuchiki-san!" she said. "Yes. But Ishida-kun and Sado-kun are..."

"Kurosaki Ichigo." began the man. "So you made it back? That was unexpected."

"Who are you?" demanded the said boy.

"I see." he said, ignoring the question. "Was it Shihoin Yoruichi?"

"Hey!" shouted Ichigo. "Didn't you hear me?"

"Yes." continued the man. "If you had her help, I can understand how you could escape. That is, if she sacrifices her life."

Ichigo's patience ran thin, as he demanded once more, "I said, who the hell are you?!"

The man knocked his weapon on the railing. "Come now, calm down." he said. "I am Inaba Kageroza. I study the Precipice World in the Department of Research and Development." Inaba was quite tall and thin. He had chin-length straight hair which parted on the left side of his head framing his long face; the right side of his hair was green, and the left was yellow. He was wearing a long yellow robe which buttoned up in the front and protruded upwards from the neck that covered the back of his head, as well as a pair of gloves.

"You study the Precipice World?!" questioned Rukia, perplexed. "Then are you the cause of this incident? And are you in control of those Reigai there?!"

"You even know about the Reigai." said Inaba, surprised. "Wonderful!"

"Wonderful, you say?" growled Ichigo.

Inaba turned around and began walking slowly while dragging the blade on the railing. "After all, I am a person who has done nothing but research work, so I haven't paid much attention to others' affairs." he said. "It appears you have reached an understanding that is much further along than I had expected."

"Never mind all the explanations!" snapped the Substitute Shinigami, stopping Inaba with what he was doing. "I don't know what dumb reason you're doing all this for, but when you hurt my friends, I'll crush you!" He raised his reiatsu and gripped his Zanpakutou with both hands, preparing to fight.

"That'll make things quicker." said Inaba. "If you do not need an explanation, that would suit me just fine." As soon as he turned around, he raised his reiatsu as well, which made Rukia fell uneasy about it.

'What's with his reiatsu?!' she questioned.

On the other hand, Asa was watching the fight from the shadows, observing the enemy as much as possible. Ichigo flew towards Inaba and was knocked through a building and thrown to the ground before he could recover. As he tried to attack again, Ichigo was constantly forced to dodge Inaba's attacks. Inaba came up from under a platform and cut Ichigo across the cheek, performing a sneak attack. Despite Rukia telling him not to use his Hollowfication, Ichigo put on his mask and the battle resumed. The two were evenly matched, but Asa noted that Ichigo's power was unstable. He knocked Inaba to the ground and as he went for his finisher, Inaba dodged it. Ichigo turned around and fired a powerful Getsuga Tensho. However, much to Ichigo's horror, Inaba was thrown back and was able deflect the attack upwards.

"Is this your best?" he mocked before breaking into a mad laughter.

'Ichigo is holding back his strength because he's afraid of losing his reiatsu.' noted Asa with a frown. 'But even so, to be able to snuff out a Getsuga Tensho so easily... They may be Reigai, but the fact that he can command those proud Captains and Lieutenants shows that his powers are greater.'

The two clashed their blades a few times before Inaba said, "Substitute Shinigami, it would seem I overestimated you. Or is it that your reiatsu has diminished more than I predicted?"

"Shut up!" snarled Ichigo.

"Unfortunately, in your present state, as a scientist, I no longer have interest in you!" Inaba twirled his sword and hit Ichigo in the back, knocking him away. Inaba attacked again just when Ichigo's mask was shattered and the latter was slammed against a pillar, stabbed in the shoulder before getting mercilessly thrown away.

"Ichigo!" called Rukia worriedly as she ran towards him.

"This is perfect." said Inaba while approaching them, causing Rukia to whirl around with her Zanpakutou while keeping her guard up. "You two could become a hindrance to my objective. Allow me to eliminate you right here."

As soon as Rukia went on defense and he prepared to finish them off, Zabimaru cut through the area and sent him flying. "Hey, Ichigo!" greeted the Lieutenant of the 6th Division while his Zanpakutou retracted. "You seem to be having trouble there!"

"Renji!" called the said boy with surprise.

Suddenly, Reigai-Nanao was knocked off the platform, catching the other Reigai Lieutenant by surprise. "What?!" he exclaimed.

"Let the woman go." ordered Hitsugaya. When Reigai-Izuru turned to look at him, the Captain used the pommel of his Zanpakutou to hit him in the face, causing the former to drop the girl and allowing him to catch her before dashing off.

Inaba gritted his teeth and chased after him. He tried to land a blow on the Captain, but the latter dodged it and forced Inaba to go after him. "Let her go!" he demanded. Once Hitsugaya reached to the top, millions of cherry blossom petals flew towards him, attempting to strike the scientist who had no choice but to back off, followed by his Reigai Lieutenants. "One after the other..."

"Nii-sama!" called Rukia when she saw the said man standing above them.

"Byakuya." followed Asa, who just arrived at the scene.

He glanced at the Substitute Shinigami and took note of his appearance. "Looks like he beat you up pretty good, Kurosaki Ichigo." he mocked.

"Shut up!" retorted the said boy. "Are you guys the real deal?!"

"Damn right!" answered Renji.

"But... how?" asked Rukia.

He glanced to the side and smiled. "It's not just us." he said. At that moment, the rest of the Captains and Lieutenants who had been trapped in the Precipice World appeared.

"G-Guys..." muttered Ichigo weakly while getting up on his feet.

"The originals?" sneered Inaba, with his left brow twitching in anger.

"For a pretty underling, this was some stunt you pulled." remarked Kurotsuchi.

"Why Kurotsuchi-taichou, I wasn't expecting you to arrive so soon." commented Inaba sarcastically.

"Weren't you tardy in your report to me?" stated the Captain. "Because of that, I ended up helping all these people I didn't want to help. It's a thankless job. I'm making you pay for this a million times over!"

"Surely you jest." responded Inaba, clearly unfazed by his threats. "You seem to think you've won, but you're mistaken." His weapon then transformed into a walking cane. "But I will retreat for now." The Senkaimon soon opened behind him, giving him the opportunity to escape.

"Damn you!" cussed Ichigo. "Wait!"

"Ichigo, don't." said Renji sternly.

"Huh?" responded the said boy.

"The Precipice World is his territory now." explained Kurotsuchi. "You have no hope of winning if you go after him without a plan. But if you wish to die by committing such foolishness, I won't stop you. It would be a fitting death for you."

"Shut up." growled Ichigo.

Before he stepped into the Precipice World, Inaba turned around with a grin and said, "When I have retrieved Nozomi, I will be able to show you my true power."

"True power?" repeated Hitsugaya.

"Then, not only Soul Society, but the World of the Living will also be under my control." he added, which caused uneasiness among those present. "Well then originals, and you, Substitute Shinigami, we will meet again someday." As he looked at them cynically, the door shut behind him and disappeared.

"We won't let you take control!" muttered Ichigo determinedly.