This story just keeps getting better. I'm a Kaien fan myself and I was glad that Ichigo saved him. I can hardly wait for chapter 4.

Best chapter yet! Loved the humourous narration and making Ichigo fight and save Kaien was just too cool :D. Good to see Grimmjaw's there now too, and that the espada aren't exactly overjoyed to see Aizen.

It was also a brilliant idea to make Ichigo fight more intelligently. I mean in the manga he's fought in how many battles and he still uses the same tactic: charge and slash. I'm glad that you've decided to give him a few more tricks.

And Rukia's out of bed! Although no doubt the reappearance of Kaien is going to confuse the poor girl.

Anyway did I mention that I love this chapter :P.

OMG! Okay, this is easily at the top of my fave stories list. This ROCKS! LOVING the HM action, and Aizen in all his baddiness. He's such a sneaky bastard. Tousen's training was super cool too; the thought of Ichi actually developing his skills beyond raw power is just SICK!

Hello Grimm! Nice to see ya. And his first face-off with Ichi was hilarious: "Just try it, kitty" Muwahahaa! Can't wait for THAT pissing contest to commence. XD

And OH HOLY CRAP - the twist with Aaroneiro and Kaien was INCREDIBLE! OMG! Not only did Ichigo find him, but to split them apart, and give Kaien a chance to go back to SS...AUGH! Unparalleled awesomeness. Not to mention the potential for totally mind-screwing Rukia...

*bows* I'm sold. This fic rocks. Update son! XD

wow, this is great!Your spelling and punctuation is great too! I can't wait for the next chapter! .

Hi, it's me again. Sorry 'bout the anonymous review, the owner of the computer I'm sending it from decided to be an ass and block any attempt to log in.

Still very interesting; the thought of ichigo helping them find the members of the new espada is interesting to say the least. Does Tosen hold some sort of grudge against Ichigo, regarding him as he does Kenpachi?

Anyways, still very good. The way of shorter chapters is very good. I don't really mind your long chapters in LCA or EotM, but this is still a welcome change.

Also: Blind training? That's so weird, my next fic will be featuring a blind Ichigo. Perhaps we do think alike a little.

All the best, (and hoping for an update of EotM) blekmedelninjan.

Great chapter! I feel sorry for Rukia, she must feeling terrible. I can't wait to see how the the story goes as well as for the IchiRuki _ I'm curious about the beginning of the creation of the Esapada and what the Sereitei is going to do about about it... Ichigo! You better do something!

Hope you update soon!

Write away. Write more and more of it, It's hard to do an alternate story, but no matter, write write write...

Very nice, smother and easier to follow than first chapter with plenty of promise for future chapers with the plot :)

*grins* This is really good. I especially loved the line "The mention of a 'stage two' sent shivers down Ichigo’s spine: the last time he had heard something like that was during Urahara’s training, and that experience had been decidedly less than pleasant.".

That was really good... Just the slightest bit of suspense at the end, anough to keep us interested, and the duel was funny... I know you probably didn't intend for it to be rather humorous, but the way I... erm... 'see' it (I'm half blind myself), Tousen's training style is rather unorthodox, though I think I can 'see' where he's going with it... And the idea of Ichigo flailing around blindly qith a wooden blade like the one I have when Tousen first struck him is priceless!(Especially since they're unweildy things compared to tempered steel, and Ichigo is used to using a proper blade, so he would be unaccustomed to the weight). I also chuckled when you mentioned Urahara's training sessions with Ichigo. Very realistic writing. Keep it coming!

cool story so far. keep up the great work.

this is very interesting keep it up! update soon!

Yeep! Ichigo, be careful!

I must say I'm loving this story. I'm so excited to see where you're going to go with all the "bad guys"! I already loved the little bit of Gin in here, and I like that you're actually using Tousen. No one does...

And hopefully we'll get to see some of the other Espada we know and love! :) Not that I didn't enjoy Dordonii!

And poor Rukia...

aha you updated really quickly! ]

anyho, this chapter was amazing like the first one! I really enjoyed it!

urk..i hate tousen xDD

update soon!

Wasn't Aaroniero (the 9th Espada) a member of the original Espada? (See /Bleach/297/11/ for where I'm getting that from.) Now that the mandated nitpick is over, onto the review!

Had Ichigo gone with the traitorous captains, that is exactly how Aizen, Gin, and Kaname would have treated him. I have no doubt in my mind - Gin would have been his perpetually cheerful and creepy self, Aizen would have been Aizen, and Tousen would have been all, "If he cannot control himself, I will ask Aizen for permission to strike him down." I do like the idea of Ichigo being forced to learn how to sense reiatsu by fighting Tousen - and you never know, maybe all instruction in Soul Society is conducted with a three stage protocol!

Less a story comment and more a general Bleach thought - we know Ichigo and the vizards have an inner hollow, has there been any conclusive statement as to whether arrancar have an inner shinigami? Some echo of the intact soul that gets accessed upon removal of the mask? It would be awesome to see one of the Espada asking Ichigo for help in dealing with their inner shinigami while Ichigo asks them for help in dealing with his inner hollow.

All in all, great chapter and I look forward to reading more!