Bleach 1. Prologue

Yo everybody! Got a new story for your enjoyment. This one of a bunch of Bleach story ideas bouncing around in my head and this is the one I've decided to take a crack at. Though I may write the others in a collection of one shots.

I know, I know, my numerous fans of my other stories are demanding updates for those stories. Be patient. With the coming of summer, I have more time to write. Updates will be coming.

Anyway, enjoy this prologue. The first chapter will be coming in a day or two.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters.

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><p>Ichigo Kurosaki staggered to feet, struggling with his shattered left ankle only to be struck down by the massive fist of Tersa Lindocruz. As his body hit the sand dunes of Los Noches, Orihime screamed out his name before being gagged by Nnoitra Gilga. The bloodied soul reaper tried to get back up but the giant, warthog-like arrancar's fingers wrapped around his head. Ichigo was effortless hoisted into the air. Tersa's other hand then grabbed his right arm and snapped it like a twig, earning agonized screams from Ichigo. Once more the orange haired teen was thrown through the air, crashing into the white sand. But before he could even attempt to recover the blond arrancar was on him, a fist rising above his head.<p>

'_No… It can't end like this…'_

Suddenly a much smaller fist slammed into the head of the arrancar, sending him crashing to the ground. The one who threw the punch landed before a very surprised Ichigo. It was a short, dark haired girl in the standard Shihakushō uniform but with cloth bandages wrapped around her hands and wrists, a zanpakutō with a jagged edged circular guard. But there was one thing about her that shocked just Ichigo but the others as well. Upon her face was a white mask in the shape of some form of hound. Its mouth of razor sharp teeth and nose extending outward into a short muzzle while three small spikes emerged from the far edges of each cheek, reaching past the ears. Black marks reached around from underneath each eye rising up into the two horn-like pointed ears that rose from the top of the mask.

"_**Heh. For someone so big, you've got one hell of a glass jaw," **_the Visored commented, her eyes never leaving the fallen form of Tesra.

'_I've never seen her before. Is she with Shinji and the others?' _Ichigo thought as he watched her. _'But they didn't wear Shihakushōs. Are there more groups of Visoreds out there then just them?'_

But before he could ask her anything, a great shadow descended on him. "Got yourself all beat up, eh Ichigo," a very familiar voice said.

Wide eyed, Ichigo glanced over his shoulder. Standing behind him was the giant form of Kenpachi Zaraki, Captain of Squad Eleven of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. "Kenpachi…" he somehow managed to utter despite his shock.

A small pink haired head shot from behind Kenpachi's board shoulder. "Hey Icchi!" Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi cheerfully said, waving a hand at the injured teen.

"Kenpachi? What are you doing here?" he asked. "I thought the Soul Society wasn't going to get involved in this battle."

The Visored turned her head towards Ichigo, her golden eyes glowing through the mask's eyeholes as she reached up for it. _**"Now isn't the time to be playing twenty questions **_Ichigo," she said, pulling her mask off. "We're here to help rescue Orihime and kick some arrancar ass."

Of all the surprises he had experienced in the last thirty seconds, the revealing of Visored's face was the greatest of them for Ichigo. This was not some stranger that had come with Kenpachi to help him, he knew this girl.

"Tatsuki?"

"Hey," was all his oldest of friends said.

"But how are you-"

"It's a long story and like I said, now isn't the time for it," Tatsuki answered, cutting him off. "We'll tell you it when we're done here."

Ichigo blinked, realizing what she was saying. "We?"

Tatsuki nodded her head in response. "Yeah I'm not the only one like this now. There are a couple of us here-"

Suddenly Tersa was standing behind her, casting Tatsuki beneath his shadow. "You… What are you?" he demanded. "You have the sword and uniform of a soul reaper but the mask of a hollow."

The girl calmly turned around and looked up at the much taller warrior. "There isn't a name for what I am yet. But you can say that I'm the same as you."

"I doubt that soul reaper," the arrancar replied. "But I will destroy you just the same."

"Just try it Pigface."

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><p>Captain Byakuya Kuchiki stood impassively in front of the unconscious form of his adopted sister, blood flowing from the cut tendons in his left leg. The arrancar's feeble attempt to use his ability on Rukia stopped in its tracks.<p>

"You can move that much with one leg? As expected of a captain worthy of my utmost admiration," the Sèptima Espada, Zommari Rureaux commented, his tone bordering on mocking.

Byakuya was about to chaste the arrogant arrancar when the sounds of feet clumsily running across sand and heavily breathing caught his ears. The pair that had supposed to have accompanied him after he parted ways with the other Captains had finally reached him.

"We…we finally made it," the first exclaimed as he grasped for breath.

"Yeah… Hey do you have to run so fast?" the other added just as worn out. "How are we supposed to keep up with you when you move like that?"

It mattered little to the Captain of Squad Six whether or not the two of them managed to keep up with him. In fact, he much preferred the unsightly pair staying as far away from him as possible.

"That was so terrible of you to leave us back there Captain Kuchiki!" Hanatarou Yamada of Squad Four complained. "We nearly got lost…" The boy paused, staring at his self-inflicted wound. "Wah! Captain Kuchiki! Your leg!"

But the eyes of the other were not on him; rather they were on the Espada in his released form. "Gah! What is that ugly thing?" he screamed, pointing at the enemy.

A vein twitched on the side of Zommari's bald head. "Yet more irritations," he said, attempting to mask his annoyance but failing in Byakuya's eyes.

However he did agree with the arrancar's words on the matter. In the brief experiences he had with them, Byakuya had come to the same conclusion. Though at least Hanatarou had his medical knowledge to make himself useful, the other had absolutely nothing to even mitigate that. He was just a former human with barely any training and no actual combat experience. Worse he was one of _them_. Those barely better than the arrancar they were fighting.

"Hanatarou Yamada, Keigo Asano, step back," Byakuya said, not bothering to even look upon them.

"Yeah… You deal with the creepy thing with way too many eyes," Keigo replied, earning more throbbing veins in the head of the otherwise impassive Espada.

Hanatarou nodded his head. "I guess we'd just a hindrance to you Captain," he added.

"Not a hindrance but an eyesore," the captain truthfully proclaimed. "I will say this once more, step back. For the way I am now there is no guarantee that I can continue fighting without swallowing you both up as well."

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><p>Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu was worried. Not because they were in the heart of Aizen's lair within Hueco Mundo or because they under constant threat of attack from arrancar at any second, as a trained combat medic of Squad Four she was use to entering the battlefield to tend to the wounded. Such things no longer concerned her. No it was the one she and her captain were traveling with that was the cause of her worry.<p>

He was-_no _he had been a human boy a few weeks ago before the incident. An infant compared to her and the others on the team yet despite his youth, it was his nature she found him terrifying. Isane had treated the terrible wounds of many of those that had sought to restrain them in those first days as they struggled to contain the newly created hollows within them. The fact that such humans with little spiritual pressure could transform into those fierce beasts and that they had been trained in the last few weeks, making them stronger was what truly terrified her. Captain Kurotsuchi had said that they were currently stable but at the same time he admitted that they could lose control and become those monsters again at moment. The only difference would be that this time they would be stronger than before.

And they were only the _weakest_ among those afflicted. The rest were far stronger and far more dangerous. She had no idea what Captain-General Yamamoto was planning with them but she hoped he knew what he was doing.

The boy turned his head towards her. "Is something wrong Miss Kotetsu?" Mizuiro Kojima asked with a small smile on his face, pulling Isane from her musings. "You seem to be staring at me."

"Ah…er…sorry. Nothing's wrong," Isane stuttered, her cheeks turning red.

'_Why does he have to be so darn cute?'_ she thought as they continued traveling across the dunes.

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><p>As always, I love feedback so please review.<p> 


	2. Architect of Chaos

Yo everybody! The next chapter is up for your enjoyment. I actually had this one done before I even started the prologue hence why its going up so fast. Next chapter will take some more time as I've only just started it.

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><p>Captain Jūshirō Ukitake let out sigh of contentment before raising a cup of tea to his lips. Today was a beautiful day and he was feeling quite well for a change. Were it not for the current situation in the Seireitei, it would be absolutely perfect. But recent betrayal of Sōsuke Aizen and the other captains as well as the upcoming war with him and his army of arrancar tarnished the otherwise wonderful day.<p>

'_War… It's been well over a century since we last faced a full scale war," _he mused as he watched his subordinate Rukia Kuchiki train with the human girl Orihime Inoue. _'But this is a lot different from that last time. We have human allies for a change-'_

At that moment a Hell Butterfly appeared before him. Ukitake raised his hand, offering his finger for it to land on. The insect landed on his finger, relaying its message.

"_By order of Captain-General Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, all Captains and Lieutenants of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads are immediately report to the Squad One Headquarters for an emergency meeting."_

"I see… thank you," the captain replied before rising to his feet.

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><p>It didn't take long for Ukitake to reach the Meeting Chambers of Squad One though nearly all of the other captains and lieutenants had arrived before him. In fact only Tōshirō and the lieutenants in the team that was in Kurakara Town as well as Kurotsuchi and his lieutenant hadn't arrived.<p>

Shunsui let out a loud yawn, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion despite the fact that it was midday. "So Old Man why have you called this meeting? Something new with Aizen?"

"No does not have to do with Aizen and the traitors," an irritated Captain Kurotsuchi snapped as he entered the chamber.

Following behind the Squad Twelve Captain was his lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi and another soul reaper that Ukitake had never seen before. The ordinary-looking soul reaper stood about as tall as the Squad Twelve Lieutenant, taller if his blue hair was counted which was styled into a Mohawk with the rest of his hair shaved close to his head. His hair style was not the only odd thing about his appearance, his eyes didn't match. The one on the left was blue while the one on the right was a rather bright green. Resting upon his forehead was an unusual pair of goggles. The left lens was pale purple while the right was almost entirely covered in metal save for a small green lens that was identical to his eye. Over top of his uniform was a simple white lab coat, the same as all members of the Research and Development Institute. But what really stood out was how nervous he was, glancing from captain to captain though whether it was just being in the presence of the Captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads or something else entirely, Ukitake couldn't say.

"I asked the Captain-General because there has been a theft from within my Squad!" Kurotsuchi continued as he took his place, his subordinates standing behind him.

Ukitake frowned at the news. There were countless inventions and devices within the halls of the Research and Development Institute. Plenty were relatively harmless but there were plenty more that were dangerous. If someone broke into the Institute to steal something it was without a doubt a dangerous item. "What exactly was stolen?" he asked.

It was the Captain-General that answered his question. "As you're all aware after the betrayal of Aizen and the others, the compounds of Squads Three, Five and Nine were thoroughly searched for any information that could be uncovered," he said. "Among the files that were found was a great deal of scientific data."

"Which were naturally turned over to me for examination," Kurotsuchi added, calming down as he spoke. "The files were entirely on Aizen's experiments on shinigamification and hollowfication; experiments, tests, success rates, failures and the like." A grin spread across the face of the President of the Research and Development Institute. "It was a very interesting read. Clearly Aizen's scientific mind was far greater than we realized, especially in the field of soul reaper/hollow hybridization."

"They stole Aizen's old research data? That doesn't sound all that dangerous or important by itself," Sajin Komamura commented. "Especially considering that Aizen did not destroy them before his betrayal."

Mayuri merely chuckled at the Squad Seven Captain's words. "True and by itself the experiment data would be rather useless to most. However that was not all that was in the files. There were also numerous formulas of Aizen's numerous hybridization agents. _That_ was among what was stolen."

Expressions of shock, disbelief and horror spread across the faces of most of the gathered officers. Ukitake gritted his teeth at the news. They had already seen Aizen's latest creations and their formidable powers, and he himself had born witness to one of Aizen's earliest creation with a deadly outcome. The idea of such dangerous substances in hands of _anyone_ much less a group of renegades was terrifying to say the least.

Kurotsuchi turned his head to the Mohawk headed soul reaper. "Give them you report," he ordered, earning a notable gulp from his subordinate.

The soul reaper moved out from behind his Captain to the middle of the room. "Kenji Kugijutsu, Third Seat of Squad 12 and Head of the Research and Development Institute's Testing and Implementation Department sirs," the young man nervously said, raising an arm in salute. "You see sirs the danger is not just the formula they stole but the vast amounts of equipment they took as well." He then pulled out a piece of paper from within the folds of his coat and continued. "Files pertaining to Hollowfiction Agent Number Forty-Three, two dozen full body protection suits, ten large chemical sprayers, sixteen small chemical sprayers, a dozen pressurized gas-"

"Enough!" Kurotsuchi snapped, causing him to flinch. "They don't need a full list idiot! Just get to the point already!"

Kugijutsu bowed his head. "Sorry sir. Right away sir," the officer said before clearing his throat. "Hollowfication Agent Forty-Three was classified based off of the data as a Level Black Biohazard. When soul reapers and souls with at least some spiritual power are exposed to the agent, immediate hollow transformation begins. However the rate of transformation is dependent on several factors, such as individual spiritual pressure, external stressors and the like. Additionally those afflicted have a period ranging from minutes to hours in which they are highly infectious to others. Though the exact nature of how the infection is spread in that stage is currently unknown."

"Why was a record of such a dangerous agent allowed to exist?" Soifon demanded. "Should it not have been destroyed?"

'_Yes, why were these files saved rather than destroyed?' _Ukitake thought, pondering over the matter. _'Aizen's experiments were in the most taboo of subjects. What possible use could such things have to warrant their preservation?'_

"Of course it's dangerous," Mayuri replied. "But how could we ever hope create preventative or counteragents against it without first completely understanding it first."

It did made sense. If one wanted to create an antidote to a poison, one first had to first know the poison. And if Aizen tried to use any of these agents as weapon against the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, they would need a means to protect themselves. But it still didn't sit right with Ukitake and judging from the reactions of many of his fellow officers, they felt the same way.

Captain Kurotsuchi turned to his subordinate. "Continue," he ordered.

Kenji nodded his head and continued, "Along with the files on the agent, they've stolen a great deal of equipment that will allow them to quickly synthesis the substance in both its liquid and gas forms in significant quantities as well as proceed immediately to the testing stage."

"How long will it take for them to create this agent?" Ukitake said, asking the question they were all thinking.

"In large quantities, approximately eight hours but now they should already have significant amounts for testing," Kurotsuchi answered.

Needless to say it was not the answer any of them wanted to hear. Even small amounts of the hollowfication agent posed a grave danger. If released into the Seireitei it could devastate the standing forces of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. This matter needed to be dealt with immediately before that could happen.

"But just what are they after?" the Squad Seven Captain asked. "What do they plan to use this agent for?"

"Why do you think I brought my Third Seat?" Mayuri replied. "Most of the miscreants that have caused this headache are his direct subordinates in the Testing and Implementation Department. So I think he should explain why he could not keep a tighter rein on those in his Department."

Kugijutsu began to tremble at his captain's words, beads of sweat sliding down his face. "I-I…I thought it was just some stupid, crazy idea they came up with and that they wouldn't actually try it," he stuttered, unable to meet the eye of any of the other officers. "If I had known they were actually going to do this I would have taken action. But it was just so crazy. No one in their right mind would try it."

"Stop babbling and spit it out already before I change your occupation from Department Head to test subject!" an annoyed Kurotsuchi shouted.

The third seat froze for a moment, staring wide eyed at his commanding officer. "…Y-Yes sir," he finally said before clearing his throat once again. "A few days after the battle between Captain Hitsugaya's team and the arrancar I was approached by Tenzo Kichigai, one of my subordinates within the Department. He claimed that if mere foot soldiers in Aizen's Army could challenge a team of high ranked soul reapers including a Captain what chance could the Thirteen Court Guard Squads have against those arrancar that lead the Army unless we could find a way to make our strongest warriors even stronger. Then he told me of the files retrieved from Squad Five. He said to me that if Aizen was creating hollow-soul reaper hybrids that were stronger than either then we must do the same."

"Why didn't you report such dangerous talk immediately?" the Squad Two Captain snapped, startling the third seat.

"As I said ma'am I thought it was just another crazy idea. Kichigai was always thinking up those kinds of ideas only to grow bored after a few days and moving on to something new," Kenji explained. "Everyone in the Department knew that. Most of us just ignored him when he went on like that. I just assumed that he'd get tired of it like he always does so all I did was tell that it was crazy and that no one would agree to it."

But Soifon did not look satisfied with his answered. "And because of your laxity he and a group of likeminded individuals made off with everything they need to carry out this 'crazy idea' of his, endangering Soul Society while we are already in the middle of a war."

Kugijutsu hung his head in shame. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Enough!" Yamamoto proclaimed, hitting the bottom of his staff upon the floor. "This is not the time for assigning blame. These renegades must be apprehended and their materials safely retrieved before they cause any harm."

"It is not entirely as bad as it seems," Kurotsuchi calmly said. "While they may have such dangerous materials, these troublemakers are scientists not fighters. Their combat capabilities are rather limited. Besides as scientists they will first seek to test the process before trying anything on a large scale. They'll probably try to snatch up some high seated officers, maybe a lieutenant or two for initial testing. Only once they've succeed in their tests will they proceed to try on us Captains."

"Then our first step should be to warn all high seated officers to be on guard for these renegades before hunting them down," Komamura said. "With all that they have stolen they could not have gotten far."

"It's not like that will change things given that we're already at a heightened sense of alert given the war with Aizen," Mayuri replied. "However my Squad has already searched the Seireitei. They are no longer here. Likely they've fled to the Rukongai or possibly the World of the Living."

Ukitake nodded his head. "All more reason for us to go after them. There's no telling what kind of damage they could cause."

Kurotsuchi merely shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Hunting after them without the proper protective equipment would be the same as giving them all the test subjects they need. Careful preparations will be needed before acting. Naturally my Squad is already properly trained and equipped to deal with this annoyance. Leave this matter to Squad Twelve and this matter shall be dealt with swiftly."

"If it weren't for your Squad we wouldn't be having this problem to begin with," Zaraki dryly commented.

"And you think that you and your brutes could properly handle this situation?" Mayuri shot back.

"Heh. I won't even break a sweat."

"Of course not you simpleton! As I've said already, they are scientists first and foremost!"

"Regardless of the strength of these individuals they pose a significant threat to Thirteen Court Guard Squads," Yamamoto spoke silencing the two captains. "As Captain Kurotsuchi has pointed out, the substances we are dealing with are highly dangerous and only Squad Twelve is properly trained to deal with the matter of collecting and disposing of the substances once they've been found. Therefore Squad Twelve is to prepare teams for that purpose."

Mayuri bowed his head. "Of course Captain-General. And I will also take the precaution of preparing quarantine chambers in case of exposure."

"Aren't we getting a bit ahead of ourselves here?" Shunsui asked. "We need to find them first before can deal with what they've created. Are there any leads on where they could have gone?"

"Sadly no," the Squad Twelve Captain answered. "However they would like be in a place where they could easily locate and isolate higher level soul reapers for experimentation."

The Squad Eight Captain scratched his chin. "If they're looking a few upper level soul reapers that they could easily isolate for testing the process on wouldn't the team in Kurakara Town be an ideal choice?"

At that moment the eyes of every other soul reaper widened in surprise and realization.

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><p>Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya silently waited outside the Urahara Shop alongside the rest of his team save for Lieutenant Renji Abarai and Rukia Kuchiki, both of whom were training with their human allies. Word had come down from the Seireitei as to what had happened. The nature of the theft was disturbing to say the least. That a group of soul reapers would actually conduct such dangerous and illegal experiments in an effort to <em>help<em> the Thirteen Court Guard Squads was sickening to the young captain. Hollows and arrancars were monstrous beings that fed on souls and wrought nothing more than destruction. To become even partly like them turned his stomach and though he wouldn't admit it out loud, the notion scared him a little.

The doors to the shop opened and the shop's owner emerged, accompanied by a dozen soul reapers wearing heavy gloves and breathing masks that covered their faces. It was hard to tell most of them apart because of those masks but two stood out from the others because of the badges on their arms. The first one, Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi of Squad Twelve Hitsugaya was expecting but the second he was not.

"Momo? What are you doing here?"

His childhood friend pulled off the mask from her face, a slight smile across her face. "When I heard that they could be targeting you and the others I wanted to help so I volunteered," Momo explained, tucking the mask under her arm.

"Captain-General Yamamoto did not want to risk any additional Captains as long as there is a danger of contamination," Nemu added. "When looking for volunteers for members to be a part of the team, she was the first to volunteer."

But there was a look in Momo's eyes, a look that told Hitsugaya that there was more to her reason than just wanting to help him. Tōshirō had heard the rumors beginning to circulate among the lower ranks before he had left for the World of the Living. Stories of how she acted during the Ryoka Incident and the 'murder' of Aizen as well as her claims of his innocent while she was still recovering within Squad Four had spread around pretty quickly. Many were whispering that her infatuation with the former captain had turned into an unhealthy obsession and that if they met once more, she'd do anything for him even killing her fellow soul reaper. Others claimed that the betrayal of her captain as well as her near death at her hands had driven her mad. A few even believed that she wasn't crazy at all, that it was all an act and she was really Aizen's spy. Hitsugaya hoped she wasn't here in a misguided attempt to try and prove her loyalty to those that really didn't know her.

"She was the _only _volunteer," a soul reaper with a blue Mohawk glumly commented. "The rest of us were ordered. I'd much rather be back in the Institute than here."

"And you are?"

"Kenji Kugijutsu, Third Seat of Squad 12 and Head of the Research and Development Institute's Testing and Implementation Department sir," he answered halfheartedly. "We here to help you apprehend the renegades and to safely contain the substance they've been creating sir. Speaking of which, you should all be properly equipped before we move out."

Another member of the team stepped forward; carrying a box filled with more masks and gloves and started to pass them out among Hitsugaya's team. Most of them put the gear on right away, but not all of them.

"Ugh… Why must I wear this ugly thing?" Yumichika complained as he held his mask up.

"For you own safety," Nemu plainly stated. "The agents we are dealing with are extremely dangerous. Inhalation of the airborne variant will result in immediate infection while the liquid variant can cause infection through ingestion, contact to bodily orifices or through the bloodstream."

The fifth seat blinked his eyes. "Huh?"

"If you don't want to wear the gear then don't breath, don't touch anything, don't bleed and keep your eyes close to avoid infection," Kugijutsu added. "If you can't and get exposed, we'll probably have to kill you."

Yumichika paled at his words. "On second thought, I think I can bear wearing this unsightly thing for a short while," he said before putting it on.

"Alright listen up," Urahara said, clapping his hands and drawing everyone's attention. "We've set up the means to safely dispose of the agent here once you've collected it." He then turned to Nemu. "I assume that Mayuri has given you a device to detect the transmitters."

The lieutenant pulled out a handheld device with a large round screen and several buttons on the front. "Yes sir," she said, holding it up.

"Good then I'll leave you to it," Urahara replied. "Oh and good luck, you're gonna need it."

With the ex-captain retreated into his shop, leaving the soul reapers to their mission. Hitsugaya turned to the Lieutenant of Squad Twelve who was already pressing buttons on the device. "Do you have a signal?" he asked.

"Though there is a great deal of interference from the countless human electronic devices in area, I have tracked down the location of a large number of transmitters," Kurotsuchi explained, pointing off into the distance. "I believe that are in that direction.

"Are we sure it's them? They could have discarded the transmitters and moved on."

The lieutenant shook her head. "Unlikely sir. The existence of the transmitters within each piece of equipment from the Research Institute is known only to the President, Vice-President and the Department Heads."

Hitsugaya nodded his head, accepting her answer. "Then let's head out."

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><p>In the dim light of the makeshift lab, a figure grinned as he watched the Squad Ten Captain's team draw ever closer to him, ever closer to their destiny. "Ha ha ha ha! Yes... Come comrades, come and become a part of the future of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads!"<p>

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><p>"Is everyone's mask secure?" Tōshirō asked as they stood before the building the sensor had led them to.<p>

It was a nondescript warehouse building with a few trucks parked nearby but no signs of human activity. Something the captain was thankful for. If a fight broke out or something went wrong, it would be problematic to have humans around at best. At least they could go all out if the need arose.

The rest of his team stood ready to enter the building on his orders. "The officers and I will enter first and apprehend the renegades," Hitsugaya said. "Once we've restrained them we'll call for the rest of you." He turned to Ikkaku. "Open the door."

The bald headed fighter nodded and began to lift the door up for them. Once it was fully up, they silently entered the building. The inside of the warehouse consisted of a large open area with two rows of support columns lining it and several small rooms along the far wall. All manner of devices and equipment filled the area. Some were complex-looking machines that Hitsugaya could only guess at while others were more mundane computers and lab instruments. However what really worried him were the containers filled with a sinister green substance. Undoubtedly the hollowfication agent they had been sent to retrieve and destroy.

Hitsugaya drew his sword. "Fan out and keep an eye out."

The rest of the officers drew their own weapons as they cautiously entered the makeshift laboratory. They spread out across the warehouse, Rangiku and the Squad Twelve Third Seat were taking the right side of the building, Momo and Squad Eleven officers took the left while he and Lieutenant Kurotsuchi were moving through the center. It was quiet, too quiet. Other than the faint sounds of machines running, it was deathly silent. There was no sign of anyone.

'_Could they have left before we got here?' _Hitsugaya thought, glancing around at the various machines. _'No. All their equipment is still here.'_

"Captain!" Rangiku called out, pulling him from his thoughts. "Over here!"

All of them quickly turned from what they were doing and moved towards her location. There they found the Rangiku standing over a group of dead bodies while Kugijutsu was kneeling down and examining them. All of them were soul reapers in white lab coats. There was no denying who they were.

"It's them Captain," his lieutenant said.

Kugijutsu sighed and shook his head. "They're all dead. And these wounds could only have been caused by a blade."

"Another team?" Ikkaku asked.

The other third seat shook his head. "No. We're the first team. They would not have sent another before us." Kugijutsu paused to close the eyes of the body he was examining. "These were good people, misguided and foolish but good people. They didn't deserve this."

"Could they have been working with someone outside the Seireitei you then killed them?" Hitsugaya asked, leaving out Aizen's name for Momo's sake.

"I doubt it sir," Kugijutsu answered as he stood up. "Most members of Squad Twelve and the Institute aren't ones to leave the Squad Compound. We're just not social creatures."

"Sir there's only ten here. We're missing one," Nemu suddenly commented.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened as he turned back to the body, mentally counting them off. The lieutenant was right. There were only ten bodies but there were _eleven_ renegades.

"It's Kichigai sir. He's not here," Kugijutsu added.

"Then we must find-"

"I've been waiting for you," a voice called out, cutting off the captain.

Instantly the soul reapers spun around towards the source of the voice. It was coming from one of the side rooms, its door open with faint light coming out of the otherwise dark room. Cautiously Hitsugaya entered the room, the others close behind. Inside he found a single person sitting in a chair with a blood soak zanpakutō on his lap. Behind him stood an active computer console, it and a dim overhead light providing the only illumination in the small room. On the ground near him was another larger container of the green substance. The figure sitting before him wasn't much. He was a pale, gaunt faced man with greasy black hair and a crazed look in his dark eyes. "You're earlier than I expected. Of course it doesn't matter now. Everything is has it should be."

Looking at his sword, it was obvious what had happened to those outside. He had killed his own comrades. But why, Hitsugaya couldn't say. It could have been that they had started having second thoughts about what they've done and he killed them for it. Regardless, it was over. The white haired captain raised up his sword. "Drop your weapon now," he ordered.

"Tenzo…what have you done?" a stunned Kugijutsu uttered behind him.

But Kugijutsu just chuckled and giggled at their words. "Only what needed to be done for the sake of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads," he answered his tone as crazed and unstable as his eyes. "Tell me, do you honestly think that we can defeat Aizen, a man who manipulated and fooled everyone, even the Captain-General for who knows how long? Do really think we can defeat an army of arrancar when a group of high ranked officers struggled against mere foot soldiers? Our only option is to become stronger." His gaze turned to the container and its dangerous contents. "This is the future of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads!"

Hitsugaya could feel bile trying to rise up his throat at the maniac's words. "The future? This is nothing more than insanity!" he shot back, disgusted at this man and what he had done here.

The scientist merely smirked. "Change is always a difficult thing for many to accept. Sometimes it must be forced."

"Is that why your comrades are dead?"

"Heh heh ha ha… No I killed them because I knew that none of us would live to see the future. In life we were seen as criminals and lunatics, in death we will be remembered as geniuses and visionaries. It was better for them to die by my hands than to be tried and executed by those who will later revere them."

"Bakudō Sixty-three Sajo Sabaku," Hitsugaya snapped, wanting nothing more than to be done with this lunatic.

Ropes of yellow energy wrapped around Kugijutsu's arms, binding him. He then grabbed the man's shoulder and pulled him from the chair, throwing him into the arms of his lieutenant. "Put this scum somewhere out of the way," Hitsugaya ordered. "Then get the rest of the team in here to start clearing out this place."

It didn't take long for them to get started. Lieutenant Kurotsuchi was working on the main computer of the lab, trying to make sure they hadn't hidden anything elsewhere. The other Squad Twelve members were in process of inventorying the stolen equipment and preparing the hollowfication agents for transportation while the rest of the team watched on by the warehouse entrance. But there was something bothering Hitsugaya. For all his talk of having the 'future' of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, Kichigai's apprehension was far too easy. Surely if he was so obsessed with this he would have put up a greater fight than this.

"Ah… Captain we have a bit of a problem here," Third Seat Kugijutsu nervously said, walking towards the group with Lieutenant Kurotsuchi. "We appear to be missing several items, namely small containers, gas dispersal units and explosives."

Dread filled Hitsugaya. Could they have already sent some of the agent into the Seireitei? Could it already be spreading through the ranks of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads?

Kichigai started laughing at the news. "Of course Kenji," he said with glee. "As I said, everything is as it should be."

With that he bit down, snapping a tooth in his mouth. A timer lit up on the nearby large container that they had removed from the side room, counting down from five minutes while Kichigai continued to laugh. "They'll see it now! They'll realize it's the only way for us to win this war!" he ranted.

Hitsugaya silently cursed as he turned to the Squad Twelve officers. "Can you disarm it?"

For several agonizingly long seconds, the scientists stared at the device. "Hmm… It does appear to be heavily modified but I suspect the explosive component of it is relatively unaltered. We should be able to disarm it as well as any of the others we brought from our Squad," Kenji answered. "But we should get the other containers out of here just in case."

"Do you really think that is the only one? Do you really think I would leave my greatest endeavor to a single device? No we put them in places where the chances of our primary test subjects being exposed would be at their highest!" Kichigai raved, his eyes never leaving Hitsugaya.

Realization dawned upon the white haired captain. _They_ were the original targets of this lunatic. And if he sought to infect them then he would have to hide these other devices in places that they would regularly be. The places at the top of that list were high school that they were pretending to be students at and the places they were living in but that still left them with numerous possibilities as to where they could be hidden within those places and even more along the routes they regularly took to school. "Where?" he demanded, grabbing the bound man by his collar and lifting him up. "Where are they?"

"It doesn't matter," the crazed scientist replied. "By triggering that one I've triggered the other three. But if you want to try, they're in the residence that you have been staying at, the apartment of those Squad Eleven brutes and of course the home of the ryoka Ichigo Kurosaki. I could not resist test it on such a powerful individual. There's even a map in my pocket if you want it?"

Without a word, Hitsugaya reached into Kichigai's coat and pulled out the map before dropping him to floor. Just as he said the map was marked with the locations he listed. But could they even trust this lunatic's words? Did they really have a choice? "Momo, take one of the Squad Twelve members and go to Kurosaki's," he said, handing her the map. "Rangiku, you do the same and take them to Orihime's apartment. Madarame, Ayasegawa-"

"We get the picture," Ikkaku said, cutting him off. "We'll take one of these guys to our place."

"It's the furthest place from here so take Lieutenant Kurotsuchi with you," the captain replied. "And if it doesn't look like it can be disarmed in time, don't take the chance. Contain it with the strongest barrier you can manage." Then Hitsugaya turned over to the other Squad Twelve members. "The rest of you, gather up these containers and get them to Urahara's immediately." He glanced down at the still giggling Kichigai. "And take him with you as well."

With a chorus of 'yes sir', the soul reapers carried out his orders, the officers leaving the warehouse while the others began the process of preparing the containers for transporting. Kugijutsu was already working on the rigged container, the timer reading four minutes and seven seconds.

"Is there enough time?" Hitsugaya quietly asked, careful not to let the other Squad Twelve members overhear.

The officer just shrugged his shoulders. "For me to disarm this one? Yes. For the others…" He shook his head. "I just don't know."

Just over a minute passed before the team left their dangerous cargo. And as soon as they did, Hitsugaya sealed the entire building with Kidō. If they couldn't stop it, at least they could keep it from spreading outside the building.

Seconds continued to tick by as Kugijutsu worked away, muttering to himself. The timer reached three minutes then two and a half but just as it passed the two minute mark the timer froze. Breathing a sigh of relief, Hitsugaya raised his communicator to his mouth intending to inform the rest of the team of their success.

"No…" Kugijutsu suddenly uttered, turning towards the captain and revealing a new timer counting down in seconds. "Tell the others to cast barriers around the other devices now!"

_20…_

"Momo! Rangiku! Everybody the devices have been rigged with a false timer! Don't disarm them! Contain them now!" he screamed into the communication device.

_15…_

Momo dropped the communicator the instant she heard Tōshirō's words. They had managed to find the device under a bed in one of the bedrooms on the second floor and now the Squad Twelve member that had accompanied her was working frantically on it. "Out of the way!" she shouted, pulling the man away so she could contain it with Kidō.

_10…_

"No…" a wide eyed Rangiku uttered as she turned to the man opening up a panel on the newly discovered bomb.

"Go!" she screamed at him. "Get out of here I have to contain it now!"

_5…_

Yumichika frowned as a static-laced message came in from Captain Hitsugaya. "What Captain? I didn't quite get that. Could you repeat it?" he asked while Ikkaku slammed into the door of their apartment, shattering it.

…_0_

As one the four devices exploded, releasing their dangerous contents.

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><p>That's all for now. Like always, I like to hear from my fans so feel free to review.<p> 


	3. Spreading the Sickness

Yo everybody! Back again with another chapter for your enjoyment. Not much to say at the moment beyond thanks to those who left reviews and enjoy the newest chapter.

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><p>Groaning, Hitsugaya slowly opened his eyes. Before his eyes was a green mist floating a good two feet above the ground. For a moment panic filled the young captain until he realized that his breathing mask was still securely on his face and intact. He was safe from the mist.<p>

As he got back up to his feet, Tōshirō put a hand to the back of his head. There was a lump forming there but otherwise he was fine. The same could not be said for the makeshift laboratory. Various equipment and apparatus had been thrown about, burnt and destroyed by the blast. "Kugijutsu!" Hitsugaya called out, searching out for the other man that had been in the building.

A hand rose up from amid the wreckage of one of the larger machines. "Here sir…"

Quickly he made his way over to the fallen soul reaper, pausing only to push aside obstacles in his path. When Hitsugaya finally reached Kugijutsu he found the man bloodied and battered. The instant the second timer revealed itself the third seat had attempted to contain the bomb but his barrier hadn't been strong enough. Metal fragments coated in a pale green substance were embedded all across his chest as well as his face. The Squad Twelve member looked at the captain with his left eye, his right a mess of blood and lens fragments.

Kugijutsu's hand reached up to touch his missing eye. "Figures… I just replaced that eye the other week," he said, his hand dropping down to his side. Then he glanced down at his chest and let out a pathetic chuckle at the sight of the shrapnel. "And looks like I'm getting that occupational change to test subject after all. Just perfect…"

"I'm sure Captain Kurotsuchi will be able to come up with a cure for the agent," Tōshirō replied, trying to reassure the inflected soul reaper.

Truthfully Hitsugaya had no idea if the Squad Captain had a potential cure or even if it was possible to reverse the effects of the agent and chances are that Kugijutsu knew that but there was at least a slim hope.

But Kenji just closed his good eye and shook his head. "I'm such a fool. I should have seen it coming," he said, his tone dejected and bitter. "A decoy timer, a liquid container with the agent and shrapnel, multiple devices hidden in places that the subject regularly visit, so obvious. The very techniques we in the Testing Department use all the time." He opened his eye, staring straight at him. "Did it get out?"

"No and the barrier is still-"

"_Tōshirō! Tōshirō can you hear me?" _Momo's voice said through Hitsugaya's communicator, cutting the captain off. _"I managed to contain the device before it exploded in a double barrier."_

The white haired shinigami breathed out a sigh of relief at her words. Two devices contained with only one person exposed. He prayed the others were fairing so well. "Momo send word to Headquarters," he ordered. "Have them erect emergency barriers at each site and have them send a team to retrieve Third Seat Kugijutsu. He's been exposed."

"_I see… Right away Tōshirō."_

"Have you heard from Rangiku and the others?"

"_No."_

"I see," Hitsugaya said letting out a quiet sigh. "Carry out your orders; I will try to contact them."

"_Right," _Momo answered.

"Rangiku can you hear me?" Tōshirō said, trying to hail the others of his team. "Lieutenant Kurotsuchi, Madarame, Ayasegawa, this is Captain Hitusgaya. Respond immediately."

"_Captain…" _his lieutenant's voice wheezed out.

Worry crept into Hitsugaya's chest as he heard her voice. Something had gone wrong. "Rangiku? What's your status?"

"_I'm sorry Captain… I couldn't contain it,"_ she answered, pausing to cough for a moment._ "The agent is in the air… Hollows… People are turning into hollows…"_

Instantly worry was replaced with dread. This was the worst possible situation. It had to be contained…_now_. "Hold on Rangiku. I'll be there soon," he said to her, already turning to the door. "Momo did you hear that?"

"_Yes."_

"Tell Headquarters that an outbreak has occurred. All containment measures must be taken immediately before the entire city is endangered," Tōshirō said, beginning to make his way to the warehouse door.

Kugijutsu let out a loud cough. "Wait Captain," he called out, causing Hitsugaya to stop. "Captain could you…"

He stopped, unable to finish but Tōshirō knew what he wanted. And if he wanted to end it under his terms, the captain would aid him in it. "I understand," he said drawing his zanpakutō.

"Whoa! Wait! Wait! I didn't say kill me! I don't want to die!" the wide-eyed third seat shouted at him. "Jeez... Are you crazy or something? I was going to ask you to _bind_ me with Kidō not cut my head off!"

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><p>"<em>Attention everyone we have an emergency!" <em>the ever panicking voice of Rin Tsubokura yelled over the Squad intercom. _"Captain Hitsugaya's team reports an outbreak of hollowfication agent within Kurakara Town!"_

"Hmm… How interesting…" Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi commented, raising his head from the vials he was gathering.

When he had first read through Aizen's notes, he had been quite intrigued by the possibilities of hollowfication. To evolve beyond one's limits by gaining the power of hollows was something he had longed to study. But at the same time it was extremely dangerous and highly illegal. If he was caught conducting such experiments… well returning to the Maggot's Nest would be the nicest of the punishments he could receive. Which of course he did not move beyond creating experimental agents that could _in theory_ reserve or halt the effects of hollowfication. Of course they were all untested as he had no one suffering from hollowfication to test on and he wasn't stupid enough to try and expose someone to hollowfication agents in order to test them.

However with this _unfortunate_ outbreak there were new avenues for him to study hollowfication in proper detail as well test his own counteragents. Sure the Captain-General would want any of those inflected either cured or disposed of but if the treatments failed and their elimination was required, no one would care if he held it off for a few days to study them a little further.

A wide grin spread across his face as Mayuri raised a vial to his face, staring into the pale blue liquid. The next couple of days were going to be fun.

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><p>Tōshirō raced from roof top to roof top, periodically dispatching hollows as he grew closer and closer to Orihime's apartment. The number of hollows were increasing. Hitsugaya didn't like it because it meant two things. First the airborne agent had spread beyond what Rangiku could contain with Kidō and second Rangiku was not able to deal with these hollows herself which meant she was unconscious or worse.<p>

"_Captain Hitsugaya,"_ the voice said over the comm. _"This is Rin Tsubokura of Squad Twelve. The containment barriers are in place over the four sites. However the barriers will only stop the spread of the agent not the hollows themselves."_

"Understood," the captain replied. "What about reinforcements?"

"_Captain Kurotsuchi is leading several teams to the World of the Living as we speak."_

"Alright. Keep me apprised on any further developments."

'_Finally some good news,'_ Hitsugaya thought as he reached the last block before Orihime's apartment.

Aside from Momo, he had no idea as to what the status of the others was. At best they were fine with just their communicators down and at worst they were incapacitated or dead. Either way there was little he could do for them at the moment.

Landing on the pavement before the apartment an unexpected sight greeted him; Rangiku crouched over the fall form of the Squad Twelve member that had accompanied her. The man was clearly laid dead, his throat ripped out yet his lieutenant was still kneeling over the body with her back to him, attempting to help the man.

"Rangiku…" Hitsugaya quietly said. "He's already-"

But then she turned her head to him and Hitsugaya froze. A white, half-formed mask covered the entire left side of her face as well as everything from her chin to her nose. Both of her eyes were now gold and fingertips had begun to change into sharp white talons. The thing that had been his lieutenant snarled, blood dripping down her chin.

Gripping Hyōrinmaru with both hand and pushing back his shock and horror, Tōshirō prepared himself. As his lieutenant, Rangiku was his responsibility. He would keep her from harming anyone else. If need be, he would kill her but he would make every effort to restrain her. Hopefully the Research and Development Institute could come up with a means to cure her. "Reign over the Frosted Heavens Hyōrinmaru!"

As he released his zanpakutō, Rangiku let out a feral shriek before leaping at him with her clawed fingers. Hitsugaya was faster, throwing Hyōrinmaru's chain-blade at her, wrapping the chain around her. Instantly ice began to spread around Rangiku's body wherever the metal made contact. Pulling on the chain, the captain forced her down to her knees as the ice continued to grow. "Rangiku if you can hear me stop," Tōshirō said to the hissing and snarling creature. "I do not want to kill you but I will if I must."

However the response she gave was more growls as her mask continued to grow and form into a definitive shape. A horn was beginning to emerge from the left side of her forehead while razor sharp teeth formed along her mouth, two fangs elongating even further than the others. Then with a sudden burst of power Rangiku shattered the ice and threw off the chain. Howling she once more attacked.

* * *

><p>Yumichika sprinted through the hallways of the apartment building, slashing through hollows with the blades of Fuji Kujaku. This whole situation had deteriorated rapidly over the course of seconds. They had received Captain Hitusgaya's partial message an instant before the explosion tore through their apartment. Both Ikkaku and Lieutenant Kurotsuchi who were already in the apartment had been knocked out instantly while he himself had been far enough away to avoid being rendered unconscious as well. Unfortunately with the airborne agent released he didn't have time to check on them. Yumichika knew what he had to do. He had to seal the entire building in a barrier before the agent or anyone exposed to it escaped. And the only way to do that was to either reach the roof or the ground floor.<p>

But moments after he started running the screaming started and the hollows began to emerge. No…not emerge. That implied they were coming in from Hueco Mundo. These hollows were being near instantly born from those within the building that had already breathed in the hollowfictaion agent. Nothing beyond slaying them as the hollows they had become could help them now. Once the barrier was up, Yumichika would do just that.

Kicking open the door to the stairwell he started running up the stairs, a few hollows hot on his tail. They were newborns, feeble weaklings in terms of power. Dealing with them would waste precious seconds so he simply ignored them as they fell behind unable to match his speed.

It would take a high level spell to completely seal the building, a bakudō of about seventy or higher at least. While he knew some Kidō, certainly a lot more than _any_ member of Squad Eleven should know a spell of that level was going to be difficult. Certainly he would need the incantation for it to work, another reason why he needed to get away from the hollows.

Kicking open the door to the roof, Yumichika rushed outside. He had only seconds before the hollows would arrive and distract him from his task. "Stand grand paladin of the rising sun, raise your shield to the heavens," he spoke, starting the incantation. "Supreme arbitrator of the setting sun, lower your-"

"RWAAAAAAAR!" an incest-like hollow roared as it smashed through the doorway, racing towards him.

Resuming his chant after the briefest of pauses, the fifth seat merely raised his Fuji Kujaku, ready to strike it down. However two smaller figures emerged from the shattered doorway, leaping on the hollow clawing and tearing at it. They weren't hollows, not fully anyway. Both had full masks and hollow holes but their bodies were still half human. One had a pair of dark bluish-green feathered wings emerging from his back while he stood unnaturally thin and unnaturally long legs that ended in two-toed clawed feet. The hollow mask was almost entirely devoid of features and covered the entire front of his head, four flat protrusions extended from the edges of it into black hair while the chin stretched down a little bit passed the human jaw. The eyeholes were ringed by bluish-green lines that spread out across its surface. A line from each eye dropped towards the chin, meeting before continuing onto the bottom edge while the remaining lines danced across the mask before reaching the protrusions.

The second half-hollow had far too many limbs; it's slightly hunched over back covered in numerous flailing tentacles. Its fingers were long and boney, tearing thknew rough the flesh of the hollow. The hollow mask was mostly human in shape and features with two large round eyes, a small protrusion for a nose and a lipless mouth filled with teeth. However the chin extended down and outward into a narrow point while three board, flat spikes emerged from the top of the mask, one from the side of each temple and one from the top.

But Yumichika knew this second half-hollow. While both were still clad in Kurakara High School uniforms the Squad Eleven officer recognized the half-hollow's brown hair. It was Keigo Asano, the boy they saved from that arrancar in exchange for room and board. Though why he and the other teenage had not turned fully into hollows was strange. They both should have progressed fully into hollows like the others. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that Keigo had been able to see them outside of their gigais, something no normal human should be able to do.

However now was not the time for such speculation, not when he had a job to do first.

With the hollow dead the two half creatures turned to the lone soul reaper and roared at him. As they both leaped at him, Yumichika raised Fuji Kujaku up ready for a fight.

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><p>With a shrieking roar, Rangiku's clawed hand swiped at Tōshirō but the smaller soul reaper was faster, pulling his head down before she could reach him. But before Hitsugaya could react her knee was driven into his chest at a speed and strength far greater than his lieutenant was capable of. The captain was thrown back, his body sliding across the concrete for several feet before stopping.<p>

'_This isn't good. She's rapidly getting stronger,' _Hitsugaya thought as he picked himself up off the ground. _'I need to end this now before-'_

At that moment deep roar echoed through the air as a shadow descended upon him. A winged hollow swooped down on Hitsugaya. But it was little more than an annoyance and Tōshirō slew it with a single swing of his zanpakutō.

It had been the fourth in last few minutes to have attacked one of them in the midst of their fight and Hitsugaya had no doubt there were many, many more around causing all manner of havoc. One more reason why he needed to end this now.

Bellowing out another howl, Rangiku leaped on him. Raising Hyōrinmaru up to defend himself, the hollowfied lieutenant's mouth clamped down on the blade as her clawed hands wildly swiped at Hitsugaya's face as he tried to keep her back.

"Tōshirō!" a very familiar voice called out as the sound of approaching footsteps caught his ears.

He didn't need to look to know who it was. The footsteps grew close and stopped as a horrified gasp was let out. "Rangiku…" Momo uttered. "Wha-what happened to her?"

"Get back Momo!" the captain called back. "Stay back before-"

But that momentary distraction was all Rangiku needed, her claws finally connecting. They bit into Hitsugaya's mask, slicing into his face.

"Tōshirō!" Momo screamed as he staggered back from the blow.

The dark hair lieutenant started rushing to his side but Hitsugaya's hand shot out, stopping her in her tracks. "I said get back Momo!" he shouted back his face stinging with pain. "Rangiku is my lieutenant. She is my responsibility. But I need you to deal with all hollows here before they cause any more damage."

"But Tōshirō-"

Hitsugaya pulled the ruined mask from his bleeding face, silently praying that he hadn't been exposed to the agent. "Momo I need you to do this for me."

The girl hesitated for a moment, conflicted about leaving her oldest of friends behind. "Alright Tōshirō," she finally answered before taking off to carry out his order.

* * *

><p>The Keigo-hollow howled as its elongated fingers swiped at Yumichika's face, narrowly missing it by inches. The fifth seat struck back, the four blades of Fuji Kujaku slicing through its chest. As the creature staggered back, the winged half-hollow attacked him from behind. But before it could touch him, Yumichika was already swinging his sword back and the blades cut into it. The creature crashed onto the floor but barely a second later it was already climbing back up to its feet, its wounds beginning to heal over. And it was the same with the Keigo-hollow.<p>

Yumchika scowled. They weren't all that strong for hollows, their overall power sitting several degrees above the others he had faced thus far. Certainly he would be able to slay them both with relative ease however they were both still human despite their continued transformation into hollows. That is what stayed his hand from killing them. They were still human. It was one thing to slay a hollow and purify it or cast it into Hell, it was an entirely different to slay something that was still an innocent human. If he killed them would they move on to the Soul Society or would they just cease to exist? There were too many unknowns.

But on the other hand he couldn't just let them run wild especially when the agent was still floating in the air. He needed to put them down now and contain the situation before it grew any worse.

The Keigo-hollow raised it arms, the skin of its shoulders and biceps writhing and twitching. Suddenly ripped open, more tentacles tore through the skin racing for Yumichika. The blades of Fuji Kujaku sliced through them with ease but as he did the other half-hollow attacked. Yumichika cried out in pain as the talons of the hissing creature raked across his back, drawing blood. The Squad Eleven warrior responded with a kick to the half-hollow's chest.

"Damn it," Yumichika cursed, clutching his bleeding back as he moved so that his was not facing either opponent.

He had gotten careless, allowing their weaker strength to lull him into a false sense of security. The wounds may have been shallow but that was beside the point. It was a stupid, amateurish mistake, unfitting of an officer of Zaraki's Squad. If Ikkaku was here he'd scowled him for it.

'_Wait… No one else is here and I don't think these two are going to remember this,' _he realized.

"It's time to end this," Yumichika said to them. "But if you do remember this moment, tell no one. Split and deviate Ruri'iro Kujaku."

The four blades glowed, transforming into long vines. They surged outwards, quickly wrapping and binding the pair. The half-hollows roared and fought back against the vines but it was already too late. Almost instantly the zanpakutō began siphoning their reiatsu, feeding the buds on the vines. Yumichika was careful though not to drain them entirely, just enough to render them unconscious. Within seconds their struggles slowed and in just under a minute they both stopped altogether. Then the vines began to shrivel up, releasing two hollowfied humans. Their limp bodies collapsed to the ground as Yumichika resealed his zanpakutō.

"Now that you two have been dealt with I can finish-"

At that moment the roof of the building exploded behind him. Despite the blast Yumichika remained standing. "What now?" he muttered, turning to the new threat.

But upon seeing what he was facing, Yumichiki froze with shock as it roared at him. "Ikkaku…" he uttered a split-second before a blade slashed through his chest.

* * *

><p>Panting, Hitsugaya took a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow. Across from him was Rangiku, her body entirely encased in ice. It was finally over. She was contained and Momo was out dispatching the remaining hollows in the area. All he had to do now was wait for Captain Kurotsuchi's team. Hopefully they'd be able to cure this. If not then…well he'd cross that road if he needed to.<p>

"Momo what's your stat-"

Suddenly fluid filled his lungs and throat, causing him to start hacking and gagging. He could feel it start to rise up his esophagus. Somehow Hitsugaya managed to force his mouth shut with a hand, attempting to push it back despite his gag reflex. But it wasn't enough. White fluid violently pushed out of his mouth before pulling back on his face. Hyōrinmaru fell to the ground as Hitsugaya's hands tore at the substance threatening to cover his entire face.

"_Tōshirō! Tōshirō are you alright?"_ a panicking Momo asked over the radio device resting within his kosode.

There was no denying it possibility now. He had been infected just like his lieutenant. But he couldn't risk exposing Momo. Managing to dig out his communicator from the folds of his uniform, Hitsugaya rose it up to his face. "Stay…stay away Momo…" he wheezed, trying to expel the fluid from his mouth. "Stay away… I've been exposed… When Kurotsuchi arrives…tell him… He must come here…no one else…"

With that he threw the device away before she could reply and collapsed to his knees. Rangiku had grown stronger as her body transformed, Hitsugaya shuttered to think of how strong he could become when the transformation started truly wracking his body. If he lost control and attacked Momo, she wouldn't stand a chance against him and he would never forgive himself. He had to hold out for as long as possible until Kurotsuchi arrived.

However fate did not seem to want to oblige him for at that moment Rangiku shattered through her ice prison. Her fanged mouth opened, a crimson orb of energy forming before it.

'_A cero!'_

But Tōshirō's legs were like jelly and he could he focus his mind to cast a Kidō spell. All he could do was stare as his hollowfied lieutenant prepared to obliterate him.

"Bakudō Nintey-Nine. Kin," a voice called out.

Before the cero could leave Rangiku's mouth leather straps appeared, wrapping around her arms and binding them behind her back. Thrashing around she harmlessly released the cero into the sky and then fell to her stomach.

"My my… so many interesting new subjects to study," Mayuri Kurotsuchi said, stepping out onto the field a breathing mask on his face. "A shame they are so… _unruly_."

Behind him a pair of Squad Twelve members were pushing a cart laden with the bound bodies of partially hollowfied people. Without any regard for Hitsugaya, Kurotsuchi gestured to men and they left the cart to grab Rangiku and throw her onto the pile of similarly afflicted people. "There's far more of them than I expected," the scientist commented. "But we still have more than enough space prepared for them all."

"Captain Kurotsuchi…" Hitsugaya rasped, his head throbbing furious and the liquid on his face beginning to harden.

"Oh? It appears that you have been exposed as well Captain Hitsugaya," the captain said, seemingly noticing the presence of his colleague for the first time.

"The…the others…are they?"

Kurotsuchi pulled open the side of his captain's coat, revealing several needles filled colored fluids. "It seems that aside from Lieutenant Hinamori all the officers have been infected and contained for the time being along with nearly two dozen or so humans that have somehow managed to avoid completely transforming into hollows." Though the Squad Twelve Captain's face was virtually covered by the breathing mask Hitsugaya could swear he was grinning. "I can't wait to study them all. You as well Captain Hitsugaya. Once you've been properly restrained of course."

Tōshirō opened his mouth to respond but Kurotsuchi was faster. "Bakudō Ninety-Nine. Kin."

The same bonds ensnared his arms, restraining him just like lieutenant. Hitsugaya collapsed, entirely drained physically. He could feel the creeping blackness start to consume his being. But before it could Kurotsuchi was standing before him, a needle in hand. "This will hurt a bit but please keep your screaming to a minimum," the captain said as the needle pierced the vein in the side of Hitsugaya's neck.

The plunger was pressed down and ice filled the screaming captain's veins.

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><p>And so ends another chapter. If you liked what you read, feel free to post a review.<p> 


	4. The Hard Choices

Yo everybody! Sorry for the delay. I got sidetracked by some personal matter. But they've been dealt with and I've got a brand new chapter for your enjoyment up.

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><p>"Counter-Hollowfication Agent Number Zero Thrity-One has proven to success in slowing the progression of hollowfication with all soul reaper subjects," Mayuri Kurotsuchi said aloud, his words beginning recorded by a winged device hovering over his shoulder. "However it has proven to be less effect for the human subjects. Already eight out of twenty-seven humans have fully progressed into hollows since they were brought here."<p>

Before him was a large metal table, a single occupant strapped to it. Of course such heavy straps were unnecessary for the Squad Twelve Captain had already applied the paralytic poison of his zanpakutō to the subject but as the human saying goes it is better to be safe than sorry. He was in enough hot water from the actions of those miscreants. Though Tenzo Kichigai killed his coconspirators and later took his own life while in custody there were others seeking to unjustly blame his Squad and his Institute.

Worse the counter agents that he had proclaimed as be able to reverse the hollowfication process were proving to be far less effective. The best he had managed was to slow down the process but not undo it as he claimed. Captain-General Yamamoto would be displeased at the news that a Captain and several high seated officers were lost while their strength was already weakened by the betrayal of Aizen and the others.

Mayuri was no fool. He was one of the few still around that knew of the incident a century ago and the Central Forty-Six's decision regarding hollowfied soul reapers. While new members of the Central Forty-Six had yet to be chosen it was unlikely that they would deviate from the precedent that was set over a hundred years ago. If he could not completely purge the hollow elements from them then they would executed immediately. A truly annoying waste as far as he was concerned. They could at least allow him to study them before they ended them.

But that was something he didn't need to dwell on at the moment. Not with these human subjects needing attention. Unlike the soul reapers that had been exposed the various counteragents seemed to have barely any affect on them. A troublesome development but one that was proving to be an interesting challenge, worthy of a brilliant mind like his.

"A new hypothesis; the hollowfication process of the soul reapers has been significantly slower than that of the humans," Mayuri spoke as he turned from the table to one of the counters in his lab. Pulling open a drawer he pulled out three needles. "There are only two probable theories currently as to why that is. First while the humans possess reiatsu it is nowhere near as powerful as the soul reapers. It may be their weaker power that is allowing the hollowfication process to spread faster through them. Second it is possible that the very nature of the soul reaper subjects is trying to reject the hollowfication process, aiding them in resisting and something that the humans lack. If the latter is playing a part their resistances then it could be possible to strengthen the humans with shinigamification agents."

Moving to a small tray he had set up earlier the captain began to fill the needles one by one with different substances from a trio of small bottles. "New experiment; I will be administering a second dose of Counter-Hollowfication Agent Number Zero Thrity-One to each human subject along with one of several shinigamification agents that were previously developed by Sōsuke Aizen," the scientist said, tapping one of the now full needles gently with his fingers as a grin spread across his face. "First test subject will be Human Subject Zero Zero Four. I will be administering Shinigamification Agent Number Zero Seventeen to it."

With that the eager captain plunged the needle into the neck of the hound faced hollow.

* * *

><p>Darkness…<p>

There was nothing but darkness around her. Darkness that was pulling her down deeper and no matter how hard Tatsuki Arisawa fought she could not free herself from its grasp. How she got there she couldn't remember beyond a vague fragment of a memory of wanting to visit someone before somehow ending up this darkness. But that was not all that she couldn't remember. In her mind there were names and faces that she knew she should know but were now meaningless to her, events and places that had been important to her were lost despite knowing that she had known them before. Worse it seemed that the longer she spent in this darkness the more memories she was losing.

Something deep down told her that if she didn't escape from the darkness she'd die here. She needed to get out of here before it was too late. Yet despite her best efforts her body was tiring while making no actual headway in freeing herself. Tatsuki had been fighting for what seemed like days with no end in sight and now she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep fighting.

But just when it seemed like there was no hope of escape a voice called out. "Quick-quick Arisawa-master," it squeaked as a pale rope appeared before her. "Grab-hold before the shadow-darkness claims you Arisawa-master."

Tatsuki just stared at it, unsure if she could trust the voice or not. She didn't recognize it but then given her currently Swiss cheese memory that wasn't saying a whole lot. This voice could be a friend just as easily as it could be a trick of this darkness to further entrap her.

"Grab-hold quick-quick!" the strange voice shouted, seemingly sensing her hesitation. "Grab-hold or stay and die!"

Seeing few other options Tatsuki reached out for the rope but it was easier said than done. Tendrils of darkness were clinging to her arms, pulling her limbs back. They were strong, easily as strong as her perhaps stronger. However it did prove that the voice was not with the darkness, encouraging her to fight on now more than ever.

Despite the strength of the tendrils clutching her, Tatsuki managed to overpower them and grabbed the rope before her. Oddly it was warm but that was the least of her concerns. The shadows were violently clawing at her in their attempts to drag her down. But Tatsuki held on with everything she had.

"Quick-quick!" the voice shouted from above. "Climb!"

Tatsuki looked up; trying to see who exactly was trying to help her but the rope just disappeared into the shadows a few feet above her. She had too many questions about it. Why was it helping her? Did the voice know her? Was that why it was helping her or was it planning something else? "Who are you?" she called out, trying figure out the voice's motives.

"No time! No time!" it shrieked. "Climb or die! Climb or die!"

With little other choice, Tatsuki started to pull herself up the rope. But as she climbed upwards the tendrils tightened their grip on her body, pulling and tearing at her even harder than before. Tatsuki found her grip on the rope slipping, her left hand falling. Seemingly sensing that she was danger of falling completely the shadows constricted her body even tighter, threatening to crush her.

Tatsuki cried out in pain, desperately trying to cling to the rope. _'No! I can't die here…'_

Inhuman roar filled the darkness sending a chill down her spine. A part of her thought that there something else in the darkness, something that was very dangerous to be around. Yet deep down she knew that wasn't quite the truth. It was almost as though the darkness itself was a living entity, an entity that sought to consume her completely within itself. And it truly terrified her. But despite her fear Tatsuki held onto the rope, struggling to raise her left arm back up. "Arisawa-master! You are stronger than the shadow-darkness! Climb!"

The dark haired girl gritted her teeth, her arm struggling to rise. _'Come on Tatsuki! You can't let it end like this! Get your hand up there!'_

With a roar and every ounce of strength she could muster Tatsuki threw her left arm up at the rope, tearing it of the tendrils holding it and allowing her to grasp the rope with her other hand. A grin spread across her face. _'Yes! Now the right hand.'_

With that Tatsuki's right hand rose up above her left on the rope followed quickly by the left then right once more. Inch by inch Tatsuki climbed higher and higher up despite the attempts of the tendrils which seemed to be growing weaker and weaker as she reached higher and higher. The thing in the darkness began letting out roars of fury and rage as it desperately tried to stop her.

But it was too late, she had won. Letting out a loud gasp of both exhaustion and exaltation, Tatsuki emerged from the darkness and into the light. However it had taken the last of her strength and the moment her body was out of the shadows she collapsed upon half-dead grass and immediately passed out.

* * *

><p>Mayuri grinned as he returned to the twitching hound-like hollow. It had been several hours since he had injected the agents into the almost-hollow and since that time all of the afflicted soul reapers had managed to reverse their partial transformations though all of them were unconscious and currently unresponsive. Also more than half of the afflicted had been lost during that time, either fully becoming hollows or dying as their bodies tore themselves apart under the affects of the various agents running through them.<p>

But now his first human success was happening.

Cracks were forming the creature's mask, small at first but they quickly grew larger and larger before spreading beyond the mask. Soon the cracks were covered all across the entirety of its body yet no blood or bodily fluid seeped out. Instead its body crumbled the pieces breaking into dust when they hit the floor. Where the hollow creature had laid was a dark haired girl, a smaller version of the hollow's mask on her face and a zanpakutō clenched in her right hand.

The grin on Mayuri's face widened even further as pulled the mask from her face and the sword from her hand. For a moment he studied the mask. It was a shame that they would inevitably be either completely purged of their hollowfied nature or killed outright. Despite their idiocy those miscreants did have several interesting notions and ideas. Certainly Aizen's new arrancar were proving to be a far more serious threat than originally expected. Already a group of lower level arrancar had challenged several high ranked officers at full strength and though they had ultimately been defeated it had sent a degree of concern among the Captains. Though none of them would speak it aloud more than a few were worried about the strength of those arrancar that were Aizen's top warriors, the Espada. However he did not share such a concern. Vasto Lords were the only hollows that could truly pose a danger to a Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and there were only a handful of those at any given moment. Given the sheer size of Hueco Mundo and even with several decades of preparation time to hunt down the Vasto Lords, it was highly unlikely that Aizen would have ten under his banner.

So Vasto Lords and Espada were not at concern to Mayuri, rather it was what Aizen would do to himself, Tōsen and Ichimaru with the Hōgyoku. Given the man's interest in hybridization, only a fool would think that he would only use it on hollows. When the real battles started they would be facing down ten powerful Espada born of Adjuchas and Vasto Lord hollows as well as three former Captains that were now hybrids. If all ten Captains faced all ten Espada, Tōsen, Ichimaru and Aizen tomorrow, Kurotsuchi doubted they would win. All Aizen had to do was send the Espada first to wear down and injure them. After that the traitors could quite easily devastate the weakened captains with their hybrid powers and abilities.

But these individuals could change that, _if_ they were given the chance to. Certainly Hitsugaya was the only one of them that could challenge the former captains but the others could be a match for the Espada, allowing some of the Captains to sit on the sidelines until Aizen and the others moved onto the battlefield.

Then there was the scientific aspect of this situation. There was no denying that Hitsugaya and the others were part of new species. That alone demanded that they be thoroughly studied. Even if the rest of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads wanted nothing to do with them, there was no telling what kind of scientific discoveries could be found within them. After all the extensive research the Institute had done into the various hollow breeds, the Quincies and other being had brought forth a number of advancements that the rest of the Guard Squads took advantage of. A part of him was salivating at the ideas of what could possibly learn from them.

That is if the Captain-General would allow it which was highly unlikely given his dedication to the rules and laws of the Central Forty-Six and their previous ruling on the matter.

"Such a waste," Mayuri uttered with a sigh before leaving the room, the sword and mask still in his hands.

* * *

><p>Tōshirō Hitsugaya groaned as his eyes opened, a dull ache throbbing in his head. He found himself lying on a hospital bed and clad in the white clothes of a patient. But this was not a Squad Four hospital room. Their rooms were not dimly lit chamber and they certainly didn't strap down and restrain their patients. Which meant that at best he was somewhere in the Research and Development Institute of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads while at worst in clutches of an enemy.<p>

"Captain is that you? Are you awake?" a vaguely familiar voice called out.

Deep down Hitsugaya knew that he should have known who that voice was but for the life of him he just couldn't recognize it. He tried to sit up so he could perhaps locate where the voice was coming from as well as to test how strong his bindings were. Surprisingly the bindings weren't holding him down to the bed as he thought, easily allowing him to sit up on his bed. For a moment Tōshirō wondered just how much give these bindings had.

But once that brief moment passed, the Squad Ten Captain looked around at his surroundings. There were no windows in the rectangular room though on the short wall to his right there was large mirror that covered much of it save for a door that stood on the left end. Beyond that odd mirror there was nothing else noteworthy about the room itself. However he was not alone. There were five other beds each with someone lying on them. The two unconscious forms on Hitsugaya's left he recognized as Madarame and Ayasegawa, two of the members of his team that were guarding Kurakara Town. The sight of them brought a flicker of remembrance to the young captain. They had been watching over the area when something happened, something terrible but what that thing was still lost in the fog that was his recent memories.

Directly across from him were the three other beds. Lying on the bed in front of him and on the bed on the far left were the sleeping forms of two boys. While Hitsugaya didn't recognize them something was telling him they were mere boys, children which was something considering that in the Soul Society physical age was something that in plenty of cases were only skin deep, himself a prime example. On the bed in between the two boys was a young man with one eye and a blue Mohawk who was also sitting up.

"Good to see someone else up sir," Mohawk said, a slight grin on his face.

"Wh-what happened?" Tōshirō rasped, realizing for the first time just how dry his throat was. "How did I-_we_ get here? And who are you?"

The smile slid from Mohawk's face. "I see…So you've got it too," he commented. "I'm Kenji Kugijutsu of Squad Twelve and we are in one of the basement levels of the Research Institute. As for rest the amnesia will pass in a few minutes and you'll remember everything. Oh and when they do start coming back, brace yourself. It can be a little…_intense_."

Amnesia? Hitsugaya didn't like the sound of that, his mind turning back to Aizen and power of his zanpakutō. Had whatever this was been the work of Aizen? Dozens of other questions were beginning to form within the white haired captain's mind but before he could ask anything the door opened and a short girl pushing a cart entered the room. It was not her entrance that gave Hitsugaya pause but rather the cart and contents. The cart was almost overflowing with jars and larger glass containers filled with pale green fluid and various body parts. Many looked normal but there were more than a few that did not.

"Good morning sir," the girl said as she moved the cart to the side of Kenji's bed. "I'm here with-"

"Yes yes I know," the one eye soul reaper replied. "If I could have it please."

The girl politely bowed her head before reaching into her cart and pulling out a container filled with dozens and dozens of eyes. She offered it to Kenji who eagerly took it from her. "It seems like I'm replacing an eye or something else every other week," he commented as he screwed the top off.

"_Figures… I just replaced that eye the other week…"_

Tōshirō froze as those words echoed through his mind, the memory fragment surfacing his mind. Yes, Kenji said something like that when…when…when he lost his right eye. How, when and where he lost that eye was still a mystery to Hitsugaya but at least he had remembered something.

"But then again more than half that is just me replacing an old organ for something new and better," Kenji continued, fishing through the jar of eyes. Occasionally he'd pull on out, study it carefully before dropping it back in until he found the one he wanted. The iris was a bright yellowish-green and like all the others had several small twitching tendrils trailing from the back of it. He opened his empty right eye and simply put it in the empty socket.

"Ah… That's much better," he said as the eyeball wildly moved around in the socket, bringing forth more forgotten memories in Hitsugaya.

"_Bakudō Sixty-three. Sajo Sabaku."_

_Golden chains appeared around Kenji, binding his body._

"_Much better. Thanks captain…"_

Tōshirō shook his head, trying to focus his mind after the sudden flash of memories. They had been working together to do…something and during that time Kenji had been injured and he had… bound him with Kidō because… he couldn't remember. It didn't seem to make sense. Why would he bind an injured comrade rather than treat him?

But he wouldn't have to speculate about it for long as more memories began to flood into his mind. It was like a damn bursting in his mind as dozens upon dozens of images assaulted his mind. Hitsugaya groaned as he fell back onto his pillow, trying desperately to sort through it all. After a few moments it passed, leaving only a dull headache.

He remembered it all now. The mission, the renegades experimenting with hollowfication, the bombs exploding, Rangiku turning into a half-hollow monster, his own exposure to the agent, fighting against as first began to transform before finally falling into the blackness. But that wasn't the end of it. After losing consciousness he had found himself with his mindscape but the snow and ice of his mind had begun to melt away, crumbling away into darkness and he with it. And as he sank into the melting slush, Hyōrinmaru's voice called out to him yet his words were lost to Hitsugaya.

Then the darkness came, enveloping his world entirely and dragging him deeper and deeper down. Hyōrinmaru's voice grew fainter and fainter as he fell until it was barely a whisper but he clung to it, fighting to get to its source. Yet for all his efforts the zanpakutō's voice remained a whisper. As much as Hitsugaya hated to admit it, there were moments in that blackness where he thought that he never escape and that he would die there alone in the shadows.

But then something changed. A speck of light appeared within the darkness, Hyōrinmaru's voice grew louder and the grip the shadows had upon his body lessened. It strengthened Hitsugaya's resolve and he pushed through the dense blackness, fighting, clawing to the light and his zanpakutō. His efforts ultimately paid off as he finally found Hyōrinmaru and when he grasped his sword the darkness became encased within ice before breaking and crumbling into nothing.

"Take it easy Captain," Kenji said, bringing him back to the present.

Hitsugaya didn't realize it until that moment but he had been breathing heavily and clutching the sheets of his bed in a death grip. Once he managed to steady his breathing, Tōshirō sat up again cold sweat dripping from his forehead. But that didn't matter at the moment. He needed answers from Kurotsuchi now; he needed to know what happened to Rangiku and Momo. Twisting his body, Hitsugaya pulled his feet over the side of the bed. Restraints be damned, he was going to get his answers.

"Wait Captain that won't work," Kenji exclaimed. "There's nothing any of us can do but wait. Beside these restraints are-"

"No," Hitsugaya shot back as his feet touched the floor. "I need to…need to speak with…"

But the moment his feet touched the ground his entire being felt incredibly fatigued and despite his efforts to stay standing Hitsugaya passed out.

* * *

><p>"Your report Captain Kurotsuchi," Captain-General Yamamoto said, his gaze locked upon the Captain of the Twelfth Squad.<p>

Jūshiō Ukitake watched as Kurotsuchi moved from his spot among the Captain and stood before them all. It had been a little over two days since the incident with the hollowfication agents. Though all of those responsible were dead the mess they left behind was terrible. Over a hundred humans had been exposed to agent before it had been contain. While it was a mere fraction of the population of Kurakara it was still a saddening loss. And as terrible as it had been it hadn't been enough to rob Aizen of his plan to use the souls of the city's inhabitant to make the Royal Key. Hopefully at least Tōshirō and the others would soon be returning to duty.

Kurotsuchi cleared his throat and then spoke. "It seems that hollowfication was far more difficult to deal with than I first thought. Though I have managed to reverse the physical transformation of Captain Hitsugaya's team all my attempts to completely undo it have met with failure thus far."

Needless to say no one was pleased by the news. For all his arrogance, it was rare that Kurotsuchi failed to deliver what he promised and that alone spoke more for the situation than anything he could have said.

"Surely you've found some way to help them," Jūshirō asked.

"There is one way to remove the hollowfied aspect of them," Mayuri calmly replied. "The removal of their Saketsu and Hakusui."

"But that would strip them of their powers!" the white haired captain exclaimed.

Kurotsuchi just shrugged. "Yes but it would also cure them."

"What of the humans that exposed Captain Kurotsuchi?" Yamamoto inquired, his expression unchanged in the slightest.

"The humans fared far worse than Captain Hitsugaya and the others. A number of the former humans did not survive my initial attempts to stop their transformations and they had to be disposed of," Kurotsuchi explained. "Unlike the others, the humans were barely responding to any of my treatments and it seemed that all of them would be lost before long until I realized-quite brilliantly I might add-that they were lacking one thing that the soul reapers had."

Captain Komamura raised an eyebrow questioningly. "And what would that be?"

"The powers of a soul reaper," Mayuri stated matter of factly. "You see I realized that the very powers of a soul reaper were by their very nature fighting against the growing hollow within. Therefore if I gave them soul reaper powers they could possibly be saved from complete hollow transformation. So I began to test Aizen's shinigamification agents on them. However it wasn't entirely successful and all but three died by the end."

Many of the Captains gazed upon their comrade in utter surprised at his actions. But Kurotsuchi merely ignored them. "I was told to cure them by any means necessary and that is what I did," he replied.

"And just how close are you to actually curing them?" Suì-Fēng practically spat at him.

"…I do not know," Mayuri bitterly admitted. "But with actual specimens to study the process will be considerably faster."

"Have you asked Kisuke Urahara?" Ukitake asked, wondering how much his predecessor knew of hollowfication.

"No. I do not need that man's help," the current Squad Twelve Captain snapped. "Besides he has already given up on finding any real means to undo hollowfication beyond the removal of one's spiritual power."

"That makes the situation sound even worse," Shunsui commented. "If the founder of the Research Institute believes a cure cannot be found, do you really believe that you can?"

A vein started to throb on the side of Mayuri's face. "I won't know until I've had a chance to fully study them," he said, his voice seething with anger. "I am largely moving through uncharted territory. Perhaps had things been different the last time this happened I would have more answers."

"The last time? I was not aware this had happened before," the Squad Seven replied, clearing wanting an explanation.

"An old matter that has long since been closed," the Captain-General answered. "Our concern now is what we should be doing to remedy the situation. The strength of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads has been further weakened by this incident. Actions must be taken before Aizen learns of this and uses it to his advantage."

It wasn't the whole truth of the incident a century ago but the incident was one of those moments that the Central Forty-Six and the Thirteen Court Guard Squads sought to keep hidden from public knowledge. The only full copy of what happened was stored in a vault beneath the meeting chambers of the Central Forty-Six, only accessible by them and the Captain-General along with countless other reports on events that were better off forgotten.

Kurotsuchi raised his hand, motioning to speak once more. "Captain-General if I may, that really shouldn't matter at the moment. There has been nothing in my analysis of their current state to suggest they are _too_ dangerous to use in combat. In fact I would actually recommend using them against Aizen's arrancar."

Jūshirō could only stare at the Squad Twelve Captain like he had grown a second head…again. He couldn't seem to express what he was thinking at the moment and by the looks of it, he wasn't the only one. Suì-Fēng, Sajin and Shunsui had similar expressions of shock and surprise while the normally impassive Byakuya raised an eyebrow. Only Yamamoto, Unohana and Kenpachi looked completely unphased, though the Squad Eleven Captain looked more bored than anything else.

"I know what you're all thing but why shouldn't we make use of them?" Mayuri continued. "The strength of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads has already been weakened by Aizen's betrayal so why should we allow this incident to further diminish our strength? What would we gain from executing them right now or merely keep them locked up until a new Central Forty-Six to order us to kill them anyway? Absolutely nothing."

"Odd. If I didn't know any better that sounded almost like compassion," Kyōraku commented, his hand rubbing his scruffy chin.

Mayuri just dismissively waved his hand. "Nothing of the sort. I simply don't like the pointless wasting of useful things."

"Just what are you suggesting Captain Kurotsuchi?" Komamura asked.

"Allow them to fully explore their new power; learn to master it and when the time comes have them on the frontline, fighting against Aizen and his arrancar. In fact I would even go so far as to suggest that they continue to serve in such a capacity until a means to reverse their condition is found."

Kurotsuchi's suggestion was certainly interesting if not controversial. For Ukitake it was so far the one suggestion on what to do with Tōshirō and the others that he found to his liking to degree. However there were some concerns he had about it. They had no idea on the full extent of their abilities now and how their hollowfied nature would affect them. While there were dozens of concerns and questions about them in their current state there was one that stood above all others, how had the hollowfication affected their minds? Hollows by their nature were angry, bitter predators. Have their minds become partially corrupted by it? Would they turn on them if they learned that lifetime imprisonment or execution were still on the table?

But on the other hand, Tōshirō and the others were friends and comrades. It would be an insult to them to kill them without at least attempting to cure them first. And it was little different with the remaining humans. They were innocent bystanders in all this and what had happened to them was ultimately the fault of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. It wasn't right to blame the three of them for the mistakes that they had made.

"This is absurd!" the Squad Two Captain spat in disgust. "Those things are part hollow now. How can we trust that our forces would safe to fight alongside them? For all we know they could turn on us in the middle of battle. They should be dealt with as hollows now before they can become a serious threat."

Jūshirō couldn't help but scowl at her words. "Those 'things' as you called them are still our comrades," he shot back. "At the very least we must try to cure them. They deserve that from us. And what if it was you Suì-Fēng that had been exposed? Would want us to execute you?"

The angry-looking Captain opened her mouth to reply when Captain-General Yamamoto tapped the floor with his staff, ending the argument then and there. "Can nothing be done to reverse the hollowfication?" he asked, his eyes still on Kurotsuchi.

"As I said at the moment the only way would be the removal of their spiritual powers which of course would render them little more than ordinary souls," the Squad Twelve Captain replied. "This is the best option at the moment. Anything else is just a waste."

"I doubt the Central Forty-Six will see it that way," Suì-Fēng bluntly said, knowing full well the previous council's decision during the last incident.

Yamamoto merely shook his head. "With the replacements of the Central Forty-Six yet to be chosen and the state of war that we are currently in, this is my decision to make, not theirs."

"Well then Old Man what's your decision?" Shunsui asked, absently adjusting his straw hat.

* * *

><p>And that's it for now.<p>

I have to say that I'm getting rather intrigued by the recent chapters of the Bleach manga and I have a number of ideas for when I get there. You see I'm planning on doing after the War with Aizen ends alerted versions of several of the filler arcs and the second moive, obviously without Ichigo and largely without Chad, Orihime Uryu, and focusing on Hitsugaya and company. I may also do the first moive as a found a rather amusing fanfic on the site that featured a Keigo/Senna parting and as I guy who's generally not big on pairings I liked it. But anyway I'm planning on these to cover the two years in between the previous arc and the current one.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this and as always reviews are appriecated.


	5. The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday

Yo everybody! This took a lot longer than I actually thought it would and it's certainly become a lot longer than I thought it was going to be. In fact I had cut several parts of it because it was getting far, far too long. Currently I'm not sure if I'll use what I've cut in the next chapter or save the fewer, more important sections for flashbacks.

Anyway here's the chapter for your enjoyment.

* * *

><p>Tatsuki Arisawa fell to her hands and knees in utter exhaustion, her breathing heavy and labored as sweat soaked her body. Despite years of working out and training that she had done, this past week had been beyond anything she had ever done before. Madarame and girly-looking buddy seemed to delight in wearing them out in the first hour then keeping up the same pace for the rest of the morning. They wouldn't even let them rest for more than five minutes and if they collapsed then Baldy would just-<p>

"Get up maggots!" Madarame shouted, whacking her on the head with a wooden sword. "Don't tell me you're getting tired already! First year Academy students can do better than you lot!"

"…Oh come on!" the panting Asano screamed. "There's no way anyone else is being worked to death like-OW!"

"Less lip more running," their trainer shot back as Keigo clutched his head.

"Please…" Kojima huffed, looking just as worn out as his friend. "Please Mister Madarame…let us rest for a bit…"

_WHACK!_

"I thought I told you to stop calling me Mister," Ikkaku dryly stated as he hovered over the smaller boy. "Now get up and get going! You still have a dozen more laps!"

As always Tatsuki was the first to rise to her feet, pulling the taut the rope around her waist. Because Madarame had decided that running an insane amount of laps wasn't enough of a work out for them he had tied them to a sled loaded down with heavy crates. When she had asked him why they were using a sled instead of a cart, Madarame replied that 'wheels were for little girls and weaklings.' Worse this was only the _warm-up_ to the real training.

Beside her Keigo and Mizuiro began to slowly stand up as well though both were leaning on the other to do so. Both looked absolutely terrible but then Tatsuki didn't doubt for a moment that she looked just as bad. It didn't matter to her. Not with Ichigo, Orihime and the others were off doing their part in all of this. The others-the soul reapers had spoken of them several times. Apparently they had quite famous in the Soul Society over the summer and were already knee deep in this war of theirs. While she had never said it aloud Tatsuki knew that something had been off with both Ichigo and Orihime since the last week before summer holidays. Though honestly never in her wildest dreams would she have thought it was because they had become involved in the matters of the afterlife.

Yet as much as hated that Ichigo and Orihime had had kept everything from her even after she was nearly killed in the crossfire of one but two of their battles, it was the fact that she had been too weak to actually help them in any meaningful way that truly tore at her. For someone like her who prided themselves on their physical strength being as helpless as a newborn in the face of those hollows and arrancar was like a gaping wound. But she wasn't going to be useless anymore. When the leader of the soul reapers told them that their human lives were over and offered them a choice between being locked up until a cure was found for their condition, having all of their small but growing spiritual power stripped away forever or being trained and given a chance to fight, she immediately chose the third option. She wasn't going to be that helpless and weak again.

"Come on… Let's get this over with," she said to the two boys. "After this…we got more sword training. I don't know about you but I'm looking forward to getting a chance to crack a wooden sword over Baldy's shiny head!"

A vein began to twitch on Madarame's head. "Well then if you want a shot at me, how about a little wager? If you manage to manage to finish your laps in ten minutes I'll give ya each a free swing at my head nut if you can't you'll be running laps until you drop."

"You're on!" Tatsuki instantly shouted, ready to kick his ass once this was over despite her own exhaustion.

No other words were exchanged as the three resumed their laps, dragging their heavy load as the bald soul reaper continued to shout at them. They completed one lap, two laps then three. As what little strength and energy they still had faded they pushed on, slowly completing lap after lap. Their bodies were soaked with sweat, their muscles screaming in agony and their strength all but spent yet despite that they fought on. For one simple reason, they were fed up with Ikkaku and his training. But when they started their third last lap Ikkaku jumped onto of the crates they were pulling, claiming that they'd have to work for it if they really wanted it. Bit by bit, inch by inch they approached the end of the last laps. As they reached the end they crawling on their hands and knees but they still managed to cross it with mere seconds left. Exhausted, all three of them collapsed instantly.

"Heh… You maggots actually managed to pull it off," Madarame said as he climbed down off the crates. "Well a deals a deal."

Tatsuki looked up at him as he offered her his wooden sword. She reached up for it but the moment her fingers touched the wood the last of her strength faded and she blacked out.

* * *

><p>Tatsuki let out a bored sigh as she leaned against the wall. As much as she had grown to dislike Ikkaku's tough exercise regiments, his Hakuda and Zanjutsu lessons, it had nothing on her dislike for their Kidō lessons. The incantations were completely ridiculous. Who in their right mind would let someone take the time to speak such chants in battle? If she fought someone trying that she'd either get out of way or hit them before they could cast it. Casting them without the incantation was on the other had a more viable means using Kidō but she was terrible at casting all but the low level ones without the chant. The last time she tried a spell over Twenty-Five without an incantation it blew up in her face. Worse Asano had managed to correctly cast spells up to Thirty-Five without a chant and Mizuiro could cast spells up to <em>Fifty<em> though with his low energy reserves could only cast a spell over Forty once, if he tried a second time he'd practically pass out from the effort.

"So how long you think they're gonna keep us waiting?" Keigo asked, playing one of the sleeves of his white and blue kosode.

All three of them had been given the uniforms of the Shinō Academy which Tatsuki really didn't mind save for the color. She didn't like the red and white of her uniform and would have much preferred the blue and white of the male uniform if she had the choice. Well…the colors and the old sandals they wore. The footwear did nothing but irritate the space between her toes, how everyone else could tolerate them was beyond her.

"I don't know," she replied, finger rubbing over the purple wristband she was wearing. The only memento of her human life she had managed to save after what had happened.

The brown haired teen grumbled in annoyance. "They're working us to death here and they can't even be on time!"

"Technically we're already dead Mister Asano," Mizuiro commented.

"You know what I mean!" Keigo snapped. "And stop calling me Mister Asano!"

"Are you done yelling?" Tōshirō Hitsugaya asked, suddenly standing behind Keigo.

The boy let out a rather girly shriek in surprise, practically jumping out of his skin. "Don't do that!" he shouted at the shorter, younger looking boy once he had regained his composure.

Hitsugaya was largely a mystery to them. Unlike the others, the former captain did not socialize with them in the slightest nor did he assist the others in training the three of them. Keigo certainly didn't like him, frequently calling him an Ice Cube with Hair and a few other choice insults. Though while Tatsuki didn't care for his aloof attitude she couldn't really dislike someone she barely knew.

"I will be teaching your lessons today," the black-clad soul reapers announced, a sword strapped to his back while three more were tucked under his arm. "Communicating with your zanpakutōs."

He tossed a sword at Keigo who fumbled but managed to catch the weapon. Like the other two it was an ordinary katana with a circular guard, a dark gray sheath and hilt. Next came Mizuiro's black sheathed sword, its guard octagonal in shape and a pale yellow hilt. Last was hers, with another black sheath and a light gray hilt. But Tatsuki's eyes were draw to the hand guard. It was circular like Keigo's but the edges were jagged and broken in appearance; it almost looked like it could actually draw blood.

"Normally the last few weeks of a student's final term in the Academy is spent on their zanpakutō. It is a slower process involving first a degree of preparation before the student can manifest their zanpakutō in the sealed form," Hitsugaya explained. "Once that is achieved they will spend the rest of their time performing mental exercises to better prepare them for the final step, Jinzen."

Keigo raised an eyebrow at the white haired soul reaper. "Jin what?"

"Jinzen. It is a meditative state that allows soul reapers to commune with their zanpakutōs inside their minds," he answered. "While you swords have already been manifested due to Captain Kurotsuchi's actions in saving your lives we do not have the time to spend preparing you for Jinzen."

"So we're jumping to the end?" Tatsuki asked.

"Is that a safe thing to do?" Mizuiro added, glancing at his sword uneasily.

"Jinzen is considered an advanced technique but that is solely because any damage you sustain within your mind is inflicted upon your body. Despite that there have been no known deaths as a result of Jinzen." Hitsugaya paused for a moment before continuing. "There is also another reason why we skipping the exercises. Since our hollowfication none of us have attempted Jinzen. There is concern that if we try the hollowfied portions of our souls will try to destroy us. Both Captain-General Yamamoto and Captain Kurotsuchi wish for the three of you to try it first to see what will happen."

"Us? But why us?" Keigo asked. "I mean wouldn't you guys with all your experience be better suited to that?"

"…"

"It's because we're weak and expendable," an expressionless Mizuiro answered.

Tatsuki was stunned by his words and that Hitsugaya was giving no response to suggest otherwise. Nor was she the only one shocked by this, Keigo looked pale with fright. "Expendable?" he quietly uttered.

"At the moment we are all expendable," the former captain grimly responded. "But if you plan on fighting alongside us you'll need to be able to use the first releases of your zanpakutōs."

"Hm… Damned if we do, damned if we don't," Tatsuki said, crossing her arms across her chest.

Hitsugaya merely nodded his head.

Tatsuki let out a brief snicker. "Well then let's get this started. How do we perform Jinzen?"

* * *

><p>Keigo's eyes fluttered open but the room they had been in was gone. In its place was a very familiar place, Kurakara High. For a moment all the teen could do was stare at the school in disbelief. Maybe it all had been a dream. Maybe he had fallen asleep outside during lunch and dreamt everything up. Yeah it had all been a dream, a long, very messed up dream.<p>

Then he realized that he was the only one outside the school which could only mean that the lunch break was over and that he had to get back inside before someone called his parents that he was cutting class or worse, tell Mizuho that he was cutting class. Keigo took off running for school doors only to stop after a few feet, realizing that the ground was covered in something that was snapping and crunching beneath his feet. To his surprise the entire school yard was covered in hundreds, thousands of games that seemingly gone completely unnoticed up until this moment. Piles of video games and their consoles, all manner of board games lay about, their pieces scattered across them alongside countless decks of cards. It was a colossal mess and there was no way that it could be real, unless…

Unless what he thought was the dream was real which would me that this was in fact his mind.

"Great… I'm still dead and my mind is high school," Keigo muttered to himself, kicking some of the games into the air. "If my sword's spirit is a teacher, I'm getting out of here."

"Hey there boyo. What brings ya to these here parts?" a voice asked from behind.

Keigo spun around to the voice and immediately his jaw dropped. He had been expecting just about anything yet somehow this managed to completely shock him.

The being before Keigo was...an oversized snake…

An oversized freaky-looking snake.

The snake's long coiled tail was covered in black scales with light grey that stretched down across its spine from its head to the rattle at the end of its tail while numerous smaller lines running out across its sides, almost looking like its skeleton was showing through its skin. But while its body was that of serpent its head was that of a silver-grey human skull with two long fangs nearly down past its chin, a pair of golden eyes in its sockets and most bizarrely of all, a black top hat perched on its head.

"Y-You… Are you my zanpakutō?" Keigo somehow managed to utter, a finger pointing at the skull-headed snake.

The creature let out a throaty chuckle. "Of course I am boyo."

Keigo could only hang his head in dismay. "…My zanpakutō is an oversized freaky-looking snake-thing with a tacky hat. Great…"

"Oi! I may be an oversized freaky-looking snake-thing but my hat is not tacky! This is a very dignified and good-looking hat!" the snake angrily shot back, its rattle shaking furiously.

The brown haired teen could only shake his head and sigh at the serpent's words. "I bet Mizuiro and Tatsuki have much cooler zanpakutōs."

The moment those words left his mouth the spirit's entire demeanor changed, anger replaced with excitement. "A bet? I'll take a piece of that," the eager spirit said, practically salivating. "What are we wagering? How about if I win ya get yourself a great hat like mine?"

"What? That wasn't a bet it was an expression!" Keigo shouted back, his patience all but spent. "And I'm not getting a hat like yours!"

"Oh come on boyo. You'd look good in a hat like this. Why don't ya try mine on?" the snake offered with a bow of its head.

"No! I'm not going to wear your hat!"

The serpent began to around Keigo, its head coming to rest on his shoulder. "Come on boyo ya know ya want to try my beautiful hat on. I won't tell anyone," it whispered.

"No!" the teen yelled, pushing the snake away from him.

The spirit merely chuckled its face seemingly grinning despite the lack of lips. "Tell ya what why don't we flip coin. Heads ya wear my hat every time you're here, tails I won't bother ya about my hat ever again."

"Fine," Keigo grumbled. "But neither of us have a coin."

The snake tilted its head back, letting out a deep gurgling sound from its throat. Its jaws opened wide and a skeletal hand emerged from the spirit's mouth, a small silver coin in its fingers. With a flick of its wrist, the coin was tossed into the air. The coin bounced off a game board and toppling a stack of cards before landed amid scattered game pieces, the image of coiled tail showing.

"Gah! Damn luck…" the snake cursed, its tail slapping the game covered ground.

Keigo on the other hand couldn't help but laugh and cheer at his little victory. Just maybe his luck was turning around. "Ha! I win! No more stupid hat!" he proclaimed, reaching down for the coin.

"Yeah, yeah…" the spirit grumbled, sulking in defeat.

"So you gonna tell me your name zanpakutō?" Keigo asked, tossing the coin into the air and catching it. "I mean isn't that how it works? I come here, we talk and you tell me your name."

The serpent seemed to ponder things for a moment, an expression of deep contemplation on its skinless face. "Hm…meh. I don't feel like it," it answered, turning away from him.

"What? But I just won that coin toss!" the teen exclaimed.

The spirit glanced back at him, a smirk etched into its skull. Keigo couldn't help but wonder how it could actually have expressions without any skin or flesh. "That was for the hat not my name. But I tell ya what; if ya beat me in another game I'll tell ya my name," it said, a far too eager look in its eyes for Keigo's liking.

Despite that there wasn't really any choice in the matter. He had come here to learn the zanpakutō's name and if he didn't it'd be embarrassing. Keigo had no doubt that both Tatsuki and Mizuiro were learning the names of their zanpakutōs. He didn't want to be the only one without it. "Alright name your game Snakey and I'll win it!"

"It's quite simple. We each roll a die and the lowest number wins."

"Where's the… No wait I don't think I want to know."

Once again a skeletal arm emerged from snake's throat holding a pair of dice that looked like they had been carved from bone. With a flicker of its wrist the spirit tossed one of them at Keigo who managed to catch it in his hands. Shaking the die in his hands Keigo couldn't help but grin, he always was pretty lucky at gambling. Okay it wasn't _real_ gambling he had only played those kinds of games with his friends where the wagers were nothing but it was the same thing in principle. All he needed was a good roll.

The die hit the ground, rolling across the debris before stopping its number clear and visible to both of them.

"Three!" Keigo cheered pumping a fist in the air. "Not bad. Not bad at-"

Before he could finish the second die landed beside the other. "One. I win," the spirit cheerfully stated with a ridiculous grin on its face.

Keigo instantly paled, an eye twitching uncontrollably in disbelief as his mouth moved up and down trying unsuccessfully to form words which only seemed to amuse the snake more. "Best two out of three?" he managed to utter.

"Nah I'm done. But ya can always try again tomorrow. See ya later boyo!" the serpent said with bow of its head.

The teen opened his mouth to try to convince the spirit otherwise but was immediately pulled into darkness before he could.

* * *

><p>When Mizuiro opened his eyes again he found himself in a place he had not seen in years, inside the house he had spent the first ten years of his life in. He couldn't help but walk further into his family's old house, lost in memory and nostalgia. Everything was just how he remembered it, his mother's rather bland and expensive-looking furniture, several crayon drawings that Mizuiro had drawn as a little child hanging on the fridge, the wall in the kitchen that was marked with different height measurements from different months and years showing his growth over the first ten years of his life, and even the good luck charm his father made for him was hanging in its proper place on his door. A glance outside the windows revealed the same neighbor he remembered, the overcast sky dimly lit up by the barely risen or nearly set sun.<p>

However there were several…oddities he noted as he wandered through the door. First nearly every photo hanging on the walls or sitting on surfaces had a face scratched out, the same face. It didn't take him long to realize that it was his mother's face. Second and far more alarming was the fact that most of the doors were barred with an excessive amount of chains and locks. The third and final fact was not apparent until he reached the living room which overlooked the patio and small backyard they had once. Lying on the dark stones was a black and gold curled up shape. It looked somehow like someone had cut stone into that odd shape that reminded him almost of a housecat curled up into a ball.

With little else to do, Mizuiro slid open the door to the backyard. "Hello there," he politely greeted. "I am Mizuiro Kojima. Would you happen to be the spirit of my zanpakutō?"

The second those words left his tongue the shape began to move, unfolding and rising from its position. Yet despite appearing to be made of stone its movements were soundless, smooth and graceful as though it were made of flesh and blood. Once the statue-no creature was on its feet it turned to face him allowing Mizuiro to fully see it. The creature's body leonine shape but cut from marble so black it seemed to absorb the light around it while its spine and claws of solid gold shone even brighter in the light. However instead of a normal tail for cat its ebon tail was long and segmented, ending in a golden scorpion stringer. But while its body was in the form of an animal its head was human. Its head and neck were that of a beautiful woman cut from more gold. Its face was completely emotionless and unmoving just like a statue while a long frozen mane of hair trailing behind its head.

For moment the marble and gold sphinx studied him with its unmoving unblinking eyes before it nodded its head.

"Could you please tell me your name?" the teen asked.

"I don't like this place. Too small, too many walls and too many locked doors," it spoke, its voice clearly female yet her mouth never opening.

Her words caught Mizuiro off guard. It wasn't something that he expected her to say. And yet he could find little reason to argue with her. He too found it unsettling that his mind was in the image of this house. "Is this what my mind truly looks like?"

"Not originally but yes, this is what you mind looks like," the sphinx answered.

Mizuiro cocked an eyebrow at her response. "Not originally?"

With the fluidity and grace of a flesh and blood creature, the spirit moved towards him. Mizuiro stepped aside, allowing her to enter the 'house'. "Yes I've been with you your entire life, formless but present. In that time your mindscape as changed and grown," she said as her paws first touched the floor. "This here is but the center of the vast labyrinth that is your mind, the center of the world that you have created."

"I really didn't expect my mind to look like this," Mizuiro freely admitted as the sphinx continued to wander deeper into the house.

The zanpakutō spirit came to stop before the most heavily barred of all doors that he had seen thus far. Mizuiro recognized it quite well. It had been his mother's private office a long time ago. She sat down upon her hind legs, studying the door intently for a moment before speaking. "It wasn't always like this. Once this place was nice and open, before-"

Suddenly as though responding to her words the locks began to open, releasing the chains and barricades holding it shut. Without its restraints the door flung open revealing darkness and the outline of a figure. Mizuiro's body began to tremble uncontrollably as he found himself going back to that terrible, terrible day when he was ten.

"_Daddy… Daddy!"_

Instantly Mizuiro shut his eyes and covered his ears in a desperate attempt to block it all out. "No…not again," he uttered, shaking his head in panic and sorrow. "Not this again. Please…"

As though answered by an unseen force the door slammed shut and was swiftly resealed by its locks and chains before a stone wall rose up through the ground, covering it entirely.

For what seemed like an eternity Mizuiro could do nothing but shake and tremble, a few tears dripping down his cheeks. But then the spirit was at his side, rubbing her body against his. Surprisingly she was not all that particularly cold and hard to the touch. Yet her actions did bring about a degree of comfort to the teen and eventually he managed to calm himself down.

"I'm sorry for that but you needed to see it for yourself," the sphinx said. "Ever since that day you've been placing up walls between yourself and everyone else. You always seek to keep them all at arm's length to shield yourself from feeling that same pain again."

"I see," was all Mizuiro could say, his eyes locked on the floor.

The spirit cocked her head to the side. "Do you? Do you really see what you've been doing? You've long since destroyed whatever remained of your relationship with your mother, you date woman after woman after woman without ever opening yourself up to them in the slightest before dumping them for someone else, even those you call friend barely know you, the real you."

It was all truth. There was no reason to hide it especially from a being that lived inside his own head. "I do not deny that. It is who I am."

The spirit began to trace circles in the hardwood floor with a claw, its attention seemingly focused on its task. "But it doesn't have to be. In all the years of your life, only one person has managed to pierce through your walls." She stopped and looked up at him, her expressionless face sending a shiver down his spine. "You know of who I speak."

"Ichigo."

Though her face was set in gold somehow it almost seemed like a smile was forming. "Yes Ichigo Kurosaki," the sphinx said giving a nod of her head.

The spirit stood up and turning, heading for his old bedroom. Mizuiro followed close behind her, unnerved by the possibility of what else she could dig up within the confines of his mind. She stopped before the door to his old bedroom, a door unbarred by any locks or chains. "I remember the day you first met very well," she spoke staring at the door intently. "It was also the day the sun began to return to this world."

Slowly the door creaked open, letting out a bright white light. From within the light voices began to emerge, memories from his first day of high school.

…"_Kurosaki and Sado from Mashiba Junior High?"_

"_Yeah! They're both coming to this school!"…_

…"_Kurosaki and Sado are both in our class!"…_

…"_Heh heh… Thought you could get away eh Kurosaki? Eh Sado?"_

"_Th-that's Reiichi Ȏshima from Togata Junior High!"_

"_How come you know so much about hoodlums? And wasn't Ȏshima's name on our class list too?"_

"_Who're you guys? You friends of Kurosaki?"_

"_No way! I've never seen them before in my life!"_

"_I'm Mizuiro Kojima from Hiragi Junior High. I'm in 1-3 too. Nice to meet you."_

"_Kojima's their friend now."_

"_AAAH! No he's not! He's innocent! Mizuiro! Mizuiro! Come back! You're not that kind of kid!"_

"_1-3 huh? I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. This big guy's Yasutora Sado."_

"_Nice to meet you."_

"_Who's he?"_

"_Oh. That's Keigo Asano. His grades aren't that good but he's really smart. He's actually much nicer than I am."_

"…_Wow. Hmm…"_

"_Huh?"_

"_I dunno… It's just unusual for a guy to praise his friend like that."_

"_...Kojima. Are you good at coming up with excuses?"_

"_Pathologically so."_

"_Great. I'm gonna need a real good one in about five minutes so that I won't get suspended for saving Asano's skin."…_

The door began to slowly close despite Mizuiro's own desire to keep it open longer. He couldn't help but long to be back at that day again. But just before it closed entirely one last voice echoed through. It was his but it was not something he said but rather something he thought at the end of the day.

'_I sometimes think we're all connected to this world by countless cords. Like patients in the ICU. We try hard not to let any of the cords get severed but the truth is, no matter how hard you try, they get cut and it's very hard to reconnect them the way they were. I still can't do it.'_

A small grin had appeared at some point on Mizuiro's face. "That was a good day."

The zanpakutō spirit had perked up as well during the trip down memory lane, her scorpion-like tail gentle swaying back and forth not unlike what a cat would do. "Indeed it was."

"But I was right. I just can't truly connect to other people anymore," he admitted, the grin fading from his face.

'_Not since that day,' _he left unsaid.

"And I'm find with that," Mizuiro continued, turning around and beginning to walk from the door. "Is there any other memories you wish to show me?"

"Don't lie to yourself," the spirit bluntly replied, her tone becoming serious and stern. Mizuiro could actually feel her eyes boring into his back. "You've been doing that for far too long. Lying, running and hiding from your pain and fears."

He turned to her, shutter shooting down his spine. The marble and gold creature took a step towards him and Mizuiro took a step back in response. The teen could not help but start to tremble. The atmosphere of the house was becoming cold, not bitterly cold but it was still unsettling for him. But more unnerving was how heavy the air seemed to become.

Then the cracks began to form on the sphinx's golden face.

"Your face… What's happening to your-"

The instant the cracks had spread across all of her face it exploded, gold chucks flying outward. In its place was the skull of a great cat cut from more of the black marble. But that was not the only changes that occurred in the spirit. Golden spikes erupted from her spine and knee joints, her claws grew longer and her tail which had remained down and low was now raised up over its body, poised to strike. "Before I could not do anything Kojima," she spoke, her voice unchanged despite her transformation. "But now I can act."

Her tail lashed out and Mizuiro barely managed to stumble back in time, falling onto his rear. "What are you doing?" he exclaimed, trying to creep away from the angry spirit.

"Acting," the sphinx proclaimed before leaping at him, her claws ready to shred him to pieces.

Reacting on sheer instinct, Mizuiro dropped entirely to the floor and she sailed over him into the living room. Without a second of hesitation he shot up to his feet, racing towards the front door. He slammed into the door, forcing it open as he heard her tear through the furniture while roaring in fury.

However instead of finding the front of his house and the street what laid before Mizuiro was a long stone corridor with branching paths. For a moment he froze as the realization hit him. It was just as she said, his mind was a labyrinth. But maybe that would work to his favor. He could hide here within the maze until he could figure a way out or she gave up.

"KOJIMA!" the spirit howled from behind him.

Mizuiro took off instantly, slamming the door shut as he sprinted into the maze. A second later she tore through the door like it was paper as she continued to chase after him. "Stop running away Kojima!" she shouted as Mizuiro dove around corner.

All he could do was run and hope he could stay ahead of her. But that was easier said than done for no matter how fast or far he ran she remained just as his heels, screaming and roaring at him when not trying to skewer him with her tail or shred him with her claws. Though if nothing else he was running faster and for longer than he ever had before, either Madarame's brutal training was paying off or things worked differently here.

"Run and hide! That's all you can do Kojima!" the furious creature shouted. "You can't do anything on your own! Whenever something happens you let Kurosaki and Sado deal with it! But they can't help you now! Either stand and fight or die!"

Mizuiro wasn't much for fighting. Though he was physically fit he was short and scrawny, lacking any real muscle mass but then even if he had a stronger body like Ichigo's or Chad's, he was going up against a creature with a body of stone and claws that were as sharp as sword blades. Without at least some kind of weapon all he would be able to manage would be able to break his hand on her skin before being sliced into pieces. But of course in these empty stone halls there was absolutely nothing he could use to protect himself. Perhaps had he stayed in the house could found something to use but a rare moment of real panic had clouded his judgment when he fled. With no weapons, his options were very limited.

Unless…

A thought occurred to Mizuiro. When they were first being taught Kidō and Tatsuki complained about the lengthy chants and how useful they could be in battle, their teachers Miss Kurotsuchi and Mister Kugijutsu had pointed out that while a zanpakutō was the primary weapon of the soul reapers it was not uncommon for them to become disarmed. That was why students in their Academy were taught in unarmed fighting and Kidō.

While Hakuda would be pretty much useless here perhaps Kidō could save him.

Spinning around Mizuiro pointed an index finger at the approaching sphinx. Surprised by his sudden action the spirit stopped, giving him an opening. "Hadō Number Four, Pale Lightning!" he shouted, hoping it would work.

A bolt lightning erupted from his fingers, striking the spirit's face. She howled in pain as she was thrown backwards by the spells. But he wasn't going to wait for her to recover. "Bakudō Number Four, Crawling Rope."

The yellow energy ensnared the fallen creature, coiling around its thrashing body and limps. Yet Mizuiro could tell those bindings were not going to last long against her strength. Already he could see the energy beginning to weaken. He had to finish this now. Holding his right palm at her he began to chant, a ball of crimson energy beginning to form, "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hadō Number Thirty-One, Red Fire Cannon!"

An energy ball larger than a soccer ball slammed into the zanpakutō spirits and she let out a piercing howling as red light filled Mizuiro's vision. When the light faded he found the charried and battered form of the spirit several feet back from where it had been. With a sigh he lowered his hand and began to walk towards her. "I'm sorry but I didn't really have much of a choice," he said, kneeling over her unmoving form.

Suddenly the sphinx's body crumbled into dust. Immediately the teen turned pale. Had he just killed his own zanpakutō?

"Do not worry Mizuiro," her voice called out from behind. "I am not dead."

A section of the wall behind him began to stretch outward like it was some form of gum or taffy rather than stone. The rough outline of her front paws emerged followed by the rest of her arms and head. Mizuiro could only watch in fascination as the rest of her body started to take shape and pull itself from the wall. In the span of a second her entire body, in its original form had emerged from a solid stone wall like she had just walked through an open doorway. However she had retained the color and texture of the stone wall rather than the marble and gold she first had.

While Mizuiro was a little relieved that she was no longer in that…war form for a lack of better name he was still unsure if she was going to attack again or not. "How…how did you do that?" he asked, his hand tensing in case she tried something.

"You can relax Mizuiro. I'm not going to attack you," she answered, the stone of her body changing into gold and black marble. "You stood your ground as I hoped you would. But you still have a long time to go and our time is up."

Mizuiro opened his mouth to speak when a sensation flowed through his body. The world around him seemed to unnaturally stretch out as a force started to pull him backwards. He was leaving his mindscape.

"And before you leave, my name is Doseki Sufinkusu…"

* * *

><p>Tatsuki couldn't help but let out a whistle as she stared at the impressive Feudal Era castle before her. It was centered on top of large hill, a forest surrounding it on all sides. There were three layers of walls between the woods and the towering keep however the battlements on the walls were reversed, facing inwards instead of outwards. With little choice, Tatsuki began walking for the open doors of the castle.<p>

Walking past the first wall Tatsuki found herself in a field filled with wooden barricades and partition walls, all made for battle and all facing inwards. "This is getting weird," she thought aloud. "Why are the defenses facing the wrong way?"

Suddenly a black shape emerged from seemingly nowhere in the grass ahead of her before leaping onto one of the nearby barricades. "Greetings Arisawa-master," it spoke in the odd voice she vaguely recognized from before.

However what was standing before her was something Tatsuki was not expecting. "A rat… You're a rat…"

The thing before her was as best as she could describe it as a short, hunched over humanoid rat. It was clad in a black hooded cloak that concealed much of its body and had holes for its pink ears that were sticking out. On its barefoot legs were ratty, muted gray pants, a long, familiar looking tail poking out from behind. Its face was like that of a giant rat with a pair of red eyes poking out from under its hood and two large extending from the end of its muzzle.

"Yes-yes Arisawa-master," it squeaked, bowing its head up and down. "Arisawa-master's sword too."

Her eyes turned to the swaying tail behind it. "I climbed out of that darkness with your tail didn't I?"

"Yes-yes."

"Great… Just great…" she mumbled, rubbing her hands on the sides of her hakama. "I get an overgrown rat dressed in black. Can you at least fight?"

"Fight? No-no," it answered, vigorously shaking its head. "Don't like fighting. Fighting messy, long, painful, unpleasant. Like sneak-killing. Fast, clean, effective."

Already Tatsuki was finding herself developing a headache from this rodent's bizarre way of talking. "Sneak-killing? What does that mean?"

A pale clawed hand slid out of the cloak, grabbing the edge of it. "This Arisawa-master," the rat said, pulling cloak over itself.

In an instant it was gone without a trace, leaving Tatsuki dumbstruck. Before she could react, a hairless arm wrapped around her neck while what felt like a knife blade was pressed against her back. The rat's head leaned on her right shoulder. "No fighting. Only sneak-killing."

With that rodent jumped back, relinquishing its hold on her and returning to its original spot. Tatsuki merely pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to quell her head. "So you like sneaking up on people and stabbing in back. Great… An overgrown rat and a coward too."

The rat hissed at her, anger and annoyance etched into its face. "No like? Then leave-leave. No like stupid fighters with no cunning and brains."

Tatsuki could feel a vein throbbing and twitching on her forehead. This was almost like being around Chizuru with Orihime in the room. Almost. "No, I'm not a rat that's too afraid to fight someone face to face."

Instantly the rat was on her, claws raking across her face before Tatsuki managed to throw it off. The scratches had drawn blood but it wasn't anything worth mentioning. Heck she had papercuts that were worse. But it had told to very important things about the rat, it wasn't physically strong and its body was not just small but light too which meant that it would not be able to take too much damage. A couple of good blows and she'd have this thing begging for mercy. "Oi runt!" Tatsuki shouted, cocking her fist back. "Eat this!"

However with a swirl of its cloak the rat disappeared again and her fist hit nothing but air. The cowardly rodent reappeared on another wooden blockade nearby. "Stupid-dumb Arisawa-master. Only stupid fighters speak their attacks before hitting," it squeaked.

Roaring, Tatsuki leaped at him but once again the runty creature backflipped off the barricade while her body slammed into it. As she picked her bruised body off the half walk she heard the rat snickering. Letting out a growl of anger and frustration she climbed atop the barricade, below was the rat, still chuckling as it watched her. "You can jump around all you want but I'm gonna beat your ass and get your name rat!" she yelled, diving at the rodent...

…only to get a mouthful of dirt and grass.

Tatsuki slowly started to rise up to her hands and knees, spitting out stuff in her mouth. That rodent had moved beyond the level Chizuru stood on, something she thought that no other being could achieve. "Forget just beating the crap out of that rat, I'm going to rip its freaking tail off and shove it down its throat!" she screamed at the sky.

But the moment those words left her mouth something landed on her back and sharp claws were pressed against her jugular. It was the rat, standing ready to kill her at any moment. "Too slow. Too stupid Arisawa-master," it said to her. "Give-give or die-die."

For a moment she said nothing, her fury at the rat stopping her from saying anything. She knew the rational thing to do was to yield but her anger and pride were preventing her from doing so. "Give-give or die-die," it repeated, its claws pressing harder against her neck.

"…I give."

The rat's claws moved away from her jugular and it jumped off her back, landing in front of her. Tatsuki just couldn't believe how much this thing could get under her skin. Everything about it seemed to be the polar opposite of herself. "Know why Arisawa-master lost?" it asked, watching her as she stood up. "Stupid bravado-pride. Fought like fighter not killer."

"I'm not a killer," she spat back.

"Arisawa-master must be or Hollow-master wins," the rat replied, shaking its head.

Tatsuki's eyes widened in surprise. Was the rat referring to the hollowfied part of her soul? "Hollow-master? The hollow's here?"

The rat nodded. "Arisawa-master sealed Hollow-master in keep," it answered, pointing a clawed hand at the center of the castle. "Took out precious treasure-things. Put Hollow-master there to protect treasure-things."

A stray thought entered her head and for a moment she glanced at the defenses around them. "Is that why the battlements are reversed?"

"Yes-yes. Once protected treasure-things from outside. Useless to sneak-killers."

"You mean cowardly little assassins," Tatsuki commented, crossing her arms.

"Assassin?" the rat said, tilting its head to the side. "No-no. Not assassin, protector. Kill-kill threats before they harm-hurt. Kill-kill to protect Arisawa-master and Arisawa-master's treasure-things."

This caught Tatsuki off guard. It was calling itself a protector? A runty, cowardly thing that was only good at running away and stabbing people in the back was a protector? And it was claiming that despite all the insults it had thrown at her it sought to protect her and whatever those 'treasure-things' were. This was getting too weird. "Why?" she asked.

The rodent bowed its head, a look of shame etched into features. "Too small, too weak to fight. Can only protect by sneak-killing," it admitted.

Tatsuki wasn't quite sure what to say. It sounded just like her over a week ago before all this happened, when she knew that Ichigo and Orihime were leaving her behind and she could do about it or to help them. Maybe…

"Think-ponder before returning Arisawa-master," the rat suddenly spoke before it whipped her face with its tail.

She fell backwards and didn't stop falling. The blasted thing had tricked her! It had played her to get one last shot at her. "Rat bastard!" Tatsuki screamed as blackness consumed her.

* * *

><p>And done. I'm still quite amazed at just how long this chapter has become. Originally I thought the entire chapter would be at most fifteen, sixteen pages, this chapter is seventeen pages without these notes and it's about two-thirds of my inital outline. Keigo's smaller section is a prime example. I was planning on having another, longer section where he returned to his mind and experience a real trial to learn his sword's name, same with Tatsuki but I cut them from this chapter as it was getting too long. From my own experience while I like long chapters from others, I've grown to dislike those chapters that are really long so I try to avoid giving my readers such chapters.<p>

But I am quite happy with how their mindscapes, zanpakutos and spirits turned out. The zanpakuto I like most out of the three is Keigo's while my favorite mindscape is Mizuiro's. Speaking of him I imagine that most of you are surprised by all that I did with him in this chapter but it was all born from the hints that Tite Kubo has given us. Those of you that only watch the anime probably won't recognize the memories of when Ichigo and Chad first met Keigo and Mizuiro but it did happen in an extra chapter of the manga that really was all about Mizuiro. And actually I've grown to find him to be the most interesting of humans around Ichigo (including those more significant to the plot like Orihime, Chad and Uyru).

Anyway, regardless of what the next chapter will be you're not going to see their shikais until their first battles.

That's all for now and as always, I like to hear from you.


	6. The Month of Hard Knocks

Yo everybody! I know I know, this update took a lot longer than it should have but that's life for ya.

Anyway I have to say I was very, very pleased by the responses I received from you my fans. It's you people and the latest chapters of the Bleach manga that keep me writing. So enjoy!

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><p>As his last opponent fell, Tōshirō Hitsugaya lowered Hyōrinmaru and took a careful glanced around the room. None of them were giving any sign that they were going to be getting up. They had been a little challenging but solely due to the restrictions placed upon him.<p>

The room itself was a simple square all white room. At first glance one would think that it was just an empty unused room within the Research Institute but the truth was that it was one of their testing chambers for dangerous materials. The walls, floor, ceiling and door were all made of Sekkisseki stone and could be completely sealed off in less than a second if the need arises. Though strangely there were four glowing orbs resting in the corners were the walls and ceiling met. While Hitsugaya wasn't sure what they did, he suspected they were part of an additional security measure in the event of highly dangerous becoming unstable and posing a grave risk to anyone in the immediate area and possibly beyond.

_'And doesn't that just perfectly sum us up,' _he bitterly thought.

"Did your intelligence drop as a result of your hollowfication? We aren't here to watch out beat up those training dummies!" Captain Kurotsuchi snapped, standing in front of the closed door. "We're here to test the capabilities of your new powers!"

Hitsugaya felt an annoyed growl start to rise up his throat but quickly suppressed it. He wasn't sure what was worse in the aftermath of their hollowfication, that they had all been stripped of their ranks or that they were largely little more than lab rats for the Squad Twelve Captain for the time being. And now that Kurotsuchi had all the data he could obtain from poking and prodding them with his instruments he was focused on trying to get them from manifesting the aspects of their new power despite how it sickened Hitsugaya. He had watched Kurotsuchi's previous session with her former lieutenant. That mask…that hollow mask on her face and her sudden increase in power unsettled him as did the idea of him wearing such a mask himself.

"If Nemu could access her powers in a few tries than surely a _former _captain like you could with ease," Kurotsuhi continued glancing around at his inactive training dummies.

Tōshirō couldn't help but scowl at man's words. It was like rubbing salt into a wound. He had worked long and hard to become the Captain of Squad Ten and to have it stripped from him was like having a part of him ripped out, leaving a wound that wouldn't heal.

Kurotsuchi merely stroked the extension on his chin, seemingly pondering something. "Though I suppose you need a far stronger opponent than she did to force to bring out full potential," he said, drawing his zanpakutō. "Rip Ashisogi Jizō!"

Gritting his teeth, Hitsugaya could only raise his own sword. He cursed himself for never bothering to look up the zanpakutōs of the other Captains. Of the remaining Captains-barring Zaraki he knew the shikais of three as well as a fourth by secondhand accounts and Kurotsuchi was not of them. Though given the small amount of purple mist being expelled by the infant's face at the three bladed sword's hilt it was likely a poison-type which meant he had to keep his distance.

"Remember ex-Captain no releasing your zanpakutō or using Kidō," the Squad Twelve Captain reminded. "Oh and I will be trying to kill you so keep that in mind."

"I know," Tōshirō replied as he raised his zanpakutō up, gripping it with both hands.

In an instant Kurotsuchi was behind him but the Captain's Shunpo wasn't as fast his own speed and before the tri-bladed sword could touch him Hitsugaya had spun around to block his attack. Yet despite his counter Kurotsuchi was still grinning like a hungry predator cornering their prey. Another wave of purple mist began to spew out from the Squad Twelve Captain's sword. Fearing the potential poison Hitsugaya breathlessly jumped backwards.

"Red Fire Cannon," Kurotsuchi said as he was still in midair.

Before he could do anything the crimson Kidō blast slammed into him, slamming Hitsugaya against the wall behind him. Tōshirō slumped to the ground only to have Kurotsuchi on him, his sword coming down at his head. But with a last second Shunpo Hitsugaya managed to dodge it. Kurotsuchi however had seemed to already anticipate this, his left hand moving towards his path. "Hadō Sixty-Three, Thunder Roar Sear!" Kurotsuchi shouted, a wave of yellow energy erupting from his outstretched hand.

Somehow Tōshirō managed to stop himself in time, narrowly evading the spell. But that was just what the Captain wanted and the second he stopped Kurotsuchi was behind him, his blade stabbing into his left shoulder. "Gotcha," he cackled as Hitsugaya gritted his teeth in pain.

The white haired former Captain couldn't help but curse his foolishness. The Kidō had merely been a ploy to distract him enough to exposing himself. Worse he had neglected one key detail of man he was facing. While Kurotsuchi may consider himself a scientist first and foremost he was still a Captain and one of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads' most brilliant minds. His intelligence was Kurotsuchi's most dangerous weapon and something that easily compensated for his deficiencies.

Hitsugaya spun around, Hyōrinmaru slicing through the air towards Kurotsuchi only for the Captain to effortless deflect it with his own sword before slamming his knee into his stomach. Surprisingly the blow was strong enough to send Tōshirō to ground. "I am afraid this little fight is over," Mayuri gloated, waving his zanpakutō. "When Ashisogi Jizō cuts into someone it severs the brain signals that control the neutral impulses connected to the movement of their limbs while leaving all other functions of their nerve system intact."

Hitsugaya's widened in shock at his words, immediately trying to move his body but his limbs would not budge in the slightest. He could feel his arms and legs just fine yet he could not move them at all. Suddenly the centeral blade of Ashisogi Jizō stabbed into his left forearm before rising up and piercing further up his arm.

"How pathetic _former _Captain Hitsugaya," Kurotsuchi spat as he continued to stab his sword into his body. "I had hoped that a Captain-level being such as yourself would have been able to easily use your new found hollow powers. Sadly this seems to be yet another example of just useless you really are."

Tōshirō bit down on his lower lip to the point of drawing blood in effort to stop the screams of pain and fury clawing up his throat. He would not give the Squad Twelve Captain the satisfaction. If nothing else Hitsugaya had his pride. "You couldn't stop those troublemakers from hollowfying over a hundred humans," Kurotsuchi continued. "Nor could you even stop your infected Lieutenant from infecting you. It really was no surprise that Aizen was able to manipulate and easily defeat such a pathetic, incompetent little boy. Of course you're marginally better than that little sycophant of a Lieutenant that followed him along."

"Shut up!" Hitsugaya shouted unable to contain his growing anger.

Too late did he realize that he was playing into Kurotsuchi's hand by yelling back at him for Kurotsuchi's predatory grin returned once more. "Oh? Is that sad excuse for an officer important to you?"

Despite as much as he wanted to scream at the captain, to pick Hyōrinmaru and strike him down Hitsugaya contained himself. That was what Kurotsuchi wanted. Despite his momentarily outburst he would not give the Captain the satisfaction of giving into his taunts any further.

However this only seemed to egg Mayuri on. "Well it was fortunate for her that she managed to avoid exposure to the hollowfication agents for I doubt such a pathetic runt would have been able to survive the process." Kurotsuhi paused for a moment, studying his face. Hitsugaya could feel his fury rising even further, struggling to keep a straight face. "Oh you disagree? Everyone knows Aizen chose her to be his Lieutenant solely because she was nothing more than loyal little puppy to him. Why else would he choose such a weakling over more than a few better qualified officers? In fact I'm surprised that the Fifth Squad hasn't collapsed completely since his betrayal. Of course had she been exposed to the agent she would have undoubtedly made an excellent specimen for dissection."

He couldn't take it anymore. Momo was like a sister to him. All the insults being thrown at her had pushed him at the edge but it was this talk of her body being cut open by the Squad Twelve Captain that threw him over the edge. "SHUT UP!" Tōshirō screamed at Kurotsuchi.

It was at that moment that it happened. His spiritual energy suddenly rose within his body as something began to rapidly spread down across his face. As this was happening Kurotsuchi jumped back. Somehow this influx of power managed to cancel out the poison of Ashisogi Jizō. Reinvigorated Hitsugaya was up on his feet in less than a second, his sword back in his hand. A look of surprise spread across Kurotsuchi's face and he froze for a split-second. That was all the time Hitsugaya needed. In a blaze of speed he rushed forward, raising Hyōrinmaru up. Kurotsuchi tried to bring up his own sword but his movements that once seemed fast were now laughably slow. Blood flew as steel met flesh and the Captain was sent falling backwards.

As Kurotsuchi hit the floor all Hitsugaya could do was just stand there. The power flowing through his body was…was incredible. The gash across Mayuri's chest reached from his left shoulder to the right side of his waist, blood pouring out. It was a bad wound but there was no doubt in Hitsugaya's mind that had he hit someone of lower rank and power that they would have been sliced in two. And that was what truly scared him. His intention had been just to inflict a minor wound on Kurotsuchi not slash him open. It scared him a little to imagine how powerful that blow would have been had he been trying to kill the Captain.

_Crack…_

Hitsugaya's eyes widened at the sound but before he could do anything his mask shattered and as the fragments fell to floor his power plummeted with them. It felt like virtually all his power, not just what he gained in those brief seconds had been lost. And as that power left the poison of Ashisogi Jizō returned. Hitsugaya slumped down to his knees, Hyōrinmaru clattering on the floor.

"Heh heh heh… Good…good…" Kurotsuchi wheezed as he pulled a small needle from his coat. He stabbed the needle into his neck and in seconds the wound began to seal itself up. With his injury healed and grinning like a maniac, Kurotsuchi rose up to his feet. "Now let's make sure that _wasn't_ a reflex action."

* * *

><p>Captain Zaraki scowled as he stood over their battered forms. "You two are absolutely pathetic," he said, glaring at him with his one eye. "What the hell happened to the two strongest men in my Squad?"<p>

"You know what happened to us Captain," Ikkaku replied, struggling to climb to his feet.

The fact they had all been taken out of their squads had not sat well with the two officers of Squad Eleven. Serving and ultimately dying under Captain Zaraki had been their sole ambition for decades only to have it stolen from them. Neither of them desired to be Kurotsuchi's playthings and had outright refused to take part in anything beyond physical examinations and whipping those humans into shape much to the fury of the Squad Twelve Captain. The Clown-faced Captain had repeatedly threatened them with all kinds of things from locking them up in some pit to conducting vivisections upon them. It didn't matter to either of them what happened to them, they weren't gonna be some Squad Twelve experiment.

It was then out of the blue that Captain Zaraki and the Lieutenant had shown up in small compound that was their prison. For a brief moment they had their hopes up that somehow their Captain had convinced Yamamoto to allow them back into the Eleventh. But before they could say anything their Captain drew his sword and attacked. Naturally they fought back but this was the Captain they were facing. Even fighting together they couldn't beat him.

"Hollowfication? Getting pulled from Squad Eleven? That's all meaningless crap!" Captain Zaraki shot back. "And if you're the fighters you've always claimed to than you'd know that!"

"But Captain," Yumichika started, clutching a shallow gash on his chest. "We-"

"Come on!" the Captain shouted, voice laced with irritation. "Enough talk! Show me everything you've got! Release your Bankai! Hollowfy yourselves like Kurotsuchi has been talking about! Prove to me that you're worthy of being called a warrior! Prove to me why you were worth my time!"

Ikkaku was utterly stunned at the Captain's words. Other than Yumichika, Renji and that Asano kid there was no one alive that should have known that. And it wasn't like those that did know would speak of it to anyone. "But how did you know that Captain?" he asked, more beads of sweat trailing down the sides of his head.

He couldn't shake the sheer dread he felt within himself despite the fact that it was now pointless. They wouldn't promote him to Captain now and he was already out of Squad Eleven. So what was causing all this fear?

The Captain merely grinned, his eye solely upon him. "Of course I did. I could always tell anytime we sparred that you were holding back your full power. But I'm not letting you hold back any further." Then Captain Zaraki turned to Yumichika, pointing his the tip of his sword at him. "And I've suspected that you've been hiding some part of your zanpakutō. What, don't know don't care. Now you two better throw everything you have into this or you're both gonna die!"

Ikkaku turned his head, glancing over at his long time friend. Their eyes met and Yumichika silently nodded his head. Both of them wanted the same thing. Together they raised their zanpakutōs and raced towards their former Captain, roaring as they ran. With a scowl the Captain swung his large sword in a wide arc, slashing both of their bodies. The two of them collapsed into a heap on the floor but both of them were still _alive_.

"Pathetic," Captain Zaraki grumbled as he turned away while sheathing his sword.

In pain but still conscious, Ikkaku reached out and grabbed his leg. "Please Captain if I cannot fight and die a part of your Squad than I'd rather die by your hands," he pleaded.

"I thought I told you before I'm no executioner," his former Captain replied not even bothering to look back at him.

"But sir-"

The Captain with ease pulled his leg from Ikkaku and started heading for the doorway but stopped as reached it. "And my Squad isn't something defined by pointless things like ranks or rules. It's only our love of fighting defines us. You two should know that better than anyone." Captain Zaraki turned to him, his one eye focused entirely upon him. "You want to fight and die as a part of my Squad then keep on fighting, keep on loving the taste of battle and only let yourself die standing with your sword in your hand and a grin on your face."

With that he stepped through the doorway, Yachiru following close behind. "Bye Baldy! Bye Feathers!" the short Lieutenant called out as she left the two of them to bleed and reflect on what their Captain said.

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><p>Gasping for breath Hitsugaya fell to a knee, the last few fragments of his masks hitting the floor. Standing over him was Rangiku with her zanpakutō in hand and a hollow mask on her face. The leering mask was one of the more human looking ones. Its mouth was filled long, razor sharp teeth and a second set of eyeholes over the ones containing her eyes while three spikes rose up from its forehead. The central one was short and curved back into the locks of Rangiku's hair while the other two shot out away from her head before stopping and bending straight down.<p>

"Twenty-seven seconds… how disappointing," Kurotsuchi commented as he circled around the two of them like a hungry shark. "A week of this and you have yet to break the thirty second mark while all the others are sitting at a minute and above. I must admit I'm beginning to wonder if even the humans will be able to hollowfy themselves even longer than you can."

Hitsugaya suppressed the urge to lash out at the Captain of Squad Twelve. Over the past week his feelings towards Kurotsuchi had changed from indifference to outright loathing. He was always shouting, taunting and ranting at them as he worked them like dogs. If this was how Kurotsuchi treated his Squad as a whole it amazed him that they hadn't all transferred out.

"Nemu!" Kurotsuchi screamed and within seconds the dark haired woman was at his side. "Spar with him!" he ordered, pushing her in front of Hitsugaya. "If he can't hollowfy for longer than thirty seconds, break a bone in his body!"

"Yes sir," Nemu replied with a curt nod of her head before turning her attention entirely on Toshiro. "Please try your best sir."

Her hands reached up to her face, summoning her seven-eyed mask as both Kurotsuchi and Rangiku withdrew to the observation room. Hitsugaya pulled himself up to his feet and managed to summon his own back. It was tougher to recreate it so soon after it had broken but not as bad as it had been when they were first beginning. A few days and he would not have been able to for at least an hour.

Once his mask was up and his power rose, Nemu attacked. Her fist soared towards Tōshirō's head but he blocked it with the side of his blade. That was the one thing he hated about sparring with Nemu Kurotsuchi, she never used her zanpakutō. It was always Hakuda, leaving him to feel worried and guilty about harming her with his sword despite Kurotsuchi's claims that she could take nearly any damage that he could inflict with his sealed zanpakutō.

Nemu on the other hand did not have any such reservations. Her knee flew upwards but he managed to block it with his left arm before it hit his chest. However this gave her an opening to strike with her other fist. Hitsugaya flashstepped before she could connect, moving behind her before lashing out with the dull edge of his zanpakutō. But with her hollow mask on she was fast, very fast. Nemu sidestepped his vertical swing and drove her elbow in his stomach. Tōshirō staggered back as Nemu pressed the attack, her fists flying at him but once again he proved just how fast he was. He twisted and moved his body around each and every one of her strikes before jumping back and leaping upon her.

_Crack…_

Hitsugaya froze instantly, cracks spreading across his mask seconds before it shattered. Practically powerless he once slumped down to his knees. Nemu herself stopped as well, silently watching him.

"_I thought I made myself clear Nemu,"_ Kurotsuchi called out. _"If he cannot keep himself hollowfied for longer than thirty second, break something."_

Nemu nodded her head as she cocked a fist back…

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><p>"It seems that despite being a prodigy among soul reapers Hitsugaya is rather lacking when it comes to hollowfication," Captain Kurotsuchi commented as Nemu hit the now helpless soul reaper.<p>

"So it would seem sir," Kenji replied as he scribbled down notes on a pad.

Despite the fact that they had all been stripped of their ranks and removed from their respective Squads, both he and Nemu Kurotsuchi were still actively serving Squad Twelve, the Institute and Captain Kurotsuchi which was absolutely fine by him. Kenji had never had any interest in any of the other Squads. Let those who crave meaningless glory and battle do the fighting, he much preferred to stay in the labs and work on far more intellectual gratifying pursuits.

While he may be one of the subjects being observed and studied by the Captain it was still very fascinating. Kenji had to admit he had forgotten how good it was to be doing lab work. Not that his job as Head of the Testing and Implementation Department hadn't had its own joys, overseeing the testing of countless items. Though much of his time had been spent dealing with the mind-numbing bureaucracy of making sure the other Squads received the new technologies they had developed and thoroughly tested. Hours of dull paperwork just to make sure that single item was properly distributed amongst a single Squad. It was a truly inefficient method of distribution and one that despite his protests the Thirteen Court Guard Squads had no desire to change or improve.

But that was an entirely different matter.

Hitsugaya was continuing to struggle against the still hollowfied Nemu, desperately trying but failing to hollowfy again. Unlike the rest of them Nemu seemed to be almost unnaturally talented in the art of hollowfication. She had been the first to successful hollowfy and could spend more time in that state than several of them combined. The ex-Captain on the other hand seemed to the most abysmal of them all in regards to hollowfication even after the former Squad Eleven officers willingly began to participate.

"It seems that Hitsugaya may not be able to rehollowfy himself again so soon sir," Kenji said, tucking his pencil behind an ear. "If Nemu continues I fear he may become seriously injured, delaying further testing with him."

"If he is then I merely bring in two of the others to test while I repair his body," Captain Kurotsuchi offhandedly replied. "Perhaps those former humans. I think that they have had enough soul reaper training."

Kenji nodded as Hitsugaya was slammed violently into a wall. "Shall I fetch them sir?"

"Yes," his Captain replied, stroking his chin extension. "I believe Nemu is just about done."

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>That wasn't so bad,<strong>__"_ Arisawa said, her mask fracturing and crumbling from her face. _"Is that…it? I was…expecting something…tougher."_

"_Wha…what are you…talking about?"_ Asano panted, blood dripping from a minor wound on his forehead.

"_Yeah,"_ a worn out Kojima added, leaning against a wall for support. _"You're at your limit just like us."_

"If I were to place them within the Thirteen Court Guard Squads I would place them at the level of Seventh or Sixth Seats, maybe low Fifth Seats," Captain Kurotsuchi said as they watched the trio on the monitors of the observation room.

Hitsugaya said nothing as he turned from the screen, crossing his arms. The morning had been rather hectic as the Captain-General had wanted to see the extent of their progress. He wished that it would have also included an update on Kurotsuchi's progress in curing them but the demands of the upcoming Winter War had forced the Squad Twelve Captain to cease his work over two weeks ago. They had been first up, showing the extent of their hollow abilities against modified training dummies from the Research Institute. Now that they were done it was time for the former humans to show off all they had managed to achieve in that month of training.

Captain-General Yamamoto merely nodded his head in response. Both Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyōraku were at his side. They were the only others that chosen to accompany Yamamoto for this little demonstration though apparently Zaraki had said he was going to come as well but after waiting half an hour for him they all decided to carry on without him.

"Quite a remarkable feat in just a month of steady training," Ukitake commented. "I doubt many normal students could have achieved such a feat."

"Perhaps if they have been merely normal soul reapers but they do not have limitations that normal soul reapers possess," Kurotsuchi replied, his mad grin plastered on his face. "I purposely instructed that they be pushed harder in their training each day. It didn't take long for their bodies to adapt and improve in the face of these obstacles at a far faster rate than what most can achieve. Of course the curriculum of the Shinō Academy is rather slow and ponderous, spending more time teaching such frivolous and useless subjects than what is truly needed. Had they been subjected to that process of training they would have processed at a much slower rate. Now if the Shinō curriculum was sped up, made much harsher and more focused on the important areas I suspect-"

"We get the idea Captain Kurotsuchi," Hitsugaya said, his patience for the Squad Twelve Captain spent long ago. "That is irrelevant to the matter at hand."

Mayuri merely waved his hand dismissively at him. "Yes yes but I shall also point out that it is the same with you and the others. As it stands now there is there is no telling just how strong any of them could become in time."

"It's still remarkable that they were able survive the hollowfication process when all the other humans died," Ukitake added.

Kurotsuchi let a small chuckle at other Captain's words. Tōshirō had already heard the humans' stories and already knew the answer to that question. "I thought so initially too but I have learned that they all have significant factor in common, Ichigo Kurosaki," Mayuri answered.

Ukitake's eyes widened as a frown crossed his lips. "Ichigo?"

"Yes, all of them have admitted to being close friends with Ichigo Kurosaki and most of the other Ryoka that accompanied him. Obviously exposure to that walking wellspring of spiritual power during the few months before Rukia Kuchiki's arrest had affected them, aiding in both their survival and spiritual growth," Kurotuschi explained. "While I have no data on them before their hollowfication I suspect that they were fully able to see spirits, hollows and soul reapers as plain as day."

"Hm… Once Aizen has been dealt with we shall have to speak with Ichigo Kurosaki about placing a limiter seal upon him to prevent more humans from being adversely affected by his presence," the Captain-General said. "Too many humans with great spiritual power within the same region has always brought about-"

"_Sirs I'm sorry for the interruption but we've just detected arrancar arriving in Karakura Town," _a voice reported over the Research Institute's intercom. _"Four arrancar, all Espada class!"_

"Aizen must be testing the strength of our warriors against his Espada," Yamamoto commented. "They won't be the strongest of the Espada. Nevertheless we must respond to this attack. Send word to Captain-"

"Pardon me sir but I would like my former team and I to respond to this attack," Hitsugaya said, interrupting his superior. "The protection of Karakura Town from Aizen's arrancar was our responsibility and with your permission I'm sure that we'd all like to resume our previous duty."

Part of that was true, at least for him anyway. Hitsugaya wanted to return to some semblance of normalcy from before the incident as well as escape from Kurotsuchi's labs for at least a little while.

For a moment Captain-General Yamamoto stared at him, undoubtedly weighting the matter internally. Honestly Tōshirō was unsure what his answer would be but after the after the moment passed, his commanding officer nodded his head. "Very well. Tōshirō Hitsugaya, take your team and resume your watch over Karakura Town until further notice."

* * *

><p>Not as great as the last chapter but then that chapter had been something I had been cooking up for months so I had lot more going for that one. Anyway, one more chapter then the really fun stuff begins so stay tuned.<p> 


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