Memories of a Shinigami (BLEACH Club Members only)

Steph and Haruka were at a loss of words for much of the fight Haku had against the hollow. Neither was completely certain what had happened, but the current reality was all too clear to them. Haku was unable to continue forced to hold himself together by strength of will. They stared stunned for a moment not even hearing the hollow roaring and prepared for another strike. Haruka started to run for Haku as the hollow still functioning sword arm came down quickly against her back. It all happened so quickly that she did not even know what had happened only hearing a loud explosion.

Steph had no idea what he was doing only finding that his arm was extending with reishi particles blowing away. In the final moments before the blade struck Haruka a Byakurai spell was fired by Steph cutting off the blade to prevent it from sinking into her body. The weight and surprise behind the attack left the sword partially embedded in the concrete ground providing a pause for them.

Haruka pulled herself together after feeling her death and ran to Haku. He struggled to look back at her with questioning eyes of why she was turning her back on the hollow when he was not the most important matter. However, she could not see it. “Haku?! What were you—“

“What are you thinking?!” said Haku quickly back to her.

Steph joined them shortly to see Haruka’s confused, stunned reaction to Haku. “Haruka! Haruka?” He grabbed her shoulder quickly to get her attention on him. His eyes were trying to connect to her to give her strength and show his determination. “Can you fight?”

“Huh?” she said confused and weighed by emotions.

The hollow’s sword began to creak and scream as it was being pulled free from the concrete. “Can you hold off the hollow alone? I’ll tend to his injures, but I need some time!”

“But he’s…” She tried to reach for him herself, but Steph stopped her grabbing her wrist.

“My healing is better than yours, trust me. I won’t let him die, but I need time! Can you fight to protect him?”

The words sparked a quick changing of expressions on Haruka’s face hearing the determination from Steph. She pulled back slowly and nodded to him firmly building in resolve. Steph let her go as she turned away standing up holding her hand lightly on the hilt of her sheathed Zanpakuto. The hollow had freed itself completely throwing up chunks of paved stone. It leveled its broken blade at Haruka, most of it still intact. Haruka disappeared into shunpo just after firing a quick kidou spell. The hollow was treated to smoke more than anything else from the impact and followed her movements effortlessly blocking her quick strikes through shunpo.

Steph was already focusing on Haku his hands glowing tending to the immediate bleeding that he had. Haku looked up disapprovingly at him. “I’m not allowing anyone to die! I’m not going to lose anyone else!” he passionately declared as a reprimand to Haku.

“…healings going to take too long…Haruka—“

“Will be fine. And I’m not doing a full healing on you. This is just emergency first aid so you don’t go into shock or lose too much blood. Haruka can handle it for those few seconds.” Haku grabbed Steph wrist trying to insist that he leave to help Haruka, but Steph ignore him to finish his work. “Quit, the more you resist the longer this will take. I’m not letting you die!”

Haruka began strongly, but the hollow was left unaffected and simply bleeding from its lost limb caused by Haku. There had not been much noticeable slowdown from Haku’s fight that Haruka seemed to be able to feel. She was left on the defensive once the hollow had stopped toying with her. The movements of the beast were so fast for her that even the close blocking was leaving cuts on her body from sheer force of reiatsu. ‘He was able to keep up with this thing?’

The next blow from the broken sword came so quickly from the last block that Haruka could not see anything, but a blur of motion. ‘Too fast!’ Her Zanpakuto was still being held up leaving her completely exposed to the attack that ripped through her uniform and dug through her midsection trailing blood through the air. ‘Full…defense isn’t…enough…’ The short follow up rammed the butt of the hilt into Haruka’s stomach pressing blood from her fresh would as well as sending her flying across the street. Her body came to a painful stop in a neighboring second floor house. Force from the blow sent her upper half through the weak vinyl and wood construct leaving her legs dangling out.

‘…Haku…’ Her head was ringing loudly from the impact and blood that dripped down from her cut scalp. In the distance the pounding earthquake of the hollow approached ever more still feeling the spiritual pressure coming from her.

“…Shinigami, I’m hungry…” bellowed the hollow running the blade through the house a short distance away from Haruka. A brief scream was heard before it was cut off followed by a spray of blood left by a blood mark on the blade. The hollow had let go of the sword taking its free hand to push through the broken house grabbing out Haruka nearly crushing her from just holding her. “…Shinigami…”

Foul breath exhaled like a ravenous mist that threatened to suffocate her. ‘…Haku…’ Haruka closed her eyes and tried to pull away her head as the cracked mask opened to a deep mouth of teeth.

‘Can you fight to protect him?’

Haruka’s eyes snapped open instantly hearing the words echo through her mind suddenly. “I will!” A sharp tone in her voice rang out giving the hollow pause when her spiritual pressure suddenly increased. Her body began to glow brightly as reiatsu bleed into the air from her. It gave her the strength to break free from its grasp and quickly flash her Zanpakuto in a series of strikes along its hand. The hollow stumbled back flicking and throwing its bleeding hand about the early morning air. Haruka had come to a quick landing on the ground still seething with reiatsu before going into shunpo as a blast of fire came at her. She reappeared in front of it attempting to slice its mask in two, but caught on its arm that rose up to take the blow. Her blade only sank a little into the flesh before she came to a stop having to escape as the arm swung out to throw her.

She slid through the air with her feet trying to break herself finding the hollow charging after her when she turned her head up. Another ball of fire blasted at her giving her only a moment to react with it exploding in front of her and spilling around into tendrils from momentum. As the fire and smoke were blown away in the wind her extended hand could be seen fading from a kidou spell. The force had been dampened enough that the damage was directed away from her just in time. However, the hollow was not slowed down by this following up with a series of blasts at Haruka. She tried to use her Zanpakuto to cut them away when shunpo failed her, but she became overwhelmed quickly with the final fireball exploding on her. A moment later smoke burst from the cloud trailing away until revealing Haruka falling out of the sky towards the ground.

Haruka forced her eyes to open not certain what had happened to her after the blast. Pain surrounded her cycling between dull and spiking causing her to spasm a little before she realized that she was being held. She looked up trying focus her eyes to see. “Haku?”

“Sorry, it’s Steph,” he said softly. Steph was quick to move through shunpo being able to confirm Haruka’s condition. He had set her next to Haku before walking away. “Thank you, Haruka…” His eyes looked over his shoulder back at Haku. “…we all have our secrets, I’d be grateful if you ignored whatever you might see…” Steph disappeared afterwards leaving the two behind.

‘Adeyaka-Sakura…’ whispered Steph in his mind as he stood atop a steel support beam left from the wrecked warehouse. The wind was viciously blowing around his clothes.

At his side she appeared only to him looking on at the hollow that they faced. ‘I promised you I’d stand with you through everything, Steph.’

‘I can’t do this alone…please lend me everything you have so that I may protect them!’

‘I’m always here at your side…we’ll always be together…’

Steph’s eyes suddenly glowed brightly in response to the surge of spiritual energy that poured off of him into the air. His spiritual pressure rapidly increased beyond the limits that he had known. The hollow had been searching around for Haruka quickly turned to the signal that Steph was creating. “Shinigami! You smell interesting. You don’t smell like a shinigami, what are you?”

“Your God of Death…” Steph had unsheathed his Zanpakuto after speaking to the hollow, the blade already glowing pink. “Strip bare my beloved, Adeyaka-Sakura!” The flower pedals from the sword spread into the air covering the area as he disappeared. Steph reappeared behind the hollow firing a kidou spell quickly before it had time to react, but it had moved enough changing the location to the stump arm as it was completely incinerated. He disappeared again while the hollow was howling pain trying to get in front at its mask. The hollow swatted him away catching his movements. Steph glided across the open sky bringing him to a stop at the hollow fired a blast at him from its mouth. He had swiftly produced a kidou barrier that took the blast effortlessly.

In smoke the hollow changed its direction and returned to the house that its sword had been sheathed. When Steph realized what was happening he tried to use kidou to stop it, but it was too late. The hollow dodged the blasts and came after him directly. The first assault saw a flurry of swings that Steph could only use his own instinct to block as the movements were too fast for him to catch. A second series of slashes were followed up with no pause as they slid back across the street. Steph was left with no opening to escape, forced to keep with parrying everything sent at him. However, the third round proved to be too much for his fatiguing body to handle breaking his guard and sending his Zanpakuto spinning off embedded in the side of a house. The hollow continued through with his swing literally cleaving Steph in two from shoulder through to the hip in a clean cut that left a stunned look in his eyes as blood sprayed from all sides.

“So much for being a God of Death,” laughed the hollow. The laughing was suddenly cut short when it roared to the clouds in pain finding that its sword arm from lying on the ground blood spraying thickly from the shoulder. It felt something next to it and turned to find Steph standing on its shoulder, his small frame barely fitting on it. “What?! I killed you!”

“You can’t kill death,” Steph retorted before he was cut off by a blast of fire that left only his torso on the shoulders. Steph’s remains were slow to fall away hitting the ground dully. A kidou blast came out of nowhere removing another large part of the hollow collapsing it to the ground. From the shadows Steph walked out staring down at the hollow.

“What…are you?”

“A simple shinigami…you see my Zanpakuto is a type that affects the nervous system or more specifically the senses. So you weren’t actually fighting me, but hallucinations.” The two bodies of Steph fell apart into pedals as the affects began to fade away. “If I gather them together their effects becomes more multiplied and potent and it easy for me to make you think you’re seeing the real one. This ends now hollow!” Steph swung his sword cleanly cutting the mask leaving it to disappear into reishi. ‘…thank you…’ The moment his Zanpakuto was sheathed he collapsed to one knee with his reiatsu bursting and evaporating into the air. His labored breathing returned immediately nearly making him cough.

“Bravo!” said a strange voice from the distance that was accompanied by some clapping. “The three of you were able to defeat Beltennae. So the shinigami sent a bunch of weaklings to deal with the hollow problem. We were hoping to catch something bigger with the bait, but perhaps we just need different bait.”

Steph pulled himself up sharply trying to identify the voice. He tilted his head up finding a white shadowed figure in the sky. ‘Who is he?’ Steph leapt up going into shunpo before appearing in the sky to stand face to face with the stranger. The humanoid looking appearance of the individual gave him pause and the sword at his side made him question things quickly.

“Oh you can still move? My, my, my you are a curious one like Beltennae said.”

As Steph was trying to read the situation there was a sudden invisible wave that hit him through his senses. It was the reiatsu of the stranger and it hit him heavily. “This feeling, you’re a hollow! Or are you an arrancar?”

“And here I thought we had faded from the mind of you shinigami. I’m quite honored you still remember that we exist. Yes, little shinigami, I’m an arrancar.”

‘I’m in no position to be fighting an arrancar! Even if I was not tired!’ Steph took the only action he could and delayed things hoping not to be forced into an engagement. “What do you want?”

“Well it seems that most of our bait has been killed at this point thanks you shinigami. Unfortunately, the trap didn’t catch nearly a large enough prey. I guess there’ll still be some fun to be had with the worms. Little shinigami, entertain me!” The arrancar stretched out his arms in a welcoming manner like he was inviting him.

Steph did not like how quickly it was turning bad for him. ‘I need more…’

‘Your body can’t take it again, Steph! You’re already at your limit from the last fight. Anymore could kill you and destroy your soul!’

‘I don’t care!’

“I’ll even give you the first shot, little shinigami. You’re something like what do they call it…Seated Officer right? From what I saw I’d guess something like fourth, maybe third hmm? If you were able to take down Beltennae.”

“I’m a seventh seat actually,” Steph corrected.

“Oh? Really? So there are six others with even better reiatsu than you? You’re not lying to me are you, little shinigami? I do hate liars.”

“I’m a complicated case.”

“You do have me intrigued. You’re far stronger than a seventh rank.”

“Depends on your point of view I guess. If you’re going strictly by spiritual energy I’d hardly belong as a seat officer.”

“However, there’s something more to you or else you wouldn’t have been able to defeat Beltennae even in the battle fatigued state he was after your friends fought him.”

“Let’s leave it at that,” Steph said not wanting to go into history with an enemy. He was only playing along with the arrancar in hopes that the Seireitei would send back up. However, he was running out of rope and the arrancar seemed to be getting more and more interested in a fight with him. ‘I just have to keep him going a little longer…’

“Aw, don’t like talking about personal things, little shinigami. Well let’s see if we can see more of that uniqueness.” The arrancar pounded his chest with his hand quickly in a motion to encourage Steph. “I said I’d give you the first shot and I keep my word. So hit me anywhere you like.”

There was an incredulous look on Steph face hearing what he had from the arrancar. He narrowed his eyes quickly not going to pass up the chance. ‘Please! Adeyaka-Sakura I need your help!’

‘Steph…’

‘I won’t die, I promise!’

She gave in reluctantly to his request forcing spiritual energy into him at a painful level that made his bone rattle it seemed. Steph balled up his hands to fight through the spikes of agony that washed through every pore and muscle of his body as reiatsu began to glow around him and bleed off into the air. The arrancar looked pleased to see that Steph was taking him seriously. ‘This is an all or nothing shot!’ Steph’s lips began to move as he started the chant for a kidou spell. He was not holding anything back taking the time to give it full strength from the chant, however he did not know how it would work on an arrancar. “Hadou #33 Soukatsui!” The blue energy gathered quickly into his palm becoming a violent ball before shot from his hand towards the smirking arrancar.

The arrancar was lit up by the incoming attack, painted pale blue, until his eyes widened in the last moments when he checked the strength of the attack. However, there was a sudden explosion that enveloped the arrancar completely leaving Steph to wait hoping that he killed it. Smoke hung around like a cloud for much like than he would have preferred heightening the anxiety and uncertainty. “Urgh…you’re…a strange one indeed…” As the cloud finally began to clear away the arrancar was still alive, but half of his clothes had been burned off and he was completely missing his left arm. “If I hadn’t moved in time you might have killed me… That was a Captain-like strength and yet not the power… Little shinigami, your power is indeed no greater than an average hollow and yet sharp enough to destroy my arm. You should make for interesting bait indeed.” The arm of the arrancar suddenly grew back and he tested it out quickly. “That’s better!”

“High-speed regeneration!”

“Yes! Really quite useful! But it seems you’re all out of energy!” The arrancar disappeared too fast for Steph to hope to follow and appeared in front of him. His fist already deeply sunk into Steph’s stomach forcing up blood as he coughed before passing out. “Yes, most interesting.” Haku and Haruka appeared in the sky on opposite sides of the arrancar. “Don’t worry I was planning to come visit you two next.”

“Give back Steph!”

“Oh? You want little shinigami huh? Well why not. I like making people happy!” He tossed Steph over to Haruka and disappeared taking out Haku and then Haruka only to catch Steph once more before it was all done. “Honestly I think three shinigami is more than enough I don’t know why we need the other like dozen. But I guess I should be getting back, he’s pretty scary when he’s kept waiting.” The arrancar hulled off all of three of them disappearing into the morning sky.


“Ugh…Adeyaka-Sakura? Am I dead?” asked Steph out loud as he suddenly began to come around.

“Steph!” a voice shouted with relief as they approached him.

“Huh? Ugh…erh…” Sharp pains ran through his body quickly when he tried to lift himself up from what he was lying on. He had wisely decided to give up the attempt when the pain became too much. His eyes were able to focus after a minute to see that it was Haruka knelt over him. “Haruka? What’s going on?”

“I’m so glad that you’re alive! We all tried to heal your body, but it all failed. All we could do was bandage you up.”

“We?” he said weakly unable to look around very well. Steph was getting the sense that there were more than just Haruka present.

Haruka nodded to him. “Yeah, the entire mission team.”


“Huh? What’re you talking about?”

“Well—“

Haku approached Steph looking down at him varying expressions in his eyes. “We’ve all be captured best we can tell. No one was killed and it seems the arrancar are holding us in some sort of barrier that they erected in a part of Shibuya where the researchers were investigating.”

“Why aren’t we dead?”

“I’d like to know that as well, its uncharacteristic of hollows or arrancar to take prisoners. But that’s the situation we’re in now.”

“I’d like to know that as well, its uncharacteristic of hollows or arrancar to take prisoners. But that’s the situation we’re in now.” Haku sighed. He slid to the floor and wrapped his arms around his knees. "This is an unfortunate situation." Haku smiled, inclining his head towards Steph Whitestone. The little shinigami seemed to be in the throes of despair. Haku reflected that it was an emotional state they should all feel. "You realize you failed completely, Steph?"

Haruka seemed speechless and Steph did not respond but his eyes tightened. Haku laughed musically and gave the barrier his third inspection. A strong kido barrier but not without it's weaknesses. He leaned back against it and touched his left hand to it. "You disregarded what would've been a direct order. You put yourself and the team into direct danger. You failed."

"I saved-" Steph began, but was stopped by a wave of Haku's right hand.

"I failed as well. As did we all. The brunt of it is my fault." Haku assured him. "But it's not all that bad." Haku said as he felt the index finger of his left hand burn through the barrier. Inside, his mind was turning and twisting with thoughts. The barrier could be dissolved. They could all escape. His initial glee and inner joy was punctuated with a single dark question. 'But after all, why should we? Why should we turn tail?'

"How is it not all that bad?" Haruka spat.

Haku rejoined his thoughts with his words and voiced his true opinion. "Our mission has been updated. This isn't a killing spree anymore. We can't afford that objective. While we are stuck here we will be the Gotei 13's spies."

"That is the stupidest thing you have ever said." Haruka growled. "There's no one to report to, no way to escape! Honestly, do you really think they'll let us live?"

"What else do you expect us to do?" Haku asked airily. "Play chopsticks?"

"He's right." Steph muttered.

Haku drew Mayonaka Naru and let it glint in the light. He looked at it thoughtfully. "Already, these arrancar are at a severe disadvantage."

"We still have our Zanpakuto." Haruka said, hopefully.

"They don't consider us a threat and I wonder..." Haku paused, a knowing smile still playing gently on his lips. "Have they even considered how the Captains will respond to such an act? Or are they counting on it?"

The question hung in the air and seemed to restore a little morale to the inmates of the barrier. Haku knew they couldn't count on the Captain's reactions... But it was a nice thought. He held Mayonaka Naru up a bit and inspected it. The sensation was ever so more potent, stuck in this cage. Fear burned down his arm and seemed inflame his mind. He kept it cool and brushed most of it aside.

"What are you going to do?" Haruka asked.

"Obtain a Shikai." Haku said simply, as if it were the most elementary question.

'Witch. Hear me.'

'What ho? Desperate are you?' The voice hissed. 'As if I would just lend you my power!' A harsh cackle made Haku's hair stand to attention.

'You will do exactly as I command, Witch.'

'Then come, Shinigami, and explain why I would do such a thing.'

Haku's eyes slowly closed and he could see before him the eldritch palace hall decked with slimy gray and black putrescence. Voices howled in misery in the background as stroboscopic bouts of lightening flashed around him. The otherwise gorgeous marble floor was wet with decomposition and soiled with melting remains that had dripped from the putrid decaying bodies hung from the grand vaulted ceiling above. The air was humid and cool. Beyond the causeway, past the symmetrical hallway formed by the temple's Solomonic colonnade, seated at the throne and wearing a black-gemmed crown, was Mayonaka Naru. She now appeared wrapped in layers a brown linen rags like a beggar. Her crown rested atop her habiliment's shabby cowl and red eyes peered from underneath it. Her great insectile body stretched as she rose from her cathedra. More centaur-like in form with her shining black carapace, spider-like in face with jowled fangs, Mantis-like with her great folded arms, Butterfly-like with her spread terrible jewled wings, she stood beckoning Haku.

"You ignore me! You force me from your mind and now demand I should help!?" Her voice chewed with shrill pitch and gravelly timbre.

"I demand you help me. As I am bound to you, you are bound to me." Haku spoke bravely. She scuttled forward and waved her arms threateningly, like a spider on attack.

"Suppose I don't like being bound to you?" She cried. "Suppose I think the best thing is to be rid of you."

"Then you would cease to be and we would both pass from all worlds into nothingness." Haku said, firmly. He had found his ground and would stand it. Mayonaka reacted slowly and almost...submissively.

"I have some demands of my own." She hissed. "If you want my power now...a deal must be struck."

"State you terms, Witch." Haku breathed.

"You will listen to my voice when I speak and you will respond. Failure to do so will kill us both, I promise." It said slowly. "Listen when I speak and respond and my power is yours."

"Very well...Mayonaka Naru."

The beast disappeared only for Haku to feel something towering over behind him... Only to feel things that must've been hands upon his shoulders... He quickly spun around to see the thing spread out to it's full fifteen foot heighth.

"Shall we shake on it?" It chewed, offering a jointed claw.

Haku's eyes opened and he felt cold and shivery. Looking around to see not much had changed, he sheathed his sword and awaited with dread the first ring of that awful voice...now forever in his skull.

Haku’s finger tips felt cold. Numb. And he felt like a broken doll, all carved from such dry matter that it was totally lifeless. But hunger was the only discomfort he permitted himself to acknowledge. Static formed in his mind as he turned his thoughts to his matron witch, his newest mascot worn on the ridges of his brain like a piece of flair. She had nothing to say now. It was possible she was thinking too, what else could be done? As if to counter, her voice leapt to it’s shrillest pitch.

‘Will you sacrifice Haruka to your ambitions? You could all escape now.’ He sighed, not bothering to disguise his loathing. He looked around at the other captured Shinigami. Mahonna...a few others he knew. They had no greater purpose at the moment and this many Shinigami located at the center of Shibuya would warrant a rescue.

‘You underestimate her. Besides, even if we were to try to escape she would be in as much danger that she can be. It can only get better.’ If that sounded as lame to the witch as it did to his doubts, she must’ve known it was wishful thinking. The situation was serious.

It was possible Haku was reaching his breaking point. The restless ache and bored despair was gnawing at his more proactive inclinations. Even if it was disastrous he wanted something to do, some handle on the moment to pull or push. His mind had never been fragile, but his sanity was now at a strain. Mental conditions of a prisoner of war were not fit for his ego and his patience was having a hard time of it. And always there was that itching doubt that even patience could not endure.

‘Focus on the moment and dwell on your senses.’

‘Meditation?’

‘Of a kind, Sunshine.’ Its voice wriggled sardonically.

Haku cleared his head and nodded to himself. He could feel how weak he was at the expense of the moment. He was on the edge of his world with his fingers dug in it’s turf, terrified of being sucked out of the sky of sanity. So many things had happened, had he been in a worse situation? Not really. And with his weakening patience grew righteous anger, with wicked smiles and hate.

Animated clacks thrilled through the concrete floor. Footfalls from a woman’s shoes? High-heeled and slowly closing in on them. It sounded like the ticking of clock and Haku couldn’t stand it. He clenched his fist.

“We have a visitor, friends.” Haku murmured.

“A fresh packet of Shinigami, in mint condition and unopened. Still…” A long-legged phantom walked aside the barrier and tapped at it. “They look expired.” She had unruly long black hair that curled at their ends. Her face was pale and her lips were black as her hair. Her eyebrows were crusted with bone fragments that sleekly, smoothed out her face. She batted her long eyelashes.

“Easy to say that from the other side of a kido barrier!” Steph growled. Her eyes widened, like the mouth of a hungry predator only to slowly narrow, seductively.

“Some of them are quite handsome, too.” She slinked over behind Steph and ran her fingers over the barrier. “Looking for some company, hun?”

“I wouldn’t, Steph, She probably has some sort of disease.” Haku said with a smile.

“Steph, hmm?” She purred. “Too frail looking for me, I think.” She turned on Haku. “I need a strong man, with some stamina.”

Haku rose and walked to face the arrancar. He bowed and blew her a kiss. The slight little mocking tacit cost him. A depraved grin spread over her face. “We are going to have so much fun together.” She said, matching her fingertips in front of her grin.

“You don’t touch him!” Haruka exploded. Haku frantically motioned Haruka to shut-up and sit down. But the damage was done.

“He your man, ducky?” She laughed. “I’ll take extra care of him for you. No worries.”

She wiped her hand on the barrier wall and a doorway appeared in it. Haku quickly glared at Steph and Haruka, wordlessly ordering them to stay perfectly still. The woman walked in and grabbed Haku’s hand, dragging him out of the barrier. A wave of her hand resealed the kido cage behind them.

“Come on, hun, let’s find some private place to talk.”

---------------------------------------------------------

The woman led him by his hand out of the holding cell into a bleak stone room. The decorations consisted of chains radiating from one of the walls over a rubber mat. The table near the far wall held, as one might imagine, a nice array of well-used sharp and blunt objects. Haku, inwardly felt a twinge of cowardly fear, tempered by burning tactical thoughts. She threw him over the mat and quickly closed the iron cuffs over his hands and neck. Haku recoiled at the feeling of metal against his skin. Uncomfortable and tight. She walked over and sat on the table, taking a moment to look him over. Haku’s uwagi was still in tatters and didn’t leave much covered except with blood-stained rags.

‘Witch? What about this?’ But the zanpakuto spirit was silent.

“What’s your name, ducky?” She asked, brushing her chin.

“You tell me yours first, it’s compulsory.” Haku smiled.

“I’m so excited. It‘s my first time.” She admitted. “I’ve never played with a real Shinigami before.”

“You best tell me your name or I‘ll have to make one up for you.” Haku looked up at her, his patience was out like a light. “And a rose by any other name…" His panic had torn his sanity down and his eyes were wide. “will wither and die.” The arrancar almost started in fright, but backed it down with a weak smile.

“This shinigami speaks so prettily that I‘ll tell him.” She searched the table and carefully selected a serrated bayonet. She turned her eyes back on him. “My name is Rhea. Rhea Ganser.” She strutted towards him with a sway in her hips as lethal as a sword-slash. “Enough foreplay, let’s play doctor.” She put the tip to Haku’s shoulder and pushed him back against the wall, slowly pressuring the blade. Haku rearranged his hands behind his back.

“Hmph, Just another useless hollow.” Haku scoffed. Rhea’s eye twitched and she grabbed his neck collar with her free hand.

“What’s that, hun?” She asked, tilting her head. There was a smile in Haku’s eyes as he asked:

“Ever see your blood in the moonlight, Rhea?”

“What?”

“It’s slimy black. Dark as any December day or summer night. Could anyone really tell the difference between you and a hollow, then? You‘re just the same. All the same.”

Haku felt the point push against his skin, slowly increasing in pressure until it broke through with a soft pop pushing past flesh and bone, the serration slipping over tissue and widening the wound between spurts of warm blood. She was shoving so hard that the blade finally locked into the wall behind him. Haku sighed affectedly as the ice cold blade sliced into him.

“What?” She repeated. Haku’s head dropped as she pulled it out of his shoulder, lengthening his wound. ’Witch, help me now.’ Blood rushed out of his shoulder like water from a breached dam.

“No more interruptions, I’m trying to create.” She mused. “To create a flesh sculpture from a piece of trash.” She spat in Haku’s hair.

She flung the soiled bayonet to clatter on the floor. She went for a new tool when the door opened and Haku heard the voice of the arrancar that had attacked Steph.

“I see you’ve already started, Rhea. How disgusting.”

“Don’t look down on me for having fun!” She pouted.

“Did you even ask if he had any last requests?” The arrancar joked. She turned to Haku and dropped to her knees to make eye contact.

“Do you?” Haku shrugged his shoulders as he worked his hands up his back.

“Whatever you do, don’t hurt Steph Whitestone. He’s so frail. He’s my best friend, we’re like brothers. I’d do anything if you leave him alone.” Haku wailed, convincingly.

“The other male with blonde hair?” The arrancar asked. Rhea nodded. “I’ll take care of him.” The arrancar laughed. “He will suffer.” With that, the arrancar was gone. Haku smiled inwardly. ‘We’re even now, Whitestone. And that will get him out of the barrier.’

“Now, where were we?” She asked in the spirit of cliché.

“My last requests.” Haku reminded her. “Anything to drink or eat, would be nice. I‘m really hungry and thirsty.”

A quick fluid movement and Haku had a wakizashi stuck in his chest like a pin in a pin cushion. She also picked a large pair of scissors and leaned in. Three audible clicks of the blades and three new gashes appeared on Haku’s arms. Afterwards she simply jammed the shears in his back. Haku’s head dropped low once more.

“What do you expect from all this?” Haku’s voice squeaked, pitifully. “What do you even want with us?”

“This?” She smiled. “This is just R&R. We brought you here for bait. Some of us think a soul’s state as a Shinigami is unnatural and that if there were no more of you, all souls would naturally become like us.”

‘I will help you now, Sunshine.’

His hair fell, covering all his features as his head slowly bobbed low. Softly, a quiet sobbing grew. It was so sad and painful, synching with the trembling of his head.

“Was I too hard on you already? Ready to pass out?” She gloated.

No answer.

“Are you out?”

Once again, no answer, but the sobbing grew louder and his head was shaking harder. As the sobbing grew in intensity, it became more apparent… It wasn’t sobbing at all. But gratingly high chuckling, creaking like a squeaky hinge. Rhea backed away and grabbed another sharp tool, holding it out like a shield against Haku, who was now practically howling with laughter. When the laughter spiraled to a close, a low voice mumbled out:

“I’m going to kill you.” The arrancar laughed in spite of herself. “No…” The low laugh came back in. “Not just kill.” He looked up and his eyes were red with strained blood vessels. “I’m going to tie you up and work you over till you break.” Anyone could read it in his eyes. Haku was now…completely insane. “And every time you scream, I’ll drink wine… Every time you beg for mercy…I’ll laugh out loud. You PITIFUL LITTLE INSECT!!!!!!” The last was voiced in such a high mad shriek that Rhea grabbed her ears. Slowly lowering her hands…she suddenly felt very foolish.

“How will you do anything!!? You’re chained to a damn wall!” She yelled, fear showing in her eyes. She dropped the tool she had picked and unsheathed her zanpakuto. It had suddenly occurred to her to kill him immediately. The fun had drained out of it. She put all her strength in a downward slice that would’ve cleaved anything in half…had her wrist not been caught by Haku’s freed right hand as he stood up, still with wakizashi and shears sticking out of him like quills out of a porcupine.

“Not anymore.” He shoved her back into the table of tools. She landed on a few of them, cutting herself. Recovering, she saw Haku draw his soul slayer. “Reveal our Threat, Mayonaka Naru!” Haku shouted…

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Haku held his hands together supine, cupping a puddle of blood. It wasn’t slimy black, but cardinal red and it smelled like hot salted copper dashed with acid. Haku brought his hands to his lips and sipped it like it was a hot soup. Even the touch of liquid to his lips healed a little of the chapped skin and the feeling of fluid running down his throat…soothed. All the blood he had lost, all the time spent without food or drink…in the current situation, it was the best that could be managed. He slurped his hands empty and then dried them on his hakama.

Rhea was trussed and draped over the table like a turkey for stuffing. She was dying…slowly, mere steps away from the metaphorical “bright light”. Haku cleared his throat and coughed. Mayonaka Naru was reposed in the corner, watching quietly.

Haku’s face twitched…unsubtle micro-expressions traded places until he casually gave a short laugh. The sort you would spare a friend who told you a bad joke. Not committed. Haku hummed to himself as he picked at the instruments littering the table. Liston knives, scalpels, marlin spikes, clamps, metzenbaum scissors, orbitoclasts and other surgical impedimenta lay scattered.

How about a posthumous lobotomy? Haku’s cold fingers curled around the orbitoclast and held it in his fist, lowering the point of the probe into the corner of Rhea’s dying right eye. It shoved past the eyelid and pushed the optic organ aside and stiffly proceeded onward until it reached the sphenoid plate at the back of the eye socket. Haku slapped the probe’s handle, splitting the bone and forcing the pick up to the handle in Rhea’s eye. He grabbed a Liston Knife and twirled it between his fingers. Humming louder. Rhea was out. Her eyes stared marble still and straight ahead. Haku’s hum escalated into upbeat singing as he started carving shapes in Rhea‘s ever paling flesh.

“Ripped and stitched and cut and sewn.
We’ll all go blind from the things we’re shown.”

He stabbed the knife into her chest and reached for another, this time using it like a paintbrush and slitting little designs.

“Grim grinning ghosts and poor hollow fools” He said, shaking his head while sympathetically smiling into Rhea’s dead face.

“Reduced to piles of gore and pools
Sharp brittle bones”

He tore the knife down her torso in a nice vivi-sectioning cut, avoiding the gaping wounds that were present before Haku started. The last line of his song, he whispered…

“We’ll all go blind from the things we’re shown.”

He felt an insectoid claw seize his wrist, plunging it into the leaking blood. Haku’s hands deftly scrawled upon the walls, red letters…sloppily written. It took only a minute or so before the claw released his wrist and Haku felt himself alone in the room, the room so brightly decorated with remains and shed tissue. He saw the message scrawled on the wall and fell to a sitting slumping posture upon the cold stone floor. On the walls, in red, read:

“Sometimes, Sunshine, a little crazy is better than dead.”

(Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Writer's block.)

Another arrancar appeared behind Haku. He looked at Rhea's body then shook his head. "Poor, woman. She was on of my favorites." He said, appearing sympathetic. "If only I had come sooner." The arrancar's reiatsu made the air dense. "I suppose-" He crossed his arms casually across his chest. "It was her fault. I gave specific orders not to let any of the Soul Reapers out of the cage." His voice seemed unmuffled behind his mask.

Bright green eyes glared at Haku. "Soul Reaper, what nuisances. It would have been better off if we had just killed you in the Living World." His reiatsu grew denser. "I should put an end to your life, but he would not be happy." The arrancar put a hand on Haku's shoulder. "I implore you to submit and cooperate. Unlike Rhea, you cannot beat me."

~xXx~

(I'm just going to skip forward with Mugen and Rei.)

Mugen and Rei were visibly the one of the two that were mostly unharmed of the group. They were lucky. However, the others were not. Rei spent most of the time healing the other's injuries. She wasn't the best, but it was better than nothing.

Mugen sat in a corner, thinking. Thinking of a way out, thinking how to survive. Trapped against the odds. His train of thought was broken when he felt a powerful reiatsu in the distance. His chest tightened. A power so immense that he could be affected from the cage... his hope dropped. "We are going to die here..." He said, almost whispering as if the very statement was taboo.

(Edited for Mistress Sheena, sorry bout that.)

(My group's unharmed too, you know. Pretty much everyone is. Mugen and Rei aren't that special. =P)

She couldn't fathom how she ended up here. A yawn escaped from her lips as a harsh pound emerged from her head. That's right, she was knocked out from behind by a coward. How else would she have been defeated and locked up in a cage with all of her other friends?

Shino slowly stood up from the ground and looked around at the surroundings. She couldn't really recognize the area of which they were detained. Or even why they were detained in the first place. Was it some sick joke from a twisted pervert?

In any case, it looked like a Kido barrier of some kind. She had no idea how strong it was, so to gauge it, she walked up to it and put her finger up to it. A ripple effect trailed her finger as she ran the tip across the colored energy.

“So, you're finally awake, sister.” said Mai as she walked over to Shino, leaning her head on her shoulder.

“How long was I out for?” Shino paid her no mind and ran her fingers through her red hair, deep in thought.

“A few hours, I suppose. Probably longer than that, I imagine.” Mai's hand subconsciously explored her sister's body, running along her side and lower back. A trial of kisses led from Shino's shoulder to her neck. “Definitely much longer than a few hours...” she droned as her arms wrapped around her sister as she nibbled on her ear.

A flare of heat surged through Shino's body and went straight for her face. She attempted to escape the grip, but Mai had her cinched tight. She was a slave to her sister's bottomless libido. “N-N-Nee-chan... what are you doing? Why can't you do this with someone else?” she pleaded as she continued to escape the waist cinch.

“I did... but I want a girl this time. You know I like to have one of each.”

Shino's face continued to be red with embarrassment. She pried Mai's fingers apart from each other, but couldn't separate them far enough to escape.

“Gomen ne, Nee-chan...” Shino released her limiter and released all of her reiatsu in a single flash. The pressure of it caused Mai to release her grip and lower herself to the floor. “Ow... why do you reject me, Shino?” Mai crawled on the floor and gripped Shino's thigh to aid herself upright.

“Because you're my sister, nee-chan! I went over this already!” she exclaimed with flushed cheeks.

While her reiatsu was released, she looked around the ground for her zanpakutou, but realized it was still in its shikai form on her hands. Saved her the trouble of looking for it. She pulled on the gloves to make sure they were secure, as she looked upon the barrier of Kido.

“Don't, Shino. It's a really strong barrier. You won't be able to break it with your fists alone.” Fukumi piped in.

“You don't know til you try.” she quipped as she glared at the barrier. Her fingertips ran along the surface of it, going around in the circle to find the weakest point. She found the weakest point of the barrier near Haruka's area.

The aura between her rival friend had changed over the years, and she wondered what things she had gone through. From the looks of it, she got herself a boyfriend, which was just fine for her.

Steph was there as well. However, Shino didn't have that warm tingly feeling she had whenever she saw him last time. She put her limiter back on and locked her reiatsu away and walked toward him. Her eyes ran along his short stature. Even if it was over a year since she last saw him, he still looked the same from back when she saved him from bullies.

“Steph-kun. ...What happened to you?” she tilted her head in inquiry. “You don't feel cute anymore...” she spoke softly that only he could hear. She ruffled up his hair for old time's sake before she removed her limiter again and struck her palm at the weak point of the barrier.

A resounding thud echoed through the area. The ground shook from the strength of the impact. A few cracks showed themselves, as they dropped to the ground and showed a very small hole that a mouse could crawl through.

Just then, a loud tingling sensation ran through Shino's hand and arm, and the rest of her body. Suddenly, her arm felt really hot as water seeped through her eyes.

“FFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-” she shouted so loud that the next block over could hear.

“....I told you so, Shino. But... at least you made a dent, I guess.” Fukumi quipped as she walked over to her rival's side and patted her on the shoulder. Shino turned over with watery eyes and an awkwardly bent forearm and a red swollen palm.

“It's okay, girl. You did good.” Fukumi patted Shino's back as she quietly sobbed from the pain.

Haku had his arms wrapped around his knees, trying to keep warm, rocking back and forth. Rhea Ganser was spread around the torture chamber…some of her was covering Haku’s skin…drying to a hard rust-colored crust. It passed Haku’s notice when the third arrancar burst into the room. He heard the worthless filth that spewed from the monster’s mouth, but it sounded more like a static white noise than language. Only the last sentence seemed to come into focus.

“Unlike Rhea, you cannot beat me.” At the proclamation Haku exploded into a fit of frantic laughter. 'Kill him?' He thought, irony killing his sanity.

“Ha! You have no idea what’s happened here.” Haku’s voice cooed. The hollow sounding voice was cold and detached. It echoed and settled until the room fell in silence. “Something’s been unleashed that will rock all the worlds to their cores.”

A gentle breeze of reishi surged and whipped about the room like a private hurricane, mixing with the arrancar‘s reiatsu. Haku kept slowly rocking to and fro, shivering as if he were encased in ice. So cold… Haku’s head raised and honed in on the intruder. Haku’s expression was pained and tears were streaming down his face. He slowly rose, stretching himself to his full six feet. His right hand went to the grip of Mayonaka Naru. There, he found a terror so blindingly intense that he howled…almost in pain.

“I bet it‘s difficult...” Haku snarled, biting back fear. “Keeping your head when you’re in over it. What color is your blood, arrancar?” Haku tried to unsheathe his sword. But... No! Haku couldn’t muster the strength to draw his zanpakuto. Too cold. Too frightened. Too tired. Too hungry. His green eyes tightened to sharpened epicenters of hate as he ripped Mayonaka Naru, unwillingly, from her scabbard. “I refuse to loose to some scum-sucking…“ He shot forward only to topple over himself and smack the floor violently. “…black-blooded…” He crawled up onto his feet and stumbled forward like an undead zombie. “Son of…” Unable to finish his sentence, he collapsed. His vision dying as he utterly blacked out.

"Pitiful child." The arrancar said in a low voice after Haku had collapsed. "You can't even control the power lurking inside of you. Albeit, if you could, it wouldn't matter. You will die, just like the thousands of Soul Reapers I've devoured before." The arrancar grabbed Haku by his hair and dragged him back to the reishi cage where the rest of the Soul Reapers where held.

"I see you've been trying to escape." He aid running his finger along the cracks. Immediately after pulling his hand away, the crack began to repair. He opened the barrier enough to throw Haku's unconscious body inside. "Keep an eye on that boy, I don't want him killing you all before our plan has come to fruition." He said, stuffing his hands in his vest pockets.

"I suppose I have to stay here and babysit you brats."

The situation seemed to be growing grim by the moment for them. There were over a dozen shinigami in the barrier, but none of them could do much to change their position. They had all been exhausted beyond the point of being able to fight. Only a few seemed to have the strength to manage more than walking and talking, namely Shino.

Steph was unable to do anything in his condition. He would have tried to stop Shino from breaking her hand on the barrier, but he came to settle into the belief that it would not have matter. In their academy days he knew that Shino was pretty head strong and had issues with following orders. It was doubtful that she would have listened to him. A fact that only made Steph more internally angry. ‘I wasn’t able to protect anyone… I was worthless and now more will die because of me…’

He closed his eyes pushing his head back a little, which was about all he could manage apart from moving his mouth. The damage that he had taken from the last attack left nearly every muscle in his body torn and his bones cracked or fractured. It was amazing that everything inside him was not a fine powder. There was so much pain through his body that it felt like he had gone beyond it and passed into an empty void with all feeling cut off. ‘…see I didn’t die…’

“You would have died from the pain long ago if I had cut the nerve endings so you can’t feel anything!” Adeyaka-Sakura had pulled him into his inner world. She was standing a safe distance away from him on the upside down island that held a lone tree in perpetual spring bloom. The sakura petals seemed to be darker than usual barely twisting in the melancholic wind.

Steph stood up so that he could face her. The look of fear and worry on her words alone were enough for him. Seeing her pained twisting face only made him hesitate even more. “Hey… You worried about me?” he said trying to play off his own emotions coolly.

The fake casualness in his voice made it harder for her to stand. “…stupid…jerk…” She walked unevenly over to him falling to her knees to wrap her arms around him tightly. “…of course…I worry…”

He remained standing silently with his Zanpakuto. The wash of emotions in the air made it unnecessary for anymore words. ‘…I know…’ Waves of petals blew around them as the time slowly turned away for them. Once Steph could speak again he looked down at her. “It’ll be alright. I’m alive still. We’ll find a way.”

“You don’t understand!” she shouted back up at him trying to bury the distress. “The strain of what we did wasn’t just to your body. Your Hakusui Soul Sleep was severely damaged from the overload. Your’s couldn’t handle how much spirit energy was pushed through and for how long. I don’t know if it’ll ever be repaired!”

The news stunned Steph. He was unable to react or move as it passed through him. “…you’re saying that I may no longer be able to be a shinigami and I’ll lose you?” There was another pause in Steph as she stared at him reading his reactions. However, he changed from despair to determination. “I won’t let it happen!”

“Huh? You can’t just make it all better with words!”

“It doesn’t matter! I won’t let it happen, period. End of discussion!”

“But that won’t change anything! You can’t will it—“

“I already said it. I won’t lose you again!”

Adeyaka-Sakura could not say anymore to him seeing how serious he looked back at her. She managed a weak smile for him as he returned it back. He disappeared from the inner world leaving her alone. Once alone she stood up to look around among the horizon filled with endless pink colored trees. “Are you finally remembering, Steph? Perhaps you’re almost ready…”

Steph opened his eyes knowing that only a moment may have passed for him. He would have preferred more time, but it was the situation he had to deal with. There was not much he could do with his body in its condition. A small sigh escaped his lips as he caught Haruka’s watchful presence. He was not able to manage much, but he dully shifted his hand to rest on Haruka’s hand. She looked down at him with surprise and then slowly easing comfort.

The tension in the room was gradually increasing as the time passed on. Everyone’s silence was not helping matters. Steph casually spoke up despite his condition. “It could be because I’m not feeling so well right now…” It was a random statement that seemed directed at no one, but he specifically was eying Shino nearby, who was still nursing her hand.

It took a while, but Shino realized finally that he was talking to her. “Huh?”

“You know… beat up… thrashed…trashed…umm…worked over…I know there’s more I’m forgetting…” Steph tried his best to keep the tone light while he ignored the troubles he was having breathing.

“What’re you talking about?”

“What you said before…you know…”

“I said before?”

“Yeah, about not looking cute…I guess shotas lose their charm when taken to an inch of their life…” he joked trying on a brief laugh that was a mistake for him.

Shino narrowed her eyes over at him forgetting her pain for a moment. “Just what are you implying!”

“Oh I don’t know!” Steph would have shrugged if he could move his shoulders. ‘Well it got her mind off the pain…’ There was no more time left for them as an arrancar returned with Haku in tow, though it was not the same arrancar that he left with. The worse condition that Haku came back in made everyone gasp in pause. Haruka was quick to come to his side after he was tossed in.

It seemed that he was in state to not do much more than exist. Whatever had been done to him brought him back with part of him missing. The unease of his presence was enough to set everyone on edge around him. There was no need to read him too deeply as his words and shifting eyes were more than enough for most. It left Haruka in conflict. She tried to help him, but he seemed too violent at times to get near while others just crying balled up in a corner. Solitude ended up being the only thing that anyone could give him, though inside a barrier that proved a little challenging.

A second arrancar stepped out from the shadows approaching the one that had decided on keeping watching. He looked around at the shinigami and took note of Haku being back inside. In a casual and disconnected tone he spoke indirectly to the other arrancar. “What happened to Rhea?”

“She let her hobbies get the better of her.”

“I see…seems she had some fun with him before… He was an interesting one, tried to get me to leave his little friend alone. Sadly there isn’t really much left of his little friend. The little shinigami was interesting, but seems like he’ll die before too long with the way his spiritual energy is disappearing.” The arrancar started to walk away looking bored. “Had hoped for something to cure this boredom…” He walked off disappearing into the morning city.

“Still unsettling as ever…” commented the remaining arrancar.


The Senkaimon had already been ordered for Captain Hitsugaya before he arrived back from the Captain’s meeting. Matsumoto was quick to arrive behind him, appearing out of shunpo. She kept his brisk pace with him watching him ignore the guards. It had been reported only twenty minutes ago that arrancar had appeared in the Tokyo region of Japan. The news put the entire Seireitei into a panic as the Arrancar Wars of old were not easily forgotten. Head Captain Yamamoto wanted the threat dealt with quickly and ordered out a Captain and Vice-Captain to handle the situation.

Once they were through the Senkaimon into the human world Hitsugaya began to search out the arrancar’s spiritual pressure. Matsumoto stepped up beside him a little concerned at the lack of support. “Captain, there were three readings. How come there are only two of us?”

“Situations change, one of the arrancar seemed to have disappeared.”

Matsumoto ran her hand through her hair casually looking a little bothered by her assignment. “I’m not fond of the idea of fighting arrancar. They’re so troublesome. Why didn’t they send another squad?”

“Because some of our own squad is here. They detect a slight presence of the original mission team nearby the arrancar.”

“Shouldn’t the other Captains have come then too?”

“Stop complaining, Matsumoto!” Hitsugaya tried to contain his anger, both directed at her and his own predicament. He had been left as the last one remaining in the Captain’s meet and forced to deal with the matter. Kenpachi had declared if his men had been captured they were worthless to him and should die, so he was not going to bother rescuing weaklings. Byakuya had very similar sentiments, but addressed them in an even colder manner than Kenpachi. Soi Fon expressed that her men knew that death came with each mission and a failed mission meant death, so she did not care either. As for Ukitake, he was not even at the meeting as he was too sick to attend. Thus it was left to Hitsugaya, the only other Captain with members on the mission, to rescue the entire mission team and defeat the arrancar. He could not help but let out a sigh aware of his own misfortune.

She tried to say something to him, but he disappeared. Matsumoto gave a shrug and followed him. The spiritual pressure began to arrive as they sought each other out. Hitsugaya came to a sharp halt as the arrancar he was looking for had revealed himself. He gave Matsumoto a quick glace as a signal. She disappeared back heading for the next arrancar.

“Ah someone to relieve my boredom…” the arrancar yawned. His hand was stroking the hilt of his sword as though eager to begin while showing off his disinterest with the situation.

“You’re an arrogant one,” commented Hitsugaya.

“Perhaps, but what can you expect when all you Captains stay hiding away in your little castle? It gets really boring in Hueco Mundo when you stopped visiting.”

“You caused trouble in the human world just cause you were bored?”

“Well killing our own has its limits and shinigami make for such interesting company. And it is just no fun if the Captains aren’t here to enjoy the fun.”

“All this just to fight a Captain, huh? You’re looking to die apparently.”

“Oho, now who’s the arrogant one, little shinigami? Oh wait, there’s already one I call that. Guess I’ll have to go with little Captain then.” The arrancar returned a wicked smirk as he unsheathed his sword. The spiritual pressure from the two was quickly increasing.


Around the barrier the fighting that had begun could easily be felt along with the light show that was being displayed. The arrancar kept watch at the barrier quickly noted the change, but went back to ignoring. He was already sensing Matsumoto’s approach. “…seems it’s about to start…” He started to walk away when a light exploded from inside the barrier. Following the light was a heavy spiritual pressure that caught the arrancar off guard. “Where’s this coming from? It’s the strongest I’ve ever felt…”

Haruka was pulled back until she was flattened against the ground along with everyone else. “…S-Steph…what’s happening…to you…” A bright light from his body was surrounding him while a haze began to develop as though he was burning the air around him. All anyone could see soon was spiritual energy freely flowing out from his body unstrained and lashing out at everything. It caused the ground to crack and the others moan in pain.

The arrancar recovered enough to begin analyzing the situation that was occurring. “…I see… This is a strange occurrence, I’ve never seen a soul break down in this fashion before. It would seem the strain on his soul was indeed too great. All of his stored spiritual energy is being released wildly and out of control, but to have so much pouring out…” He examined the other shinigami and the force inside the barrier. “Hmm…well I guess since the bait worked we don’t need them alive anymore…” Matsumoto’s arrival to the location turned him away to face her. He stepped out slowly keeping careful hold on his sword as he made his approach.

Matsumoto had to adjust her sight so that she was not blinded by the light emanating from the barrier. The low muffled screams from the shinigami made her sweat in stress. She turned her gaze sharply to the arrancar. “What’s going on? What are you doing to them?”

“You don’t have much time to talk if you want to save them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Surely you can tell that they’re dying.”

Matsumoto narrowed her eyes in questioning as she did not fully understand what the arrancar was meaning. She knew that they were in pain, but the situation was new to her. “What’s happening to them?”

“Must I explain everything to you, shinigami? This is going to be a boring fight if all your brains went to where it looks…” He pulled out his sword and leveled it at Matsumoto. “It would seem one of your shinigami has lost control of his spiritual energy and he has so much available to him. In a confined spiritual barrier like this, it has nowhere to be released. So in short, they are being crushed and suffocated by him as he dies himself. I wonder how long they’ll survive!” The arrancar charged forward at Matsumoto crashing his blade into her blade causing them to slide across the road.

As the sun slowly worked its way up the horizon to spill out into the awakening city, the sounds of battle were faintly heard. Clashes of spiritual pressures ran through the streets. Debris and dust threw up in alleyways and side roads while the two shinigami battled the arrancar. Snow was slowly beginning to fall around the park from the release of Hitsugaya’s bankai. The battle continued to play out covering trees and benches in a thick layer of ice. A massive piece of ice grew out of the center park echoing a hollow ring as it faded away into dust. The pressure was released from the area and the effects of Hitsugaya’s bankai melted away.

Hitsugaya returned his Zanpakuto to its sheath on his back and walked away. “A weak arrancar…I didn’t even need a seal release for my full powers…” After his comment he disappeared into the mist searching out Matsumoto’s presence. He arrived to see Matsumoto staring blankly into the distance leaving him confused. “You kill the arrancar?” She did not respond or acknowledge him making him a little annoyed. “Matsumoto!?”

“Oh Captain!” She shook off her stunned look and tried to look down at her captain without letting it get to her. Unfortunately, it was a failed attempt as her features were shaking. “Did you say something?”

“The arrancar, did you kill it?”

“Uh…no, he escaped before I could finish him off. He returned to Hueco Mundo.”

“I see…and the mission team? Where are they?”

“…over there…”

Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes as he took in the sight before him. He turned away and looked back at Matsumoto. “…I see… I’ll report this myself… You head back…”

“But sir…”

“You can’t help me in your state.” Hitsugaya marched off away from her going to the area that she pointed him to. Matsumoto had soon walked away eventually making it back to the Seireitei. Hitsugaya arrived later along with several squad members carrying back the team. It was several days later until the notice was passed around to the affected squads.

When Hana heard the news she panicked and quickly denied what she had heard. However, when it was insisted upon her as the truth she broke down in tears. It was an hour before she was able to move. She had eventually found her way through the Seireitei to the building where they were supposed to be. The further she went in the worse it became for her making it difficult for her to go on, however she pressed on knowing that she had to see Steph for her own eyes.

In the back of the building away from everyone else was Steph. Hana tried to keep her apprehension down while she walked slowly towards the end of the room. Lying alone was Steph too still for Hana to bear. She froze up in the middle of the room with her eyes staring out towards Steph. “He looks so still…” Hana took a while to resume moving towards Steph trying to keep her hesitation from taking her over again. “He’s really…”

Once she managed to make it over to his side all she could do was fall to the floor on her knees. Her head was left resting on the sheet that covered up most of his body. “Steph…” She pulled back her tears to look at him once more. His blank silent look left her shaking. “It’s true… It really is… Why Steph?!” Hana dropped her head against his hand as her emotions overwhelmed her.

“…uh…that hurts a lot…Hana…” Steph said slowly as even the words were painful to him.

Hana had quickly lifted up her head throwing away her tears to look at him. “You’re awake!”


“Yeah…I guess I am…but could you get off my hand…”

Hana looked down to see that she was pressing a great deal of her weight on his hand so that she could look at him over the bed. “Oh no! I’m so sorry, Steph-kun!”


Hitsugaya leaned back in his chair in his office with Matsumoto dropping down reports. He finished sipping from his tea cup seeing the glaring look of the papers. He was not certain if he wanted to know which reports they were. “What are those?”

“The reports from the arrancar incident, Captain!”

“I thought so…”

“You know it’s pretty lucky how it all happened!”

“Yeah, I guess when I was fighting the arrancar the barrier must have weakened and Steph’s energy was enough to destroy it. Though I still don’t understand how it could have sent more than a dozen shinigami flying and all in the same direction.”

Matsumoto turned away a little not want to look directly at him. “Don’t remind me, Captain. It’s embarrassing to know that lower seated officers beat that arrancar.”

“I’d hardly call getting hit in the head with the heads of a dozen shinigami in sequence a method of fighting.”

“But Captain! That arrancar embarrassed me by getting defeated in such a terrible way! How can I ever live it down?”

“It’s probably why he ran off to Hueco Mundo…” Hitsugaya commented lowly to himself. “I think you’re taking it a little personally. Everyone came back alive, somehow.”

“Yeah I know, even Steph did!” said Matsumoto dropping her fist into her other palm remarking on their good fortune. “Squad Four said that all of his bones were broken or crushed. They had to get Captain Unohana herself to actually heal him and even still it’s going to be weeks before he can even get out of bed.”

Hitsugaya pulled up the top report booklet staring at it intently. “Why does this have your name on the report, Matsumoto? These are yours aren’t they?!”

“But Captain!”

The incident with the arrancar slowly passed away into distant memories. Steph managed to fully recover from his injuries, but it did keep him down for more than three months. Hana had never told him completely what happened and the others from the incident tended to not talk about it at all. She believed that he would take it too personally if he ever found out that he had nearly killed everyone. As side effect of the damage he took to his soul had caused a weakening in his powers overall. No one knew if the damage would ever be fully repaired, but it meant that he fell down in the ranks. It seemed that at least for now he was much more normal with the strange strength in his spirit energy disappearing. An effect that still persisted ten years later as he remained in dead last on the rankings, barely keeping from getting kicked out of the officers’ seat.

Scars Flown Proud

Haku consciously rubbed the three tiger-stripe scars upon his arm and audibly heard the snipping of scissors. A grim smile stretched over his face as he pulled up his calabash of Awamori to his lips and took an ugly gulp. There had been no fresh wounds, no greater scars than that day. What had happened had passed into legend and further metastasized into myth among the other seated officers and even among some of the captains.

Haku was even greeted with his share of legend. He had been promoted in rank, officially for showing leadership qualities and exemplary prowess with an emergency situation. It was a poorly disguised lie. Unofficially, he had been promoted due to suspicions that he single-handedly killed an arrancar. A feat that even the captains have to strain to accomplish. Lie or not, he was now the fourth seat of the tenth squad.

Haku preferred not to remember the events those years ago. Truthfully, false battlefield esteem aside, he had been rewired around several newfangled glitches in his mental health, all because of that episode. These ‘glitches’ disturbed him as much as anyone else, except his captain. Haku suffered another two gulps at his Awamori until the bottle had been reduced by two fingers…averaging a finger per gulp.

Hitsuguya-Taichou was trusting Haku less and less upon inspection. It was fate, perhaps that he thought of this now. The next two doorways and thresholds he was fated to pass through would take him to the Captain of the tenth squad of the Gotei 13, Hitsuguya-Taichou.

Haku airily breezed past Rangiku who had affected a light-hearted greeting. As he passed her office and into Hitsuguya’s, she called out that it was okay to go in. Inside, reposed in a chair over a desktop covered in sheaves of paper, was Toushiro. Haku had accepted that it was the little shinigami’s custom to appear non-plussed at any given moment…particularly at Haku’s arrival.

Haku bowed and rose with a twisted grin on his face. “You rang, my captain?”

The captain’s eyes narrowed as his eyebrows furrowed. “Yes, I did.” Hitsuguya shuffled some papers, squaring them away and clearing out desk space, which he quickly covered with an open file he had pulled from a cabinet beneath the desk. Extracting two papers in particular, he examined them and looked back at Haku. The glance was one of skeptical appraisal and followed with a question that shook Haku. “Do you know an Agito Makashima?”

“I know former academy alumni, Agito Taguchi.”

Hitsuguya sighed impatiently. “I have a dossier on you, Ishikawa-san.” He said, swapping files. “It’s almost completely empty and the little that’s in there comes from Arashi-Taichou. You were frequently seen in Agito’s company, is that not true?”

“Captain.” Haku said, nodding affirmatively. “Agito Taguchi mysteriously died the same year as my graduation.”

“He has requested to see you.” Hitsuguya said, finally tucking all of the files away with the exception of a single sheet of paper.

“Arashi-taichou?”

“No. Agito Makashima.”

Haku’s cheek twitched as his right eye flinched and a soft smile of understanding and forgiveness rose to his face. “The captain must be mistaken. I-”

“Agito Makashima surrendered in person to Arashi-taichou last year. Officially, he has withdrawn.”

‘Withdrawn.’ Haku thought, an acid fire raging through his brain. ‘That can only mean he’s alive in the Maggot’s Nest.’

“His only requests have involved being able to speak with you. I have his request here on this desk.” Hitsuguya rested his hand on top of the paper. “Would you accept?”

The billion neurons in Haku’s brain were clicking like billiard balls, one upon the other into a chain of deterministic domino effects until his mouth moved without hesitation. “Anything for an old friend.”

Hitsuguya’s normal expression of skeptical distrust was not sufficient. His eyes spun down into chiseled icicle points. Finally, breaking eye contact and raising an eyebrow, he began rearranging his desk in boredom. “You’re lying.” He said, deadpan. “And I don’t care.” He motioned Haku to leave. “Matsumoto will take you to see him. Don’t embarrass my squad.” He tacked the last sentence on at the last moment.

=======================================

Mahonna Kuiki plucked a black-wrapped cigarette from a package that was then shoved deep in her hakama pockets. The coffin-nail, all Turkish Latakia and Russian tobacco, sparked into flame as she put it to her lips.

She was kneeling on her futon. Her kokyu lay just to the side. She picked it up and spun it in her hands. It was a relic of times past…ancient. The bow met the strings and a mournful sound slithered from the instrument as she sawed back and forth, changing keys and notes.

She had been elevated in rank slightly. Enough to impress upon her, the difference between her and Haku Ishikawa. Since Shibuya, his career had flourished. His popularity had soared with rumors of his undeniable greatness. She cursed as she missed a note on her kokyu. He had begged for his companion’s safety, thrown himself in harm’s way, injured himself repeatedly in the line of duty, even killing an arrancar.

Fukumi had never left her side…as faithful as any true love could prove. Comforting, reassuring… But Mahonna felt so pitiful in comparison. She was too overcome with self-loathing to accept too much pity and love. That aside, she could have never survived without the comfort of her love.

She felt a hand cup her shoulder and two fingers plucked the cigarette from her hand, mashing it out in to the wooden floor of the room. Mahonna closed her eyes as she felt the hands cover her and massage.

========================================

They had passed a number of barriers and down many winding stairs until Rangiku Matsumoto left Haku standing inside the hidden grotto. He could hear the echoic dripping of water, splattering regularly like a metronome against stone floors.

Walking around him, taking no notice. were all kinds of shinigami, muttering to themselves, scratching their arms and holding intense conversations with imaginary people. An occupied cell to his left held a lonesome woman with long blonde hair. She was making long fluid motions with her hand, brushing her hair. Her hand held no brush and she was just simulating the repetitive actions as her eyes stared far away.

It was some few seconds before an elderly shinigami made her way to Haku. Haku felt a chill run the turret of his spine as she laid a hand on his shoulder, smiling. Haku bowed and she returned the greeting.

“You would be….” She paused.

“Haku Ishikawa to see Agito Makashima.”

“Oh yes…of course. This way.”

They made their way even deeper into the cave of mad death gods, their way lit by the weak flambeau that she held above her head.

“Such an odd man, this Agito.”

“Has he had many visitors?”

“Two that I know of. Arashi-Taichou saw him to his cell and talked with him for a short while.”

“And the other?”

“A shinigami named Benedict.”

‘Benedict?’ “What did he look like?” Haku asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I can’t say.” She hummed. “He wore a cowl and I never saw the face.”

“Why is he so secluded?” Haku asked, having endured walking longer than he expected and through many locked gates.

“Well, as I said, he’s an odd sort of person and Arashi-Taichou wasn’t sure that he could be forcibly subdued by our regular keepers.” While this was being explained she, unlocked the seventh gate, by Haku’s count. He could feel that each was more than a barrier of iron, but reinforced with fierce kido. “This is the last gate and he should be just down the hall.”

=============================================

“I heard someone say you killed an arrancar. That a fifth seat slaughtered an arrancar. How do you feel about that?” A certain sickness welled up in Haku from hearing that voice again. The voice he had laughed with…the voice that was his closest friend in the long academy years. It was the voice of his most trusted confidant. Agito Makashima looked sickly pale and had grown a short black beard and mustache. The effect was Mephistophelean and wicked.

“I’m not responsible for what people say. And I‘m a fourth seat, now.” Haku said stonily.

“So you deny it?”

“I have nothing to say about it.” Haku eyed the surrounding walls that sequestered Agito. Each nook and niche were scrutinized mercilessly until Agito’s voice shattered his concentration.

“You can’t fit through these bars anymore than I can, Kuishi-san.”

“You think bars will save you?”

“That would be ironic.” Agito said, looking up. There was no smug smile of victory or even happiness. He coughed, excusing himself, he continued. “I didn’t ask you here to work out details of my death.”

“But that’s why I came and why I was sent.”

“You’ll leave disappointed.”

“You’re opinion.”

“Enough!” Agito yelled, going into another coughing spasm. “You’re too proud, being what you are.”

“And what am I, Agito? I can’t wait for you to tell me everything about myself.” Agito smiled for the first time.

“You stand there thinking you are Haku Ishikawa, son of Ananko Sato and Takeo Ishikawa. A normal…” Cough… “God of…” Cough…cough…cough… “Death.”

““I have the distinct feeling my time is being wasted. How would you know anything about me?”

“You’re pretty famous in Sempiternal cave.”

Haku sighed. ‘Sempiternal Cave, the dumping ground for all of Squad Twelve’s R&D failures. So that’s where this itchy little fungus has been hiding? This is a waste of my time.’ He turned to exit back down the hall when a strained voice called out:

“You’re a thing. A project. Grown in a lab.”

Haku laughed. This was all spiraling into absurdity…It needed a pure dose of reality to ground it.

“That!?” Haku laughed, leaping like a star athlete back to Agito‘s cage. “That’s your ace in the hole?!!” He drew close against the bars and rattled them loose, his eyes glaring. “I’ve been cast into hell, blasted my way out and have an almost limitless power. Do you really expect me to care why?”

“You have a carefully quilted set of genes and an artificially grafted zanpakuto spirit. You’re wearing a recreation of an old Quincy relic called a Kurosei glove on your left hand and have a dash or two of their DNA. Did you think it was coincidence that your name shortens to Kuishi?”

“Having a very hard time caring about any of this, Agito, even if it‘s true. I’m glad you wasted your time digging this dreck up, but since I don’t get to kill you I can’t see why I should stay.”

“Because I’ve got a present for you.” He managed, mixing laughs and coughs. “From the Tone River.” Agito reached his arm through the bars, holding something wrapped in paper. Haku took it, sighing once more. He unwrapped the paper and stared at the gift, underwhelmed. Inside was a small smooth stone, a river rock. He held it up to his eyes and inspected. It was incredibly smooth to the touch but otherwise completely plain. He raised an eyebrow as he put it in his pocket and looked back at Agito.

“Is this your idea of a joke?“ Agito only chuckled in response. Haku covered his face with the palm of his hand. “You really do belong in here. Before I leave your weirdness behind, tell me… Who is Benedict?”

“A member of your knitting circle.” He answered, bluntly.

“You’d like me to believe that, wouldn’t you? Turn me against my friends?”

“Disbelieve if you dare.”

“Goodbye, Agito Makashima.” Haku reached his arm through the bars and pointed at Agito. A dramatic change came over Agito and he scrambled away from Haku, bracing himself against the far wall. Haku’s face knotted in confusion. Saying no more, he left how he had come in. The old lady Shinigami touched his shoulder, raising another chill through him.

“Did he behave himself?” She asked. Haku glared over his shoulder at her.

“Keep him locked up here for a long long time.”

A strong wind blew away the scent of sweat from the roof top. Perched in a deadlocked stance were two shadowed figures staring down at each other. The triangle shaped roof made the combat challenging for footing, but it did not seem to mind the two. It kept things interesting and swift so there was never a moment of weakness.

Once the gust came to an end it signaled the start of a charge. Sword was held low and to the side pointed behind ready for an upward swipe. As the figure approached striking distance a flower pedal grazed by his face. He adjusted his movements to avoid it while skillfully keeping his action steady. However, his movement changed and disappeared before reappearing from an angled back attack. The sword echoed loudly as it was met with the second’s blade. Upon seeing his failure he disappeared and returned back to his position. An exhausted sigh came out of his mouth. “I know I saw all of your pedals that time, Steph!” Kagashi complained.

Steph gave him a short grin back. “I keep telling you it’s not just the pedals. I can feel the disturbances in the air from the scent given off by the pedals. You have to be able to move so that you can’t even displace the air.”

“But that’s impossible!” Kagashi returned Steph’s grin with an annoyed pout.

A short laugh came out of Steph. “That’s why it’s a perfect defense. But it does have one flaw. The user’s abilities…” The words made Steph come suddenly silent.

It was something that Kagashi always tried to avoid bringing up around Steph, but it was difficult in sparring. He knew how much of a front that Steph put on for everyone. When his real feelings would break through only helped to accent how much it was truly affect him, even years after the fact. “You’ve got a parry and counter like almost no one else I know, Steph!”

Steph quickly covered up the crack in his mask and push the pleasant smile. “Yeah, I’ve still got my swordsmanship, but my ability to read my opponents movements only comes from Zanpakuto’s abilities. It’s not actually a measure of my own skill.”

“What do you mean, I couldn’t land a single blow on you the entire time!”

“…Kagashi…you were holding back on me again! I know you were.”

There was a small twitch in Kagashi’s eyelid as he was found out. It was a fact that Kagashi was not even using his shikai with Steph. Even without the shikai he restrained his abilities and strength knowing how limited Steph was. Steph would always insist on him fighting earnestly, but Kagashi could never go all out with him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Steph! We’re evenly matched!”

“No we aren’t or I wouldn’t be a twentieth seat while you’re a fourth seat. It speaks to my flaw. I may be able to know an attack is coming, but if I don’t have the strength or reflexes to meet the skill of the opponent it won’t matter.” Steph sheathed his Zanpakuto leaving the pedals to fade away into dust. “Besides we’ve been sparring for a long time now. With my Zanpakuto I know when you change your speed and movements. I know you’re always slowing down when you get into range. You’re skilled enough now to be able to control your body, I guess my being so weak has at least helped you improve.”

It was all so casually laid out by Steph that Kagashi had a little trouble dealing with it all. Steph looked happy and pleasant as though there was not a problem with what he said, but Kagashi did not like hearing Steph being so negative. “You shouldn’t be so quick to judge yourself!”

Steph jumped down off the building beginning to walk away. Kagashi joined him shortly as they leisurely walked towards the squad six barracks. “Hey I’m just saying what’s true. I mean I can’t even do a proper shunpo anymore. What little spiritual energy I have is so uncontrollable that it’s merely my sword skill keeping me an officer at this point.”

There was a certain truth in what Steph said as much as Kagashi would not admit it openly. ‘He’s focusing more on it today than he has in a while…thought he was past it at this point. Did something come up?’ Nearing the squad six barrack’s gate they came to a stop. Entering other squads was not a problem, but Kagashi had the sense that Steph was wishing to leave. “…guess this is where we part…”

“See you next week!” Steph turned away from the gate and continued down the pathway leaving Kagashi pensive. The walk back for him had been very quiet. He dropped himself on his bed resting his Zanpakuto at his side. It had been almost deafeningly silent for him. Ever since he had been hospitalized it was rare for him to hear or see the woman in his spirit world. At first it provided him with an ease that made life smoother to handle, but as the days went on and he did not see her it began to pull at him. He always felt like there was someone with him no matter where he went and he learned that he had found some comfort in expecting that to always be the case. However, as he was now it was difficult for him to make a connection with his Zanpakuto directly. While his sword still worked the link inside seemed to be as labyrinthine as his spiritual energy. ‘It’s so lonely…’

Haku awoke covered in sweat. His hand flew to his mouth as he coughed, hacking like an old man. Too much awamori on his breath even after a nice two-hour long nap. His hand lowered. Haku seized up and his blood froze. Was it the alcohol? He hadn’t lowered his hand, but it had moved upon it’s own volition and had lowered to his futon. He needed help. Squad four! He needed a medico. He started to rise up, but his body protested at first, finally deciding on flat refusal. How could someone instill horror in Haku Ishikawa? Haku had horror redefined as a ritual every time he unsealed his zanpakuto, every time he dreamed, every time he was sent on a mission. Exposure had inured him and he had learned to accept the horrible with poise, but limits exist for any real system, emotional or otherwise.

‘How do you like my present?’ Asked Agito Makashima.

Haku wrested his arms free from the imaginary filaments giving them their queues. He used his last moments of freedom to grab at his head. He could feel each muscle go cold and an unstoppable chain of coughs as he heaved forward. The seizure lasted only a second until he gave three quick shakes, like a short-circuited robot and stood. A slow grin spread across his face as he examined the fronts and backs of both his hands. He let out a compulsory chuckle.

“This is fantastic technology.” Looking about his surroundings, he noted a fourth’s seat uwagii, hakama and kimono laying near. He clucked his tongue. “So you really were a fourth seat, Haku Ishikawa? Maybe you even killed an arrancar, but you weren't just an ordinary shinigami, were you? Don’t feel too bad, wherever you are, Haku. No one can walk on water, not even a patchwork freak.”

He turned to visit Squad Ten headquarters, to visit friends…to visit enemies.

================================================== ================
Inside the Maggot’s Nest...


The matron keeper of the Maggot’s Nest coughed nastily before patting herself on the back with a crinkled hand. ‘Where has this bad bug come from? How do we spring upon these illnesses,’ she wondered. She felt herself glide over Barabbas’ cage.

He was stalking the bars of his cage, wordlessly. He had done so for countless millennia and no one had even entertained the thought of releasing him. Barabbas was a monster of a shinigami that barely fit in his twelve by twelve cell. He was a bronzed giant with a bald head and beady little eyes that peered behind weak eyelids. She could’ve bent Barabbas in half and driven him into the cave floor like a nail, in her salad days. But out of all their keepers no one wanted to share physical contact with the hulk. It made her think as to why they would cage Barabbas with plain bars but put Agito Makashima behind seven different gates, each kido’d shut. She had preformed the kido herself, it would be impossible for anyone to get in or out without her help now. All that for a puny little thing with a cough. Cough? She stopped. Her hand was reaching for her keys. Was she finally too old? Senile? Had she meant to get her keys? She stared in amazement as her arm deftly picked a key and unlocked Barabbas’s cage.

‘You are too old to resist me. Go to sleep, grandmother.’ Her eyes widened. Agito Makashima’s voice!?

She tried to relock Barabbas’ cage, but her limbs went limp and she began coughing and wheezing and hacking and crying. Her eyes resized and she swung the giant’s cell door wide. It rushed her, intent on smearing her infirm elderly body across his prison walls. Barabbas cried in surprise as the ancient woman stopped him with a single arm, picked him up and pinned him to the far wall. He kicked and writhed, roaring and bellowing but her grip was mechanically unyielding. She had enough strength in her single arm to wring the life out of the monster. Finally giving up, Barabbas submitted only to start coughing.

================================================== ================

Haku Ishikawa stopped at the entrance to the Squad Ten Headquarters. Stooping, he picked the smooth river stone from his pocket and placed it precisely on top of the threshold. Passing that, he entered the long corridors. It was midday and most were on their way out to lunch. The hallway was packed. Most of them brushed against him, a few brusquely collided shoulders in their bid to get by, one going so far as to push him. Shengo Izumi actually clapped him on the back and muttered something lightheartedly.

He made his way into the Fukutaichou office. The buxom strawberry-headed girl was picking at her teeth and leaning back in her chair. At Haku’s approach she became all smiles.

“Ishikawa-san, how are you?” Haku bowed, saying he was fine. Her eyes narrowed in slight suspicion. Haku put his hand on a corner of her desk, accidentally knocking off a pen. They both reached for it and their hands touched. Rangiku grabbed the pen and jolted upright. Her face was stern and her eyes were cold.

“Is the captain in?” Haku asked, matter-of-factly.

“No.” She answered slowly. “He won’t be in for a while.”

“That’s too bad, I have to report back.” Haku bowed again and left.

================================================== ================

Mahonna and Fukumi had made quite a lazy day of it. Spending the long hours of it in each other’s arms, stroking each other’s hair and planting soft kisses. It wasn’t the highlight of the day when she realized she hadn’t reported in for duty call at Squad Six headquarters. She didn’t want to leave. She wasn’t feeling up to it? Was that it? She left Fukumi who was tossing and turning on the double futon. Once out of sight, she lit a black cigarette and took an inaugural puff, releasing the fume slowly. It was her twenty-sixth for the day. She was cutting back. She gave a hearty cough as a coil of smoke caught up in her lungs.

“Kuiki-sempai? Haven’t you heard?” The voice broke in upon her personal reflection that wasn’t taking place. Why wasn’t it taking place? Because people could never leave her alone. She sighed impatiently. She looked up to see Hana Murasakiro, the lonely quiet girl from academy, so long ago. She had hardly said anything in the time Mahonna had known her and never to her.

“Heard what, Hana?”

Hana drew in closer and grabbed Mahonna’s arm and moved away so she could point. She pointed out the Sixth-Squad headquarters.

“Taichou has asked to see you personally for the duty roster and no one has been able to find you!”

“Kuso.” Mahonna muttered in sutto voce. “I’m on my way.” Breaking into a nice run, she coughed once more. She dropped her cigarette in a nearby pond. She really had to stop smoking.

White light from the exiting hall of the Senkaimon bathed the ground near the Squad Ten gate. Two shinigami stepped out accompanied by their hell butterflies. The male shinigami, tall and stern, quickly marched off leaving Hana behind to take her own pace. She knew that the shinigami had a personal matter to attend. There was a matter for her as well, but it continued to trouble her persistently no matter how much she tried to handle it.

The subject was Steph. Hana knew that ever since the mission to the human world with the encounter with the arrancar that Steph had come back changed. She had only joined Squad Ten at the start of the mission making it impossible for her to have joined him. It frequently became a question to her if things would have been different if she had been there for him. She wished if she had been there that he would not have had to nearly destroy himself. Unfortunately, for as much as she hoped there was never an answer that she found. All Hana could manage was to keep smiling for Steph as he did as well.

As she entered Squad Ten grounds Hana caught glimpse of a small stone placed alone among the smooth stone finish of the pathway. “Hmm? How did you wander in here?” she asked the stone as she knelt down to pick it up. It momentarily shined back at her making her tilt her head for a second. “Well let’s get you out of here before someone knocks you around.” Hana put the stone into a pocket in her shinigami clothes and continued on.

Hana passed through the busy halls of Squad Ten until she made it to the Captain’s Office. She had her report to make to Hitsugaya, left to her because of her partner’s business. It did not hurt to her too much since she enjoyed the company of Vice-Captain Matsumoto. They got along together very well early on and she was even able to join the Shinigami Women’s Association quickly. Hana knocked on the door awaiting a response from the office, but found none. “Excuse me, Captain Hitsugaya! 6th Seat Hana Asuhara has returned from her mission to the human world! I have my report if you’re not too busy, sir!” Dead silence still.

She pressed hand to the door thinking about opening it. “Strange, the Captain is almost always in his office at this time.” After waiting for a minute Hana decided it was best to open the door and risk it knowing that the Vice-Captain would probably help her out. She slid the door open slowly. “I’m sorry for intruding, sir! But there was no answer…” Hana looked about the office not finding the Captain or Vice-Captain present. She left her report on his desk next to the rest of his work and started to walk out. A last look about the office found Matsumoto sleeping on the couch in the office. Hana smiled and nodded to herself. Now finished she walked out and left to continued with her own task.

While she made her way back through the building she suddenly felt a little lightheaded. Hana pressed her hand against the wall for support until she felt better to walk. “Strange…guess it’s the mission and stress…” She shrugged it off quickly and focused on seeing Steph. There had been no missions assigned to him today so she knew that he would be in his room.

At his door she paused for a moment trying to catch her breath that was feeling a little short as of late. Her hand raised her to knock when she saw it shaking slightly to her. Hana pulled her hand in trying to steady herself for Steph. “Steph-kun! I’m back!”

The door opened a few moments later with Steph at the door smiling back to her. “Welcome back, Hana-chan!” Steph turned away once the door was opened taking up his seat on the bed.

Hana choked on her step for a moment before entering the room and closing the door. Steph room was dark and empty feeling that it tried to push out the façade of warmth that they both were emitting. She took a seat next to Steph having become much better at reading him, though it was still difficult for her at times. “What happened?”

“Hmm?” Steph glanced over at Hana seeing that she was pressing the issue. It seemed that it was becoming easier to rely on her for support, more comfortable for him. “Nothing much…Kagashi was using kit gloves on me again while we were sparring. He’s afraid of hurting me if he uses his real strength.”

“He knows how much it has affected you losing all of your power. He’s just trying not to make you remember it.”

“I know, but holding back only makes to realize it. Maybe if he actually pushed me I could find what I had lost…I don’t know…” Steph looked towards the wall where his Zanpakuto rested. “I can’t even hear her voice anymore. It’s like I’m alone.”

Hana leaned over touching her shoulder to his. “You’re never alone. I’m here for support so you don’t have to stand by yourself. Remember?”

“…yeah…” He dropped his back to his bed looking up at Hana. She turned around and straddled him staring down at him. “Thanks…”

She smiled at him seeing that he seemed a little relieved even if there was still a heavy troubled fog behind his eyes. “No need for thanks.” Hana laid down on top of him staring deeply into his eyes before pressing her lips to his. After, she wrapped her arms behind his neck and rested her head against him in silence.


Hours later Hana woke up and looked about the room and stared flatly down at the bed. “Another two…hmm two girls…it takes all types…” She continued to stare at Steph with an expectation. A cross expression suddenly arose from her face. “Why is nothing happening? The girl’s infected I can sense it.” Hana leaned down while still seated upon Steph intently staring trying to search for a meaning behind the problem. Unfortunately, there was no conclusion that was made.

‘What’s going on? Why is my body moving on its own?’ Hana said within her mind realizing soon that not even her lips were moving as she wished.

‘Awake I see, you’ve got a pretty strong will to still be so loud.’

‘Who are you?’

‘Your new owner.’ Hana reached out touching Steph still working on finding an answer while the inner self yelled internally. There was still the sense of life and the second presence within, but nothing more than that. No link could be established even with another infected. “Guess I’ll have to just cut my losses. No sense worrying over a single shinigami when I have so many already…”

From inside Hana could see poorly what was happening as though she was being held too far away. ‘Steph?! What did you do to him!?’

‘What the girl? Same thing I did to you.’

‘Give me back my body! And give me back Steph!’

‘Yeah…I don’t think you’re in a position to make demands. This is mine now so just be quiet.’ Hana stood up and walked about the room getting use to yet another body. Afterward, she walked out of the room with a driven purposeful look in her eyes.

‘What about Steph? What are doing to him?’

‘Nothing, can’t use someone in a coma…’

Haku Ishikawa slid around the columns populating the squad ten veranda. The black possessing mind animating the shinigami’s limbs could feel the strength of his numbers. They threatened the very existence of the Gotei 13. Three tenths of the entire Seireitei and the entire Maggot’s Nest belonged only to him. Not even the Captains of the squads could raze their numbers.

It was nightfall in the Soul Society. There was a little touch of fog that licked the periphery of vision, stalking the edge of the veranda. Frog throats serenaded the darkness and their batrachian voices, floating up from the pond, seemed almost an opera choir. Puny lantern flames lit the remains of the curfewed night and soft footfalls sounded.

It was a turn of the corner that revealed to Haku a sylvan blonde Shinigami slumped against a post. A calabash of sake dangled from his fingers and his eyes grimly searched around in stupefied awareness.

“Who goes there?” Asked the calm voice. The voice was orchestrally feminine in timbre. Haku faltered as he neared the shinigami. The shinigami was clothed in a red floral Kimono over a white Uwagi with a red Hakama all tied with a white obi. The shinigami was physically beautiful and at first it was difficult to distinguish gender. Only upon closer inspection was it certain that the Shinigami was male.

The Shinigami stood, letting the calabash explode into fragments upon the deck. He stretched like waking cat and locked eyes with Haku through the darkness.

“Is that you, Haku Ishikawa-san?” The airy voice asked. Haku stepped underneath the spotlight of a nearby lantern, revealing himself. The Shinigami cocked his head oddly with a blank stare and drew his zanpakuto.

“I don’t usually do this sort of thing. But I was told to detain you for questioning, deary.” He placed a manicured and dainty hand across his chest as he held out his zanpakuto with the other. “I am Ran Araragi, of the Fifth Division.”

His blood froze. It was Araragi-Taichou! The Fifth Division Captain. Haku sneered. What was the stupid little captain doing in the Tenth Squad complex!? How could they’ve found out so fast?! Haku’s eyes narrowed. It must’ve been Arashi-Taichou… He must’ve been watching Haku closer than I thought. Haku drew his zanpakuto, wordlessly and held it out as well. The effeminate Captain frowned grimly.

“And Saishi-kun said this would be easy, too.” He pouted, his bottom lip protruding pitifully. His head fell in disappointment as he saw Haku was not about to ‘go quietly.’ He shrugged, lightly and gave an indifferent harrumph.

“As above so below, Ukiyo-e no Kotetsu.” The zanpakuto that he held aloft gave a liquid shimmer and then re-solidified, not physically changing at all. “Sure you wouldn’t like to just give up?”

Haku lowered his center of gravity and his eyes squinted in defiance. “I won’t surrender.” He charged forward, rose up and came down with all his strength upon the captain’s zanpakuto. Haku felt the blade of his zanpakuto being grabbed and twisted, forcing him to the left as a sharp pain stung him in between his ribs on his right side. The captain’s zanpakuto had transformed into a hand of steel that had Haku’s zanpakuto pinched between four fingers as the fifth had extended(blade-like) and pierced his side.

Haku retreated, freeing himself and his sword only to re-attack high. That yielded little as the captain’s zanpakuto morphed into a kite-shield blocking the high attack and extending it’s tapered tip forward and plunging into Haku’s chest. Agito could feel Haku’s suppressed consciousness fighting his movements, the arrogant shinigami was steel-willed. This fight should’ve ended with the first blow, but Agito could not take full control of Haku’s reactions. Haku’s body fell to the ground, raising the palm of his hand.

“Over land and sea your haunting voice will carry me to higher ground and fortify all I foresee and sanctify this given sound. Hado 86!”

A boom, like a small directed atomic explosion, shattered the Captain’s zanpakuto and blasted him back into a courtyard tree, felling the tree and making a horrible splintering sound. A lesser shinigami would have been crushed into a paste, but the captain rose from the ruin of the tree, dusting his torn kimono. Araragi-taichou’s face was taken with aghast fury as he examined the tears in his dress. He held up the empty hilt and grip of his zanpakuto and the blade quickly reformed as if it was made of mercury.

He slung it towards Haku’s position and it slithered forward, serpentine. Haku rolled and tried to deflect, but the zanpakuto simply bent around his defense and pinned him to the floor like a memo to an office board.

Not caring for the damage that was occurring to the host’s body, Haku was forced to grasp the zanpakuto and remove it with his hands. Lacerating his hands, he was able to pry the blade out and stick it safely to the deck. Haku flipped back and swept together reishi into his hands.

“Out of the earth, fire, water and wood, lend me your strength; my intentions are good. Hado 79.”

A great club formed in Haku’s hand, vibrating with heat, shimmering like water, dun-hued like dirt but tensioned like wood. It hummed as Haku swung it through the air, breaking the Captain’s zanpakuto again, like it was made of glass.

The captain, momentarily taken aback, shrugged. “I really did want an excuse to show this off.” The captain said, snapping his fingers in the air, smartly. Ran Araragi’s fox-faced eyes closed in pleasure, like a Kitsune that had just found a bowl of sweet Azuki beans. He then said, simply and without unnecessary flourish: “Bankai.”

His zanpakuto reformed to a straight medieval sword that Araragi-taichou dropped, tip down. It sunk into the earth. There was a brilliant rushing gale and the entire courtyard shone like gold-gilded chrome. Araragi appeared, arms open, seemingly defenseless before Haku.

A small group of onlookers had collected at the safe edge of the battle. They had wandered from their apartments. Among them was the squad captain Toshiro Hitsuguya, who seemed unsure whether or not to join in. He appeared to be calculating the risks of interrupting Araragi-Taichou versus the embarrassment of letting a captain of another squad take out his fourth seat. Only a curiosity at seeing Araragi-taichou’s bankai seemingly restrained him.

Haku raised Mayanaka Naru skyward and glared at the captain from behind it. Raising his center of gravity and giving Mayanaka a swish, he chanted the words Haku’s lips seldom shaped.

“Reveal our Threat, Mayanaka Naru.”

Ran Araragi waited patiently as nothing happened, but finally loosed a fit of humiliating giggles. He pointed down to Haku.

“Are you sure you won’t surrender?”

Haku stood momentarily confused while the courtyard, fog, crowd and opponent faded from view. All things went black. Was this all part of Araragi-taichou’s bankai?

As he looked down, it occurred to Agito Makashima he was no longer in command of Haku Ishikawa’s body. Staring down, only his own lean claw-like hands could be seen. He was still clothed in his dark purple changshan and pants. His own zanpakuto, Jinkourai Gaiba, was faithfully belted to his waist.

Around him was a splatterhouse of guts and sticking mortal remains that were smeared over an old Romanesque temple of marble. The smell was overcoming and even the pools of unremitting gore seemed animated with some form of unspeakable life that slithered in the dark, eyeing Agito’s unexplained presence. ‘This must be Haku’s zanpakuto spirit realm. What does his zanpakuto do?’

Ending the foul colonnade was not, as would be expected, an altar, but a throne. A pale silver-haired man slumped in the stone chair, his face shielded by a hand, as he appeared to be sleeping. As Agito neared, stepping over the puddles, the man stirred. Within thirty feet, he actually raised his head and let his green eyes stare at Agito. Closing the distance, Agito’s zanpakuto flew into play, almost by reflex.

Haku raised a hand and a soft popping sounded only seconds before the lakes of fetid viscera exploded in flames. The fires gave a pitiful cast of light over the hall.

“Ishikawa.” Agito’s voice called out calmly. “Ishikawa, you do realize that if you die in here…”

“That I’ll become a vegetable ruled over by you, forever dead, soul and mind?” Wood clacked to concrete as Haku stood on the throne he had only seconds ago sat on. He brushed his hair out of his eyes. “That little parlor trick of yours has swelled your head something fierce.”

In a splinter of a second Agito’s zanpakuto whistled at Haku Ishikawa’s neck, closing distance fast. At the zero instant, the arm of the throne hatched a spike of metal that stretched up, intercepting the blow. holding Agito at bay. He withdrew and struck again only to be similarly rebuked. He tried stabbing forward clumsily but a third spike rose, blocking the tip of his attack and forcing him backward.

Haku turned over his hand, palm up. Responding to the simple tacit, the pools of remains began to sloppily assemble themselves into poorly improvised forms, slinking up from the stinking wastes. A host of fifty encircled the two. Agito looked around in mild alarm and Haku laughed.

“You look worried. Don’t. You won’t have to fight them, I’m simply playing with you.” Haku turned his hand back over, causing the figures to tumble and spill back onto the marble floor. “You won’t win in here, Agito.”

Agito backed off and sheathed his zanpakuto. Haku frowned, sympathetically.

“Don’t look so sad. It’s like a game of chess. You’re still ahead in pieces; you put me in check and now it’s knight takes knight.”

Agito held his arms up, signaling a surrender. A spike shot from the floor, impaling the intruder and Haku felt himself pulled from the inner prison of his Zanpakuto realm. Above him was a sky with a warming eastern horizon. It was such that in twenty to thirty minutes it could be officially deemed a sunrise. Around him were surprised and tense spectators. Before him was a captain of the Gotei 13 waiting expectantly.

Haku fell to his knees and grabbed the ground. He had obtained inexplicable wounds and had obviously been in a battle.

“I surrender.” He announced, calmly.

Toshiro hesitated at the dawn… He fingered the grip to his zanpakuto and his cheek twitched as he neared Haku Ishikawa. Words were swirling in his head like flies, but he could not swat or catch them to throw into conversation. His zanpakuto drew and held aloft. It was with no small amount of pleasure he formed the words:

“Haku Ishikawa, you’re a disgrace to the tenth squad and you will be sentenced to death for High Treason. Do you understand your sentence or do you have anything to say in the face of judgement?”

Haku barely raised his head, his interest was centered in the corner of his eyes as he glared at a cowled figure in the closing crowd. The words passing in his head sounded like: “Checkmate; cornered; end; bastard; captain; hate; Agito; Makashima.”

The slightest whistling as the razor edge of Hyorinmaru descended. It was no longer about wrong or right, insane and lucid or victor or loser; the game was up. Haku had no right to object to death or an excuse to make. Steel on steel clashed as a blue-bladed nodachi deflected the Captain’s deathblow. Haku peered up at…Saigo Arashi-taichou. The End Storm. The Captain of the ninth division. His zanpakuto intervened at the last foot of the execution.

“You are out of your depth, Captain.” Saigo said, curtly. He stood little taller than Toshiro with a face only a decade more mature with a straight round mop of blue hair and elvish features. “This man is not guilty of anything.”

Fury and barely mastered rage showed in Hitsuguya as he sheathed Hyorinmaru. A look of spoiled paradise crossed his face as he looked back down at Haku. He clearly did not agree with Arashi-Taichou but something, possibly the difference in their status and nobility, held him quiet. Saigo Arashi was from the most noble family in the Sereitei and was privileged with plenty of unspoken powers and authority which he did not spare.

“H-how do you mean?” The little captain managed, still disappointed.

“I’ve lost four shinigami this night. Squad four has been contacted. They are being possessed and he knows how.” At the tail of the last sentence, Saigo indicated Haku. “Isn’t that right, Ishikawa-kohei?”

Haku simply bowed again, touching his nose to the ground.

“Sashi-kun, I hate to interrupt, but he did attack me? That’s not like…legal, right?” Ran Arraragi-Taichou, who had sheathed his bankai and zanpakuto, glanced with confusion between Toshiro and Saigo for an answer.

Saigo put a finger to his lips, imparting that Ran should remain silent instead of speaking. It was a motion that he had used with Ran before and was destined for future use. He turned to the crowd.

“I repeat; our numbers are being infiltrated by someone and we are under attack from within. Everyone is charged with watching those you are with. Any irregular incidents are to be reported to your Captain’s office.” He lowered his voice and turned to Toshiro. “I will vouch for Haku Ishikawa with my life and my name as a Shinigami. He is to be released at once.”

Toshiro seemed taken aback in more ways than one; he was left with only one option, the begrudging assent.

With the advantage of Hana’s very familiar terms with most of squad ten, her invader made quick work of her body infecting anyone that had not been yet. There had been some struggling from Hana, but most of it had faded the longer that he remained in control. The quiet had finally started to sink in. Squad ten became captured enough that spreading out into the other squads became a more practical solution. Hana’s body was one of the chosen to depart along with the stone in her possession.

Searching through memories available, he was able to determine that Hana knew someone from the sixth division. The target had been set and Hana’s body walked nonchalantly towards the gate. More than an hour had passed to reach the entrance at a casual pace. In the time he was able keep aware of the happenings around through the other puppets. The loss of one of his favored marionettes troubled him, but he continued with the plan. It could not be stopped with the progress that he had made.

Hana looked towards the gate seeing that it was open enough for her to walk in without announcing herself. The guards nearby rushed over to greet her with some recognition coming to them. “What are you doing here, Hana? It’s getting late.”

“Oh I had something I need to see Kagashi about.”

The guard looked a little nervous as he continued to speak with her. “It’s rather late. Could you come back in the morning? You know how Captain Kuchiki is about the rules.”

“Aw…but I’m going on a mission in the morning and I won’t be able to talk to him.” She reached forward grabbing a hold of the guard’s hand giving him a pleading look, which disguised a smirk. “It’s something for Steph and Kagashi need to help me with it. He’s been pretty down lately.”

The second guard next to him chimed in. “You talking about that genius child? I thought he lost his power.”

The first guard began to look a little pale while he stared with empty eyes at Hana. He suddenly straightened back up feeling better. “It should be fine, just be quick.” His friend at his side reached over about to question him, but was grabbed quietly by the man.

Hana watched the momentary exchange and nodded pleased. She went on past them and casually dropped the stone in one of the main hallways of the barracks that received heavy traffic. While she passed by a few of the shinigami she accidentally bumped into them. The short dialogue with each of them was enough for her. Reaching the officers though remained a more important task. At the start was Kagashi’s room that she was nearing.

Her hand knocked on his door checking to see if he was still awake before entering on her own. A distant call from the room indicated that he was not asleep. The door opened slowly with Kagashi’s head looking through the gap before letting go of the door. “What are you doing here, Hana?”

“I came about Steph…can I?” She gave the indication that she preferred to speak inside the room. He granted her entry and moved deeper into the room. Hana followed him and reached out taking his hand into her palm. “Steph…he…” She drew out the words to watch the reaction from him waiting for the moment.

Kagashi could see that something was bothering her. He tried to step forward to give her a little comfort, but his mind suddenly felt very cloudy and light. “…Steph…I…he…” Kagashi tried to focus his thoughts through the haze, but it only seemed to be getting worse. There was a suddenly sharp pull on him as he felt something change. ‘What’s going on?’

An explosion from Kagashi’s room shook the barracks drawing attention from all of the members and setting the night sky a light.

Haku closed in on Arashi-taichou and was waiting for Hitsuguya-taichou to leave, which the little captain only did after a suspicious and hurt "sniff". Haku's eyes narrowed as he peered up at Arashi-taichou.

"I know what you mean. I know what you want from me. Keep everything out of my way, and we'll see." He said. The captain appeared indifferent to the condescending tone and responded only with a nod. A nod which almost conveyed respect...perhaps admiration. The expressions frightened Haku to an extent. He felt as if the entire future and all of it's permutations were but second-long sorties in Arashi-taichou's head and from there on out, it was understood.

In single lingering flash, Haku Ishikawa was gone.

"Please, I charge you all to watch those you're with. Trust only in your own common sense." Saigo added before he, likewise, disappeared.

The attack waited until Saigo had gone before 6/10ths of the crowd drew their zanpakutos. The remaining factor were held at blade-point. Toshiro Hitsuguya was one of the shinigami lost in amazement at what was happening around him. An invisible war, that had been waging all around him, had suddenly broke back like a wave and hit his world...

-------------------

Haku looked around his new environ. Cold, fungoid and black, rotting with the smell of dissolving rock, the caved opened up like the neck of a bottle. Sempiternal cave...the store house for every failure of Squad twelve in the last six millennium. It wasn't as grand as it's reputation, looking more like a long-dead city full of illegible papers and boxes.

Only one thing broke the mundane ocean of blandness and that was a simple quiet standing figure, patiently watching from the back. Only upon being noticed did the thing move... The silhouette slinked forward, pushing up it's glasses. Upon stepping into Haku's field of vision, he gasped in shock. The man was lanky and thin, neck craned in curiosity, back hunched over like a vulture.

"Who are...you?" Managed Haku. The man's eyes flashed as they made eye contact.

"My name is Haku Ishikawa. I'm a member of squad twelve."

--------------------------

Mahonna Kuiki wandered back and forth between the squad ten barracks and her current location, like a metronome. Upon first glance, she seemed to be suffering from a stroke or some sudden lack in sanity. Her mind was repeating a single thought like some kind of a alarm... "Why wasn't Fukumi here for her?"

The cigarette had dropped from her hand hours ago. She was locked in a desperate inner-struggle and no-one was the wiser. Squad four hadn't shown up...reinforcements couldn't be called...Fukumi seemed so far away.

In her mind she could see an alien presence, a man with slick black hair, spiky. He was in a plain dark blue changshan and pants, twirling a gray zanpakuto.

"Lash and fasten, Kage Uzumaki!" Her zanpakuto split into atomized filaments, tossing in the air like a blob of spiderwebs. The man seemed undeterred. He turned a hand palm-up and shrugged.

"We can end this before it begins. No need to struggle."

Mahonna only huffed in rebellion as she gave her wrist a gentle flick. Fifty or so strands of steel descended like falling leaves, slicing gore away from the surprised victim. The man double backed only to pull out a jagged sabre-shaped zanpakuto from his belt. A quarter-second had passed before edge-and-all were zooming to meet Mahonna's throat. The gossamers of her own released-zanpakuto, shredded the poor man's own weapon to crumbs of limp metal.

The mental war didn't take many more seconds before Mahonna had carved the intruder away into increments and fractals of existence. Released from her own schizophrenic pacing, she stopped, her mind wandering to Fukumi.

----------------------------------------

"I see. Will you tell me what to do?"

"And interfere with the integrity of my own experiment!? You'll receive nothing from me, I swear!" The voice squawked.

The man, callling himself Haku Ishikawa had the posture of a limp reptile and the appearance of a dysgenic creature without a species. A limp mop of gray hair hung over his face and framed it without symmetry. It's glasses dimmly glinted in the bare light cast from a nearby computing console. A mist of unrealized facial hair glazed the sharp hawk-like chin.

"But what you're saying is that only Kurotsuchi, Makashima, Ishikawa and Murasakiro participated in the wars?"

The old man nodded. "Each took their own direction in making the perfect Shinigami. Makashima tried Eugenics, I tried Genetic Engineering, Murasakiro experimented with Mental Conditioning, and Mayuri perfected Artificial Construction."

"In that case, there is only one option left for me, isn't there?" Haku asked, hope dying in his voice.

The old man nodded, absently again. "I'm afraid so. Be prepared."

Pieces of the barracks rained down over the blast site as shinigami came running to the attention. There was too much smoke that was be certain what was happening around. All they could do was talk amongst themselves trying to get information on what others had seen.

“It looks like someone used a kido, but what’s going?!”

As more of the rumbling began to calm down with the cloud they could begin to hear blades striking. There were fast heavy strikes bouncing through the smoke leaving them all even more confused than before. It seemed like someone was fighting inside.

Swords clashed louder as it overcame the environment. Shifting through layers of clouds Kagashi jumped back as Hana burst through the cloud trailing tendrils of dust off her clothes slamming her sword down against Kagashi’s Zanpakuto. “You should just give up the struggle. It won’t last much longer!”

Kagashi broke free from Hana’s attack and disappeared back into the clouds escaping for the moment. The cover he had from the explosion would not last for much longer. ‘She’s right… I don’t know what’s going on, but I feel my control slipping… something’s wrong with my body…’ He tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword trying to focus his mind on the world in front of him. It was the last thread of hope that he had before everything was gone. “She’s coming!”

Hana had located him again quickly through his spiritual pressure. She charged at him with her Zanpakuto raised up becoming much faster than she had been before. Kagashi did not know if he was going to be able to block her again. Then everything went gray and froze for him. “Huh?” Kagashi turned his head to the side trying to understand what was happening. The cloud, Hana, sounds all had stopped. “What’s going on?”

“Someone threatens the purity of your soul…” called a voice from the void. A brief light expanded behind Hana with azura wings breaking through growing to a massive size to encompass everything around him.

Kagashi eyes widened for a moment as he recognized his zanpakuto’s form. “Erimaki no Konpekihane!?” He had no idea what was going on anymore or if the strange feeling he had was connected to his zanpakuto. “Why are you here?”

“Someone tries to put you in a cage.”

“You mean that strange feeling I’ve been having in my body? Can you stop it?”

“Will you be content to be a prisoner of your own body?”

“Stop with the riddles already! If there’s something I need to do take me! My time’s slipping!” The wings grew out further completely surrounding Kagashi until all he saw was darkness. When his sight was restored he could see his inner world, a vast field of snow and ice only surrounded by cliffs overcome back densely packed snow barely held from falling off.

Kagashi stared out at the wasteland trying to find what the problem was when a brisk gust blew through catching snow with it creating a thin mist cloud. There was a new presence that he suddenly sensed in his inner world. A figure stalked confidently out of the mist coming into sight as a man, one that he did not recognize. “Who are you?!”

“So you’re a 4th seat huh? Guess I should expect some trouble from one like you.”

“How do you know me?”

“Surface memories are a pretty easy thing to access even without total control.” The man gave him a smirk looking like he knew far more than he should.

Kagashi narrowed his eyes becoming concerned and slowly understanding why his zanpakuto had brought him. “What do you want here?”

“I’ve come for your body. A 4th seat will make a nice addition to my collection.” The man drew his zanpakuto looking ready for a fight.

“You shouldn’t understand me…” He stared grimly at the stranger and summoned his zanpakuto from the material of his inner world. Snow flew up into his extended palm growing as it stacked upon either other as an unwieldy mass. Kagashi closed his hand around the snow tightly sending a ringing through it causing it to suddenly change shape into his zanpakuto. He charged forward at the intruder ready to test the man’s skill. The two blades crashed into each other throwing up snow from the ground as their strengths clashed.

Kagashi forced them back with his speed drawing a wide carving through the snow as they flew. The stranger had found his footing and finally halted the slide. Their swords rattled pressed against each other. The man seemed largely unaffected by Kagashi taking things in strides. He pushed back Kagashi breaking off their first strike. Then the intruder disappeared for a moment appearing behind Kagashi being blocked. Their battle began to spread out through the wasteland with each blocking the other in a stalemate.

‘It’s like he doesn’t seem to be trying… I can’t let him beat me!’ Kagashi pushed through the next series of assaults and tried to crack the man’s defenses. ‘I can’t take this lightly anymore…’ There was a moment that his blade reached the man tearing some cloth, but not before being driven back. He was close, but the mood seemed to change quickly. Kagashi was suddenly thrown back by the intruder’s next swing sending him across the snow only to have him appear in front of him. He had barely been able to deflect the next strike that kept him flying backwards. The cliffs were coming into sight as Kagashi was pressed back. He slowly managed to right himself and getting his footing to keep ahead of the man.

His back to the wall of the cliff, Kagashi disappeared in the next attack appearing above the cliff. He quickly swiped his zanpakuto through the hanging snow creating a cascade effect dropping all of the snow at the man below. As the snow was still falling down Kagashi came to a landing back on the ground examining the remains. ‘Did that get him?’ Kagashi only had a split second in the time that he realized something was wrong to turn before a blade came across his mid section knocking him down.

The cut was deep and he was feeling the blood pouring into his cloths. Above him the intruder stood with his sword pointed down at Kagashi. “You’re mine…”

“Is this what you did to Hana?” Kagashi questioned trying to delay time until he could move.

“No, she was quite easy to take. She gave up without a fight.”

“I doubt that…”

“A stubborn one huh? Oh you know that weird kid huh? I guess it runs between you then. Shame you’ll never see your friend again!” He raised his sword up for the killing blow.

Kagashi stared narrowly at the man trying to understand what he was meaning. ‘Weird kid? Steph!? What did he do to Steph!? I can’t stand here and do nothing! I have to save Hana and Steph if they’re under his control!’ Determination inside Kagashi grew into sudden power as blue energy bled off him. Kagashi raised his sword up quickly. “Freeze all, Erimaki no Konpekihane!” A solid column of ice burst from the tip of his blade as his shikai was released piercing the intruder through the chest.

The ice column broke off as the man dropped down to one knee holding his chest where he was skewered. His breathing had quickly becoming shallow and difficult. Kagashi stood up slowly holding his sword up trying to keep his strength. “Leave now!”

“Tch!” The stranger faded away from the inner world leaving Kagashi to collapse to the ground.

A sigh of relief came from Kagashi, but he could not rest. The inner world disappeared sharply with Hana appearing in front of him. Kagashi raised up his sword to block her strike in time. ‘My strength and reflexes are back! I just have to rescue Hana from him now!’

Is there a summation for a spark of indifferent life, callously given, indifferently taken and judged in weighted words like wasted or perfected? Can they alone do justice, being callous and indifferent themselves? Do they stop short?

Haku tied his obi and pulled the flaps of his kimono tighter. He pulled his ricehat over his head and tied it under his chin. He had slept in the dark cave, unaware of what was occurring outside. It was so silent underneath the crust of the Earth, like solitary confinement. In his hand he held a small smoothed pebble taken from the place of his birth, snatched from it’s own solitary confinement at the bottom of a riverbed. It felt cool to the palm of his hand, callous…indifferent. It was, like him, not the original, but still operational.

Mayanaka had been dumb from the moment of his waking in the Tenth Squad’s veranda. It seemed no more than a sword now, cold and stupid. No advice or criticism had hummed in his head from that self-serving witch. Despite all her fine talk, situations like these gave her nothing to say. She remained callous and indifferent.

“Have you experienced any periods of insanity or a lapse of lucidity?” The crow voice cawed. It was his skeletal doppelganger, watching from the corner with a clipboard and pen at the ready. Haku gave him a cold searching stare. The man shrugged, indifferently. “It was discussed as a possible side-effect from the genetic engineering. They said enhancing your intelligence quotient could lead to mental instability. Kurotsuchi prized obedience, Makashima strived for creativity and Murasakiro wanted to instill stoicism. I,” He indicated himself with his bony spread fingers. “directly emulated the brain patterns of Saigo Arashi to create you with a superhuman intellect.”

Haku ceased his cold glare, preferring to ignore the creature. He thought of Haruka Tokoyami and all that was in the hazard. His mind proceeded to frantic thoughts of escape. ‘What of Steph Whitestone? Surely I could manipulate that short little shinigami into doing this for me… Surely, if it were not my own fate. But no…if I rely on others everything will fail.’

“Are you certain he took it with him?” Haku asked. His mind going back to the cloaked figure, this “Benedict“, Agito spoke of. The hooded-shinigami that had visited Agito in the Maggot’s Nest. The very figure he had spotted in the Veranda.

“It is no longer here and Agito left with it.” The man replied, adjusting his glasses. Haku turned away towards the mouth of the grotto, a funneling passage leading straight up into a skylight of the cave.

“Black and white net. Twenty-two bridges, sixty-six crowns and belts. Footprints, distant thunder, sharp peak, engulfing land, hidden in the night, sea of clouds, blue line. Form a circle and fly though the heavens.” Haku’s finger flared with reiatsu as he traced symbols and glyphs upon the skin of his bare arms. His next words echoed through the cave and in the minds of his friends. “Hear me, Shingo Izumi, Hana Murasakiro, Keira Akagawa, So Tsugimaru, Hiro Takane, Yuri Nakamura, Chisaki Dokuja, Ritsu Saito, Kentaro Moriyama, Fusue Ibara, Lee Sakai. You are my knitting circle and I can trust you‘re all still possessed of your own minds. Rise and gather on the hill in front of the Maggot‘s Nest. Hold that hill until I arrive.”

“They’re no match for the composite shinigami Agito has created.” The scientist reminded. “Each one has power matching the greatest captain. Imagine, two shinigami combined, Agito’s power augmenting the existing shinigami’s reiatsu.”

Haku, ignoring the obvious conclusion, unsheathed Mayanaka. He mused at the edge of his sword. “I’m on a quest of my own.” He turned on the original Haku Ishikawa. “You put me on this quest. I don’t care about the Seireitei or my friends. Their on their own quests and I’m not the Seireitei’s only line of self-defense. My quest is to prove myself better than Agito Makashima and also, which is more important, to become the one and only Haku Ishikawa.” Haku’s eyes clenched onto the scientist like vices. “I can’t exist as a simulacra, just another copy without an original, your reinforced shadow. So I’m going to take your head.”

The scientist had little time to prepare as Haku mastered a beautiful flash-step past the first Haku Ishikawa, the Frankenstein to his monster. And, with no ceremony and vast indifference, the scientist’s head rolled from his shoulders, continuing to skip across the floor. Haku knelt and picked it up by it’s platinum blonde hair. Looking at it‘s glassy eyes, a smile twitched at the corners of his mouth.

“This will remind me of the wound you caused me. It will be my scar, showing how I was victimized from the start…showing how you stole my originality from me.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The hill outside of the Maggot’s nest was the scene of a face-off. The battle lines were simple and perfect, held by rank and file. Haku’s circle of “friends” stood, sword’s bared, staring down an ocean of silent shinigami. The composite drones looked on, callous and indifferent from any markings of individuality.

Haku Ishikawa landed his final step at the crest of the hill. The reaction was immediate; his army surrounded him, still eyeing their patient enemies. Shingo Izumi rushed to his friend’s side.

“Sato-san, we’re way outnumbered here. Shouldn’t we regroup with some of the captains and other squads?” Haku shook his head and untied his ricehat, tossing it aside.

“No need, this battle won’t last long.” He grinned. “And if it comes to retreating, you’ll know when. We just need to remind this Agito where he stands. Because I get the feeling the message is fading. He needs to know.”

Haku walked out of his protective semi-circle of friends and pointed a spear-like finger at the automatous mass. “AGITO! Agito! I challenge you to a duel for the future of the Soul Society.”

The crowd blinked stupidly and then burst into tears of synchronous laughter. They sounds like a hive of perfect and instant echoes, their voices melting into a gelatinous and indistinguishable unity. As if Agito were speaking through a thousand megaphones, each blaring in synch. Their reply shook the hill and made Haku’s eyes wince.

“You’re against the wall, not I, Ishikawa. And now you attack head-on? I think you just don’t care.”

Haku drew Mayanaka from her sheath and headed towards the crowd. A blurred missile shot past Haku’s head, making blade contact and throwing his arm back. A composite Shinigami had flash-stepped past him faster than he thought was possible. He had felt the air pushed forward before the shinigami had closed in. So when he felt the same blast of air, he backed away with a generic parry. The attack reflected, but the brute inertia forced Haku on one knee. The next stuck in his leg, ripping away a chunk of flesh and releasing a spray of blood. The fourth he managed to deflect, but they began occurring in faster progression. Shingo and his army of followers, started to take arms but were held back by a shout from Haku.

“Stay away!”

The fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth blows were all mostly deflected as Haku rose back to a stance. But next four blows tore gashes in his clothes and flesh. The fourteenth blow caused Haku to fall back to one knee. It had severed his right arm. Unable to recover from the blow the next two each took limbs until he was prostrate on the ground and little more than a torso. There was cry of terror and disgust from behind him, as his followers were watching their leader being systematically deconstructed. The patch of grass his head was lying on was flooded with blood. He lifted himself up with his remaining arm to see the cloaked figure draw a sword and swing. The last thing that Haku Ishikawa ever saw was the edge of the cloaked figure’s blade closing on his neck. His head rolled over in the puddle of blood.

Giving a short harrumph of gloating laughter, the composite shinigamis turned their attention to the Haku’s remaining forces. A group only eleven strong stood, facing down such a collection of power. Shingo raised his zanpakuto and led the charge.

“Food to the fat, starve the fool, Gashadokuro! BANKAI!!!!”

A sharp whistling sound pierced the battleground and the sky turned black as a great Skelenton burst from the ground of the hill. The beast easily towered over all the hill’s occupants, like a giant statue. It roared and shrieked, as it’s great hand raked at the mass of foes.

Keira Akagawa, held her wakizashi zanpakuto above her head, her meek voice shouting: “Fly like Pollen, Lubella.” The tiny zanpakuto dispersed into a yellow mist that fogged the battlefield, coating her allies with hard-like armor and weighing her enemies with mountains of pollen that burned like acid.

Hana Murasakiro followed suit, yelling her release: “Preach, Ousatsu!” Her zanpakuto remained the same, but when she slashed it through the air, the slash spread into twenty super-positioned silver waves that sliced into the enemy numbers.

No one noticed that the hooded-figure, in the midst of all the hell and mayhem was stooped near Haku’s remains. He grabbed Haku’s left arm. It looked to be bare, but pinching at the skin and pulling he peeled off an invisible glove. The Kurosei glove, the weapon that allowed Haku to draw reiatsu from the air. But in peeling the glove off, he noted and picked up the small smooth river-rock that had been clutched in the palm of the hand. He next picked up the head, only to dash away, leaving the battle in utter chaos.

Kagashi had been able to take the first blow from Hana without much worry. However, the following attacks seemed to be even stronger and faster than the first. He was having trouble keeping up with her through all of the falling debris and clouds. ‘I don’t remember her being this skilled…is it the doing of that man I fought?’ She did not give him much room for questions keeping up a relentless assault.

There was little sign of the Hana that Kagashi recognized with in her eyes. It had seemed like the man was correct. He was not certain how he was going to be able to get to her. Keeping up with her fierce sword work was a challenge enough for him. ‘If Steph was here he could probably wake her up… This is not something that I’m suited to…’

Between breaks in the cycles of Hana’s attacks Kagashi slipped in to try to put an end to the fight. He went for her primary sword hand to restrain her. The controlled Hana had greater strength than he was expecting nearly making him lose his hold instantly. ‘I need to keep her from fighting somehow…’ Kagashi turned about as they fought for control. “Hana snap out of it! Listen to me!” Her free hand balled up into a fist and tried to knock his head off. There was no getting through to her and he was going to lose his grip soon the more her strength was overcoming him. “I don’t know if this’ll work, but… Bakudou #1 Sai!”

Targeted for her dominant arm, the kido worked to bind her wrist to her waist keeping it immobile. ‘Sai’s not meant for someone that’s an officer and she’s stronger than normal… I don’t know how long it’ll hold her…’ Kagashi pinned her to the ground to restrain her completely. Unfortunately, the moment he had let his guard down in relief Hana’s free hand released a quick attack kido of her own. The blast knocked Kagashi off her and covered his face in scorches, minor but enough to sting him.

‘She’s going to be a handful…I don’t know if I can do this without hurting her…’ Kagashi coughed up some air taken back by the surprise attack. He could see that she had already broken free from the bakudou and charging for his undefended position. There was too little time for him to do even a defense against her shunpo. He still tried to lift his zanpakuto in time, but it all seemed to move in slow motion watching her speed towards him. Her sword was swinging in motion for a lethal blow that would get between his defenses. ‘Steph…’ Kagashi narrowed his eyes building his reiatsu in the final moments.

At the last moment Hana came to an abrupt stop in front of Kagashi. Her sword point only inches away from him. Between them several papers were falling through the air, probably slower than the rest due to being light and blown so high up. Hana dropped her sword suddenly and grasped at the papers quickly. The empty dull eyes had instantly changed turning bright and excited. “He’s so cute!”

Kagashi could only manage a disbelieving expression as reality seemed to collapse. “Huh?!”

Hana cradled the papers against her face with great affection and joy. There was a moment where Kagashi was quite certain he was seeing hearts coming off of her. “Oh! And here’s one of him sleeping, too! So adorable!”

“What’s going on?!” Kagashi yelled, finally breaking out of his confused state.

It was enough to startle Hana and lose hold of a few a papers in her hand. One still managed to remain and she noticed that Kagashi was in front of her. She turned the paper around revealing it to be a photo and one of Steph from when he was practicing in private, an oddly voyeuristic image considering it was most likely in Kagashi’s possession. “Why were you keeping these from me, Kagashi?!”

“Hey! Wait a minute those aren’t mine!” he insisted. He flailed his arms trying to deny the clearly embarrassing implications that came along with him having such pictures. “I’ve never seen this before in my life!”

There was a mischievous cat-like grin on Hana’s face as she leaned in a little closer to Kagashi. “You’ve known him longer than any of us, Kagashi. I bet you’re even a founding member of the Steph Fan Club!” Hana took great pleasure in watching Kagashi become completely flustered. She could not help but giggle a little to herself. “I bet you have even better pictures hiding in there!”

Kagashi had lost control of the situation left to a stuttering mess the longer he tried to fight her. He did know what was going on anymore. Hana had disappeared on him into his broken room in the barracks. It took him several minutes to recover enough to realize what was going on. ‘I guess she’s back to normal…’ The longer he stood around doing nothing the more his room was being torn apart for more photos. Kagashi jumped in fear and ran after her. “What do you think you’re doing?!”