"Segunda Espada Rurin..." Rurin cringed, hearing Aizen's disappointment in his echoing voice. "... your actions in these passing days has forced my hand. Your flaw has caused more aggravation than anything else. Gin, Tousen and myself all agree that your punishment must fit your crime."

"Lord Aizen, please..." Rurin said, his voice almost turning pleading in tone.

"Silence!" Tousen's voice rang out, the features that Rurin could see were contorted with anger. "You will be silent when Aizen is speaking to you!"

Aizen smirked. "We have all agreed that the punishment we have chosen for you is fitting. You will not lose your arrancar status, entirely, but you will be banished to Earth until such a time as I feel you are humbled and fit for duty under my rule." he gestured to Gin for something that had been covered with a white cloth on a side table to the right of Aizen's throne. "I will fill your hollow hole with the hogyoku's power and make your soul human, you will have no powers, no mask and you will not be allowed back in Hueco Mundo until I fetch you. I have added an extra to this as well, your soul will only remain human as long as your human body is alive, but you will not be able to terminate your life on your own, if you should choose too, your soul will disintergrate. Do you understand your punishment?"

Rurin stared at the ground, his knees pressed to the cold marble, his body shaking with restrained fury, his head spinning, he couldn't seem to think beyond the unfairness of the situation. Hand in hand with his fury was despair, everything he had worked for was being ripped from him by the very man he had sworn to protect and follow.

"Yes, sir." his voice was quiet, he didn't need to yell. There was nothing left for him to do.

"I will send for you when I feel you are prepared." Aizen said, his voice almost fatherly in it's tone, false affection.

"Yes, sir."

"Now stand."

Rurin stood, facing Aizen with determination, not wanting the three standing on the raised dias to see the pain he was suffering, the rage he was feeling towards them and the despair. He walked forward slowly, his hands clenched at his sides. Standing before Aizen he lifted his head and closed his eyes, waiting, he felt when the hogyoku touched the skin around his hole centered in his chest. It didn't hurt at first, felt more like tingling, like cold fire around his hole, time seemed to slow for Rurin as the tingling became pain, his body felt as though it had suddenly been set aflame, fever broke out causing sweat to drip over his face and body. He would not scream though, he would not make a sound, not in front of his leaders, not in front of the other espada, he would use silence as his strength. As the pain grew to a climax, his face began to contort, his body tense and straining against the incredible heat and pain coursing through his very blood, he opened his eyes one last time, staring through the three standing on the dias and fell away as his vision turned to black.

Night had fallen in the human world when Rurin awoke once more, his head throbbing, his chest still burning but the pain had dulled as he lay in the dark alley, he raised his hand and placed it just below his heart where his hollow hole used to be and felt only cotton beneathe his hand. In a panic he raised the shirt and searched for the hole with his hands, skin touched skin, warm and alive it felt almost alien to him. Everything about what he had become felt wrong, breathing was laborious in the smoggy air of the city, the smells were stronger assaulted his now human nose, he could even taste the sweat building on his upper lip, it was salty on his tongue. Aizen had done the one thing that might just tear Rurin apart, he had made him human but with all the memories of his espada days, he took away his abilities, his position and his spirit. Slowly he sat up, realizing he couldn't even do a very basic ability of sensing spirit energy, and despair began to eat away at him, he had nothing now, not even human money to buy himself food which is what he was now going to need as a human. He made a sound of disgust, this was hell for him, he was weak but he knew that one day he would show Aizen the truth, he was stronger than him even with his fatal flaw he would show Aizen that he was the far better man. Today would be the beginning, he would either be defeated or this would be his glory.

Two years had passed, and Rurin had fallen into a routine of a human, since his arrival in Karakura Town he had become a normal citizen, had his own apartment and a job to pay for all the things a human would need. He hated every moment but he did it with the faith that one day he would be an espada once more, there there a few things he did enjoy as a human though. He like the way the sun shined during the day, the warmth of it during the summer, the way it sank beneath the horizon when the moon took the sky, he liked the fall when the leaves would change from green to reds, browns, golds, and oranges before falling from the trees to the ground. He enjoyed the winters when the cold would bite through his clothes to his skin, when the snow would fall to the ground, fluttering like confetti to the ground. Hueco Mundo never had seasons, no snow, no trees, it was a refreshing change from the stark emptiness. Today he was enjoying the afternoon sun after working for most of the morning at a grocery store, he stood at the bus stop, his jacket thrown casually over his right shoulder, his face upturned to feel the sun's rays. Rurin was almost tempted to walk back to his one bedroom apartment but had a strange feeling that he must take the bus, he always followed his instincts and today was no different.

It had been difficult for Rurin to adapt to the new surroundings and situation at first, with no money, no food and no way to get either he had lived day to day exploring his new home. The city was large but fairly easy to get around, at first night had been his friend, it allowed him a certain amount of stealth to move around, the first couple of days he didn't do much until his fourth day after his arrival he had stumbled upon an abandoned warehouse where sounds of yelling could be heard. Rurin had stealthy run around the side of the building and entered through an open window situated above a row of sinks in a bathroom that had seen better days. Once inside he had walked along narrow hallways to a large part of the warehouse where many people stood around a paint ring in the center of the room, they were waving pieces of paper around and yelling. It seemed strange for so many people to be yelling at a circle, until he saw two men walk into the ring, parts of their body wrapped in white slightly stained in red. That night he had learned to survive, he fought for strength, he fought for money but mostly he fought to rid himself of the horrible sense of despair that seemed to plague him. Street fighting became a part of this life, a reason to continue.

The bus rolled to a stop in front of him, bringing him out of his past, he smiled into the sky once more before boarding the large vehicle, already the smell of sweat and body odor assailed his senses unpleasantly. The afternoon bus was already packed with people who like Rurin, lived on the outskirts of Karakura Town instead of the busy city, today it appeared as though there was only one seat available towards the middle of the bus. Slowly he made his way towards it, ignoring the looks that people gave him. He had long since learned to ignore the way that people looked at him during the day, he knew that to them he looked very unusual, his hair tied in it's usual ponytail that fell to his shoulders was white with streaks of ice blue, his bangs fell across darker blue eyes that people had told him could pierce. His features were unusual in their set up, his eyes were slanted downward making them appear almost exotic, his nose could have belonged to a nobleman except that it had a bump at the top like it had been broken multiple times. Even his body told people he was not normal, he was tall, almost 6'5" with a narrow chest layered with lean hard muscle he had toned for a long time. It didn't bother him anymore, didn't phase him when people whispered behind their hands about him.

Rurin made his way to the seat and sat down next to an unusually pretty girl, she wore a school uniform that announced she was far too young for him to be admiring, but he enjoyed the slow perusal. She was small, maybe only 5'3" with long black hair, he couldn't see her features but could feel something emanating from her, it smelled delicious to him in a way he couldn't explain. Anticipation seemed to blossom in his blood, his heart rate increased enough for him to feel the fingers of excitement inside his chest, it wasn't lust, this was something infinitely different. She felt like a shinigami to him, which he supposed could have been possible but doubtful, even an unseated shinigami would have been able to feel the sealed hollow energy within him. Obviously this girl was something else entirely...

Hitomi wasn't surprised when a man sat down next to her, wasn't surprised that he was staring at her, she could feel his gaze on her hair, moving along her neck, it wasn't unusual the attention she received. What surprised her was the frission of tension he generated along her neck and spine, he seemed to cause her body to tense just by his presence alone. She peered over her shoulder through the thick curtain of her hair and saw his face, she was shocked by the intensity of his eyes, so blue they seemed to have depth like the ocean but were light in actual color. His pupils were dialated and seemed to fracture out into his eyes, his hair was white but seemed to have blue streaked in it, unusual and yet it suited him. His features seemed to be wreathed in ice, set in their frown as if they were attempted to frighten the world.

"Hello." he spoke, as if he had noticed her look.

"H-hello." she stammered.

"What is your name?" he asked, curiousity evident in his tone.

"I don't think I should give it to you, sir." she replied, fear tingeing her tone.

He smiled, and suddenly it was like the sun had broken through the clouds. "Smart girl."

They were quiet for a moment, as if searching each other for the answers they sought from each other. Hitomi looked away first, her eyes focusing once more out the window, watching the soft puffy clouds floating in the sky towards an unknown destination, there was a blur for a moment, as if gas had risen from the buildings and was distorting her vision through it. It was gone almost as soon as it had appeared and triggered her curiousity.

"Did you see that?" she said softly.

"See what?" he replied.

"That blur... it was so strange. One moment I was staring at the clouds and then it was almost like I was staring at the sky through something, like gas or a pocket of extreme heat."

His expression changed. "No. I didn't."

The frission of tension ran across her spine again, her brain was screaming to run for no apparent reason, she couldn't find the threat but somehow... somehow she could tell something was about to happen, and it wouldn't be good. Screams broke out not a moment later as the bus suddenly began to rock, the wheels coming off the ground as if it had been struck on one side by something incredibly large.

"What's going on?" a woman yelled from the back of the bus.

The bus rocked again, this time more violently and Hitomi had the feeling that most of the people on the bus wouldn't make it through the next few hours, fear and pain cycled through her as she was thrown against the walls of the bus. Moments seemed to pass quickly as the bus finally started to roll onto it's side, glass shattered as the windows opposite Hitomi blasted back into the bus. She could smell blood and fear all around her, could feel blood sliding down her arm as a piece of metal pierced her flesh and lodged itself against bone, it hurt, so much she wanted to cry. Screaming tore at her eardrums, fear coursed through her veins, pain broke her in half with it's force, it seemed to be endless. But just as soon as it started, it was over, the pain ceased and she could no longer feel the blood leaving her, could no longer hear the screams, she seemed to be floating above the world for a second before returning just outside the bus.

"What's going on?" she said mostly to herself.

She was standing, facing the bus but now she could see the reason why the bus had fallen over, it had been pushed over by something very large and black, the only part of it's large body that wasn't black was it's face which was mask like in it's texture and appearance.

"What is that?" She yelled.

Two figures were standing off to the side, appearing to be unconcerned by what they were seeing, one had blue hair and was wearing a strange outfit of white that concealed the upper part of his torso and his legs but not much more, the other was the man who had been seating next to her on the bus. She approached them slowly, sensing that these two were not quite what they seemed to be on the surface, she could hear them conversing distantly.

"Who are you?" the white haired man asked the other.

"What's it to you?" the blue haired man retorted.

"You are an espada, correct?"

"Yes... but how did you know that?"

"Hold on. I think the hollow may just crush the bus soon."

As if on cue, the large creature swiped it's hand through the middle of the bus where not too long ago the white haired man and herself had been seated, vaguely she noticed that a chain coming from her was leading back to that part of the bus but was more concerned for the moment over the fact that so many people had been on that bus. Pain erupted from her chest for a brief moment and the chain became loose, Hitomi looked down and was shocked to see that the chain was not only coming from her but was in fact coming from the left side of her chest.

"Ah... there we go." the white haired man said, grasping the chain coming from his solar plexus. "Now you will see how I know what I know." He yanked on the top of the chain and groaned right before disappearing into a puff of smoke.

She gasped and ran to where he had just been only to bump into another man entirely, in appearance he looked like the man who had been seated next to her not too long ago, but there was now a large sized hole in the middle of the core of his body.

"I am Rurin Shatterjaw, Segunda Espada under the rule of Lord Aizen. Now, my friend, who are you?"

The blue haired man gaped. "That's impossible! King Barragan is the segunda espada!"

"King Barragan? Aizen has replaced me already?"

The blue haired man seemed to gather himself. "I am the Sexta Espada, Grimmjow Jaggerjaques."

"Ah... how interesting." Rurin stopped and looked down at Hitomi. "And now will you tell me who you are, little one?"

Hitomi backed away. "What are you?"

"I am a hollow, wasn't that obvious?"

"What is a hollow?"

He smirked. "As I guessed, you're not a shinigami. Then what are you?"

"I am a human."

"Not likely with that spirit pressure."

"Spirit pressure?"

Grimmjow stared at the girl as well. "Come with me, both of you. Lord Aizen will want to see you."

TBC