Shunsui Kyoraku narrowed his gaze at the sets of gleaming eyes staring down at him from atop of the podium. The central 46 had not made light of their hesitancy with the head captains decision to teach Kenpachi Zaraki "the art of killing." It seemed the fact that the squad 11 captain had been unsealed and could now use his Bankai had the lawmakers quivering in their boots.

"Kenpachi Zaraki is a liability the soul society cannot afford to have running around like a loose cannon!" A deep voice bellowed.

Shunsui could hear the misguided fear in the man's voice as he tilted his head—Zaraki's never done anything to warrant this kind of a reaction!

"Kenpachi Zaraki killed another Captain during that training, it's only a matter of time before he could revolt and kill us all!" A woman claimed, her deep brown eyes darting around the room as if the man in question would appear from the shadows and slit her throat just for speaking his name.

"Well, we all knew the history between Captain Unohana and Captain Zaraki. You all knew it was going to end up with one of them losing their lives, I'm guessing the wrong one won in your opinion." Shunsui countered.

"This is not a matter that is up for discussion! In order to protect the soul society something must be done!" Another baritone voice yelled.

"I think you're all overacting a little, Captain Zaraki fought to protect the soul society; he would never do anything to put us in any kind of jeopardy." Shunsui countered.

"Do not question us, you must obey this order, Shunsui Kyoraku, or you yourself will join him!"

Shunsui cursed under his breath as he hung his head, the wide brim of his straw hat hiding his face in shadow—this just isn't right!

"Kenpachi Zaraki is hereby stripped of his captaincy and is ordered to be placed under seal and confided into the maggot's nest; that is the order of the central 46!"

Shunsui allowed his eye to close as he heard the official order being placed upon his shoulders, something their political policies would never allow him to bypass simply because he was the head captain.

"Well I can tell you now it's not going to be that simple…" Shunsui retorted, dreading the upcoming task of placing the squad 11 captain under arrest for nothing.

"We have taken the liberty of calling in assistance!"

Shunsui turned his head as he heard the thick metal door swing open. Another man; another captain entered the room making shunsui's stomach lurch and tighten into a knot.

"I am afraid I was not given proper information regarding the person I was asked to create a seal for, now that I understand why I have been summoned to assist, I will have to make some adjustments…" Mayuri Kurotsuchi stated with a frown.

"Then so be it, you have twenty-four hours to apprehend Kenpachi Zaraki and complete the necessary procedures needed for him to be confined!"

Mayuri Kurotshuchi shrugged his slim shoulders before he replied.

"Very well."

"You are dismissed!"

Shunsui turned on his heel at the same time as Mayuri, both men walked side by side back to the thick metal doors that protected the central 46. As Shunsui walked he was greeted by the afternoon sun. The sky was clear and filled with fluffy white clouds and even with the beauty in front of him the man couldn't bring himself to smile; inside him a storm was brewing.

"If it makes you feel any better I had no idea who I was being called to assist." Mayuri sighed.

Shunsui turned his gaze to the squad 12 captain then, the one visible eye he had left meeting Mayuri's golden gaze.

"You don't seem to be all that broken up about it." Shunsui countered.

"How I feel about this is neither here nor there, and it should be the same for you. You know as well as I do if we are to refuse we will be placed inside the maggots nest right alongside the brute." Mayuri countered.

"What makes you think we still won't be?" Shunsui countered before turning away from the squad 12 captain and heading back towards the squad 1 barracks, he had a summons he had to write and for the first time since he'd become the head captain, he found himself resenting the title.

"Urgent message for Captain Kenpachi Zaraki, sent by the Head Captain." A messenger bellowed as he went down to one knee and held out a wrapped piece of parchment out to the Lieutenant of squad 11, Ikkaku Madarame.

Ikkaku accepted the rolled up missive and gave a curt nod to the messenger before turning on his heel and heading for his captain's quarters—something pretty big must be about to happen if the head captain is sending formal messages to the captain…

Ikkaku jogged up the small wooden staircase that led to his captain's room, knowing his captain was most likely in the process of waking up from his afternoon nap, Ikkaku knocked loudly on the closed pocket door.

"What!?" Kenpachi called out, his voice sounding a bit husky from sleep.

"You've been delivered a message from the Head Captain." Ikkaku called out from the other side of the door.

Ikkaku waited patiently as he heard the sounds of heavy footsteps and after a couple minutes the door slid open. His captain glared down at his hand before reaching out for the rolled up paper.

Kenpachi tore the small ribbon that held the missive closed and unrolled the small piece of parchment in his hand, he scanned the context with his one uncovered eye and then looked up to meet his Lieutenant's gaze.

"Is something wrong, Captain?" Ikkaku asked, with a scowl of his own.

"I've been summoned to a private meeting with Kyoraku." Kenpachi answered with a heavy sigh.

"It doesn't say why?" Ikkaku replied.

Kenpachi shook his head before turning away from his Lieutenant and reached out for his white captain's haori that laid on the back of his chair—little did the captain of squad 11 know his haori was about to be taken from him. Kenpachi secured his Zanpakuto at his side before walking over to the door and slipping on his sandals.

"Keep a look out while I'm gone. Somethin' about the way I'm being summoned doesn't feel right…" Kenpachi stated.

"What do you mean by that, Captain?" Ikkaku asked.

Kenpachi let out a low growl before stepping out onto the porch of his captain's quarters, something in his gut was telling him the head captain had news about something important; it was the only reason he would go to such trouble to send a written summons and request that Kenpachi show up alone.

"Stay here, and stay on guard." Kenpachi ordered.

"Yes, Sir." Ikkaku stated before sidestepping out of Kenpachi's way.

Ikkaku watched as the man he respected most jogged down the set of stairs and took off in the direction of the squad 1 barracks, not even realizing the heavy blow that was about to come.

Shunsui Kyoraku turned just as the double doors to squad 1's great hall were pushed open by Kenpachi Zaraki. The giant pushed himself through the doorway, his uncovered eye narrowed, taking in Shunsui's stance in the middle of the room that appeared to be empty.

"I got that message of yours, here I am, what's this about!?" Kenpachi asked as he stepped farther into the room.

Shunsui sighed heavily and averted his gaze—after all these years, this is what I'm forced to do…

"Kenpachi, I'm sorry to have to tell you this; but the central 46 has placed an order, I'm afraid my hands are tied." Shunsui began.

Kenpachi tensed as he lifted his head, his gaze searching his surroundings.

"The hell you goin' on about? What order and what's it have to do with me!?" Kenpachi spat, lifting his right hand to the hilt of his Zanpakuto.

"You've been placed under arrest." Shunsui answered.

Kenpachi's palm tightened around the hilt of his blade and in one swift motion, he pulled it free from its sheath.

"You wanna run that by me again?" Kenpachi growled.

Shunsui allowed his gaze to lift, meeting the squad 11 captain's head on. In the background where Kenpachi could not see, the walls began to move, flakes of what looked like plaster began to fall to the ground as Mayuri Kurotsuchi appeared behind Kenpachi revealing the use of one of the squad 12 captains inventions, the Nisehada.

"I'm going to need you to hand over your Zanpakuto." Shunsui stated.

Kenpachi laughed directly in the head captains face; was this some kind of joke!?

"You can have it, if you can take it…" Kenpachi retorted.

"I'm afraid that won't be much of an issue." Mayuri Kurotsuchi boasted as he lifted his right hand and jabbed Kenpachi in the right bicep with an uncapped syringe. Kenpachi pivoted his body swinging around his weight as he tried to slash at the squad 12 captain with his sword.

Mayuri sidestepped the attack, seeming to have expected Kenpachi's reaction to his violation. Kenpachi felt himself begin to stagger back, his head began to swim as white spots filled his only line of vision.

"What the fuck is this!? Kuro-Kurotsuchi!" Kenpachi slurred.

"I have taken the liberty of injecting you with a compound I created especially for your own personal body chemistry. Fight as much as you like, Zaraki, but I am afraid this is one battle you will not be able to win." Mayuri explained.

"You think it's gonna be that easy!?" Kenpachi growled as he charged forward, his frame unsteady due to the drug overtaking his system.

Mayuri reached his right hand down, pulling his own Zanpakuto from its sheath just in the nick of time. Even drugged the blow from the massive man caused Mayuri to slide backward as Kenpachi continued to barrel forward succeeding in pinning Mayuri to the wall behind him, the only thing between them the cold edge of steel.

Kenpachi grunted as he felt his body begin to tremble, his vision blurred; sweat began to collect across his brow as a deep chill enveloped his body.

"It's only a matter of minutes and you will lose consciousness, I've taken every precaution I could when creating the drug I've injected you with." Mayuri stated as he pushed back against Kenpachi's blade.

"What…the…fffuck…" Kenpachi slurred once more as Mayuri managed to push him back.

Kenpachi felt his body begin to teeter as he tried to maintain his footing. Kenpachi raised his gaze looking into the eyes of the man responsible for his condition—empty golden eyes.

"It's nothing personal, mind you, simply just a means to an end, I am sure even a brute such as you is able to comprehend that much." Mayuri continued.

"Y…You'll pay for this…" Kenpachi threatened.

"Yes, well, when and if that time comes I will be sure to prepare myself." Mayuri countered nonchalantly.

Kenpachi's body jarred violently as a deep chill overtook him making his bottom jaw chatter uncontrollably; his ability to speak taken from him completely. Kenpachi tried to lift his sword in hand, his mind still pushing him to fight back against the drugs but his muscles failed to comply.

"The drug is in the process of entering all of your nerve endings, overriding the tendons, your muscles…" Mayuri explained.

As if on que to the squad 12 captain's explanation, Kenpachi felt his fingers go lax against the hilt of his Zanpakuto. With a loud clang, the jagged blade fell to the wooden floor at his feet. Kenpachi's lips parted as another grunt escaped his chest, his light green eye grew wide as if in disbelief.

Shunsui appeared in Kenpachi's peripheral vision just as Kenpachi's knees jarred and then buckled under his own weight. Shunsui averted his gaze just as the towering man fell forward with a deep thud, his hand out stretched as if trying to reach for the Zanpakuto that laid at his side.

"My, my, that took longer than I had originally expected, I guess it's no wonder, this is after all, Kenpachi Zaraki. We don't have much more time to waste, if I am to implant the device we must act quickly before the brute's spiritual pressure dissolves the effects of the drug completely." Mayuri warned.

"Alright…" Shunsui replied as he walked forward and bent down next to Kenpachi in order to retrieve the man's Zanpakuto from the floor.

Kenpachi lay with his eye open looking glossed over, a sight Shunsui could have gone the rest of his life without seeing.

"If you can hear me, Zaraki, I'm sorry." Shunsui whispered, before standing to his full height once more.

Kenpachi Zaraki listened as he heard the sounds of footsteps next to his head—I can't move! I can't even see!

"If you can hear me, Zaraki, I'm sorry." Kenpachi heard the voice of the head captain.

A little late for that, don'tcha think, Kyoraku?

Kenpachi tried to force himself to speak, but it was no use, whatever Kurotsuchi had injected him with was playing with his head, playing with his body too—Guess I'm just another of that bastards experiments now, he better hope I don't get back up!

"Captain? W..what is this?" Kenpachi heard a familiar voice of a man as he entered the room. The sound of footsteps coming closer to him. Kenpachi could feel the sting of air hitting the pupil of his left eye, he knew it was open, but the ocular nerve seemed to be paralyzed making his vision black.

"I don't have time to explain right now, Akon. I simply need you to assist us in transporting Zaraki!" Mayuri snapped at his Lieutenant.

"Yes, Sir. I just hope he doesn't wake up in the process." Akon sighed.

"Well, the faster you shut your mouth and get moving the less the chances are of that happening!" Mayuri countered tersely.

Kenpachi felt a pair of clammy hands reach out and grip his right forearm as another pair gripped his right leg right at the bend of his knee. The two men grunted as they succeeded in rolling Kenpachi over onto his back. Underneath him Kenpachi could feel something hard, harder than the wooden floor he was just lying face down on—is this plastic? Am I on some kind of stretcher or somethin'?

"It would be nice if you would be so kind as to assist us, Head Captain. It is my understanding that you are just as involved in this procedure as I am." Mayuri stated.

"This is the last thing I wanted to have happen, Captain Kurotsuchi." Kenpachi heard the man reply—Tch, quit bellyachin' and just get this shit over with…

"That may very well be the case, but all in all, it does not change the orders that we have been given." Mayuri retorted—so I really have been placed under arrest? What a pain in the ass…

Kenpachi sighed internally as he felt his weight being shifted as the three men lifted him from the hardwood floor, it felt like they were going to carry him all the way to research and development.

"I have the surgical site set up in the next room like you ordered, Captain Kurotsuchi." Akon stated—Well, so much for that, guess I'm gettin' sliced up right here, ain't that a bitch!

Kenpachi waited…the only thing filling the silence around him was the heavy footsteps of the three men along with their strained breathing as they carted him into the next room over. Kenpachi could feel his chest beginning to tighten as if at any moment his lungs were going to stop working on him for some reason. Just as the thought left Kenpachi's mind, he heard the squad 12 lieutenant back up his observation.

"His breathing is beginning to un-stabilize, we will need to intubate him quickly." Akon grunted.

"Let's get a move on then." Shunsui pressed, his own voice coming out less strained than the squad 12 lieutenant.

Kenpachi felt his heart rate begin to fill his ears even though his pulse had dropped significantly—he took every precaution, my body is slowly shuttin' down, that sneaky bastard! Kenpachi felt his body jar as the three men lowered him down on an elevated surface, he knew it was elevated because the men carrying him didn't have to bend down to place him on it.

Once again he felt hands on his forearm and leg as he was rolled onto a surface much softer than the previous one. The nagging stinging sensation coming from his opened eye eased almost instantly and Kenpachi realized it was most likely due to it being forced closed.

"Go ahead and prep for intubation, Akon. I am going to administer a second medication, one that will enhance the paralytic as well as sedate him before I make my incision." Mayuri stated.

"Yes, Sir." Akon replied.

Kenpachi wanted to grit his teeth as he felt another hard jab penetrate his skin, this time, it was injected into the bend of his elbow, straight into his vein. Kenpachi felt the squad 12 lieutenant's clammy shaking hands as Akon gripped him by the sides of his jaw and tilted his head backward.

"Captain, his jaw is clamped down, I can't seem to open his mouth." Akon announced.

"Ah, yes, that would be the paralytic, you'll simply have to use force." Mayuri answered as he leaned forward.

Kenpachi felt the bastard leaning across his chest and with every fiber of his being he wanted to move his arm, he wanted to reach out and grip the worm by the throat and squeeze with his bare hands. Almost as if an afterthought, Kenpachi wondered what was behind the surgery—they're going through an awful lot of shit just to kill me if that's the case, nah, there's more to this...

Kenpachi felt his jaw finally give under the pressure of the two men's fingers and felt the searing cold of metal press against his tongue as some kind of tool was placed inside his mouth.

"Alright, I think we can go ahead and insert the breathing tube." Akon sighed.

"No, not yet, give him a couple more minutes…" Mayuri ordered.

"B…but, Sir, he's going to stop breathing…" Akon interjected.

"Then so be it, I wish to make sure he is properly sedated before I begin my procedure, I bet the beast has been laying there listening to us this whole time, just hoping for the perfect opportunity to strike." Mayuri countered.—Tch, since when do you give a shit about someone being sedated properly, Kurotsuchi…

Kenpachi listened to the stagnant sound of silence as his lungs tightened as if someone were sitting on his chest, it wasn't like he'd never been close to death before—Hell; I've died many times!

Swirls of white color danced across the darkness behind Kenpachi's closed lids, pulling Kenpachi's attention to the dream like vision in front of him—that really you, Yachiru? Can't be her, she's dead, I surpassed her; what the hell am I lookin' at?

Kenpachi fought against the pressure in his lungs as images of his past began to flash in front of his eyes filling him with a sensation he had never felt before; something so foreign to him he couldn't give it a name—is this fear? No…this ain't like fear…this is different…is this shame?

I am the Kenpachi! I…Am…The…Kenpachi… aren't I, Yachiru…

"Captain, I think he's just stopped breathing." Akon announced.

"Very well, proceed with intubation, Akon." Mayuri ordered.

"How long is this going to take, Captain Kurotsuchi?" Shunsui asked from the doorway of the small room that had been converted into a temporary surgical bay.

Mayuri turned his attention to a monitor that stood next to the medical bed the brute had been dumped onto, not bothering to answer the head captains question right away. The monitor told him all of Zaraki's vital signs, his heart rate; his blood pressure and oxygen levels. Mayuri watched the number begin to climb the minute his Lieutenant managed to place the breathing tube successfully.

Mayuri turned his gaze to the head captain and shrugged his shoulders.

"It is a simple matter of how much difficulty I run into, this procedure is not one to gawk at by any means, I am about to wire this device into the heart of this man in the hopes that it will collect his spiritual pressure and convert it to nothing more than simple oxygen. Not an easy feat to say the least." Mayuri countered.

"Converting his spiritual pressure like that, wouldn't that make him like a normal soul?" Shunsui asked.

"Not quite. Kenpachi's body does not only rely on his spiritual pressure, why, he has only around three percent of body fat on his frame, I would say in his case, this conversion would make him more along the lines of a well-built human male." Mayuri answered.

Shunsui sighed heavily at the squad 12 captains explanation—how the hell is Zaraki going to be able to stand going from his level of power down to the level of a mere human man?

"If you will excuse me, Head Captain, the clock is ticking and I need to prep the area before I make my first incision." Mayuri stated.

Shunsui nodded as a wave a nausea assaulted his empty stomach. Turning abruptly on his heel,the head captain made his way back out into the hallway—Just what the hell have I allowed to happen?

"It's been almost three hours since the Captain left." Ikkaku growled as he paced in front of the squad 11 barracks.

"I am sure we would have heard something by now if something was wrong." Yumichika countered, lifting his left thumb to his lips as he held himself with his right arm.

"You weren't there, you didn't see the look in his eye before he left." Ikkaku countered.

"I will admit it's not like the Head Captain to be so formal. What do you suggest we do?" Yumichika replied.

"I"ll give 'em the rest of the night, if the Captain's not back by morning, I'm going to get some answers!" Ikkaku retorted.

Yumichika let out a weary sigh as he watched his best friend continue to pace in front of the barracks as an overwhelming rush of unease surrounded him.

Ikkaku jerked his head up and the two men shared a knowing glance between them; somehow, someway, their captain's spiritual pressure had just seemed to vanish as if he'd disappeared into thin air.