A.N: And here we are. The anticipated sequel to Rise of the Infinito Espada. Where in this story, we delve deeper into the stories of Benito Muerta and Isshin Kurosaki. Meanwhile, the Soul Reapers and Los Retazo's fight each other in the first few battles of the new war.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, Tite Kubo owns it. However, as usual, I own Akio Yamamoto, Benito Muerta, and all the O.C's in this story, and are not to be used without my permission.

Terror of Los Retazos

Chapter 1: A Day on Patrol

It had been a month since Yamamoto's declaration that the Soul Reaper's were near war with the new regime of Arrancar led by the mysterious Arrancar, Benito Muerta, who had spiritual pressure on the level of Head Captain Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. To make matters worse, according to Squad 9 Captain Ichigo Kurosaki's report, the new King of Hueco Mundo had recruited two ex-Espada in Tia Halibel and Grimmjow Jaegerjaques. While both sides are in a standoff, waiting for the other to strike, life continues to go on in the Seireitei...

The Soul Reaper Mental Institution, or the S.R.M.I for short, was easily the most depressing place in the Seireitei. At least, that was how most people saw it. It was hard for many, to see Soul Reapers who had fought hard for the sake of the Soul Society be confined to this institution for various reasons. For some, it was because of a death they never got over. Others had simply seen to many horrid things in their battles. There was one special case that garnered the most sympathy, as well as being named arguably the saddest of all cases. Squad 5 Lieutenant Momo Hinamori's story was tragic to say the least. she had been in the service of Squad 5 since before the Winter War...before Sōsuke Aizen was revealed as a traitor. During her time as Aizen's lieutenant, Momo looked up to Aizen like a father, like a hero. When Aizen was supposedly murdered, she lost all sense of reason, going so far as to blindly attack anyone she suspected of being the murderer of her precious captain. After Aizen revealed that he was still alive, Momo was overjoyed...until Aizen stabbed her and left her for dead.

Momo survived, but her mental state was badly damaged. For the longest time, she had believed that ex-Squad 3 Captain Gin Ichimaru was manipulating Aizen behind the scenes. It was only until the Battle of the Fake Karakura Town, did she accept Aizen as an enemy and aided the other Soul Reapers. But when they all took on Aizen, everything went bad. Squad 10 Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya had supposedly stabbed Aizen, only to realize with horror that he had been manipulated by Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu into stabbing Momo. Once again, Momo was near death. Once again, her mental state was damaged. After a long and painfully agonizing three months where her internal organs were regenerated by Squad 12, Momo was placed in the S.R.M.I to recover. That had been months ago, now Momo was close to being released and cleared for duty.

A young man with black hair and a Captain's Haori entered the S.R.M.I. The workers in the lobby froze and stared at the man as he walked up to the front desk. "I'm here to see Lieutenant Momo Hinamori." The man said.

"I'm sorry sir, she's not seeing anyone today. She is scheduled to be released tomorrow. You can speak to her then." Said the female receptionist.

Akio Yamamoto shook his head, he was not going to take no for an answer. "Look, I've been trying to visit her for awhile but my duties have kept me busy to say the least."

"Sir, I'm afraid rules are rules..."

Akio leaned forward and flashed his best Akio Yamamoto-smile. "Come on, I'm sure you can make an exception for me. Or perhaps I have to tell my father, the Head Captain that you refused to follow an order from a captain as well as his own son."

The receptionist gulped when she realized who this man was. She then turned to a female co-worker. "Please take Captain Yamamoto to Lt. Hinamori's room."

The other woman nodded. "Right this way sir."

Akio smirked. Being the heir to a Noble Clan certainly has its benefits. He thought.

Momo Hinamori sighed contently as she laid in her bed. Tomorrow, she would finally return to active duty among her squad. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened while she was gone. She was very confident Shinji Hirako had done a good job holding the squad together while she was gone. However, unbeknownst to Momo, Shinji had been replaced awhile back by someone new...and she was about to be visited by her new captain.

Momo then heard someone knock on her door. "Come in." she said.

The door creaked opened and a worker peered in. "Lt. Hinamori, you have a visitor."

Momo was confused. "But I'm not supposed to have visitors today."

The female worker nodded. "That may be true, Lieutenant, but we couldn't exactly say 'no' to this man."

Momo realized that she couldn't say 'no' either. "Very well, send him in."

Akio then entered the room and smiled in a friendly manner to Momo. "Good afternoon Momo." He said.

This man was certainly a stranger to Momo, had they filled up the positions in the other two squads? "I'm Akio Yamamoto, Captain of Squad 5." Continued Akio.

Squad 5? Yamamoto? It was one surprise after another. So much a surprise, Momo couldn't believe it at first. "But Captain Hirako is in charge of Squad 5." She said quietly.

Akio smiled. "That's right, you haven't been brought up to speed with what's happened."

Momo nodded. Akio sat down in a nearby chair. "Well, why don't I fill in the blanks?"

Momo nodded again. "Awhile ago, Central 46 declared that a unit for the Visored will be formed. Because of this, Shinji was no longer able to continue his duties as Captain of Squad 5. I applied to be his replacement and soon became the captain."

Momo nodded. "I see."

Akio gave her a concerned look. "Tell me, Momo, how have you been feeling?"

Momo gave a weak smile. "I've been feeling fine, I'm going back to active duty tomorrow."

"That's good." Akio said kindly.

Akio gave Momo a sympathetic look. "Momo, I came here to talk to you about how things are going to be between us as captain and lieutenant."

Momo raised an eyebrow. Akio smiled. "Momo, I understand how you've felt after what happened between you and Aizen. I understand that you have had a hard time trusting just about everyone in the Sereiteie because of what happened."

Akio paused before continuing. "So I want to tell you this: You don't have to trust me now. You don't have to accept me as your captain now either. I will let you take it as slowly as possible. And when you do decide to trust me, I promise you, I will protect you and the rest of the squad with my life. And I certainly would die before I betrayed you and the squad."

Momo gave a light smile. "I like that."

Akio nodded. "If you like it, then so do I."

Akio got up. "I do expect you to report tomorrow."

"Of course." Replied Momo

Akio and Momo said their farewells. As Akio left the room, one thought crossed his mind. So far so good. Lets just see how tomorrow goes.

A day after the chat with his lieutenant, Akio found himself trying to stay awake as he listened to his adopted father, the elderly Head Captain Yamamoto, drone on endlessly about random subjects. "...And as a reminder, Squad 5 and Squad 9 are out on patrol today in case we have to deal with an attack from a Menos or Arrancar." Finished Yamamoto.

Akio looked at Squad 9 Captain Ichigo Kurosaki, the two men gave each other a common smirk. Ichigo, the hero of the Winter War, and Akio had become good friends since Akio's introduction as Lieutenant of Squad 13. After all, it had been Ichigo by his side as he quickly rose through the ranks and became a captain. "That is all for today, dismissed!" Concluded the Head Captain.

There were several slight groans of relief from the more immature captains (Shunsui Kyōraku, Kenpachi Zaraki, and Ichigo), and with that, everyone quickly filed out. Ichigo couldn't help but notice that nobody seemed uncomfortable with the missing spot that belonged to ex-Squad 12 Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who was now a traitor. He quickly concluded that nobody exactly missed the demented ex-captain.

He was quickly joined by Akio, who clapped him on the shoulder. "We still on for sake afterwards?" He asked.

Ichigo shook his head. "I'm not letting you take me out drinking again, not after last time." Said Ichigo, remembering the time they had sake in the Rukon District. Ichigo had been left with a monster hangover. Something he's never forgiven Akio for, despite their friendship.

After separating, Ichigo made his way back to the Squad 9 barracks. Once he reached the door, he was greeted by a short, raven-haired girl. "Is everyone ready to go Rukia?" Asked Ichigo.

Rukia Kuchiki nodded. "All right then, lets go meet up with Akio and the rest of Squad 5."

Rukia nodded again. Ichigo looked behind her to see the rest of Squad 9 standing at the ready. "Okay, it's the usual deal guys, we fall in with Captain Yamamoto and the rest of Squad 5 and spend the day patrolling the Seireitei. If anyone sees anything that looks like a threat, report it to me, Captain Yamamoto, or Lt. Kuchiki and we'll help deal with the problem."

"Yes sir!" The members of Squad 9 said in unison.

With the squad mobilized, Ichigo and Rukia moved to meet up with Squad 5. When they found Akio, he was standing next to a young girl who was a familiar face to Rukia. "Momo!" She called out happily.

Momo Hinamori smiled in a friendly manner. "Hello Rukia." She said, equally happy.

Ichigo grinned at Akio. "I see your lieutenant's finally cleared for duty."

Akio nodded. "You bet, signed the paperwork and everything."

Ichigo looked at Momo. "Nice to meet you Momo."

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Captain Kurosaki." Said Momo, extending her hand.

Ichigo shook Momo's hand. "Okay then, now that we've got the pleasantries out of the way, has Akio given you the rundown on how we do things when we're on patrol?"

"Sort of, sir."

"Well then allow me to fill in the blanks," said Ichigo. "When we're on patrol, we divide up into four teams: Rukia takes the East, Akio takes the North, I take the South, and you will take the West."

Momo nodded in understanding. "And if you encounter anything that looks like a threat, it is either to be captured or killed."

Momo nodded again. Akio clapped his hands together and turned around. "All right then, lets get..."

Akio couldn't finish, because he was suddenly kicked in the face by a very familiar woman in a captain's haori. "You let your guard down again, idiot! Haven't you learned by now that I hate you enough to harm you in every possible way?" Asked a smug Captain Soifon.

Akio looked up in fury. "Come on! Don't you know I'm on duty at the moment, Soifon?"

"That may be true, but the fact remains that you still hurt my pride Akio Yamamoto, an unforgivable crime!"

Rukia and Momo just stared in disbelief. Ichigo shook his head. This happened nearly every single day for the past month, with Soifon constantly attacking Akio. Ichigo still hadn't figured out why though. He understood Soifon's sense of honor, sure, but he had expected her to move on after a week at least. But a month? This was certainly strange.

As these thoughts crossed Ichigo's mind, Soifon turned away. "Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Screamed Akio. "You can't just kick someone in the face and then leave!"

Soifon smirked. "Idiot, aren't you supposed to be on duty?"

With that, the Squad 2 Captain and commander of the Stealth Force flash stepped away. Akio was now seeing red and was preparing to go after Soifon, only to be held back by some of his subordinates. "Let me go! That woman is going down!" Akio shouted.

Momo turned to Rukia. "I'm curious, does this happen a lot."

Rukia sighed. "Every single day. She's held a grudge against him for over a month now. And all because he saved her life."

Momo was shocked. "Talk about being ungrateful."

"Tell me about it." Rukia nodded in agreement.

Ichigo, deciding that he had had enough of Akio's rather childish behavior, walked up and hit Akio in the back of the head with the hilt of Zangetsu. Akio grunted at the feeling of being hit. He turned and glared at Ichigo. "You are picking the wrong day to mess with me Ichigo!" He said angrily.

Ichigo simply glared back. "Stop acting like a child Akio...or do you want me to tell your dad about this?"

Akio grimaced at the thought of his dad's fury. "N-no, I don't. I'll be good I swear." He stammered.

Ichigo then pointed to the North. "Then get your group moving buddy."

At that moment, an alarm went off. "Alert!" Came the voice of Head Captain Yamamoto. "Alert! Menos Grande are trying to enter the Seireitei from the Precipice World, Squad's 5 and 9 are ordered to intercept them!"

Ichigo couldn't help but grin. "Finally, something interesting."

Akio chuckled and drew Kaminari. "Amen to that. Lets get going."

The Precipice World was the gateway between the World of the Living and the Soul Society. It normally was cleaned out by the Kōtotsu, but it was clear that the Menos had already destroyed it. Akio and Ichigo grinned as they saw the giant Hollows coming towards them. "What do you think...forty? Maybe fifty?" Asked Akio.

"Fifty sounds about right, lets just get started already." Said Ichigo.

Akio placed a hand in front of his friend. "Hold up Ichigo, I want to try something first. And if everything goes well, I bet you'll be pretty satisfied with the results."

Ichigo was curious as to what Akio had planned, so he agreed. Akio turned to Momo. "Momo, didn't you say your Zanpakutō was a fire type?"

Momo nodded. "Yes, Captain."

"Release your Zanpakutō then...and it's Akio, remember?" Said Akio.

Momo ignored the last comment and released her Shikai. "Snap, Tobiume!"

Akio then did the same. "Light up the sky, Kaminari!"

The two high-ranking Soul Reapers then pointed their released blades at the Menos. "All right, now swing your Tobiume and shoot a ball of fire at them."

Momo nodded and swung Tobiume, shooting a ball of fire at the Menos. "Yeah, just like that." Said Akio. "Now, Naguru!"

Kaminari then fired a bolt of lightning that soon combined with Tobiume's fireball. The combined attack tore through the line of Menos, destroying several of them. Akio grinned and turned to his squad. "Do you see everyone? This is what happens when we use teamwork in combat. Do you all see what we're capable of when we do not just rely on ourselves? This is simply a small demonstration of what the Thirteen Court Squads can be if we put aside our ideals and fight as one."

There were several murmurs of agreement from the Squad 5 Soul Reapers. "Hey professor," Ichigo said teasingly. "Why don't you stop your lecture and start cutting up the rest of those Menos."

Not waiting for a reply, Ichigo raised Zangetsu and charged the Menos with Rukia and the rest of Squad 9 following loyally behind. Akio could only smile as Ichigo cut up Menos after Menos. The Soul Reapers then saw another Menos emerge, it was an Adjuchas, the second level of the Menos. It was in the shape of a golem. "All right, move!" Akio ordered.

Akio quickly moved past Ichigo. "We'll handle this one."

"Just don't get killed." Ichigo said, smirking.

Akio and Squad 5 stared down the Adjuchas. "Everyone stand back, I have a plan." Said Akio.

Akio walked up to the Adjuchas, who seemed to be grinning. "You have a lot of nerve facing me alone, Soul Reaper." It said.

Akio laughed. "Buddy, you don't know who you're dealing with."

And with that, Akio raised two fingers. Bakudō 61, Rikujōkorō!" Shouted Akio.

Six beams of light struck the Golem-Adjuchas. "Gah, damn you! Is this Kidō?" It asked, furiously.

Akio nodded. "Yeah, it's Bakudō, also known as defensive Kidō or 'the way of binding.'"

The Golem glared at is foe. "You're not even going to use your Zanpakutō?"

Akio shook his head. "I'm not."

Akio turned to his squad. "Everyone, hit him with the highest Kidō level you can use! If that doesn't kill him, it'll at least soften him up!"

Squad 5 nodded and raised one of their palms. Within seconds, there were blasts of spiritual energy (that could be classified as Hadō, or offensive Kidō) that hit the golem Adjuchas. When the smoke cleared, Akio saw that the enemy was still standing, but its hierro was cracked. "Looks like that didn't do it," Akio muttered, turning to his squad. "Now hit him hard and hit him together, if you all attack him you should be able to bring him down!"

The Soul Reapers leapt up and together, they made Akio's prediction come to fruition. In just a few seconds, the Golem-Adjuchas collapsed, dead and bloodied. Rukia and Ichigo walked up to Akio. "A level 60+ Bakudō technique, and without the incantation too. How did you learn that so quickly?" Asked Rukia, clearly impressed.

Akio blushed humbly. "Well, being the son of the Head Captain does have its benefits. And because of my high spiritual energy, I can use high level Kidō spells more easily."

Ichigo found himself deep in thought. He had the same amount of spirit energy as Akio did, right? So why couldn't he do it. Akio seemed to sense what he was thinking and gave him a sympathetic smile. "You've got the potential to be a great Kidō Expert too, Ichigo. Maybe even better than me and some of the other captains. You just have to figure out how to harness it." Akio explained.

Akio took one last look to make sure there were no more enemies. Seeing that there were none, he exhaled a deep sigh of relief. "Looks like we're done here," said Akio.

"Akio your squads teamwork is impressive." Rukia admitted.

Akio nodded. "It is nothing more than a thirteenth of what the Thirteen Court Guard Squads can be."

As the group continued to walk. Akio spoke again. "Oh and Ichigo, one more thing."

"What is it Akio?" Asked Ichigo.

"The offer for sake tonight is still on the table."

"And I told you, I don't want to go!" Ichigo said, annoyed that Akio would bring that up at a time like this.

"Come on man, I invited Rangiku and Lisa."

Ichigo groaned. It was bad enough Akio had invited Rangiku, who had attempted to seduce him before (and would probably do it again), but to hear that he had invited the incredibly perverted, erotic manga reader (and fellow Visored), Lisa Yadōmaru, was simply too much. "Why would you invite those two? And why do you keep bringing this up?"

Akio grinned. "Ichigo, I'm trying to do you a favor buddy. You're the hero of the Winter War, you could have any girl you wanted, yet you're way too antisocial to find one."

Rukia's face dropped in sadness when she realized Akio was right. Of course, that went unnoticed by the two men. Ichigo then spoke up. "For the record Akio, I am interested in someone."

Akio was surprised. "All right Ichi' didn't know you had it in you. And who is the lucky girl?"

Ichigo smirked. "A gentleman never kisses and tells, however, I can tell you it's not Lisa or Rangiku."

Akio was even more surprised. He wanted to find out who it was so bad, but decided to respect Ichigo's wishes. In truth, he may have enjoyed teasing and having fun with people, but he knew what the limit was.

After leaving the Precipice World and finishing patrols for the day, Ichigo and Rukia were back in the Squad 9 Barracks. Ichigo turned to his subordinates. "I'm going to finish my paperwork, everyone else, resume your duties."

"Yes sir." Replied the squad.

With that, Ichigo entered his office and groaned at the sight of the huge stack of papers. He quickly got started, but soon found his mind plagued by the memory of the Arrancar that came and interrupted his fight with Grimmjow. If he comes back again, I'll be ready right? Ichigo thought. We don't know a thing about this guy though. I wish there was some way we could find out more information on this guy. But there's nobody here who knows a thing about him...

That was when it hit Ichigo, there was someone who might know something about this new enemy of the Soul Society...and he was gonna need Akio's help to get to him.

Izuru Kira was certainly surprised when Akio came up to him and asked him if he wanted to join him, Rangiku Matsumoto, and Lisa Yadōmaru for a couple drinks of sake. In truth, the lieutenant of Squad 3 wasn't exactly a social butterfly due to his gloomy personality, but he had been a rather good friend of Akio's during his days as a lieutenant. Izuru theorized that this was because both were dealing with the pressures of becoming heads of a noble family and, as a result, felt a connection with each other. So when Akio asked him to join, he couldn't say no.

And so there he was enjoying drinks with a fellow lieutenant, a captain, and a Visored (how people weren't giving them looks already was amazing to Izuru). Akio raised his sake. "Bottoms up folks." He said, grinning.

As the foursome downed their drinks, Ichigo bursted in, surprising everyone. Akio nearly spit out his drink. "Ichigo," he choked. "What the hell?"

"Akio, I need your help." Ichigo said bluntly.

"Ichigo, I would love to help with whatever problem you have but I'm busy at the moment." Replied Akio, gesturing to Rangiku, Lisa, and Izuru.

Ichigo, of course, wasn't going to take no for an answer. So in response, he simply walked up to his friend and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him out. "Ichigo what's with you?" Rangiku asked, surprised.

"It's fine everyone, I just need Akio's help with something." Replied Ichigo.

Ichigo pulled Akio outside. "What the hell?" Akio asked angrily. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to the Muken, the eighth level of the Seireitei's underground prison." Replied Ichigo.

Akio's eyes widened. "But that's where..."

"I know," interrupted Ichigo. "That's the point."

A.N: Good to be back everyone. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Terror of Los Retazo's. On an unrelated note, there's something I've been wondering. When a Soul Reaper destroys a Hollow it's soul is sent to the Soul Society. The same probably applies for an Arrancar, but I want to know what you guys think. Do you think that the Arrancar that were killed by a Soul Reaper's Zanpakutō are in the Soul Society, but are purified? Include your opinion on this question in your review.