Ichigo and Rukia followed the three strangers down street upon street, finally stopping in Karakura's Warehouse district. Bikou led the way into one of the tall building, and closed the door after the two shinigami, leaving Aki and Hissori outside. "Please, sit down." He gestured to some chairs and couches scattered all around. "It's still the hight of the day, so we shouldn't be interrupted."

"What exactly shouldn't be interrupted?" asked Rukia, scathingly. "Look, not to be rude, but who are you?"

"As I said, my name is-"

"Yes, I know your name. What I'm asking is, who are you? Are you a shinigami? What squad? Why are you looking for us? What was with that hollow? Where are we? What's going on?"

Ichigo had already settled down into a loveseat, his usual apathy setting back in. He honestly didn't care what this man had to say… What had that hollow said again? Something about memories? ….memories…. He suddenly realized Rukia had finally sat down next to him in a huff, and looked up as that man… what was his name again? Oh well… it really didn't matter anyway… Well, whoever he was sat down across from them, and started talking.

"-a lot of questions… But, that is to be expected from someone who has just experienced what you have. I know things can't be easy for you to take in all at once but-"

….Rukia's slipping her arm over my shoulders…. Does she really think I don't notice? *sigh* I mean… it's not like she's not smoking hot… I'd know that plenty well after that bath incident… and well…. Yeah… I kinda like her… but…. I just… without thinking, Ichigo slipped a hand into his pocket and ran his fingers over a brilliant ribbon he always carried. He almost jumped at Rukia speaking- she was right up against him.

"Look. I really don't care about all of this, just answer my questions."

Bikou sighed. "all right. I am Bikou Kusemono, leader of the Undercover Squad. Aki and Hissori are my right hand men. We are part of the Nagori Tamas. We are all humans who, by a special and accidental process, became the same as you shinigami. So, no, I am not a shinigami. But at the same time, yes. Yes I am." Rukia looked ready to interrupt again, but Bikou held up a finger, and pressed on. "Please, save further questions until after, I will answer all you asked. Be patient, beautiful one. All will be told." Rukia blushed, and Ichigo felt a wave of envy sweep him. "You next asked why we were looking for you. Simple, really- to protect you both. And any shinigami we could likewise protect through you. Those hollows were the Ko. They have learned to advance themselves using similar techniques to those forced upon we of the Tamas. We-"

"I can handle my own protection! Do not presume to look down upon those such as us!" Rukia said, for once looking her title as she looked in distain at Bikou. He didn't' change his demeanor at all.

"Can you. Can you really, considering what you just saw?" Rukia hesitated. "If you need proof of my power, look at what I did to those hollow. I am easily on par with one of your squad captains. I believe you next wanted to know," he talked straight over Rukia's stuttering beginning of a retort "where you are. You are in a warehouse, one of several that we have taken over and use for a variety of purposes. We use this one for relaxation after a day's activities. I believe with that, we have covered all of your questions." He sat again from his pacing, and smiled at them. "Any more?"

Rukia frowned. "But what even is this 'Ko' thing. Also, why were they going to kill us with our own swords, rather than eat us? Oh, and that thing mentioned 'our memories feeding the cause' what was that all about! And why couldn't we kill that hollow! Why'd it have a blue mask! And what did you do that we didn't that killed it so easily!"

"My, my, my… full of questions, aren't we Rukia Kuchiki…. And not Ko 'thing'. Ko 'things' The Ko are a new race of hollow, similar to your Arrancar. Very well done, by the way, on regaining your shinigami powers, Kurosaki." He didn't wait for a response from Ichigo. "Most of your questions actually have the same answer, so I will answer them by answering this- How is a Ko made. Ko Hollows are created by an already existing Ko hollow taking a person's memories upon their death, and sealing them into the mask of another Hollow. This process can be completed with any type of person, and with any type of hollow. However, needless to say, the stronger the person you gain memories from, the stronger the resultant Ko. The same holds true for the hollow, except in the case of a menos grande. They are oddly resistant to this process, going to any means to avoid becoming Ko. This process requires the one who died to have died in a certain way, though, so that they can harvest their memories. The victim must be utterly destroyed by a part of them. This could be a baker being drowned in a batch of his precious dough, or an artist stabbed in the heart with a brush, or quite obviously and most effective, killing a shinigami with his own sword. This will always give you the desired memories these Ko need. This process gives them immense powers, sometimes based on the hollow's already existing abilities, sometimes based on the abilities of the victim. Also, keep this in mind- a hollow with a strong memory will be stronger. Any hollow with a memory at all will be stronger. That is part of why we had to work so hard to find you- before they did, and sent the Adjuchas level Ko after you. We think the first Ko was accidentally created the same way as us. Or, more likely, he ate a blank."

Ichigo finally sat up, breaking out of his stupor, interested. "A blank? What do the blanks have to do with this?"

"Everything. As I'm sure you know, blanks are considered souls without memories. This is actually a fallacy. They are pure memory, hence why the Memory Rosary can actually control them."

Rukia butted in. "So, these Ko are trying to target soul reapers to steal their memories and create especially powerful Ko!"

Bikou nodded. "That is it In a nutshell, yes. This is what we need you to warn soul society about. There is very little time. We finally managed to locate you, but not before the Ko did as well. Their plan had been to seize both of you to create super ko that could stand up to soul society on their own and take yet more soul reapers. Eventually, they want to overthrow soul society and build a world in which the Hollow is the dominant race, and all others will bow to it. However, as we have located you and placed you under protection, we no longer know what they will do. We do not even know if we can risk sending you off to the Soul Society with a warning now. They might intercept you on the way there."

Ichigo was drifting out of the conversation again, but Rukia was attentively nodding. "One last question for now. What did you do to them, that we couldn't? Why wouldn't it die?"

"Ahh, yes. I did leave that out. A Ko will not die unless you completely annihilate its mask." He stood again, and drew his sword. "This is my Zanpakuto, Shifuto Kumori. He has the power to control shadows to his whim." He held the blade down at his side and murmured "Kirikorosu, Kumori." The blade changed from shining steel to swirling, shifting shadows in the shape of a sword. He lifted it up, and the shadow of one of the sofas cast by a high window swirled off the floor and spun around the blade. Then he suddenly flicked it, and the blade returned to normal, and the shadow shrank back into position. "The blade itself is made of shadows. When I cut, I had them branch out, like a tree's roots, and crush the masks of the hollows, even as I cut them open. Simple, really."

Ichigo finally looked up and asked a question. "I have one last question too- why does …the guy in red… call you Suri."

"…Aki calls me Suri for our own reasons… You should know well enough that our Zanpakutos mimic that which is in our hearts. So you should know that my heart is full of shadows. Just as yours," he looked at Ichigo, "is full of power and will. And yours," this time at Rukia, "Of ice. But I think…" he cast an amused glance at her arm over his shoulders, and the way she was cuddled up against him, "That you are beginning to melt that icy heart of yours." Rukia blushed fiercely, and started to stammer something, but once again Bikou cut over her. "But, back to what I was saying. I believe that, at least, while you are here with us, you will be safe from-" A screaming cry sounded from outside the warehouse, and with an almighty crash, a limp figure in red robes with a staff clutched in his hands fell through the roof to fall in a twisted, broken mess on the ground between the three talker's feet.

So! A bit more is explained. We finally know who Bikou is working for, and little bit more about him. We've seen Ichigo's *real* thoughts inside, and Aki's dead already! I really didn't plan on killing off characters this early... :/ Wait, I thought Bikou said they were safe! Oh well! Hope you enjoyed this new chapter! Once again, I do not claim Bleach as my own, although I do love my OCs. :) (this from a guy who just killed one off in the second chapter... *rolls eyes*)

Note- you probably figured it out already, but italix means a person is thinking it.

meanings of words-

Ko- The new form of hollow, created by sealing memories into a hollow's mask. meaning 'Great'

Nagori Tamas - The group of humans granted shinigami powers through contact with the blanks. meaning 'Memory shells'