Spirit- Another chapter! Sorry the last one was really short.

Tenshi- This one is kind of short too... sorry.

Spirit- Yeah, I tried to make it longer, but I didn't think the next chapter fit in well with this one. They will be longer from here on out. I will see to it!

Tenshi- Yes! You better!

Spirit- ... I will beat you... Thanks too those who reviewed! I greatly appreciated them!

P.S.- if you are unfamiliar with my work and have no idea who Tenshi is, he is a character I created that is Hotaru's long lost twin brother who is the Grim Reaper. I have a crappy fic(it's old and when I was still a n00b) about him called "Tenshi No Kurayami" I believe. You may read that if you are still confused.

Pairings: (PLEASE suggest some for the other senshi... I'm at a loss for them. All pairings are subject to change.)

Hotaru/Grimmjow

Makoto/Shinji

Tenshi/Hiyori(hint only)

Ichigo/Orihime

Renji/Rukia(hint only)

Usagi/Mamoru

Haruka/Michiru

CHAPTER 2: Separation

"I don't like this." Haruka grumbled as she ran a hand through her sandy blonde hair. The rest of the senshi looked rather crest fallen as well. They were gathered at Rei's temple and were in the miko's bedroom. Most of the inner senshi sat on the bed, except for Ami who sat at the computer desk, facing everyone. Haruka sat on the window sill with Michiru standing next to her. The rest of the Outer senshi were standing around the room. Tenshi was sprawled out in the middle of the room, while Mamoru sat on the floor next to his fiance. Setsuna had just finished explaining all she knew about the Arrancar and where they came from. The Saturn twins had also given their report on the new strange enemy. Luna and Artemis told the group that Arrancar must be a newer race as they did not exist, to their knowledge, in the Silver Millennium.

Minako hugged the pillow she had tighter while resting her chin on it. "First this "Queen Iridium" shows up and now we have these "Arrancar". Not to mention school starts soon. How are we going to deal with all of this?"

"Are you sure they aren't working together Setsuna-san?" Usagi asked.

The time keeper shook her head. "I'm positive they aren't. Besides, the Arrancar don't seem to visit Tokyo too often, if ever. This is the first time I've actually seen one. I've mostly sensed them and creatures called Hollows appearing in Karakura town. "

"Hollows? Those exist everywhere though Setsuna-mama. They aren't something we should have to deal with either." Tenshi said, rolling onto his stomach and pulling at a loose thread on the blanket underneath him.

"True, but in the past several months there has been a high concentration of them in that town."

"So, we will have to go to Karakura town and investigate this matter further." Mamoru put in.

"But what about protecting Tokyo from Queen Iridium? I doubt she's going to wait 'till we're done with these Arrancar or vise versa." Makoto asked.

Ami sighed, as she tapped a pen on her chin, "the only option then is to split up."

Setsuna stepped forward. "I have a plan. Since only myself, Hotaru, Tenshi and Rei can see the Hollows and Arrancar, three of us will go to Karakura while one stays here just in case they come back. Also one other senshi should accompany us in case Queen Iridium sends someone to deal with us while we're there."

"So who stays and who goes?" Hotaru asked.

"I think you and your brother should be the ones Hotaru-chan. You've fought one of these Arrancar before. I'm not sure I can go up against them the way you did." Rei suggested.

Haruka nodded, glaring at the outside world. She didn't like the idea of the team splitting up, but saw no other way. "They do seem pretty strong. So whose the lucky senshi that gets to go along with our devil twins?"

Said twins threw a glare at her while Makoto stood up. "I'll go. The rest of you are needed here and I doubt some of you with parents will be allowed to go to Karakura town when schools going to start back up in a week."

The senshi all agreed. Setsuna left immediately to arrange a place for them to stay and enroll the three younger senshi in the local high school there. No one knew how long it would take to defeat this enemy, and the sooner they left, the better. Hotaru, Tenshi, and Makoto walked out into the courtyard while the rest of the senshi hung back to discuss plans for the enemy they were going after. It was a little strange not working with the rest of the group. Never have they had two enemies at once. Not only where they fighting a different enemy, but they had to be separated as well.

Makoto sighed as she looked up at the summer sky. This would be the first time she wouldn't be fighting by Usagi's side or any of the other inner senshi. It felt so foreign to her. Tomorrow she and the twins would pack their things and head out to Karakura town. She wondered what the town would be like. She knew it would be a lot smaller than Tokyo. The twins didn't seem that worried though. Well Tenshi didn't. He was currently hanging off one of the trees. His sister seemed to be contemplating something. Perhaps that fight she had with the Arrancar the other night. Her wound had already healed up thanks to her own healing abilities and Tenshi's. Makoto started to wonder what was in store for them. According to Hotaru, the man she fought was holding back a lot of his power. She confessed that even if she hadn't fought the youma earlier that day, she probably did not have enough power to defeat him. Unless she used one of her forbidden attacks.

The green eyed girl looked up when Tenshi fell out of the tree, startling the birds with the loud THUD he made. Hotaru shook her head as she went to help her brother. She smiled. It wouldn't be so bad. She would have the twins, who were always amusing, and Setsuna as well. Plus the sooner they get rid of the enemy the sooner they could come back and help Usagi. Sitting down on a bench she watched as Tenshi began to cry a river of tears while his sister tried to hold back her laughter.

"Tenshi you're so loud we can hear you clear from the other side of the house." The three looked up to see the rest of the Inners come out. Rei was the one who had spoken. Though her tone had sounded annoyed, she wore a smile on her face.

Tenshi only pouted. "But it hurt."

"Then you shouldn't have climbed it." Minako pointed out with a grin.

"Hey! You guys want to head to the arcade? We could play all the games then have some parfaits afterwards. It'll be our little "Going Away" party for Mako-chan, Taru-chan, and Tenshi-kun!" Usagi suggested, bouncing up and down.

Ami smiled. "That sounds like fun. What do you all say?"

"I challenge Minako to the racing game!" Tenshi cried.

The blonde smirked, "You're on crybaby!"

"Hey!" the girls and Mamoru laughed as the boy started steaming and stomping around like an upset toddler. Hotaru gave him a quick hug to calm him down which worked after a moment. They all went back inside, grabbed their stuff and headed to the arcade.

Haruka and Michiru watched them all go. The blonde was leaning on the door frame while her partner stood in the middle, her arms wrapped around herself. They would say their good-byes to the twins later that night and to Makoto tomorrow. They wished they could go with Hotaru and Tenshi. Their maternal instincts were tearing them in two. However, their duty to the Moon Princess bound them there. Besides, Setsuna would be with them. And out of all the Inners, Makoto was the most responsible. She would take care of the twins when the Gate Guardian couldn't.

Michiru watched the teenagers as they started down the temple steps with concerned filled eyes. The group was laughing and chatting away. You couldn't tell if any were saddened by the change of events. "Do you think they'll be ok?"

Haruka stared at the woman from the corners of her eyes. "Which ones?"

"... All of them."

Haruka focused back at the steps, the others were already gone from sight. She closed her eyes as she leaned her head on the frame and smiled slightly. "Who knows. We just have to believe in them. That's all we can do for now."

Michiru nodded and smiled as well. "I'll always believe in them."

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Setsuna had returned to her castle that orbited Pluto. Guardian Pluto happily greeted her and the two went into the control room. The crimson eyed beauty wanted to read up more on these Arrancar and Hollows. She was sure she had remembered most of the information, but she wanted to make sure there wasn't something she hadn't known in the first place. Hollows were really simple to understand. They were souls who refused to go to judgement either because they were obsessively attached to one place or held a grudge. They feasted on other souls and varied in power. Arrancar were a little more complicated. They looked more human and were very powerful. The beings were a hybrid breed between Hollows and Shinigami, being more like the soul consuming creatures. They could conceal most of their power within a sword. When they wanted to, they could release that stored energy and awaken their true forms.

Like Hollows, they also had different ranks. The most powerful being the Espada, who were numbered 1-10. The rest of the Arrancar were numbered by when they became one or "born". This Setsuna had known already. After searching a little more she found something new. Apparently there were two ways to create an Arrancar. The first she already knew. The Hollows consume each other and gain more power through that. Eventually some can obtain the status of Arrancar. Not all who tried this succeed though. However the second way was totally unnatural. Someone with unusual powers could use what is called The Orb of Distortion to create an Arrancar.

"The Orb of Distortion? Why does that sound so familiar?" she asked herself.

Guardian Pluto hovered over her shoulder. "Wasn't The Orb of Distortion created on Saturn? I believe it has something to do with the Shinigami of Earth now and perhaps Prince Tenshi."

"Tenshi?" Setsuna questioned. "Hmm." She looked back at the screen. She would have to find out more about this orb. Why couldn't she remember any information on it? She was after all the Guardian of Time, there wasn't much she didn't know. Deciding she would have to ask the little Grim Reaper she turned off the computer and headed out. She would ask him when they arrived in Karakura town tomorrow. Today was the day for their good-byes. It would take some time to find and bring down these Espada and their fracions. Even if Usagi and the others finish off Iridium, they could not help with the Arrancar. Tenshi, Hotaru, and Makoto could not return to Tokyo until their job was done.

Setsuna sighed as she tele-ported back to the house she and the rest of the Outers occupied. She knew this was going to be hard on the younger warriors. Their friends were everything to them, and being torn apart for so long will definitely hinder their fighting abilities. The one she was the most worried about was Hotaru. Though she could not foresee to far into the future, she felt that something ominous was surrounding her adopted daughter. Something, she feared, she could not prevent.

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Chow lovelies!

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