Thanks to Northernshinigami, endeavour and an anonymous reviewer for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Chapter 3: Opportunities

Yumichika awoke with a start. He was panting slightly, and he was covered in a thin veil of sweat. He looked around, panicked when he realized that it wasn't his room in the Soul Society.

'Where am I?' he thought. 'How did I…?'

The door opened and Yumichika looked at it, startled. He relaxed when he saw that it was only Ichigo, who looked at him with worry and curiosity.

"You okay?" he asked.

Yumichika took a few calming breaths before nodding his head.

"Yeah," he said, his voice shaky. "Just a nightmare."

"Does it have anything to do with that Arrancar?" Ichigo asked.

Yumichika shook his head.

"No, I… I don't know what it was, exactly."

"Yumichika, that Arrancar said that that other guy wanted to play with you again. What did he mean?"

Yumichika frowned.

"I… don't know," he admitted, his voice broken. "I don't know."

"Yumichika," Ichigo said, crouching down. "Ikkaku said you never mentioned your life before Soul Society. Did something happen?"

"I don't know," Yumichika said. His fingers were laced within his hair and he was shaking his head.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know!" Yumichika said. His breathing was starting to pick up. "I can't remember anything! My first memory was waking up in the Rukongai. I thought it was normal, but…" He took a deep breath. "The only way to not have any memories is if you died young. I was eighteen when I arrived. Even the former Hollows have the memories of their lives. I have nothing."

Ichigo stilled. There were tears streaming down Yumichika's cheeks. Yumichika felt an arm wrap around him and he leaned into the embrace, thankful for the small comfort. They stayed like that until Yumichika fell asleep.

…

"This sounds delicious," Adesto said.

"And, if we can get Aizen to cooperate, then the two of us will get a new plaything," Fawkes said.

"No, he's mine. You can have any of these Arrancars. They can't do anything about it. But, I have a personal interest in this one. Now, how are we going to convince Aizen to allow us to keep him?"

"Simple. Use any opportunity presented to us."

"Do you have one?"

"Without a doubt."

…

Ichigo sighed as he sat down at the table with Urahara and Ikkaku.

"How's Yumichika?" Urahara asked.

"He's asleep," Ichigo said. "But, he was awake for a little while."

"Did he say something?" Ikkaku asked.

"He was freaked. He said something about a nightmare, and it really freaked him out. I asked him about life before Soul Society, but…"

"Ichigo," Urahara said, "most Soul Reapers see that as a bad subject. You can't just…"

"He can't remember," Ichigo said. "He can't remember anything about his life, and it freaked him out. He had a sort of… breakdown."

There was silence as the other two stared at Ichigo.

"Anything else?" Ikkaku asked. "Did he say how old he was?"

Ichigo nodded.

"Eighteen."

"Eighteen and no memories," Urahara said. "Something happened."

"When I checked up on Yumi earlier," Ikkaku said, "he was talking in his sleep. He was begging for help. Yumichika never begs. He sees it as something 'ugly'. Do you think it was about how he died?"

"Could be," Urahara sighed. "This does not bode well."

"Urahara," Ikkaku said, "is there any chance that you could find out how Yumichika died?"

"I'll see if there's anything about it on the internet," Urahara sighed. "If it was a murder, then there might be an article about it. The same if it was an accident. I'll see what I can do."

…

There was a knock on the door. Grimmjow grumbled and looked pointedly towards his Fraccion, silently telling one of them to answer it. He was too busy lounging on the couch.

Ylfordt sighed. He set the book he was reading aside and stood up from his position on the floor. Grimmjow watched as Ylfordt opened the door. By the sagging of his shoulders, there was one possibility.

"What do you want with him now, Szayel?" Grimmjow asked loud enough that the person at the door could hear.

"How do you always know if it's me?" Szayelapporro asked, poking his head past his brother.

"Simple," Grimmjow said. "Ylfordt's body language."

Szayelapporro huffed and turned to Ylfordt.

"I actually did want to see you," Szayelapporro said.

"Why?" Ylfordt sighed.

Grimmjow's eyes widened as Szayelapporro grabbed his older brother's arm and dragged him out of the room, Ylfordt yelping in surprise.

"What do you think that is about?" Di-Roy asked.

"Don't know," Grimmjow said, "but something's up with Szayel. I don't know what it is, but let's hope Ylfordt can figure something out."

…

Nnoitra's head whipped around when there was an urgent knock on the door. Luppi tensed slightly. Nnoitra's eye narrowed and he pulled the door open to see Szayelapporro holding Ylfordt by the arm.

"Can I come in?" the scientist asked.

Nnoitra's eye narrowed further.

"What exactly are you doing with one of Grimmjow's Fraccion?" Nnoitra asked suspiciously.

"I'd like my brother's input with what I'm about to discuss with you," Szayelapporro said, pushing past Nnoitra.

The quinta frowned before closing the door. He saw the two brothers looking at Luppi in surprise, although Ylfordt looked like he wasn't too happy to see the smaller Arrancar.

Nnoitra and Grimmjow had a sort of rivalry going on. Tesla sometimes had troubles with Grimmjow's Fraccion, since they outnumber him and Tesla was more passive than they were. Which was why, whenever he saw Tesla having trouble with one of Grimmjow's Fraccion, Luppi would help the blond Arrancar. Grimmjow saw Luppi as an annoyance, but couldn't do much, since Nnoitra tended to get mad whenever he found out that someone messed with either of them.

"What is he doing here?" Ylfordt asked, his voice making it obvious that he didn't want to be there.

"I enjoy Nnoitra's company," Luppi said, shrugging. "I'm surprised you let Szayel pull you around."

Ylfordt grabbed his brother's wrist and released the grip. Szayel watched with an amused expression as Ylfordt flexed his fingers. Nnoitra supposed that the octava might have grabbed a little too hard and caused his brother's arm to go numb.

"What do you want?" Nnoitra asked.

The pink-haired Espada turned to face the taller Espada.

"This morning, you mentioned that one of them should rot in Hell," Szayelapporro said. "How did you know that?"

Nnoitra looked towards Luppi, who stared determinedly back at him.

"You brought me for this?" Ylfordt hissed.

Szayelapporro gave him a glare before turning to Nnoitra.

"I don't have to say anything to you," Nnoitra said.

"Interesting," Szayelapporro said. "Judging by how defensive you are, I'd say this stems from your time as a human."

Nnoitra's eye narrowed as Luppi tensed.

"You don't think that he…?" Ylfordt whispered.

"You remember your human life, don't you?" Szayelapporro said. "There's no other explanation as to why you reacted the way you did this morning."

"So what if I do?" Nnoitra asked. "I don't see how that's any of your business."

"We remember too," Ylfordt said in a subdued voice.

Nnoitra looked over towards the blond brother and saw that there was something in his eyes. Something haunted.

"Not a lot of us have any memories from before we became Hollows," Szayelapporro said. "And for that to happen…"

"I know," Nnoitra interrupted. "You have to have a place reserved in Hell for you or someone screwed with your mind."

"There's a third possibility."

Nnoitra raised his eyebrow questioningly as Szayelapporro sighed.

"There has to be something that happened that was so bad, it haunts you beyond the grave," Szayelapporro said.

Nnoitra looked over towards Luppi, who avoided his eye. Szayelapporro saw this and frowned thoughtfully.

"Did you… know each other?" he asked.

"We were brothers," Luppi said.

"That explains it!" Ylfordt exclaimed. "We were wondering why Nnoitra is so protective over someone who isn't his Fraccion. Shawlong owes me lunch."

"You can't tell anyone," Nnoitra said.

"Why not?" Szayelapporro asked. "You're not ashamed, are you?"

"Adesto," Nnoitra said. "He doesn't like me very much, and would love to hurt me in any way possible. And if he hurts Luppi…" Nnoitra used Sonido to wrap his hand around Szayelapporro's throat and pin him against the wall. "…I'll hurt you, considering the fact that it's your fault he's here."

"Noted," Szayelapporro said, placing his hands on the other's wrist. "Now, can you let go of me?"

Nnoitra complied, suppressing a smirk of amusement as the shorter Espada was dropped a short distance and let out a startled squeak.

"Anyway," Ylfordt coughed, gaining their attentions. "I don't get what's so bad about those new Arrancars."

"One moment," Nnoitra said before he opened the door to see Tesla, standing with a tray full of food. "You could have just knocked."

The Fraccion blushed and avoided his master's gaze.

"Come in," Nnoitra snapped.

Tesla obeyed, Nnoitra closing the door behind him.

"You're going to stay quiet?" Luppi asked the blond.

Tesla nodded, putting down the tray of snacks.

"You want to know what's bad about them?" Szayelapporo asked. "Fine, I'll tell you. A few weeks ago, Lord Aizen approached me with a request that made my skin crawl."

"Coming from you," Ylfordt said, "it must be bad."

Szayelapporro sighed.

"Lord Aizen asked me to find a way to open the gates of Hell."

Tesla and Ylfordt's eyes widened in surprise.

"And there's more," Szayelapporro said. "If one of them is killed, then they just come back to life."

"You mean, like you and your Gabriel technique?" Ylfordt questioned.

"With Gabriel I need another body nearby. They don't."

"Great," Nnoitra said. "So I can't kill him. At least not permanently. Wait a minute. That also means that I can kill Adesto without having to deal with Aizen punishing me for it."

"Perhaps it might be a good idea to avoid doing that," Ylfordt said. "I don't think Lord Aizen would like that very much."

"And we have no idea what Hell did to them," Szayelapporro said, pretending to ignore them. "What their abilities are, how strong they are…"

"What they were as humans," Ylfordt finished, eyes widening.

"I can tell you what Adesto was," Nnoitra said. "He was a serial killer. Tortured his victims for days before killing them and leaving them where only one of their loved ones can find them. And what he did to them… I wouldn't want that fate on any of my enemies."

"Did he get one of you?" Tesla asked, looking between Nnoitra and Luppi.

"Not us," Luppi said. "But, I was the one that found the body…"

…

Yumichika opened his eyes again. This time, he did not panic. He knew he was in a safe place. Reaching out with his spiritual pressure confirmed it. He sighed as he pulled out his soul pager.

"Hello?"

"Captain Unohana, it's me."

"Yumichika? Is everything okay?"

"I don't think so. I… I had another dream. And we met one of them. An Arrancar that came from Hell."

"Tell me everything."

…

Eight figures, tense as they fidgeted uncomfortably. They felt it the previous night, and another, weaker signature a few hours ago. The sun was setting outside, but it did nothing to alleviate their tension. In fact, with the threat of night approaching, a sense of foreboding washed over them.

"What do you think that was?" Mashiro asked.

"Don't know," Kensei said. "But whatever it was, I don't like it."

"Something tells me that something bad's about to go down," Love said.

"I know what you mean," Shinji said. "I don't like it."

Rose suddenly stood up and headed for the exit.

"Where are you going?" Lisa asked, looking up from her manga.

"See if Kisuke knows anything," Rose said. "I also need to discuss something else with him."

"Fine," Hiyori huffed. "But tell that lazy slob that the next time I see him, he's definitely going to taste my sandal."

"Why are you mad at him this time?" Shinji asked.

"I just miss kicking him."

…

Ylfordt sighed as he returned to Grimmjow's room. After the conversation he just had with the other four, he felt drained. He was especially on edge after hearing the kind of people Adesto used to target when he was alive. It sounded vaguely… familiar, as though something similar happened a long time ago.

"What did that freak for a brother want from you?" Grimmjow asked, still lying on the couch.

Ylfordt sighed.

"He wanted to put what little is left of his conscience at ease," he said.

The other five occupants of the room looked at him oddly.

"Yeah, I was surprised too."

"What did he do this time?" Shawlong asked.

"You remember that spiritual pressure we felt last night?"

"How can we not?" Di-Roy asked. "After that, I only managed to fall asleep after it was time to wake up. I kept getting this creepy vibe."

"Why's that important?" Nakeem asked.

"Because," Ylfordt sighed, "the spiritual pressure was from Hell."

They all looked at him with shock. Grimmjow even sat up.

"Are you telling me he messed with the one thing he was not supposed to mess with, under any circumstances?" Grimmjow asked incredulously.

"That's right," Ylfordt sighed. "And there's no telling what those other guys would be able to do."

"Hell," Di-Roy breathed.

"Watch your backs," Grimmjow ordered. "Don't go picking fights with them unless I'm around, got it?"

…

Yumichika walked into the main room to find Urahara there. Ichigo and Ikkaku, on the other hand, were nowhere to be seen. Urahara was on a laptop, but when he saw Yumichika, he put it away.

"How are you feeling?" Urahara asked.

"I feel nauseous, I have a headache, and there's a ringing in my ears, but other than that, great," Yumichika said sarcastically, sitting down at the table. "Where's Ikkaku and Ichigo?"

"Ichigo had to go home, and Ikkaku's doing a sweep of the entire town."

"I see. By the way, I haven't seen Tessai or anyone else that's supposed to be here."

"Oh yeah. Well, Ururu and Jinta are on a school trip, and Tessai's camping out at the ruins of the Bounts' old city with the mod souls to see if they can get any useful information."

"Like what?"

"Don't know yet. And, since I knew you guys were coming, I volunteered to stay behind. Besides, I can't leave my shop unattended."

"I see."

They were quiet for a bit, Yumichika fidgeting slightly. There was a knock on the door, and Urahara stood to answer it.

"Now, who could that be?"

Yumichika turned slightly to see a man with long blond hair standing in the doorway. The man's eyes flickered towards him before settling on Urahara.

"Rose," Urahara said, clearly surprised. "What brings you here?"

"It's about that spiritual pressure from last night," the man called Rose said.

"It was Hell," Yumichika said. "Came from Heuco Mundo. Brought along a few nasty friends. Kisuke, I don't feel so good."

"Sorry, Yumichika," Urahara said. "Tessai's usually the one that handles the medicines. Why don't you go lay back down again?"

Yumichika nodded slowly before standing up. His vision swam and he found himself falling once again. He felt a pair of arms envelope him before his vision became completely dark and he thought he heard a voice whisper in his ear.

'It would seem trouble is on its way.'

…

"Come in," Aizen said calmly.

The two Arrancar entered. They figured they would find Aizen in his throne room, and they weren't wrong.

"Ah," Aizen said. "Fawkes and Adesto. I thought you were supposed to be in the Human World, and you were supposed to be helping Szayel."

"Situations arose," Adesto said.

"What do you mean?"

"What if I told you I came across a very interesting Soul Reaper?" Fawkes said. "A Soul Reaper that possessed a power that could either be your destruction, or your greatest weapon."

"…Go on. I'm listening."

Finally, we get to see the Vizards. Also, I recently thought of a bit of a subplot involving Grimmjow and his Fraccion (Ylfordt especially), as well as Szayelapporro. I was intending to have the Granz brothers play a huge role from the start, but I recently got a great idea involving them. Funny what insomnia does to a person.

I also got a few other ideas for subplots, and I managed to think of how I can involve other Arrancars and Vizards that aren't on any side, whether it's with Aizen, the Soul Society, or otherwise. There will only be one group they ally themselves with, and an introduction will come soon. Actually, you already saw cameos.

As for the five Arrancars, you will see them a lot. Nnoitra and Luppi are to be expected, and it was inevitable that Tesla get involved. I've also got ideas for most of the other Espada. Let's just say, some of them are cruel, while one in particular is extremely funny (you can probably guess for which Espada the funny one is).