The Day Before Tomorrow

by Daricio

Aizen is taking over. The situation looks bleak. And Urahara Kisuke suddenly remembers a device that may save them all. Unfortunately, nothing ever goes exactly as planned... Ichigo-centric. Time Travel gone wrong. Chapter nine: Picking up the pieces.

6. Dancing With The Devil

Greetings!

Now, this chapter didn't take too long to get out, now did it? It's only been... ... about four months. =D? Ah, well; at least this one's long.

Before I begin the story, I have something to say, which has absolutely nothing to do with this story but that I've been challenged to include in one of my updates. I do NOT intend this in any way, shape, or form as a means to offend anyone, or to spark any debates. I just want to briefly state my beliefs.

I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS). Many call us Mormons. I believe in the reality of the Atonement of our Savior, and in the pure love that Christ and our Heavenly Father have for every soul on earth. I believe in the power of prayer, and in the idea of personal revelation. I know this church to be true through my own experiences, and not just because good people have told me it is so. I believe that all struggles and hardships in our lives serve a purpose, like a refiner's fire. And I believe that all people should at least hear of the great plan of happiness that God has for us all, which is part of the reason why I'm putting this here in the first place.

My brother and my best friend are currently out on full-time 2-year missions professing the gospel, so I thought I should do my part. If you want to know more, contact an awesome missionary near you.

Okay, I'm done with that for now.

Anyway, back to the Day Before Tomorrow, since that's what you all came here to read.

First off, thank you all so much for reading this story, and for leaving your helpful comments. I really enjoy writing this story, and I'm glad that so many people enjoy reading it. I'd also like to thank Obi-Quiet, who has once again beta'd for me, and who also did a very interesting role play with me so I could figure out what I was doing with one of the scenes. If it weren't for her, I would have a lot of really stupid questions in this chapter.

Just in case you've forgotten due to the long wait... Last time, Ichigo had several very frustrating conversations, and ultimately decided that while he hates his hollow's plan to cover his Shinigami reiatsu with Hollow reiatsu in order to fool Aizen, it may be the only thing he can feasibly try without getting himself killed. Oh, and Kon got massively chewed out by Tatsuki, but nobody cares about him. Yet.

---

Growling low in his throat, Ichigo slowly paced the length of the small room he'd been given, his teeth clenched in frustration as he glared at the floor in front of him. He really didn't want to do this. He really, really didn't want to do this.

"Alright,"he mentally bit out, concentrating on aiming the thought harshly in his hollow's direction. "What exactly are you going to try for this 'takeover attempt' thing?"

For a long, frustrating moment, no response came. Then, finally, Ichigo's white double appeared in the back of his mind, looking smug. "Ah, so you're actually going to try it, huh?"

"I do not need your sarcasm," Ichigo shot back angrily, continuing to pace with a fervor and trying to ignore the hollow as much as he could while still listening to him. "Just tell me what you're planning."

The hollow laughed darkly at him, the sound echoing with his usual underwater-like waver. "It's not that hard to figure out, at least not if you actually have any brains at all. Whenever we shove on each other, it whips up enough reiatsu to fool anyone. Piece of cake."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I get that," he said with great exasperation. "I just-"

His hollow suddenly gave him the mental equivalent of a smack upside the back of his head, causing him to freeze in his tracks. "Not out loud, you moron," the white teen hissed. "I don't care if you are alone. Always assume you're being watched."

Ichigo grit his teeth again, his hands clenching into fists. "Yeah, whatever," he thought back at him, continuing his pacing once he decided that the hollow wasn't about to do anything more to him. Carefully, he spoke only in his mind, focusing on keeping his outer self silent.

"I get how that part works," he repeated irritably. "I just want to make sure you're not going to try taking over any time I'm not paying attention."

"You're kidding, right?"The hollow gave him a wide smirk. "Any time you're not paying attention is the perfect time for me to try to take over. They're going to notice if you're somehow prepared for each and every attack."

If looks could kill, then the far wall would have long ago crumbled away into nothingness. Ichigo spun impatiently on his heel as he reached it, and then stalked off the other direction. "No way," he growled, already forgetting not to speak out loud. "I'm not just going to let you-"

The hollow scoffed, interrupting him sharply. "I think you're forgetting something very important here, Ichigo."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What?"

A strange jerking sensation caught Ichigo off guard, and for an instant, his vision doubled. His hollow rushed forward, pushing past Ichigo and seizing his fumbling control over his body. Without his consent, his right arm raised up, reaching for his zanpakutou.

Horrified, Ichigo pulled his hollow back and shoved, forcing him back down and away from him. A loud, satisfying crack echoed through his mind and his hollow screamed in pain.

"No!" Ichigo yelled at him angrily, pushing even harder. Several more cracks rang out. "How dare you? You're not getting away with-!"

"Ichigo." The calm voice of his zanpakutou cut through his anger, and he paused, closing his eyes questioningly.

In his mind's eye, he could see Zangetsu standing lightly on the edge of a splintered windowsill in the sideways world. Near him, in a broken pile of rubble that spider-webbed out away from him, lay his hollow.

The white teen sat up slowly, letting out a low hiss as he wiped his mouth with the back of one hand, shaking his head. A thin trickle of blood made its way down the side of his face as he looked up, smirking faintly.

"What you're forgetting," the hollow informed him carefully, "is just how much stronger you are than me, you moron. You do realize that you just sent me through three buildings, right?"

Ichigo scowled. "Like you haven't ever sent me through buildings," he huffed defensively at the hollow's accusing tone.

"Che," his hollow scoffed, rubbing his arm as he rolled his shoulder back. "I haven't, actually; though you make it very tempting."

Then the hollow laughed suddenly, losing what little amount of seriousness he'd had in his expression and giving the orange-haired Shinigami an eerie grin. "But that isn't the point, Ichigo! Think about it. You're behaving like a child, afraid of a spider!" Ichigo bristled at the insult, but the hollow went on before he could say anything. "Yes, the spider can bite you, and yeah, it might hurt a bit. But just keep in mind: you're strong enough to squash me if you so choose. Lay off."

Stiffly, Ichigo growled. "Shut up," he muttered. "I'm not afraid of you."

The hollow laughed as he got slowly to his feet. "Coulda fooled me," he said under his breath, brushing rubble lightly off of his clothing. "Look, Ichigo. I get that you're not exactly thrilled about having to work with me. Regardless, if you want this plan to work, you'll have to quit trying to kill me every time I move."

"Yeah? Well, then stop moving," Ichigo shot distractedly. The hollow merely rolled his eyes at him.

For a long moment, Ichigo simply stood in the center of the room, conflicting emotions crossing his face. 'Not exactly thrilled' didn't quite cover the extent to which he loathed the idea of being anywhere near his hollow, much less being forced to listen to his constant criticism and insults all the time. But he did need this plan to work, or he would get himself killed.

Ichigo let out a long, slow sigh, bringing his hand up to his face for a moment before running it through his hair, trying to force the anger and frustration out of his system. He needed to calm down and act rationally.

And act, just in general. If anyone was watching his room, as he suspected, they had to be wondering what had just happened to him.

Out loud, he swore softly, a deep scowl coming easily to his face. "It's getting worse," he seethed darkly to no one in particular. He hoped that somebody really was watching, or else he'd be standing there feeling ridiculous for no reason. "I'm not going to be able to control him much longer. At this rate..."

With a low growl, he spun towards the door and stormed out into the stark white hallway. "Not a word," he shot irritably at his hollow. He did not need commentary on his acting skills on top of everything else.

His hollow snickered. "Not bad," he said, ignoring Ichigo's warning tone and commenting on his acting anyway. "I take it you're off in search of an audience?"

Ichigo's fists clenched for a moment, but he forced the anger away. Taking a deep breath, he chose a direction down the long hallway at random and started moodily down its length. "No," he returned harshly. "I'm just walking. I do that when I'm mad."

Ichigo knew for a fact that he was terrible at hiding his feelings, or pretending that he was feeling something that he wasn't. He had reminders enough of that every year as the anniversary of his mother's death rolled around, when he watched his friends and family wince at the forced smiles he put on.

Emotions like fear and anger were easier for him to fake, especially since he really was feeling both of them to some degree at the moment, but he'd still have to try hard to make it convincing to anyone watching. The only way he could think of to do that was to imitate the way he'd acted the last time he'd actually felt this way. He remembered what his reactions had been when his hollow had nearly consumed him in his previous time line: he'd become moody, withdrawn, and had taken to walking all over town as he'd considered his options. That made for an easy template of behavior to follow in this case.

Walking around like this was also a good way to attract further attention to the "problems" he was having, though. As long as he could actually find anybody in this giant labyrinth of a place.

"When are you going to make your next takeover attempt?" he asked his hollow grudgingly, studying the floor in front of him as he walked.

He got a snicker in response. "When you least expect it, of course. Don't worry; I'll say something before I do anything. I'm crazy, not suicidal."

Ichigo rolled his eyes and continued to stalk down the hallway, glancing briefly into a doorway on his left as he passed. His hollow's odd behavior, vacillating between almost subservient to flat out insulting him, had really started bugging him. He hated not knowing what to expect from—

Cutting himself off mid-thought, Ichigo froze suddenly. "What the...?" Backing up slowly, he looked back into the room he'd passed, eyes narrowing in suspicion as he glanced around. "This is..."

It was the room he'd left not a minute before. Or at least, if it was a different one, it looked absolutely identical, right down to the strange ornament that sat on a small side table by the couch.

Ichigo stared. "That's impossible! I was walking in a straight line! How...?"

Moving hallways. A scowl fell over Ichigo's face again as he suddenly understood. Ishida and Renji had said something about this after their initial break-in to Hueco Mundo, but he hadn't realized the extent to which they could be manipulated. He hadn't even noticed anything out of place as he'd walked.

But then again, he hadn't exactly been paying a lot of attention to his surroundings. Setting his jaw firmly, he turned and started off down the hallway again, this time eyeing the walls distrustfully.

Nothing seemed to shift at all, despite his scrutiny. The hallway stretched on for as far as he could see with few doorways spread along its length at far distances from each other. As soon as he reached the nearest entryway, he ducked his head inside, his scowl deepening as he realized that it was once again the room he'd started in.

His eyes narrowed. "No way. This has gotta just be that Ichimaru guy messing with me. No way is this actually the same room."

With that, he reached over his shoulder and unsheathed Zangetsu. In one fluid motion, he turned to the door and sliced a long, shallow, horizontal line halfway across it. Then, just for good measure, he added several more lines beside it to finish roughly writing out the symbols for his given name.

That completed, he sheathed Zangetsu again, feeling smug. "They can't duplicate that quickly enough to fool me this time," he noted aloud, turning around and once more setting out down the hallway.

Once again, nothing seemed to move, but stretching out his senses, Ichigo could feel vague amounts of reiatsu swirling behind the walls. There was no telling what that meant; the very air in Hueco Mundo held so much reiatsu that pinpointing exact sources had always been near-impossible for him, especially considering how much he sucked at sensing reiatsu in the first place. This could mean there was something there moving things around, but it could also just be someone walking by in a room on the other side of the wall. Or it could be absolutely nothing.

As Ichigo approached the next doorway, his steps faltered to a stop as he glared at the door. Engraved in the wood, cutting through the white paint, was the name "Ichigo." The marks he'd placed there.

Slowly, he let out an irritated sigh. "Alright. Fine, I get it," he grumbled, directing his comments to the ceiling. "The hallways really do move and right now I'm stuck here. Ha, ha, very funny, whoever's doing this. Now, let me out."

Nothing happened; not that he'd actually expected anything to. Regardless, the dead silence in the hall didn't help his mood in the slightest.

Turning sullenly back down the hallway, Ichigo started walking again. Honestly, even if he was just going in circles, it didn't matter anyway; he wasn't actually trying to get anywhere in particular.

His hollow suddenly gave him the mental equivalent of a tap on the shoulder and he flinched involuntarily. "What?" he snapped.

"Out of curiosity," the hollow began, appearing in his mental vision with an inquisitive smirk on his face, "you said something about me almost gaining control in your past. About how long did that take?"

Ichigo could see what the hollow was getting at—his previous timeline would give him a good idea of how long this current "takeover" should take as wall—but the smug tone he used still ticked him off.

After a tense pause, he grudgingly provided the answer. "I went home about a week after rescuing Rukia, and I finally went to the Vaizard a little over a week after that. But I didn't do much fighting during that first week, and that's always been what makes both of us stronger."

"So, especially if you keep picking fights with the Arrancar around here, we should finish this up in about that time: a little over a week," his hollow concluded with a grin.

Ichigo scowled again. "Something like that."

"We'll need to move fairly quickly, then." The hollow looked altogether much too thrilled about that idea for Ichigo's liking. "Not only do we have to make the attempts themselves realistic, but you'll need some time practicing moving around with my reiatsu cloaking you."

Ichigo contemplated that for a moment. He hadn't really thought much about how they were going to accomplish the illusion of his hollow being in control. He had a vague idea of what they'd do, but nothing really solid. Though, maybe...

His hollow laughed eerily. "I think now's as good a time as any to try something out."

"You would," Ichigo shot back. Still, he did need to figure out how they were going to make this work. Resentfully, he gave a quick, harsh, "Fine."

With that, he slowed to a stop, gritting his teeth and leaning heavily against one of the walls in the long corridor. Slowly, he brought his right hand up to his face where the hollow mask usually formed and started raising his spirit energy.

He wasn't exactly sure what he was doing, but before they could try having the hollow mask his spirit energy with his own, they'd have to start pushing against each other to make it seem as though a fight for control was occurring rather than an abrupt, voluntary takeover (as "voluntary" as a takeover could get, anyway).

The hollow took the cue easily, surging closer to control. Ichigo braced himself, but the hollow seemed to have a different idea than simply shoving on his hastily-created barrier; as soon as he was close enough to do so, he flared their reiatsu high, streaking the blue aura around them with red-tinted black.

Ichigo tensed and tried to fight off his instinctive urge to shove the hollow back. Instead, he also let his reiatsu flare, as though trying to smother the taint that had spread through it with his own Shinigami influence.

As they both continued to push harder and harder, not on each other, but on their reiatsu, his hollow burst into crazed laughter. With great effort, they forced it higher and higher as they competed. Ichigo's fists clenched and his whole body began to tremble from the sudden strain, his ears ringing dully.

Finally, the hollow giddily shouted out, "Enough! Ease back on your reiatsu so I can mask it with mine!"

Easing back had never exactly been Ichigo's strong point, particularly in regards to reiatsu, and especially when everything in him was screaming at him to keep pumping in as much as he could. Regardless, he slowly, shakily forced his input level down. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead as red-black began to overtake the blue.

"More!" his hollow urged. "I still can't cover it! More!"

Shaking his head, Ichigo let out a strangled growl. "No!" he yelled, fighting back a strange panic that was settling over his mind. "I can't! I won't!"

"Then I'll have to move closer."

A split second later, Ichigo's eyes flew open wide as he felt hard bone forming beneath his fingertips. Trying to yank his hand away, he met with harsh resistance, as though someone had grabbed hold of both wrists, locking his arms in place. He'd felt that before; his hollow was taking control!

"NO!" Without thinking, Ichigo lashed out wildly, hurling the hollow as far away from himself as possible. The mask on his face shattered, falling to the floor in pieces, and with an abrupt jerk, Ichigo stood on his own in the hallway.

Breathing heavily, sweat now running down his face as he tried to control the shaking that had enveloped his whole body, Ichigo could only stare straight ahead, leaning hard against the wall.

After a long moment, his hollow swore softly in the back of his mind, sounding exhausted. "Alright, then," he muttered sarcastically. "That was too close, I take it."

Ichigo's old anger flared back to life again, and he pushed off of the wall, trying to remain steady as he stormed away. "I can't do this," he growled out loud. "Just—just leave me alone!"

"Che." Ichigo could have sworn he sensed the hollow roll his eyes, waving him off dismissively.

Ichigo just ignored him, focusing only on his long strides as he nearly ran down the corridor. He only wished that the physical steps could actually get him somewhere away from the hollow in his mind.

---

"Your guard's down again." Ichigo flinched as his hollow spoke up suddenly, sounding bored as he pointed out the orange-haired Shinigami's moment of weakness. "Good opportunity for me to try another takeover."

Ichigo blew out a harsh sigh of annoyance, his hands tightening on Zangetsu's hilt as he turned and swung the blade down, releasing a Getsuga Tenshou angrily at the blue-haired numeros girl who had challenged him to a fight earlier.

He'd only accepted so that he could use the fight to vent his frustrations a little, but that wasn't working. Not only was she already struggling to keep up with him, despite the fact that he hadn't even released bankai yet, but his inner demon simply refused to leave him alone.

Several days had gone by (or at least, he'd gotten tired enough to fall asleep several times; it was hard to tell time passing in this place), and yet he still hated every moment the hollow decided to talk to him. Mostly because every time he did, it was only to bug him about trying another takeover, or testing ways to cloak his reiatsu, or some other thing that involved nearly letting the monster take control again.

"No," he bit out in response to the request, keeping his glare focused on his opponent, who was taking her own sweet time getting to her feet again. "Later. I'm not done yet."

His hollow rolled his eyes, his reply sarcastic. "Yes, and I'm sure that if I was actually trying to defeat you, I'd definitely wait for you to be finished with whatever it was you were doing before I attacked you. And your guard's still down, by the way."

With a scowl, Ichigo determinedly threw his mental barriers up into place and gave a slight shake of his head. "There. We don't have to do that every time I'm fighting someone, you know. Besides, she's not very strong, so it's not like it's the kind of battle that would actually trigger a takeover attempt."

They were lame excuses, and both of them knew it, especially as the memory resurfaced of his hollow assaulting him during a sad excuse for a fight against a regular hollow, while Rukia looked on disapprovingly. And besides that, the very first attempts the two of them had done here in Las Noches had been done without any fight going on at all.

Ichigo shook off the thoughts and focused back on his current surroundings. The Arrancar girl had finally stood up again, brushing down her plain, white outfit with a scowl on her face. Despite her stubbornness in continuing to fight him, he could see hints of fear in her brown eyes whenever she glanced at him and he could tell that she already regretted challenging him.

He wasn't all that surprised by her lack of skill. Though the blue-haired girl had a mostly human form—her mask fragment only covering most of her forehead and a small part of the sides of her face—and so had greater strength than many of the Arrancar around here, Ichigo could hold his own against Espada as high as Grimmjow. He really couldn't expect anyone below that level to even compare.

That didn't stop him from being a bit disappointed as she came at him again, her attacks ridiculously easy to parry and dodge around. The fear in her eyes only grew as he continued to avoid everything she threw at him.

"You have heard the saying 'You can do it if you think you can,' haven't you?"

Ichigo blew out a harsh sigh of annoyance, but otherwise refused to react outwardly to his hollow's words. "Of course I've heard it. So, what?"

His hollow gave a vague mental shrug. "It really is true, you know," he said with a grin. "Literally, your spiritual potential actually rises when you're sure that you can win. Or even when you're just flat-out resolved to win."

Ichigo rolled his eyes a little. "Tell me something I don't know," he said dryly. He'd noticed that much on his own ages ago.

The girl he fought finally managed to add in a sloppy sonido, bringing her directly in front of Ichigo with little room for him to swing his sword to defend. Instead, he simply stepped aside, letting her ill-executed technique carry her straight into the wall behind him.

With another sigh, Ichigo reluctantly returned his attention to his hollow, who hovered close by as though he still had something to say. "Who cares? What's that got to do with anything?"

"It goes both ways," the hollow pointed out lazily. "The more you tell yourself that you can't do something, the harder it is to accomplish. The more convinced you are that everything you're doing will fail, the more likely it is to fail."

Ichigo scowled, distractedly bringing Zangetsu up to block an overhead swing coming down at his head. "You think I'm not trying hard enough to work with you." It wasn't a question. He'd already felt the hollow grow increasingly frustrated with him over the last few days as they'd continually failed to make progress in their efforts, even when Ichigo actually allowed him to even try. They just couldn't seem to find a balance that would cover Ichigo's reiatsu while still allowing him to remain in control.

The hollow just smirked at him. "Hey, you said it, not me." Before Ichigo could let out his angry retort at this, he continued as though the orange-headed Shinigami's opinion didn't matter to him. "Oi, did Zangetsu-san ever tell you that it rains in your mental world sometimes?"

His teeth clenching together, Ichigo sent a quick Getsuga to knock the Arrancar girl away from him so she'd quit attacking for a few moments. "He might have mentioned it before," he admitted warily, not sure why his other self had changed the subject so abruptly. "Why?"

"Just so you know, the worse you feel, the worse this stupid rain gets. Knock it off, you imbecile."

Ichigo seethed as much at the insult as he did at the unexpected reprimand. "Shut up and leave me alone," he snapped, mentally shoving the hollow away from him. Stubbornly, he focused back on his battle with the Arrancar, lunging at her and using Zangetsu's hilt to knock her zanpakutou out of her hands, sending it sliding across the floor.

Eyes wide, she raised both hands in surrender, her back against the wall as Ichigo pointed his sword at her. "Y-yield!" she cried, staring at him in slight wonder. "I acknowledge your strength, Kurosaki-dono. I should not have challenged you!"

Unexpectedly, his hollow spoke up again, sounding incredibly put-off. "Fine, then. Ignore me. See if I try passing along Zangetsu-san's messages to you again." With that, the hollow withdrew back into the depths of his mind.

A bit shocked, Ichigo lowered Zangetsu, looking down at the blade with some concern.

The Arrancar girl, apparently realizing that he wasn't paying attention to her, took the opportunity to run off, scooping up her sword as she skittered out of the room. Ichigo barely noticed her leave, contemplating the hollow's words.

"From old man Zangetsu...?" he murmured to himself, narrowing his eyes in thought. The hollow was lying to him, of course. If the old man wanted to talk to him, he'd do it himself.

Shaking his head, Ichigo sheathed Zangetsu and swung the blade back onto his back. He appeared to have lost his opponent, which was actually a slight relief, considering his hollow's annoying prodding. Now, though, he was back to being bored and irritable. Such was his life.

Moodily, he turned and stalked away.

---

Rukia hurried down the length of the 13th division building, trying to keep herself from breaking into a run. One of the other officers had informed her that her captain was in his office, so that was her destination. "Ukitake-taichou?" she called out worriedly as she came near the door.

She heard a faint acknowledgement from the other side, so, hardly even slowing down, she threw the door open and rushed in. "Ukitake-taichou, I need to—Oh!"

Heat rushed to her face and she came to a dead stop at the sight of the room's inhabitants: Kuchiki Byakuya sat calmly on a cushion across from Ukitake, and he didn't bother looking up as she entered.

"N-Niisama." Suddenly, all of Rukia's words were gone, and she stammered, starting to back slowly out of the room. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt!"

Ukitake waved his hands as though trying to dispel her discomfort from the air, a tired smile on his face. "Ah, Kuchiki-san! Don't leave. I thought I would be seeing you soon."

Byakuya stood, nodding respectfully to Ukitake. "We were about finished, I believe?"

The white-haired man paused for a moment in thought, and then nodded back. "Ah," he agreed. "Just keep in mind what I was telling you, Kuchiki-taichou." He gave Rukia a strangely meaningful glance, and she shifted uncomfortably, not sure if she wanted to know what they'd been talking about.

With a final nod, Byakuya turned and brushed past Rukia out of the room. As he did so, he stopped briefly, looking at her as though he wanted to say something. Eventually, he merely continued on, his bright scarf fluttering lightly behind him as he disappeared from sight.

Rukia continued to watch after him, a frown creasing her face. While up on Soukyoku hill, right after Aizen and the other traitors had left with Ichigo, she had gone to her brother's side as fourth squad units worked to heal the wounds Aizen had inflicted upon him. There, he had finally told her the details about her older sister, Hisana, and the promise that he had made to her before she'd died. He also told her about the promise he'd made on his parents' grave to never again break the rules, and the dilemma that had arisen when Rukia's execution was set.

Since then, Rukia still wasn't sure how her brother felt about her. Did she measure up to his expectations? To her sister's expectations? Or was she just a disappointment; the cause of so many of his problems?

There really wasn't a good way to determine the answers, and so she was left wondering. He seemed to remain civil towards her—as he'd always been when dealing with her—but there were little things he did as well; things that pointed both directions. That look he gave her might mean that he approved of her, or that he'd wanted to apologize to her. The fact that he'd just walked away might mean he didn't find her worthy of his presence.

She knew that despite everything that had happened, he still positively loathed Ichigo, though he'd never said exactly why. Did he still wish that her friends hadn't broken in to save her from execution? Or did he maintain his utter hatred for the orange-headed teen for another reason?

Instead of outright saying anything to her, Byakuya simply remained distant. It was almost as though he was afraid to get to close to her for fear that she would disappoint him. And honestly, she felt the same way.

"Kuchiki-san, what was it you wanted to discuss with me?" Ukitake's kind voice broke through her thoughts and she jumped slightly, her face going involuntarily pink again as she whirled around to face him.

Quickly, Rukia bowed low, trying to hide her embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Ukitake-taichou! It's just that, well..."

Ukitake laughed lightly, waving her over. "Come, sit down."

Falling silent, Rukia made her way to the cushion that her brother had recently vacated and knelt down on it, clearing her throat as she got her prepared words back in order. Ukitake waited patiently for her, and soon her nerves settled again.

"Ukitake-taichou, a short while ago, I heard someone say that the sou-taichou has decided not to send a rescue team into Hueco Mundo to find Ichigo." She looked up at him with questioning, worried eyes. "Is this true?"

The smile disappeared from the white-haired captain's face, and slowly, he let out a sigh. "Unfortunately, it is," he confirmed solemnly. "There was a captain's meeting held yesterday afternoon, and-"

Rukia's lips tightened, and suddenly all thought of formality left her. "Why? After what he did for me—for all of us—we can't just abandon him!"

Ukitake shook his head sadly. "I know, Kuchiki-san. But we have no idea how long Aizen has been creating his army, or how strong that army is. We already know he has control over the Menos Grande in Hueco Mundo, and he may have forces even more powerful than that at his disposal. We know nothing about our enemy, and he knows everything about us."

Rukia started to object, but her captain interrupted her firmly. "The defect of three captains and the grave injuries of several more captains and vice captains from the recent events has left Soul Society crippled. We must recover from these blows before we can deal any of our own. And even if we didn't, with Aizen's forces as powerful as we think they are, if we were to try sending any less than our full fighting force against him... it would simply be a suicide mission."

"A suicide mission..." Rukia tried hard to contain her fury. "Like the one Ichigo and his human friends went on when they broke into Seireitei and took on the entire Gotei 13 in an attempt to rescue me?"

Closing his eyes, Ukitake sighed again, a small smile appearing on his lips briefly at her words. "There are, unfortunately, many differences between those two events. We were not adequately prepared for an intrusion of the sort that your friend executed. There were also many inside Seireitei who sympathized with his mission, myself included. We cannot expect either of those circumstances within Hueco Mundo."

Rukia shook her head hard. "Ichigo didn't expect those things, either, but he went anyway! Ukitake-taichou, how can I not do for him what he did for me?"

Gently, Ukitake reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, looking her in the eyes. "I understand how you feel, Kuchiki. But you must see this from a tactical point of view. If we want any hope of winning this war, the Gotei 13 cannot afford to take the losses that such a mission would deal us."

Rukia remained silent, her gaze fixed on her knees as she frowned. Thoughts raced through her head. Her captain was right, as far as the Gotei 13's official position was concerned, but she still didn't think that meant that nobody should attempt the rescue. Ichigo had earned the respect of many people here, and she was sure that if she asked around, she'd be able to form a team herself. They'd be deliberately disobeying all of their orders, risking severe punishment, but for a friend, especially one like Ichigo...

Ukitake watched her for a moment before leaning back again, a strange smile on his face. "None of this, of course, impacts Kurosaki-san's two human friends. We have offered Sado-san and Inoue-san training and they have taken us up on that offer, but the Gotei 13 has no real authority over them whatsoever. Of course, that doesn't mean that the two of them really should try to break into Hueco Mundo on their own..."

The black-haired Shinigami's eyes widened slightly. Somehow, her captain had already guessed what she was planning, and now suggested that Chad and Inoue would definitely come with her when she left. Slowly, she forced herself to relax. He'd seen right through her, but she was pretty sure he supported her plans as well.

With a sigh, Rukia gave Ukitake a short bow from her sitting position and started to get up. "Thank you for answering my questions, Ukitake-taichou. I understand now. I shall take my leave and return to my training."

"Kuchiki-san, I worry about you."

Freezing halfway to her feet, Rukia looked up at her captain sharply, wondering at his sudden words. "What?"

Ukitake gave a firm nod. "You're still recovering from that horrible ordeal. Losing your power for so long, then being kept inside that draining Sekiseki prison on top of that, not to mention that kidou that was used to pull things out of your soul. You've had a traumatizing experience, and I fear that you are pushing yourself too hard, too soon."

Rukia's expression hardened as she sank back down onto the cushion. "Ukitake-taichou, I am fine. My reiatsu is over half-restored now. If I don't train, I won't be-"

Her captain held up a hand to stop her and she reluctantly fell silent. He looked at her very seriously. "For your own health, Kuchiki, I simply cannot allow you to return to active duty so quickly after such circumstances. I am putting you on extended leave, and I expect you to use that time away from your usual duties."

Rukia felt her heart sink, an emotion akin to betrayal threatening to overwhelm her. Was he saying that he thought she should stay out of the rescue mission? He didn't think she was strong enough?

"Ukitake-taichou..." She trailed off uncertainly, trying to pull together her wounded pride.

And then she saw the amused light in his eyes, the smile that threatened to break through his serious expression. Rukia's frown deepened as she observed him, trying to decipher the meaning of that.

Sighing, he leaned back on his cushion, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Yes... in fact, I believe that to enforce this leave, since I know how stubbornly you will push yourself if I do not, I am going to assign you a group of escorts. I can't spare a large group at the moment, of course, but enough to keep you safe, wherever it is that you decide to go."

For a moment, Rukia simply stared at her captain. Then slowly, comprehension dawned on her face, her eyes widening again. Wherever she decided to go? Meaning that she would be free to go absolutely anywhere?

Ukitake did want her to go rescue Ichigo! If he assigned Shinigami to follow her and she was allowed to go anywhere she wanted, then even if they all invaded Hueco Mundo, no orders would be disobeyed!

Slowly, Rukia bowed her head again, this time in sincere gratitude. "Thank you, Ukitake-taichou."

He waved her off with a smile. "My pleasure, Kuchiki-san. I dislike seeing those under my command suffer. Goodness knows you've had quite enough of that to last you a while." The white-haired captain got to his feet then, and Rukia scrambled to follow. "Let me know if there are any in particular from our squad whom you would like amongst your escort. I can request some from other divisions as well, but their captains will have to approve."

Rukia nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, sir."

Ukitake gestured lightly to the door. "Then you should get going. You probably won't be able to leave for at least a few days—you might even have to wait till the end of the week while we finish getting everything together—but you should spend that time preparing as much as possible for your trip."

Quickly, Rukia hurried from the room to go find Ichigo's friends. "Yes, okay! Thank you!"

She paused at the door as Ukitake spoke up again, his voice quiet but steady. "I did not have the chance to personally meet Kurosaki Ichigo, other than the brief encounter on that bridge... but through his actions and those of his friends on his behalf, he has gained not only my respect, but that of many others in Seireitei as well. I wish you success, Kuchiki."

Rukia could only nod, suddenly solemn. "Thank you," she whispered lightly. Then, she turned and ran down the corridor.

---

At the sudden sound of the door opening, Ichigo involuntarily started a little, but otherwise didn't move from where he'd been lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling with his arms tucked back behind his head.

He didn't even bother looking up at his visitor or acknowledging his presence in any way. He had, unfortunately, begun to grow used to the routine here, much as he disliked that routine, and he already knew that Ulquiorra had stopped by to check on him again.

"I brought you food," the Arrancar informed him coldly. "I suggest you eat."

Ichigo rolled his eyes a little and gave a vague grunt of acknowledgement.

The first time Ulquiorra had come to his room with food, Ichigo had refused to eat it, not trusting anyone here not to have poisoned it or something. The black-haired Arrancar hadn't taken too well to his not eating for some reason, and a rather uproarious argument had broken out between the two of them—uproarious on Ichigo's part, anyway; Ulquiorra had, of course, remained as stoic as usual through the whole thing.

Eventually, it had come to physical blows, which almost ended (frustratingly enough) with Ulquiorra silently holding him down and force-feeding him from a bowl of rice before the orange-haired teen had finally relented, sullenly eating the food by himself. If he was going to go down, he'd at least go down with his dignity intact.

As he'd eaten, the Arrancar had lectured him on the stupidity of poisoning a potential recruit, but Ichigo had just tuned him out.

Now, Ichigo sat up unhurriedly, scowling over at Ulquiorra as an Arrancar he didn't recognize wheeled a cart into the room. To his annoyance, the food on it was—once again—one of his favorite meals, reminding him again of Aizen's rather creepy comment that he'd been watching the teen since his birth.

The cart came to a stop in front of him, and he moodily picked up the nice set of chopsticks that had been set next to the plate, beginning to poke at the spicy chicken experimentally. He still wasn't entirely convinced that they hadn't messed with the food somehow, but nothing had happened to him because of it yet.

"You have been here for a week now." Ulquiorra's unexpected commentary caught Ichigo off guard, and he raised an eyebrow at his guard.

"Yeah, so what?" he asked, stuffing food into his mouth distractedly.

Ulquiorra studied him impassively. "I had hoped to see better results from you, Kurosaki Ichigo. I find myself disappointed."

Irritation flared up again as Ichigo remembered the Arrancar saying almost exactly the same thing right after he'd nearly killed him at their second encounter. "What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped defensively with his mouth still full, trying to keep his hand steady as he slammed the chopsticks back down onto the cart.

"Merely what I said," Ulquiorra responded, apparently ignoring Ichigo's movement. "Aizen-sama brought you here for a reason. He believes that you have a great growth potential, and I have been consequently observing your progress. However, you have not yet met any of my expectations despite your time here."

Ichigo glared at him. "I haven't exactly been spending my time training," he pointed out as evenly as he could. "I've been a little distracted."

"By those strange reiatsu fluctuations, you mean?" Ulquiorra seemed bored by his response. "Your inner hollow is taking control, and you are quickly losing your ability to stop the transformation. I'd hoped that you would have learned to control this by now. This is why you disappoint me."

"Shut up," Ichigo muttered hotly, his gaze going swiftly down to his plate of food so that he wouldn't have to look Ulquiorra in the eye. Inwardly, he forced himself to suppress a wave of triumph that flashed through him as he realized that the illusion he and his hollow were creating had actually been working. His observers assumed that he was losing an inner battle.

At least something had gone right from all of this.

Of course, Ulquiorra didn't let his triumphant feelings last long. The green-eyed Arrancar gave a tiny shake of his head. "Unless you increase your abilities significantly in the next few days, you will not last," he informed him without even a hint of emotion. "I find myself forced merely to hope that you will show more promise as a complete, mindless hollow."

"I won't become a hollow," Ichigo shot at him, ignoring the grumbling he could hear in the back of his mind from his hollow at the 'mindless' comment. "I am human; a Shinigami. And I am not going to change!"

Ulquiorra blinked slowly, as infuriatingly calm as ever as he contemplated Ichigo's comment. "Then, you will forever remain weak," he concluded, sounding honestly disappointed.

With a growl, Ichigo rammed both hands against the side of the cart, knocking it over as he jumped to his feet. Not bothering to stop to give the Arrancar a retort, he stormed from the room, starting off down the endless hallway for what seemed like the millionth time since he'd arrived here.

He hated Ulquiorra's stupid comments! Every one of them! Somehow, each and every time the Arrancar spoke, he managed to say something to tick him off. Honestly, he was really getting sick of it!

The only reason he hadn't simply beaten the Arrancar's head in over it was his reluctant acknowledgement that if he tried something like that, he'd likely end up very dead (again), and he didn't have Inoue here this time around to fix that.

Gritting his teeth, Ichigo deliberately turned his thoughts away from that to focus instead on listing all the ways he'd like to see the pale, green-eyed Arrancar die. None of which included the way he actually had died in his previous timeline. He was not going to let someone else kill him again, especially not his hollow.

"Hey, you!"

Ichigo's steps faltered to a halt at the sound of the voice ahead of him, and his face set into an even deeper scowl than before. That call—or a similar one—was one he'd heard a lot the past week, each from different Arrancar who inevitably wanted to test their strength against his in battle. He looked up, shooting a glare at whoever had yelled at him.

Surprisingly, he faintly recognized the two girls who stood before him—a short-haired blonde with green eyes and a black-haired girl with what had to be a freezing cold outfit, especially here in Hueco Mundo where it was perpetually night. The latter was obviously the one who had spoken, her hands on her hips as she gazed steadily back at him, meeting his glare with a look of calm self-assurance.

He couldn't remember either of their names, but he was pretty sure these two were the ones he'd seen picking on Inoue while he'd been busy fighting Ulquiorra. His glare intensified. "What do you want?"

"What do we want?" the loud one asked in slight disbelief. As she shook her head, her black pigtails swished back and forth across her bare shoulders. "That's my line, twerp! You're the one who walked up to us!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "And you're the one who yelled at me. I'm just walking."

"Well, we're just guarding this door," she shot back at him. "So unless you got a good reason to go in here, I suggest you back off!"

Ichigo actually hadn't noticed the door before, but now that she pointed it out, he realized that he had come to the end of a hallway, where the only way to go besides the direction he'd come from lay between the two girls. They both gave him challenging looks.

Slowly, Ichigo let his frown slip away, looking at the door with mild curiosity. "What's in there that needs guarding?" he wondered aloud. "I haven't run into any other guards in the time I've been here."

"Why should we tell you?" the pigtail girl demanded of him irritatingly.

Ichigo's glare immediately returned. "Maybe because if you don't, I'll just shove past you and go see for myself."

"You wouldn't dare!" Pigtail girl gave him a look that was obviously supposed to be intimidating.

"Loly..." The blonde girl finally spoke up for the first time, shooting a glance at the other girl. "You do realize you're talking to the guy who's been beating up every non-Espada who's challenged him so far, right?"

Pigtail girl immediately whirled on her friend. "I don't care if he's one of the Espada! He's not getting through unless Aizen-sama orders it so!"

"Like you could stop me," Ichigo returned sarcastically, scoffing lightly. With one last smirk at their horrified faces, he brushed right by them and pushed the door open.

"Hey! You-!" Both girls tried to lunge for him, but Ichigo merely flash stepped forward, easily moving beyond their reach into the room ahead.

The room, Ichigo was surprised to find, was one he'd been in before: Aizen's main 'throne room,' where he and Ulquiorra had first started their final battle. He currently stood below the area they'd fought in, and the tall, white seat that served as Aizen's throne loomed high above him on the opposite side of the room.

In the center of the room, to Ichigo's great annoyance, Aizen himself stood with his back to him, looking down at what appeared to be a thin, blue-ish pillar that rose from the floor to about waist-height. With a light smile, the man turned halfway around at Ichigo's entrance, appearing quite amused.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," Aizen greeted him. "I've been expecting you."

Ichigo merely scowled at him.

"We're sorry, Aizen-sama!" The two girls piled into the room, twin expressions of pure fear on their faces. "We'll get him out of here immediately!"

Aizen waved them off kindly. "That is alright, Loly, Menoly. I need to speak with Kurosaki-san anyway."

"I have nothing to say to you," Ichigo informed him, rolling his eyes. "I shoulda known the only guarded door in this place would lead to you." With that, he turned around, determined to head right back out the way he'd come.

The black-haired girl laughed at him unexpectedly, suddenly trying to look self-important. "You really think Aizen-sama has a need for personal bodyguards?" she asked incredulously. "We guard this room even when Aizen-sama isn't here!"

Ichigo just gave her a deadpan look. "Great job," he said sarcastically, gesturing briefly to himself standing inside said guarded room.

She fumed at him silently, having no good comeback to that. The blonde girl bit her lip, as though trying not to laugh at her companion, seeming to miss the fact that she had just been insulted as well.

"Loly is correct that this room is under guard for other reasons," Aizen said, still as coolly amused as before.

Ichigo glanced back at him in time to see the man place something small inside the pillar, which had opened up in a strange spiral shape. He caught a faint glimpse of the item, and then the spiral sealed shut again, the pillar beginning to sink into the floor. The glimpse was more than enough to recognize the thing. "I didn't know you kept the Hougyoku in here," he blurted without thinking.

Aizen smiled at him. "You had no reason to," he demurred. Ichigo scowled at him again. He was beginning to wonder if maybe he should have just stayed in his room and listened to Ulquiorra's insults. If it wasn't one thing around here, it was another.

The pillar finished its movement, becoming flush with the floor so that if Ichigo hadn't already known it was there, he never would have guessed that it was different from any other spot. As his mind turned back to the thing it held within it, a question resurfaced that had been bugging him since he'd first arrived in Hueco Mundo.

"Why do you need the Hougyoku, anyway?" he asked suspiciously, still watching the spot on the floor where it had vanished. "I thought you were going to use it to make Arrancar, but the Arrancar I've seen have all been around here way longer than you've had your hands on it. What gives?"

Aizen shook his head with a soft sigh. "Now, where did you get the notion that I needed it in order to create Arrancar? I do hope that isn't what our friend Urahara thinks my plans were, or I will have to be most disappointed in him."

Ichigo wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he just remained silent, glaring at Aizen as he awaited an actual answer to his question.

Apparently, he wouldn't get one. Aizen turned instead to address the two Arrancar. "Loly, Menoly, could you please leave the two of us alone? As I mentioned before, I have things of importance to discuss with Kurosaki-san."

They both looked a bit surprised by his request, and Loly protested. "But, sir! This guy is-!"

"My guest," Aizen finished for her, his smile very suddenly dangerous despite hardly changing at all. "Please."

The Arrancar continued to stare at him with a shocked expression for a long moment before abruptly whirling around and practically fleeing the room, her quiet companion following on her heels. The door boomed shut, and Ichigo scowled again as he realized that whatever Aizen had to say, he would have to listen to it whether he liked it or not.

Reluctantly, he turned to fully face his captor, folding his arms in annoyance. "What?"

"I should think you'd have guessed by now what I need to ask you," Aizen returned easily. "I have given you ample time to consider my previous offer. Will you join me, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

Ichigo immediately fell silent, swallowing hard as his gaze shifted angrily to a distant corner of the room. His automatic reaction to that was still exactly the same as it was when Aizen had first offered: a loud, clear 'No.' But should he still give that answer?

He didn't want Aizen to guess at any of his plans with his inner hollow, so maybe maintaining the same answer as before would be best, so that it would contrast more against his hollow's agreement. But Aizen also knew that he'd talked to Grimmjow, and knew that he'd have good reason to join him even if he hated him. He didn't want Aizen to just kill him.

His hollow wisely remained quiet for once, apparently sensing Ichigo's extreme distaste for listening to anything he had to say.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity of thinking it over, Ichigo let out a harsh sigh. "There is no way I'd—"

And then Aizen interrupted him, still wearing that irritating smile. "Ah, but before you give a definite answer, perhaps I should make sure that all parties concerned have had their say in the matter."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo glared at him, trying to figure out what he was getting at.

Aizen merely snapped his fingers, raising his voice slightly to call out to someone outside the room. "Please send in Szayel Apporo for me."

Immediately, a door opened to the side of the room and the pink-haired Espada waltzed in. Behind him, another unknown Arrancar carried in what looked like a mess of straps and wires connected to small, metal disks of some sort. As the two approached Ichigo, Aizen turned and began to walk away towards the back of the room.

Ichigo instinctively backed away, eyeing the two with caution. "What do you mean by all parties concerned, Aizen?" he asked again, feeling somewhat nervous now.

Szayel ignored his discomfort and walked right up to him, reaching out and grabbing his wrist disinterestedly, as though taking his pulse. Ichigo stepped back, trying to yank his hand away, but the Espada held tight, calmly taking a metal band from his assistant and clamping it around Ichigo's forearm.

Immediately, Ichigo felt as though a heavy weight had been placed across his shoulders, and he fought to stay on his feet, swaying slightly. Szayel took full advantage of this vertigo, taking his other arm and slapping a second band onto it, abruptly doubling the effect. Ichigo fell to his knees with a grunt.

That quickly, Ichigo found himself completely helpless as the scientist Espada turned back to his assistant, grabbing a few of the wires and disks. "This should take only a few minutes," he mentioned to the air in front of him.

"W-why... you..." Ichigo growled, barely able to get the words out. "What... what are you doing?"

Szayel smiled creepily at him, holding a wired disk in front of his face to show him. "Don't fret. These will cause minimal damage, at the most. I am merely connecting my little device to several pivotal pressure points, both physical and spiritual. Once I activate it, I will be able to selectively suppress specific parts of your reiatsu at will."

That said, he pressed the disk to the center of the teen's forehead and something sticky held it firmly in place, leaving the wire dangling down into his face. Ichigo tried to flinch away, but found that he couldn't move enough to do so.

"Suppress...?" Ichigo bit out as the Espada applied several more disks to his head, and two on his chest where the Chain Deep and Soul Sleep lay. "Why?"

Szayel snorted slightly, shaking his head, but he still had a smile on his face. "Suppress just the Shinigami reiatsu, and your hollow reiatsu will come forward, obviously." He flipped his hair back over his shoulder and then stuck another disk into place on Ichigo's neck. "I think we're all interested to see what your inner hollow has to say."

Ichigo froze with horror. "Oh, really?" his hollow cackled, stirring for the first time in a while. "Fascinating!"

"N-no!" Ichigo growled, fighting against the force keeping him held down. If Szayel was right—if this worked—it would actually put his hollow in control! "You... can't... do this to me! You—!"

His struggling accomplished nothing, and Szayel attached one final disk to his skin, stepping back to examine his work with a satisfied smirk. "That should do it. Ready to begin, Aizen-sama?"

In the time the scientist had taken to put the device together, Aizen had reached his high throne, and now gazed calmly down at them from his seat. "Go ahead, Szayel Apporo," he consented.

"No!" Ichigo yelled, nearly thrashing in his efforts to remove even one of the metal disks now stuck to him. "No, you can't—AAAUGH!" As Szayel flipped a switch somewhere out of his sight, a chorus of pain ripped through his already weak limbs. It spread like fire through his body, finally coming to a focus around his chest.

And then, it was as though he'd been tugged backwards by the pain, like it had somehow physically pulled him away from himself. An endless moment later, all feeling finally ebbed away, leaving him numb.

His eyes opened by themselves, haunting laughter escaping from his lips.

In a panic, Ichigo lashed out at his hollow, trying to yank him back out of control of his body, but the hollow was strangely out of reach, leaving Ichigo merely to watch with dismay. "No!"

"Long time no see, Aizen-san," the hollow said with a grin, looking up as the mask slowly began to form across the left side of his face. "Was the pain part of that really necessary?"

Aizen's smile widened marginally, but it was Szayel who responded, giving the hollow a short, formal bow and a smile.

"I apologize. Unfortunately, you are the only one here in Las Noches that the device would theoretically have this effect upon, so testing it wasn't really an option."

"Never thought an Espada would have to stoop to making excuses," the hollow shot with a distinct snicker. "How long does this last?"

Szayel shrugged slightly, reaching up with one hand to twirl his pink hair around one finger. "Until I turn off the machine. I would advise you not to remove any wires until I do so, lest you risk your sanity."

"Can your Shinigami self still see what's going on?" Aizen asked, actually seeming somewhat curious. His calm, even voice carried down surprisingly well, considering the distance between them.

"No clue." Smirking, the hollow tilted his head slightly and closed his eyes, prodding mentally at his other half. "Oi, you still there?"

Ichigo just snarled at him in response. "I hate you so much."

"Oh, good. You're still your normal self." The hollow's grin spread across his face in his sick amusement. "If you can still hear us, then ignore everything I'm about to say to this guy, got it? I've gotta convince him that I want to help him, so don't go freaking out on me."

Ichigo sent a few choice swear words in his hollow's direction, but the other had tuned him out already, focusing back on Aizen. "Che. Yeah, that jerk Ichigo's still here, unfortunately. Who cares? You wanted to talk to me, right?"

As the hollow spoke, Ichigo could feel him testing the strength in his arms. Those bands were still on each wrist, and the heavy effect still bore down on him, making moving more than a few inches impossible. Still, Ichigo noted with irritation that his other self didn't seem to have any trouble speaking despite this.

Aizen smiled mildly at the hollow's question. "True. I have several questions for you, ah..." he paused. "Shall I call you Kurosaki Ichigo as well?"

The hollow cackled eerily. "You're joking, right? That loser Ichigo and I are on totally different levels; you better not associate me with him." He grinned, obviously anticipating the man's next obvious question.

"Very well," Aizen gave him a polite nod. "Then your name is...?"

"I ain't got a name," the hollow responded clearly with another horrible laugh. "And I don't need one! I am who I am, get it?"

Aizen's smile deepened just a bit. "I see. In that case, it is nice to finally speak with you, Hollow-san. Our last encounter, I admit, rather intrigued me."

"Which is why you brought us here, obviously," the hollow mentioned, still with that out-of-place grin. "You were just going to kill us, before I took over. And then you changed your mind."

Aizen nodded in acknowledgement, resting his chin lightly on one hand. "That I did. I have not previously had the opportunity to study in depth the phenomena of a hollow living within the soul of a Shinigami. Tell me, how does that feel?"

"How it feels?" the hollow repeated somewhat incredulously. He snickered again, shaking his head as much as the suppressing force around him would allow. "Which part? Being trapped within the depths of my own mind? Or having to put up with the sheer idiocy that is Ichigo?"

That comment seemed to amuse Aizen, and his smile grew even as Ichigo inwardly seethed at his hollow's insult. "You speak as though you consider your Shinigami side to be a total waste."

"Che," the hollow shrugged him off arrogantly. "You've seen what he's like. There's only so much use an ignorant jerk like that can have before it's better just to have him out of the way."

"Ignorant jerk?" Ichigo protested, struggling once again to regain control. "Listen, if you don't knock it off with the insults, I swear I'm going to-"

Frustratingly, the hollow didn't even seem to notice his efforts, though he did turn his attention inwards to address him. "Didn't I tell you to ignore everything I'm saying?" he snickered. "Geez, it's like you're going deaf, too!"

Ichigo fumed. Convincing Aizen or not, that was taking it way too far. It wasn't just talk; not when the hollow obviously meant every insult he used. Angrily, he shoved once last time at the other in a failed attempt to send him back to his inner world.

"Is something the matter, Hollow-san?" Aizen's voice broke through their argument, and the hollow grinned up at him, meeting the man's steady gaze. Even Ichigo could see that Aizen actually meant that he'd noticed the inner conversation and wanted to know the topic.

"Not with me, no," the hollow replied with a disinterested tone, specifically not answering that unspoken question. "Not that it'd really be any of your business if there was. Now, Aizen-san, I'm sure you didn't call me out here so you could play psychiatrist with me." With a chuckle, he imitated the ex-captain's voice. 'Now, how does that make you feel?' Ha! Next thing I know, you'll be diagnosing us with Multiple Personality disorder!"

Aizen raised an eyebrow, which only prompted more snickers out of the hollow. "I haven't known many hollows to have such an... obvious sense of humor," he mentioned with a hint of interest.

"Don't have much else to do all day; I never said I wasn't crazy." The hollow hauntingly laughed again. "But you're avoiding the point. What do you want with me, really?"

The other man's calm smile never wavered. "I'm assuming you heard what was said earlier?"

The hollow's grin remained just as steady. "Before or after the massive amounts of pain?" he asked pointedly.

"I apologize again for that," Aizen said smoothly. Then, he apparently decided to take the comment as meaning that the hollow hadn't heard the conversation. "Ichigo and I were discussing a certain preposition I made to him a week ago. Hollow-san, what are your thoughts on joining me?"

The hollow tilted his head slightly, giving the other man a lopsided smile. "At the moment?" he asked almost tauntingly. "You said yourself; me and Ichigo have got no real reason to be on one side or the other in this war of yours. I don't know squat about you or Urahara-san, and I really couldn't care less." His grin widened. "So, make me care."

Aizen leaned back slightly in his chair, watching the hollow closely.

Ichigo could only stare in disgusted disbelief. Somehow, his hollow had managed to verbally flip-flop the roles in this conversation, turning it around so that suddenly Aizen had to be the one listing pros and cons of joining.

The hollow apparently caught his thought, because he snickered at him. "Like any good job seeker at an interview: act like you're the one with the skills, and you're just deigning to come offer your services to the company."

Ichigo decided determinedly not to answer him. Instead he tried his best to glare at Aizen, a feat which proved difficult when he couldn't even control his own eyes.

"Have you been told about the events of 100 years ago, when Urahara Kisuke was banished from Soul Society?" Aizen finally replied, apparently starting in on his first reason for why the hollow should want to join him.

"Yes," Ichigo seethed in response, even though the man couldn't hear him. "When you framed Urahara-san for the hollowfication of eight captains and vice-captains in yet another attempt to get the Hougyoku. He told me about it months ago."

The hollow's outward expression didn't change at the information Ichigo offered. "No, I haven't," he said. "Enlighten me."

Aizen gave a small, barely perceptible nod. "100 years ago, a rather large group of Shinigami were attacked and forcefully experimented upon. By the time authorities found them in the labs of 12th division, they had all been transformed into hybrids—half-Shinigami, half-hollow."

Ichigo could only growl low to himself at the half-truths the man was trying to feed them. "He's the one who attacked them. Urahara was trying to save them from completely becoming hollows due to Aizen's botched-up job."

"Eh. Doesn't surprise me that Urahara-san would do that, all things considered," the hollow conceded with a smirk, nodding downward to indicate his own state, including the mask that had now covered a good half of his face. "Your point?"

"Urahara Kisuke was banished for his crimes, but can you guess what the Central 46's reaction was to the new hybrids, who were merely victims in the situation?" Aizen paused long enough for a response from the hollow, but wasn't given one. Smiling, he continued. "They were to be dispatched as any other hollow."

Though he couldn't move his actual body, Ichigo mentally clenched his hands into fists, his teeth grinding together. He'd already known about that, too, but the reminder that the governing body of Soul Society had rejected the Vaizard as real people—as potential allies—not once, but twice, only served to make him even angrier than before.

"So, it'd be easy enough for them to make the same verdict in my case," the hollow concluded, still smirking ominously. "And?"

Purposefully, Aizen laced his fingers together and leaned his elbows on the arms of his chair, giving the hollow a level look. "As soon as I saw that mask forming across your face at our first meeting, I knew that you and Ichigo would quickly become outlawed and hunted down just as quickly as the others were for what Urahara Kisuke did to you. That was my entire reason for bringing you here. Will you reject that sanctuary now?"

"Che." The hollow's response was quick and decisive, and he shook his head with his usual grin. "Like I care about sanctuary from that disorganized bunch of wannabe protectors. In case you hadn't noticed, five teenage humans and a cat just managed to break into Seireitei and defeat most of their best captains. I don't care if those humans did have a bit of help; you can't deny that those fools are just a bunch of pushovers with extremely stupid rules."

"True enough." Aizen's expression still did not change as he regarded the hollow, and neither did his tone. For a long moment, he fell silent, appearing to think about that, before he finally asked, "Would you rather I let you leave, then? I could arrange for Ulquiorra to take you back to Karakura town, or even simply to release you into Hueco Mundo, if you would rather."

Ichigo mentally scowled. "Followed quickly by whoever he decides to send after us to kill us," he added bitterly.

The hollow merely snorted at Aizen's suggestion. "You'll arrange for him to take me, huh? Ha! I don't need your permission to leave, Aizen-san. I told you to give me reasons to stay." He cackled once more. "Do not assume I'm as weak as the idiot you've been dealing with these past weeks. Once I get Ichigo out of my way, then if I wish to go, I'll do so at my leisure."

For some unknown reason, Aizen's smile widened a touch. "I could arrange that as well," he said easily.

Immediately, the hollow's expression darkened. "Arrange what?"

"You want Ichigo out of your way, and I have no use for him if he refuses to join me. Szayel Apporo," he didn't remove his eyes from the hollow even as the pink-haired Espada stepped forward again, "It is possible for that device to be made more portable, correct?"

The thought of this machine being permanently switched on made Ichigo's blood run chill. To be stuck like this indefinitely?

However, Szayel didn't even have a chance to speak before the hollow burst suddenly into a fit of laughter, his eyes sharpening dangerously. "If you really think I need help with Ichigo, then you're much less perceptive than you first appear, Aizen-san." He flicked his hand quickly to wave them both off, overcoming the weight enough to make the movement seem unforced. "Trust me; three days, and Ichigo will be out of the picture, completely without your interference."

One of Aizen's eyebrows arched gracefully. "Oh? Are you so confident in your abilities?"

"Are you so unconfident in them?" came the quick reply, the hollow still grinning. "I'd give a demonstration of my power, but honestly, I don't feel like it." He gave a vague tug on his arms, as though to imply that he could get out of the grasp of the crushing weight if he really wanted to.

"I see. In that case, Hollow-san, what can I do for you?" As he once again rested his chin on one hand, Aizen's expression became calculating.

In the following silence that rang through the room, the hollow's expression faded to a mostly-serious frown as he thought, his gaze steadily fixed on the confident man's face. Suspicious, Ichigo wondered what he was thinking. What would the insane hollow want out of Aizen, anyway?

"What exactly would you use me for in your army, if I were to agree?" the hollow asked guardedly.

Aizen cocked his head slightly. "I would have thought a hollow simply to be eager to fight in whatever capacity required it. But somehow, I sense that for you, the thrill of battle—while a good incentive—will not make a solid reason to stay. Instead, I shall let you in on my plans, so that you can better understand my goals."

That immediately earned the attention both of Ichigo and his hollow. Even Szayel looked up as though that idea disturbed him somewhat, though the Espada said nothing as he continued to observe.

"As you have pointed out yourself," Aizen began, "the laws in Soul Society are... lacking. The Gotei 13 answers to the Central 46. They, in turn, answer to the King of the Soul Society. Any time an order comes from above, those below must follow, no matter how illogical the command."

The hollow nodded with a smirk. "Like the order to publicly execute an unseated Shinigami with the thing that's used only to kill high-class criminals, for the crime of saving a kid's life and consequently being late coming home."

Aizen's smile twitched upward. "Exactly. Now, tell me. Have you or Kurosaki-san ever heard of the Soul King?"

Ichigo's mind automatically flashed to the King's Key, and once again, images of the destruction of Karakura Town filled his vision. With a growl, he shook them away as the hollow answered easily, "Not a clue. Though I assume, by way of the title 'King,' that he's the man in charge."

"It is not a man." Abruptly, Aizen's tone was icy and his expression hardened the slightest fraction. "It's not a Shinigami, nor is it a hollow. It's not even a real being, though supposedly the thing has sentience of some sort. And it also has enough raw power to effectively rule Earth, the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, Hell, and any other dimension connected to it. That is the kind of power that I will gain; that you will share part in should you choose to join me."

The hollow snorted a little, but he couldn't hide his interest in the idea of the sheer power Aizen had just offered him. "Pretty impressive. And what, exactly, will you use all that power for?"

Aizen smiled. "Surely, you do not expect me to give all of my secrets away?"

"Thought I'd ask," he said offhandedly, his creepy grin spreading across his face once more. "Wouldn't do me much good to rule a world if you're planning on, say, completely destroying it, after all."

The other man nodded demurely. "I assure you, so long as you do not fail me, your compensation will not be compromised."

The hollow's smile only grew more insane. "I'm sure. That it?"

With a mental growl, Ichigo struggled for control again, to no avail. "Are you insane? You're trying to ask for even more from him?"

Aizen, however, didn't seem phased at all, merely tilting his head slightly as he watched the hollow. "As I mentioned before, Hollow-san, I find you quite fascinating. Do you know why?"

"My sparkling personality?" the hollow quipped dryly, immediately laughing at his own joke.

"Exactly." Aizen, conversely, didn't seem to be joking in the slightest. "Allow me to tell you something. As you might imagine, I have been working with Shinigami/Hollow hybrids for quite some time now, trying to perfect the balance required for the maximum increase in power. Yet to this day, there remain minor flaws in that balance."

The hollow's overly smug grin returned. "Flaws you don't see in me?" he guessed arrogantly.

Aizen neither confirmed nor denied this. "My Arrancar have been the greatest success thus far. Grant Shinigami powers to a powerful hollow, and adaptation to those powers seems to occur naturally. Still, this adaptation never turns out to be complete. While Arrancar gain a zanpakutou, most prefer not to use it at all. They are skilled enough in its use, but even drawing the sword is often a last resort."

Still standing several feet away, Szayel nodded slightly to himself. "True enough," he admitted freely. "The true power we gain from the access to Shinigami powers is the return of our reasoning ability; the freedom we gain from our instincts. Even releasing our zanpakutous returns our bodies even further to our previous hollow powers."

The hollow didn't respond to this, so Aizen went on, shaking his head disappointedly. "Every Shinigami I've witnessed gaining hollow powers, on the other hand, favor their Shinigami abilities to an even worse degree. A few can manage to pull off the cero technique, and sometimes they even make small attempts at sonido, but the rest of their potential, they channel straight towards strengthening their zanpakutou's abilities. Such a waste."

Somewhat offended by that, Ichigo's eyes narrowed. That's all he'd ever done, too, but that's all he'd ever been taught to do. Nothing else could be done with the hollow powers, short of losing all control and becoming completely a hollow.

Like now, for instance. Ichigo tried hard not to concentrate on the hollow mask he could sense creeping onto his face, now starting to make its way to across the right side as well as the left. The hollow himself snickered as he noted Ichigo's discomfort. "And? What's your point?" he shot at Aizen.

The other man leaned back in his chair, still watching the hollow carefully. "Strangely, I have not yet seen you use many hollow powers, despite being very obviously the hollow half of your soul. I do not doubt your ability to use them—your skill with sonido was proficient enough—and so your use of Ichigo's Shinigami powers, including the Getsuga Tenshou ability, is rather remarkable."

Aizen smiled at him, and then went on. "It implies, you see, that you instinctively use both sides of your powers; hollow and Shinigami. The extent to which you do so could prove... fascinating."

The hollow seemed to enjoy the flagrant praise, his insane grin growing even deeper at Aizen's words. "Hear that, Ichigo?" he cackled gleefully."He wants us to join him because he expects you and me to outclass everyone else in his army eventually!"

"Assuming he's telling the truth," Ichigo put in darkly. He would never trust a single word that came out of that man's mouth, especially if it was a compliment of any sort. And especially if that compliment was directed at his hollow.

"I plan to attack the Soul King's throne with or without your assistance, if necessary," Aizen added, before continuing to feed the hollow's ego even further. "However, if I have your strength behind me, it will practically guarantee victory. As such, name your price. If you want sanctuary, it will be yours. If you desire to rule a world, name it. What do you think, Hollow-san?"

Ichigo awaited the hollow's response with a grim expression, a bad feeling in his gut as he sensed the sheer thrill rolling off his other self. This was it; would his inner demon keep to the plan, or ruin it all?

Finally, the hollow directed his eerie leer firmly on Aizen's face. "You make an interesting proposition, Aizen-san. A cut of your near limitless power, so long as I help you attain it?" He gave a small shake of his head. "You certainly know which desires tempt a hollow."

"Of course," Aizen said evenly, not even bothering to indicate their surroundings, the home of the hollows that he'd more than likely been studying for centuries. "Would you expect any less?"

"Ha!" The hollow shifted just a little, suddenly tensing. "Okay, Aizen Sousuke! Remember what I said: three days! You can count on it!"

With that, he sent a burst of reiatsu at the bands on his arms, temporarily overloading them and sending them on the fritz. In an instant, the hollow held several of the wires in his hand, and before Szayel could even begin to protest, he gave a sharp jerk, yanking them away from his skin.

The result was immediate: pain once again enveloped Ichigo's whole body, strange purple sparks dancing across his skin between the remaining wires, and maniacal laughter filled the room. Ichigo and the hollow slammed into each other as his reiatsu was released from the bonds, and Ichigo instinctively grabbed for control again. The hollow's cackling morphed disturbingly into his own screams as the pain overtook them both.

Finally, Ichigo knelt alone on the floor of the room, large pieces of his hollow mask breaking off and shattering on the ground around him. His raspy breathing was slow and labored, and uncontrollable twitches spread through all of his limbs.

Abruptly, Szayel was upon him, checking over the wires and hastily removing several, muttering to himself under his breath. Ichigo wanted to shove him off, but found himself suddenly too exhausted, so he settled for a vague glare instead.

Once the scientist finished looking him over, apparently certain that no permanent damage had been done, he stood back, scoffing to himself. "Well, he certainly knows how to make a flashy exit," he commented.

"Indeed," Aizen agreed, chin once more resting on one hand. "Well, Kurosaki-san?"

Szayel took the bands off his arms, tossing them lightly to his assistant, and the immense weight lifted from Ichigo's shoulders.

As swiftly as he could manage, the orange-haired Shinigami got to his feet, backing away with a growl. "I'm gunna kill you," he seethed at Aizen hatefully, hand going for Zangetsu. "I swear, you are gunna-"

To his surprise, Szayel chuckled to himself. When Ichigo redirected his glare on the pink-haired scientist, the Espada merely smiled at him. "You know; it's funny. You act more like a hollow than Hollow-san," he commented lightly. "So touchy."

Ichigo's teeth ground together, his grip on Zangetsu's hilt tightening even further. "Don't you ever say that again!" he threatened dangerously. "Got it?"

Szayel backed off, but irritatingly, his smile remained. "Fascinating," he murmured quietly.

Before Ichigo could shoot a response at him, Aizen spoke up again, causing him to realize that the other man had stood from his throne. "Three days, your hollow said. I will be awaiting the outcome of this with interest."

The words shook Ichigo unexpectedly as it suddenly hit him what they really meant. Three days, and then he would have to have his 'hollow disguise' perfected. Three days, and they would have to figure out how to cloak Ichigo's reiatsu. Three days, and Ichigo would have to figure out how on earth he would ever manage to act like his hollow; the insane laughter and perpetual grin on his face. Not to mention the whole deal with the mask itself.

Anger leaked away as a sense of hopelessness tried to take over, but Ichigo firmly shook it off. "He's not going to win," he said as confidently as he could, narrowing his eyes at Aizen and trying to ignore the fact that the lack of fire had left his tone feeling empty. "And neither are you, Aizen!"

The other man's continued smile was maddening. "We shall see, Kurosaki Ichigo. We shall see."

---

This was going to be a much longer chapter, so that I could finally get to the exciting stuff, but that last scene turned out way bigger than I expected it to, so I've decided to end it here. Next chapter, just to warn you, is going to be a doozy. Not necessarily in length, but definitely in content. (Evil laughter)

(cough) Anyway.

The machine Szayel used on Ichigo. XD Originally, this was going to be some sort of injected drug that the scientist would have developed for the same purpose, but at the time that I was writing it, I was in the middle of a sleep study. If you've ever had one, you'll know that they basically glue a whole bunch of wires and stuff to your head, to your chest, to your legs, etc. and then try to make you sleep like that. Inspiration struck.

So. My sleep disorder problems have gotten bad enough that my family and friends, and even my bishop, have become worried about my general health. (Note to self: Sleeping for a good 16+ hours a day on a regular basis tends to worry people.) Consequently, I'll be staying home from college for the next semester or so while we try to get this sorted out. I feel really bad about not going to school, but I hope that it will help me recover faster, so I can stop getting horrible grades.

The good news for you is that my not having schoolwork will possibly give me more time to write, depending on how things work out. I'm hoping that it won't take horrifically long for the next chapter to come out. (Well, 'horrifically long' in terms of my usual update times, anyway.) Keep your fingers crossed.

Thanks again for all of the support you give me! I'm glad that at least one thing I'm doing makes people happy. =D

Till next chapter,

-Daricio