I apologise how short this is, and how... abrupt the end is. I lack inspiration for this and pretty much forced myself to write this much, sorry!

Chapter seven

The silence that sat within the prison block halls were eerie, but Shiori refused to disturb it. She was sat the other side of... the 'prisoners' cell, staring at him intently; trying to decide whether the things that had been explained to her were true.

It sure sounded like it should be true. It felt like it should- it all felt familiar to her, but, she couldn't be sure. It was just all too... out of this world. Then again, she had never believed in spirits and things like 'reishi' before, yet that was all obviously quite real.

It felt like she did know this man, and knew him well too. There was something... comforting to her about his voice or even staring into his eyes. It was like greeting an old friend- one you'd had a crush on but kept it silent. It was warm and made her feel at ease.

Maybe that was bad, he was locked up; and if what they'd said was true... her memory had been erased to.. erase any 'allegiances' she had with him.

She let out a sigh and sat back against the wall. Something nagged at her in the back of her mind- memories perhaps?

"Why choose now to tell me this anyway?"

Yoruichi shifted, looking quite guilty. "Rangiku is getting worse," she frowned. "And we don't know anything about the hollow's that attacked her- we thought perhaps Aizen would know something."

"Ah, this is the first time I've-" he shut up when she glared at him. Honestly, she had 'asked him' about them.

"So why did I have to know?"

Shinji sighed. "There is a chance they're after you, they've been in the human world after Ichigo too- and us, they're curious about us and about you and Ichigo."

"Because I'm... part hollow?"

"Yes, or, that's what we believe anyway," Yoruichi frowned. "When you blanked out that day at the academy, and a few times since that you don't remember. You became... like this in a different way to Ichigo- we think these hollow's want to know more about..."

"Hybrids," Aizen suggested. He didn't want to help, but he knew he had no choice. He was curious too anyway. "To answer what you came here for, I've never met these hollows and I couldn't tell you anything without meeting them."

"But Shiori might be able to," Soifon frowned. "Gin and Tousen are both gone, Shiori is the only one left. We went to Hueco Mundo and asked Neliel Tu about it, but she had no clue about them either."

Shiori stiffened at the name, only two people really noticed.

"I don't see how," Aizen shrugged as best he could within his binds. "She was confined to Las Noches most of the time, there's a chance she may have met them to make a... pact with them when she wanted revenge against me," he chuckled. "But I don't think so- you might want to help her too."

Both women and Shinji turned to stare at her. Byakuya had been watching impassively since she'd stiffened up and brought her knees to her chest. Now she clutched her head and seemed to be having issues breathing.

"Shiori?" Shinji knelt beside her, frowning more. "Should we take her to Unohana?"

"No," Byakuya sighed, closing his eyes. Renji would never forgive him if she got sick, but... "She reacted to the mention of Neliel Tu Oderschvank. According to Kurosaki and Abarai, she had quite the bond with her."

Aizen shook his head. "Of course she did, Nel saved her life and showed her that she could fight without being a monster," he chuckled, muttering when they just glared at him. He was trying to help and yet...! Still, it was quite amusing. These hollows had taken out a vice-captain quite easily... maybe they could take down soul society.

"Perhaps meeting Neliel might help," Yoruichi frowned. "If it gets her memories out."

"We have clearance from Sou-taichou to do what we need to," Soifon said simply. "Taking her to Hueco Mundo isn't going to hurt- it might be... better."

"You mean if she decides to turn against us?" Byakuya did feel quite... protective all of a sudden. She was one of Rukia's only remaining friends, if she lost another... Plus, Abarai would never forgive him if they had to kill her, or she turned into an enemy.

Shinji lifted the girl into his arms instantly. "Let's go then."

Hueco Mundo still looked the same as it had before. It was a vast, empty, dark desert. The only difference was the absence of the great fortress in the middle. Shiori could easily remember how it should have looked, but that seemed to be as far as her memory stretched.

She had a horrible headache and felt quite sick ever since they'd arrived here- and with no 'Nel' to be found, they were left figuring out where to go.

It was all so familiar to her! She knew why it was, this had been her... 'home' or... perhaps prison once before. She wished she could remember more clearly, especially if it'd help 'save' Rangiku. She meant so much to so many people... if she died because she wasn't good enough-

"Which way do we go? There's no hint of... anything."

Shiori bit her lip, staring intently at the blonde, before heading off in one direction. She didn't even know where she was going- she just.. felt a pull there. The others questioned her, but she kept silent and carried on walking.

She longed to go back in time a few hours so this would never happen. That moment with Renji had been... so nice, and now this... and there was a chance she'd never go back to him. She knew that.

Still... she could feel someone. The others seemed oblivious to feeling anyone but... she could...! If it was 'Nel' surely they'd have taken off after it instantly. It felt like someone she knew, that much was sure, but...

Who was it? She thought deeply. She could remember faces the closer to the reishi she came, she could remember their names, and their voices. Their scents, their attitudes.

"Ulquiorra..."

Yoruichi froze as she suddenly took off uttering the name. "Ichigo killed him..." But now she concentrated, she could too feel the hollow. "It's not possible that Ulquiorra is fine..." what if all the other Espada were okay too? They'd barely beaten them before and it was mostly due to Ichigo, now they had this...

And the other downside, was that she knew Shiori liked Ulquiorra. Would they have to kill her now? What if he protected her?

"I'm starting to regret bringing her here."

Shinji smirked, though it was half hearted. "I think everything will work out." Fate wasn't that cruel, was it? He supposed it could be... but...

Shiori stared dumbly at the four people in front of her. The others stopped behind her, muttering all sorts of confusions. There were two men, and two women. They were sat around some makeshift table, seemingly drinking tea like some sort of tea party. All the china was pink, and seemed to belong to one of the women.

The tallest man stood up, slamming his hands down onto the table. His blue hair went to his waist and he looked pretty livid. "I am sick of drinking out of these cups like some baby!"

"Oh relax," the older woman chided softly. "It's quite rude to cause a fuss when we have guests."

The two women Shiori recognised instantly, and a low growl echoed within her throat.

"What did you do to Rangiku? How do we make her better?" And why did they... feel like- the older male felt like Grimmjow, the other male who sat there simply felt like Ulquiorra. The oldest woman wasn't so different from Halibel and the younger felt like some mix of Nnoitra and Szyael.

"Ah, she hasn't died yet?" the youngest girls eyes lit up. "She's stronger than I thought she is! Neesan, can I go back and kill her?"

Yoruichi grabbed Shiori before she could pounce on them. She'd never seen her so riled up and Angry. So... these 'four' were the hollows they were hunting then. The two women being the ones who attacked Rangiku.

Well, she thought dully, at least there's solace in the fact there's only four of them.

It didn't comfort her as much as she'd intended it.

"Shiori-kun," the older woman smiled. "Relax a little, we're not going to hurt you or your friends- in fact if you help us, we'll make your 'Rangiku' better."

The youngest whined. "No fair!"

"Eh, Tiffany, you shouldn't lie," the older male scoffed, his voice deep and it rumbled within his chest. "You know very well what happens now."

"Yes, Hiro, I know what happens; it's called lowering 'ones guard', you should try something tactical for once. Even Suni has more brains than you!"

The other man sighed and stood up; walking in front of the others. "Shinigami."

Shiori froze; his voice was almost identical to Ulquiorra's. But... but he had died! Ichigo had killed him... Aizen had told her that, Yoruichi had confirmed it!

"What are you?"

He smirked lightly, hands idly shoved within his pockets. "Yes, perhaps it's strange- I do quite resemble him don't I? I suppose it doesn't hurt to explain."

"Naoki!" Tiffany hissed.

"When Espada die, because they are altered like you were- their.. reishi do not quite fit in elsewhere within Hueco Mundo. If their particle's are consumed by other hollows, they transform. Or you could be like Suni, she's what happens when two different Espada's get consumed by the same being."

"I don't understand."

Byakuya frowned; he did, and they all knew how silly it would be to fight them. Hollows evolved by consuming each other. Consuming Espada didn't create stronger Espada, it created a new breed of hollow's completely. He'd not felt them before but... their reishi was strange. Bubbling, as if all their power was there briefly, then popped and disappeared for a few moments before coming back.

But they were strong, he could feel that. They'd had a hard enough time defeating them previously and they'd not evolved as much as these hollows.

"You don't need to," Naoki smirked softly. "I have all of Ulquiorra's memories, but not his feelings. We're different people, we don't even have the same personalities." He chuckled. "Still you find it hard to even fathom hurting me- isn't that right, Onna?"

Shiori's eyes widened more. She barely remembered anything, but Ulquiorra... she could remember that clearly. Him, how he'd... protected her in his own way. How she'd used him as some sort of shield, and how she enjoyed sitting in his silent presence.

"Why tell him that?" Little Suni's voice was deceptively sweet, and she peered at them with large eye lashes.

"Well... I suppose it doesn't matter," Tiffany sighed. "They have to die anyway, it's only the girl we need."