One more chapter up! My writing speed has decreased… Sorry everyone! I should take typing classes…

Present time, a room in Urahara Shoten…

'Kaza-chan, it's late. You should go home now,' Urahara said to Kazane.

Kazane looked up from her work. 'I don't feel like going home. I don't want to have to explain to Yuzu about what happened to Ichigo… Even though what will come out will be a whole tissue of lies… If I lie anymore, my nose will grow longer.'

Urahara laughed, 'Now that's amusing. What are you working on?'

Kazane showed him the three pieces of earrings she was working on. They were each a chain with a thin piece of gold plated metal dangling on it. Urahara picked up one of them and held it gingerly to the light. The intricate and complex patterning was visible clearly in the light.

'Wow, is this a communicator? Complex but obviously a work of art…' Urahara whistled. 'It's only half done, right? These things take days to make one but you finished almost half of these in a day. Genius as always, Kaza-chan. What do you plan to do with it?'

'Use it of course. You do know that I've made up my mind to go to Soul Society with them, don't you?' Kazane looked up at him. 'But let me make this clear to you. My only motive is to recover or destroy the Hougyoku. I have no intention of assisting Ichigo and the others in the rescue of Kuchiki Rukia. Anything that happens to them is none of my business. My actions are purely for the Hougyoku and nothing else. If they hinder my way, I won't hesitate to use force to remove them.'

Urahara smiled, 'Scary, Kaza-chan. Are you really sure?'

'Yes,' Kazane replied with unwavering eyes. 'I don't care if Kuchiki Rukia lives or die.'

'Even if Byakuya turns out to hate you?'

Kazane looked away. She replied in a small voice, 'He can't hate a person that has already died. I felt it that day, when we were fighting. And I felt it from the power I took from him. Byakuya has already erased me from his heart. To him, I am already dead. I died 100 years ago. Our relationship is not like before.' Kazane clutched her heart.

'But even so, you still can't get over him, right?' Urahara tilted his hat downwards.

'It hurts… to think that the one person that I truly love….' A tear slid down her pale cheek. Kazane shook her head slightly. 'Do you mind if I stay here for the night? I can't go home in this state. I can't face Yuzu or Karin like this.'

'Sure, stay as long as you want!' Urahara showed her the way to a spare room. 'Oww!'

Kazane had whacked the back of his head with a broom. 'Don't go thinking perverted stuff, Geta Boshi.'

'That's cruel!' Urahara cried.

'Hn,' Kazane sat down on the floor. 'Urahara-san?'

'Yes?'

'Thanks. Good night,' Kazane said.

'Good night. Sweet dreams,' Urahara closed the door and walked away.

'Don't cry, Kazane. When you do, the snow turns all mushy and muddy. The weather isn't nice in here when you are felling upset,' Haruka told her sortly.

'The tears won't stop. The pain, it feels like it's suffocating me,' Kazane drew her legs to her chest and hugged herself tightly. 'It feels as if I'm falling apart. It hurts, Haruka, it really hurts. It hurts to know that he doesn't think of me anymore. It hurts to know that the next time we meet, we will be enemies.'

Haruka paused for a while. She said in a pained voice, 'It's raining hail in here. Ouch, that really hurts, Kazane.'

'Sorry, Haruka. It looks like you have to take control again,' Kazane managed a small chuckle.

'Go to sleep, Kazane. I'll put an end to the hail storm. Ouch, another one got me,' Haruka yelped in pain.

Kazane lied down on the floor and closed her eyes. She was out in a few minutes.

'You know things are bad when there's a hail storm in here. The last time there was a hail storm was more than a century ago. Normally, the snow will only get a bit slushy,' Haruka sighed. She took control of Kazane's emotions and calmed her down. 'But you know things are disastrous when I actually have to control her emotions. She's so upset that she can't even control her own powers.'

There was a crackle. 'Kazane is upset again. What made her cry this time?' A Kazane-look-alike appeared beside Haruka. 'I wanna rip him into shreds.'

'You shouldn't be here, Shiroi-hime. Besides, Kazane would be even more upset if she finds out you had taken control of her body and slaughtered Kuchiki Byakuya.'

'Ah? It's that aristocratic brat again? What did he do this time?' Shiroi-hime sat down on thin air and folded her arms. 'I never really liked aristocrats.'

'You've forgotten that Kazane is an aristocrat as well. Actually, was an aristocrat,' Haruka sat down beside her. 'If Kazane was an aristocrat, we were aristocrats. We are, after all, the same person.'

Shiroi-hime scowled, 'That's why I hate aristocrats. I hate myself.'

'For being a Hollow that once tried to eat your other self?'

'For being so much like an aristocrat –arrogant and ignorant- that I didn't understand who Kazane was before I tried to eat her. Aristocrats really suck!' Shiroi-hime kicked the ground, sending a wave of snow into the air.

'Hime! Mind your language!' Haruka clutched her throat.

Shiroi-hime laughed a tinkling laugh. 'Okay, okay, we're aristocrats so we should mind our words. But I don't see the point. We aren't like them anymore, are we? That part of our lives is over and done with,' Shiroi-hime looked up into the snowy sky. 'It doesn't matter, either way. I'm not exactly the pillar of goodness. Good night, Haruka. No, Fuyusuisei.'

Haruka tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. 'Why the sudden use of my true name?'

Shiroi-hime chuckled. 'Kazane hasn't been using it for so long I thought you'd forgotten!' She turned and disappeared.

Haruka smiled. 'That's not true. Kazane's been calling my name every night, every day. But she hasn't told me what she wanted.'

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Next day at Urahara Shoten…

'Kurosaki-kun, take this pill every hour. Your wounds should heal by sundown. We'll start our training then,' Urahara held out a bottle of pills.

'Oh, okay,' Ichigo took the pills and shoved it into his bag. 'I'll be going then.'

'Urahara-san?' Kazane came out of her room. Her eyes were red and there were bags under her eyes. 'Are you there?'

'Ehhh! Geta Boshi, what did you do to my sister?' Ichigo pointed at the blond girl. 'Did you drug her and-?'

WHAM! Kazane had grabbed Urahara's cane and whacked the side of Ichigo's head with it. She said with twitching eyes, 'Don't you go thinking about weird and sick stuff, Ichi-nii. You won't live to see the consequences. Besides, Urahara-san knows better than to do something to me. He simply doesn't have the guts to do so.'

'I simply value my life too much,' Urahara said under his breath.

WHAM! Kazane whacked Urahara's head with the cane as well. 'Really, the next time I'm camping out at Inoue's house. By the way, it's 5 minutes to eight. Shouldn't you be at school by now?'

'Oh yeah! I'm gonna be late!' Ichigo ran at full speed out of the shop.

'Remember to take your pills!' Urahara called. He looked back to see the exhausted girl. 'Had a bad dream?'

'I dreamt about the experiment,' Kazane folded her arms and looked away.

'Ahh…' Urahara picked up his cane and tilted his hat down. 'You still remember it huh?'

'Anyone would remember an experience like that,' Kazane said stubbornly.

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Flashback…

Kazane walked around the 12th division area, distributing documents to the different departments. All of a sudden, hands clamped down on her mouth and waist and dragged her away. She struggled to break free but the hands gripped her even tighter. She looked down and recognized the familiar blue finger nailed hands.

'Kurotsuchi-sempai…' Kazane thought angrily. Then, a needle was slammed into her neck and all was black.

The next clear memory was terrifying. She was strapped down to a surgery table while Mayuri did something to her hand. There was a sharp stab of pain. Kazane turned her head to the left to see what Mayuri was doing. She wanted to scream but there was a gag in her mouth. Mayuri was boring a hole into her palm. He then picked up a small round ball and inserted it into the bloody hole. Electric-like currents shot down her body and stabbed every part of her. She tried to scream again but it was useless. The pain blinded her and all she could think about was how to get rid of the pain. She distinctly heard someone talking.

'Synch rate is over 80%... 85%... 90%... Maximum synch rate is 97%. It's better than the other test subjects. Much better,' the assistant said.

'Great. Let's use this opportunity to test out what it can do,' Mayuri crackled.

'How?' the assistant asked, bewildered.

'I did a bit of probing and found out that she's terrified by fire. Let's use that to force it out of her,' Mayuri moved away. She heard a door slam shut and a finger knocking on a window.

'An observation room… Haruka, are you there? Haruka?' Kazane thought anxiously.

'Ouch, this thing Mayuri placed in your hand is burning me… IT'S BURNING ME!' Haruka screamed.

'It's fire-based, I think. Or maybe even electric-based. If that's so, then why did my body accept it?' Kazane felt the straps loosen and drop off. She slowly got up, wincing at the pain. Haruka was right. The substance that was inserted into her hand was burning her body from inside out.

'You didn't accept it… I did…' another voice was heard inside her head. 'I accepted it. I'm tired of all the snow. I want some fire!'

'No… Hollow…' Haruka gasped. 'Are you crazy? Kazane's abilities are ice-based! If you introduce fire into her, the elements will clash! We all will die!'

'Hollow…?' Kazane breathed heavily. She raised her left hand and looked at it. The ball was still visible but the area around it was growing to swallow it into her hand. She touched it gingerly, and felt another wave of current shooting through her body. She gasped and blinked, trying to overcome her pain.

'You're so hopeless… You can't even take a bit of pain. Oh boy, what's gonna happen next is gonna be trilling!' the Hollow laughed loudly.

Fire shot out from everywhere around her. She could feel the heat. She could see the fiery blaze. Her hands shook.

'NOOOOOOO!' Kazane clutched her head with both her arms and screamed. She scrambled to get away from the flames. 'Noo… make it stop…please… No more fire…' Her left hand glowed red and orange. It burnt her badly but she didn't notice it.

Inside the observation room…

'Whaa… Kurotsuchi-sempai, my hand… it's moving on its own!' the assistant tried to pull the controlled hand away from the row of switches. 'I can't stop it…'

'What?' Mayuri looked up and snapped at him. 'What are you doing? Remove your hand from the switched immediately! Don't you dare turn the fire off.'

'I can't stop it… That girl… Hiroshi… she's controlling my hand!' the assistant tugged at his hand. It was inching closer and closer to the fire switch. 'I think you have your answer…!' His hand shook as it turned off the fire.

Mayuri smirked. 'Maybe you're right… Turn the fire back on. I want to see it again.'

'I can't…' the assistant cried helplessly. His hand was wrapped around his neck, strangling him. 'Help me… Kurotsuchi-sempai…' His eyes rolled back and his knees buckled.

Mayuri turned away and began writing on a sheet of paper. 'Your sacrifice was necessary for science.'

The assistant glared at him weakly. She crawled to his feet and jabbed the 'Emergency' button. Sirens roared through out the Division. Mayuri turned around furiously to find the assistant dead. He growled. 'Damn you… You just ruined my experiment!'

The doors slammed open and Urahara walked in, followed by the rest of his division. He glanced around and regarded the weird genius coldly. 'Mayuri-san, I did not remember giving you authorization to conduct an experiment.'

'Ahh…' Kazane doubled over and fell to the floor. Her hand was bleeding a lot and it stained her uniform. She let out a blood-curling scream. Urahara hurried to her side. He pinned her down and examined her bloody hand.

'What did you do, Mayuri-san?' Urahara asked coldly. Mayuri fiddled with his hands.

'Well…' he was cut off by Kazane.

'Please… get this out of me… It's burning me like crazy…' Kazane whimpered. Her reiatsu was flaring dangerously. It knocked a few of the Division members off their feet. Urahara winced at the cold and icy reiatsu. Kazane gripped his hakama. Tears were flowing down her cheeks. 'The hollow in my head… Get rid of it too…'

Urahara's eyes widened. 'What do you mean by that?'

Kazane had already passed out. Her face was pale from losing so much blood.

'Change in priority! Get the 4th Division over! She needs to be treated immediately!' Urahara called. The division members who were still standing hurried to comply. They just wanted to get out of the room that was overflowing with Kazane's reiatsu.

'That was a bad experience, huh…' Urahara agreed. 'But that prompted me to research more on Hollowfication. The substance put inside you was a trigger for the Hollow to come out. Thus, the Hougyoku was able to be made from the same substance. I guess it's because you and the Hougyoku are like siblings, that's why you don't want Aizen to get his hands on it.'

Kazane traced a pearly white scar on her left palm. 'That… and because I don't want any more people to go through the same experience as I did…'

Urahara looked up. He saw the terror of the incident still reflected in her eyes. 'Why…'

'Hmm?' Kazane looked up.

'Why are you so afraid of fire?'

Kazane let out a small smile. 'That's because I died in a fire when I was a human. And it's because my mother… the Hirako clan head's wife… tried to kill me by throwing me into the burning mansion.'

'Thank you for coming over, Byakuya-dono…' Kazane smiled at the Kuchiki clan's future head.

'It's alright. It's ironic though… You got ill in cold weather even though your abilities are ice-based,' Byakuya scratched his head.

Kazane laughed. 'That means I'm not an idiot. Idiots don't get sick.'

Byakuya fumed. 'Are you calling me an idiot because I'm not sick?'

'I didn't say you were an idiot… Neither did I say you weren't,' Kazane chuckled.

'Kuchiki-sama, we have to go. Your parents are waiting for you,' one of his servants said.

'Alright. I'll be going now,' Byakuya got on the sedan.

'Come again some time. We'll play flash-step tag then,' Kazane waved. 'Until next time…'

'Until next time…' Byakuya waved his hand. The sedan drove off and Kazane walked back into the mansion.

'FIRE! FIRE IN THE MAIN HOUSE!' one of the servants bellowed. Kazane looked up and saw smoke rising from the main house. The house where the clan heads lived.

'Otou-sama! Okaa-sama!' Kazane flash-stepped to the main house. She wandered around, trying to search for her parent's reiatsu. She located them in their room. Hurriedly, she dashed to the room and opened the door.

'Okaa-sama, Otou-sama, there's a fire here! Please get out-!' Kazane gasped. Her father was in the flames, burning to death. Her mother was standing in a corner, grinning maliciously. Kazane backed away. Tears leaked out from the side of her eyes. 'Okaa-sama… Why?'

Her mother rounded on her and grabbed her by the shoulder. 'Let everything end today! Your father only had eyes for your older brother Shinji. He never cared about us! Never! He only had eyes for that commoner and her son! Let everything end… today…' Her mother tossed her into the fire. She landed on top of her father. She looked at him, terrified. His eyes were still open and he was looking up into the sky. He raised a hand and pointed to the ceiling. His eyes held a look of longing. Then, he quietly closed his eyes and accepted his death. The flames flickered around her body, scorching her clothes and body. Kazane placed a hand on her chest and a layer of ice formed around her body. With tears still flowing, she slammed a hand down on the floor. Ice shot out of nowhere and froze the flames. And icy mist hanged around the floor.

'Why… Okaa-sama…' Kazane looked up with pleading eyes. 'Is your hatred that great that you have to kill? Is your hatred that great that you have to send the man you really love to his death? Okaa-sama!'

Kazane's mother had slit her throat. Her eyes let out a look of satisfaction. Her knees buckled and she dropped to the floor. Kazane watched her blood soak the wooden floor.

'Okaa-sama…' Kazane cried out. She regained her composure. 'Rest in peace… Okaa-sama…'

'What happened after that?' Urahara asked. 'The Hirako clan was removed from the four noble houses, right?'

'Yes… All the remaining family fortune was transferred to Hirako Shinji. He became the clan head, although it wasn't a noble family anymore. But a year after that, he quit as the head of the clan. The Hirako clan became history then,' Kazane played with her hair.

'The marriage? The engagement?' Urahara asked.

'It was called off, of course. Kuchiki Byakuya was meant to marry a noble of equal class. I was no longer a noble. But Kuchiki Ginrei-dono was exceptionally kind about it. I still remember what he told me on that day: Once a noble, always a noble. You may not be a noble in status, but you are a noble in your heart. Honestly, I never imagined he would say something like that…'

'But it's true, no?' Urahara walked to the dining area, motioning her to follow.

'I guess… But a noble in heart is not enough to keep the engagement with Byakuya. In the end, he is destined to marry a noble, not a fallen noble like me,' Kazane sat down at the table. Youruichi was lazing around at the table. Kazane tickled her stomach and picked up a bowl of rice.

'I heard Byakuya-kun married a commoner some 55 years ago,' Youruichi told her.

Kazane choked on her first bite of rice. 'What-?'

'It's only a rumor though…' Youruichi turned around. Urahara set down a bowl of milk and Youruichi began lapping it up.

Kazane took out a piece of catnip and waved it in front of her. Youruichi's cat instinct took over and she begged for it. Kazane then threw it out of the shop and used a Kido spell to shoot the catnip far away. Very very far away.

'Meow!' Youruichi meowed and chased the catnip.

'You're evil…' Urahara noted.

'Evil's my other name,' Kazane said sweetly and resumed eating.

I'm sorry for the late update. I've been wondering what to write in this chapter and the idea of Kazane's past came up. I needed time to think it over though… Read and Review!

Special thanks to Hoshi no Y.U.N.A. for Haruka's name: Fuyusuisei!