Ichigo scowled as he watched the Shinigami who'd just handed him an extremely generous stack of paperwork scamper off to deliver an equally misery inducing packet to some other Captain.

I hope he has something for Kenpachi too…

The orange haired Taichō smiled briefly at the thought, then blanched. No one deserved that fate.

Not even him, though I swear he purposefully gives me more…

With a sigh, Ichigo shook his head and pushed the fat stack to the edge of his desk. He'd have his Lieutenant do it later… or something. He hadn't signed up for this when he'd accepted the position of Captain of the Fifth.

Its almost enough to make me wish Aizen was still alive. At least then I had something meaningful to do. Not like this tedious work…

Lost in reminiscing, Ichigo almost missed the Hell's butterfly. Almost. As eager as he was to ditch his paperwork, anything that even verged on distraction was seized upon eagerly. It was a summons anyways, and a legitimate reason to drop his work; all Captains were required to report to the Soutaichō's office as soon as possible. With immense relief, Ichigo pulled on his white haori, picked up Zangetsu, and shunpoed out of his division.

He wasn't the first to arrive, but then beating Soifon anywhere was impossible when she had it in her mind to get there quickly. He gave the serious female a wide berth, standing on the opposite side of the room and acknowledging her respectfully when he entered. She'd made it clear to him on past occasions that just because he was the "Hero of Soul Society" and a Captain of the Gotei 13 now, he was in no way her equal, especially as "rash and stupid" as he was, "rushing into fights with little thought to strategy" and assuming he'd get by on "sheer, dumb strength." In fact, she'd told him to go join the "barbarians of the Eleventh" and leave Captaining to someone more competent, of which she assured him there were several. Ouch. Ichigo had promptly made a mental note to steer clear of the moody Taichō and the Onmitsukidō she led, and in turn, she'd taken to only berating him whenever he said or did something she deemed particularly moronic in front of her.

She hasn't forgiven me for filling in the position Shihōin turned down. Like I'm the reason Yoruichi didn't want to come back to this place. Ugh… can't say I blame her either…

He glanced up as Byakuya made his entrance, dignified as usual. He'd hardly changed from the day they'd first met. Perhaps he looked a little older now, but the difference was really so slight it hardly mattered. Eighty years only lent him more maturity and poise.

Unlike me. I still look like a college student.

Ichigo winced. Though his human body had aged, his soul, separated from his body at sixteen, aged at the rate of a Shinigami, which was considerably slower. It had been difficult to watch his human friends grow older while he essentially stayed the same, and after realizing what had happened, he'd taken to staying human as much as possible; the Shinigami could do their jobs just fine without him. And they did for the most part too, though occasionally he'd had to lend them a hand when they needed help. After all, with Aizen gone and the remaining Hollows and Arrancar disunified, the threat to humanity had been greatly reduced.

Jūshiro arrived next, dragging a mildly inebriated Shunsui along with him. The latter protested having been disrupted from his routine afternoon cup of sake so rudely, though he shut up at the ominous smile of the woman who followed behind him. Ichigo shuddered as well and stood straighter; though beautiful and compassionate, more lay behind Unohana's smile than mere displeasure.

The rest assembled not too long after, though Kurotsuchi did drift in on his own time with the explanation that he'd been overseeing an experiment he couldn't afford to neglect, and Zaraki was an hour late, having been off gambling in the Rukongai when he'd received his notice. True to form, he'd gotten lost on the way over. No one criticized either of the two however, except for Yamamoto, and even he only cast them wearied, reproachful looks as he began the meeting.

"I've summoned you all here today to discuss a most unsettling development. As we are all aware, Kurosaki-Taichō especially, Earth has undergone a rapid technological revolution. This in itself is not unusual; the 20th century for example was a period of political tumult, and humans made astounding leaps in the field of science. Renaissances and decades of revolutions are a hallmark of the humans species sparked by the rare, brilliant mind. However, we have come to the conclusion that this change was not instituted by a human, but a different entity; an Arrancar."

The Soutaichō paused to let his words sink in, and the assembled Captain's accepted the news gravely, all but– again –Zaraki and Mayuri. The former seemed impatient about getting to the point of this meeting while the latter occupied himself by studiously examining his fingernails for dirt… or perhaps something more frightening. Disinterest was written clearly across his painted face. If Yamamoto was bothered by this though, he gave no indication of it, forging ahead.

"What worries us is this; one man known only as the Inventor has single handedly managed to bring the world under his control through his inventing firm Phoenix Corporations. Not officially, but for all intents and purposes… if he should so desire, he could appoint himself dictator tomorrow. Such an action would be unnecessary and would only hurt him; a few decades back, he rendered the United Nations moot when they tried to wage war on him. He did what no other conqueror has managed in history; he has united the vastly disparate peoples and cultures of the world by providing unparalleled aid to developing and impoverished nations, by founding schools to promote international understanding and innovation, by eliminating hunger and cracking down on disease, and by bringing morals to politics. He took over the world not through war or occupation, but through gestures and diplomacy; by winning the people.

One might make the mistake of calling him a noble idealist who turned his visions into reality and catapulted humanity into a better era… and indeed, if we are wrong, it could be so. However, the fact remains that he has no history, no name, no face; nothing. He came out of nowhere, took the world by storm, and then supposedly died, leaving his company to his son who also appeared from nowhere and maintained the same level of secrecy. These facts, among others, make him suspect. Should he turn out to not be human, matters are very serious. His motivations then cannot be interpreted as philanthropic, but as a plot to overthrow Soul Society by taking humanity hostage. We, and all of Earth, are in peril."

"That's crazy! The Inventor wanted the best for mankind! He's an international hero, not some psychotic Arrancar bent on overthrowing Soul Society," Ichigo cried, speaking up.

"Silence Kurosaki! I understand it is difficult to remain objective given your personal history, but you are a Captain of the Gotei 13. Know your place and duty! You are no longer a child."

Ichigo ducked his head, humiliated, but he would not give up his point entirely. Struggling to compose himself, he muttered his next words plaintively, his cheeks burning with shame.

"Its just… you don't understand what he did for us. Not up here, detached from things. You don't know what its like to feel that the world is becoming a better place, and maybe some day we can stop murdering each other…"

"Ichigo…"

He looked up. Yamamoto did not seem angry but… sympathetic?

"Death is not to be feared. Those that do evil while living will receive their just ends when they die. War is terrible, but it keeps the world in balance, and eventually, humans may discover an alternative on their own. But this interference is not natural, and as guardians of the balance, it is our responsibility to correct this. We are detached so that we may judge unhindered by irrational emotions, but do not take us for heartless; we were all human once. You above all should know that."

Ichigo nodded, biting his lower lip, but did not say another word.

"Very good. Let us continue. The Inventor must be identified and killed. It is likely he is one of Aizen's Arrancar who managed to escape the mass purification we performed after the Winter War and settled in the human world to plan his revenge. We must identify him before we can take action to capture or kill him, and furthermore, must authorize such a search as it goes against our usual policy of non interference in human government…"

Yamamoto's voice droned on, preaching regulations and rules to be overcome or signed into temporary submission, but Ichigo had already stopped listening.

The Inventor is an Arrancar… the Inventor is trying to kill us…

"Yamamoto-Taichō, once we have the proper documents in order, how do you expect to uncover the Inventor's identity? It is unknown where he lives or what he looks like, so…"

There went Hitsugaya, asking his sharp questions and trying to sound and act mature. His words too faded into oblivion as Ichigo thought. Yamamoto's reply didn't even register with his stream of consciousness

Could I have known him? Could he have been one of the many broken-masked Arrancar in Las Noches that I saw when we rounded them up for slaughter? Or could he have escaped early on, and his face is one I never knew? I'm so tired of having my life controlled by nameless, faceless people… its just like with Aizen…

"He knows we'd find him, and he's mocking us! He knows all about us, and we know nothing of him! Look where he established himself; its Karakura Town, the site of Aizen's attempted take over. Sending the Onmitsukidō in blindly will do..."

Soifon's voice now, loud and abrasive. The waspish female was arguing about something to do with the Onmitsukidō. Probably arguing against sending them in. Why not? It seemed like a good idea to him.

Then again the Inventor is really clever. He'd probably predict we'd send the Onmitsukidō and kill them all before they could discover who he was. Oh… maybe that's why she doesn't want to send them.

"Yamamoto-sama, think of the repercussions such an investigation would have. Soifon is correct; we must not send the Onmitsukidō, and not because they would merely die meaninglessly. Our opponent is well established, and if he is an Arrancar and as merciless as we suspect, he could seek revenge by killing thousands. We must not make him aware that we are aware of him."

He could seek revenge by killing thousands… Unohana's words did not fade like the others. They were sickeningly clear. Ichigo felt his stomach twist as a terrible thought occurred to him. I may not have known him, but he knew who I was… and I was in the way. I wasn't bound by Shinigami law at the time, but after I died…

"You both raise good points. That is not a risk we can afford to take. Placing our lives in jeopardy is one matter, but placing the lives of innocents in danger is another. He knows this, and he'll use it to…"

Yamamoto again; troubled. But he wasn't the only one.

Orihime! She also died in an accident along with Ishida! Chad… I don't think died, but…

"Lets just storm the damn place and to hell with the consequences! We aren't gonna get nothin' done sitting on our asses and talking. Show the little bastard we aren't afraid of him and flush 'im out like the rat he is."

That would be Zaraki, whose impatience had finally surmounted his ability to stay quiet. Everyone cast him a disgusted look, to which he responded with a bellicose grin. Come on it seemed to say, contradict me.

"Did you absorb nothing from the conversation? I swear, you're denser than Kurosaki!" yelled Soifon.

Hey… that's not fair he thought in protest.

"Calm down both of you. This is a meeting, not a war zone. If either of you come to blows, I'll be terribly upset."

Unohana's voice broke through their heated quarrel. Zaraki and Soifon subsided somewhat; dear God that woman was terrifying, getting those two to shut up with one smile and a few mild words.

If looks could kill…Kill. Oh God, I think the Inventor killed me! That accident was no accident… it was-

"Murder!" he gasped, and the others turned to look at him.

"What do you mean, Kurosaki?" rumbled Komamura, his inhuman eyes glittering in the dim light of the room. He looked ferocious, but the wolf headed Captain was among the gentler of the Gotei 13, and someone Ichigo trusted not to laugh at him.

"I was murdered. The Inventor… whoever he is, had me killed. I'm sure of it! Orihime and Ishida died too, at a later date so it wouldn't be suspicious. And we all died in auto accidents, which is the most common way to die. No one would think anything of it, least of all ourselves, but… I'm sure now it wasn't a coincidence."

"It could have been," remarked Jūshiro gently, "Like you said, it is a very common way to-"

"Wishful thinking. Kurosaki is correct in saying he was murdered. After all… he was too much of a risk left alive," interjected Mayuri coolly. He looked up from his fingernails, immaculate by this point, and smiled eerily, flashing his gold plated teeth. Ichigo shuddered; even now, the Captain of the Twelfth scared him. He never knew what sinister thoughts lay behind those cold yellow eyes.

"Explain yourself, Kurotsuchi." Yamamoto ordered.

Mayuri sighed.

"I suppose I'll have to lay it out for you all. With Ichigo out of the human realm and safely bound by the bureaucracy of Shinigami law, he could not play at being vigilante hero like he used to. No, this was no accident. It was meticulously planned. If he had the patience to take over the world, he certainly had the connections and patience to arrange for a simple accident. Ishida and Orihime are also obvious; Ishida because he could obliterate his soul completely, thus effectively removing him from the reincarnation cycle, and Orihime because she could reject him out of existence to the same effect. They were too dangerous to let live; any fool could see that. I probably would have done the same."

"That's great Mayuri, but it still doesn't tell us how to get rid of this guy," remarked Hitsugaya sarcastically, and Ichigo found himself agreeing with the icy Captain. It was nice to find support, but the scientist really did creep him out. Especially with that last statement, which was in his opinion totally uncalled for.

"But you see, that's the thing. We all know who's behind this. It's painfully obvious. Of course, I didn't really notice until now, but that's because I find the human world incredibly primitive so I don't generally see any point in paying attention to their petty squabbles. However, when you mentioned Phoenix Corporations it was so clear whom this 'Inventor's' identity was. Flamboyant and narcissistic as ever… it's a wonder the rest of you didn't-"

"Mayuri!"

"Yes Yamamoto-Taichō?"

"If you know, then tell us."

Mayuri blinked, then smiled unpleasantly.

"Forgive me, Soutaichō. I had forgotten… in these past eighty years, it had slipped my mind to mention that one of my intended test subjects had gotten away. Really, it was so inconsequential. I hadn't thought to bring it up, but now I see that-"

"Mayuri!" Yamamoto looked angry now, and his voice was stern. "Who is behind this?"

Mayuri sighed again, sulky at being interrupted.

"Why, Szayel Aporro Grantz of course. You know, the former Octava? It seemed so obvious to me-"

"An Espada! An Espada loose on Earth?"

"Yes, its quite troublesome isn't it? Really hurt my pride when I found out he'd escaped."

"Kurotsuchi, you've endangered all of Soul Society and mankind with your irresponsibility!"

"Well," replied Mayuri with amusement, "I also just saved both by telling you who you're hunting. You have a name, a face, and I daresay a reiatsu to track now."

Szayel. Ichigo paled at the name. Uryuu told me about him, and if he's the Inventor… Oh God… we're in so much trouble. He's absolutely heartless; he'd easily blackmail us with the lives of millions if he learned we were after him…

"So then, if we know who he is lets kill him already!" proposed Zaraki with a bloodthirsty growl.

"Don't get impatient, Kenpachi. We've still got time; no need to rush," said Shunsui, finally shaking off enough of his intoxication to speak.

"Indeed. We still have all the paperwork we need to fill out to kill him first," Mayuri added dryly.

"That's bullshit." Zaraki replied.

"Those are the rules," countered Yamamoto warningly, "And you would do well to follow them more often Kenpachi. They've been infringed upon enough lately. The paperwork will be delivered to each of your divisions soon, meanwhile, I'll consult with the higher ups and see about getting permission to intercede in human affairs. I'll call you all again to brief you on progress, until then, return to your divisions and carry on as usual. Unless crisis breaks out within the next month, I see no reason to cause alarm in the rest of Soul Society. You are dismissed."

The Captains scattered; most were sobered by the troubling news, a few irritated by the prospect of inaction… and then there was Mayuri, whose mood was inscrutable. Ichigo turned to leave as well, but a word from Yamamoto stopped him.

"Ichigo."

"Yes Yamamoto-sama?"

"You were friends with Ishida."

"I was."

They both looked at each other, the silence as meaningful as anything they could say.

"You fought for his memories back when he died, even though it would have been easier for him to forget. Because of what you did, he cannot-"

"I know," Ichigo cut in.

"Then you also know you have a choice to make. Will you tell him about Szayel?"

Another pause followed, equally weighty as the first, but Ichigo knew from the beginning what his answer would be. Voicing it was another matter.

"How could I?" he finally replied bitterly, "How could I let him learn that monster's a live when he's helpless to do a thing about it and I… the one who made him that way. It would be too cruel."

"Very well Kurosaki, it was your decision to make. Ishida will not be informed of the matter. You may return to whatever work you were called from now."

"Thank you sir."

He bowed and left the room, stepping out into the bright afternoon sun. Soul Society was peaceful; Shinigami made their rounds, walking at a leisurely pace through the Seireitei. A few members of the Fourth Division swept the streets. Not a one of them was aware of the threat that festered below on Earth, which was probably just as well. Ignorance was bliss, a lesson he'd learned all too keenly. Or rather, Ishida had.

I wonder where he is? What he's doing? How he's living now that he can't carry on the Quincy legacy? If only I hadn't been so selfish, he could have been here. A Shinigami. And he would have been freed from his family's burdensome vendetta.

If only if only, but he could not alter his decision now.

The Octava may have murdered him, but I killed his future…

Ichigo stopped, leaning against the wall of one of the many buildings that made up the Seireitei, and allowed himself a moment of private grief. No tears blurred his vision; it wasn't something he could cry about, but all the same the guilt was enough to paralyze him. Forty years, and he'd never been able to forgive himself, only push the matter out of mind for brief snatches of time. Suddenly the prospect of losing himself in paperwork didn't seem so awful, and straightening, he hurried the rest of the distance to his division.

Sitting at his desk, the stack of papers settled in front of him, Ichigo picked up a pen and the first form. Signing his name endlessly had never been so welcome a task, so when the messenger arrived an hour later with a second pile, he only nodded absently at the flighty Shinigami and pulled them towards him in a daze.

Author's Comments:

So here we have the second "speed bump" chapter, introducing Soul Society's role in this fic. Yum. Angst. If Yamamoto is not in character... then too bad. I don't usually write old uber powerful leader-of-a-society-of-dead-people type characters, so my lack of experience is apparent. T_T Ichigo is in character... though not for his age. You'd never expect him to be... 96 now? Or something like that? I guess he just feels younger since everyone around him is much older. Or maybe I just suck at writing old people in general. Gah...

Actually, I expected this chapter to be about half as long as it turned out. I didn't even mean for Ichigo to feature as prominently as he did; he was supposed to make a cameo appearance in the meeting, and it was all supposed to be from Mayuri's point of view. But... as usual, the characters hijacked the fic and I wrote something completely different from what I'd originally intended. It was interesting to write though. PM me if you want any clarifications on any vague-ish allusions I made, and advance apologies for how dramatic I made things. To sum things up, when Ishida died, he lost his Quincy powers and would have lost his memories like any other soul, except Ichigo had the 12th division come up with a way to preserve his and Orihime's memories so they wouldn't forget about him. Needy guy. Of course, this back-fired for obvious reasons, and now he's living with that knowledge. But all of that is completely irrelevant to this fic.

Damn you for stealing valuable screen time Ichigo you emo strawberry you. Dx

Ok, back on topic. Szayel and "Nnoitra" will be back in the next chapter, which is what you people are actually reading this for. :3 If not, then I don't know why the heck you're here. o~o ... meh.

Read and review as always please? ^^; You don't know how much I crave reviews... or some form of human feedback.

Edit: Well, I edited in that Ichigo became Captain of the Fifth because the lovely Kin pointed out that I'd forgotten to include that. I meant to, but I guess it slipped my mind. He joined the Fifth because of the three open divisions, it seemed the best fit for him. Their symbol, the Lily of the Valley, signifies sacrifice, danger, and true love. Also, I'm assuming Kubo is going to have him kill Aizen in the end since he's the "hero" and all that jazz, so it would be poetic for him to lead the Aizen's former division. I was too lazy to think up who filled the other spots; use your imaginations for me. xP That's all from me.