New chapter out now. Finally I get to start using characters from my favourite group in the series. This time we're gonna focus somewhat on one of the until now neglected grim reapers. She's a piece of work and I look forward to what people will think of her. And that's about it. Get on with reading the chapter now boys and girls

"I hate this place." Evadne Erasmus, chief of the grim reapers that were visiting the Gotei 13, thought venomously. Even if her she didn't carry an unflinching stoic expression it would be difficult to see her face as it was mostly covered by her hood. She was the only grim reaper that refused to remove her hooded cloak during work hours.

"The air is too light. There's not enough wind here. Their food smells too strongly. And why do they all have to stare at me?"

Needless to say, captain Erasmus wasn't exactly keen on the foreign culture part of her assigned investigative mission.

It's not that she outright hated anything foreign. She just preferred to experience it in short bursts and in an environment that was familiar to her. Her current situation had her surrounded by an entire city that she was unused to along with a culture that she didn't feel entirely comfortable with. It was very frustrating for her.

What was even more frustrating was that her assembled team wasn't working out as well as she'd hope that they would so that she could get out of here sooner rather than later. The only two individuals that had volunteered were slowly proving themselves utterly pointless to their endeavour. Their representative in the real world had been horrible at reporting back to them. And worst of all, her fellow grim reaper captain seemed to think that it was enough to interview and analyse one division a day and then take easy the rest of the time.

This was an attitude that needed adjustment and it was the very reason she was out and about in the first place instead of hiding out in her designated HQ at the third division barracks. If only she could find the bastard.

Caught up in her own petty thoughts Evadne failed to stop herself from bumping into another person rounding the same corner as her.

"Damnit. Why can't people watch where they're going?" She muttered not thinking about the person she bumped into.

"Oh, it's one of you people." Soi Fon said sharply as she readjusted her haori. The second division captain didn't bother hiding her casual glare.

Evadne recognised the look. She could tell that the shorter woman in front of her didn't enjoy the foreign element of the grim reapers invading her everyday life any more than Evadne enjoyed being there. Seeing a sort of kindred spirit Evadne decided to see if the woman in front of her knew where her wayward fellow captain could be found.

"You see second captain reaper?" Evadne asked clumsily, hoping that she got the message across.

Soi Fon stared at her for a moment or two before answering. "He's in the pub two blocks away from here." Then she walked around Evadne without sparing her a second glance. Evadne proceeded in the direction of the pub, after figuring out what had been said to her.

A few minutes later Evadne found the pub and stepped into it, immediately gaining the attention from all of the guests. Most of them remained silent, anxiously waiting for what she was going to do. All except one that is.

"Yo, Captain Erasmus, I'm over here." Richard Hawkins waved Evadne over enthusiastically. Too enthusiastically in Evadne's opinion.

"Where's your sense of decorum bastard?" She thought as she stepped up to the grey haired man, who was busy drinking his third cup of sake it seemed. A frown appeared on Evadne's face.

Richard ignored it. "It's about time that you got out of that stuffy office. Sit down and have a drink. It'll do wonders for your nerves." He used his leg to shove out a chair for Evadne to sit on but she promptly ignored it.

"How much of your work have you completed today Hawkins?" She asked, causing Richard's smile to falter.

"Really? You want to talk about business? Come on, we've basically got a shot at some free vacation time here. Live a little and…"

"Answer the question Hawkins."

Richard sighed. "Today I interviewed the fifth division lieutenant, Momo Hinamori. It was interesting as the girl was pretty close to that Aizen-guy. Though, I think that I made her cry towards the end. My bad." He smiled sheepishly.

Evadne forced herself to remain composed. "So you're telling me that during this whole day you've only interviewed a single person."

"Well, yeah. But she did give me lots of material to analyse and I'm just taking a break and…" Evadne grabbed Richard's tie and pulled him across the table so that he could clearly see the rage-filled look in her eyes.

"You have ten minutes to get back to work and from now on you will make sure to interview at least two divisions a day. You got that?" Her voice was filled with a seething anger and the reiatsu she was letting out made the majority of the pub occupants shiver.

Richard just stared back at her with his eyes narrowed. "You'd attract a lot less attention if you just relaxed and didn't wear that hood, captain Erasmus." Evadne's eyes twitched. "Don't worry," Richard continued with a cold voice. "I'll do as you ask. We wouldn't want you to get a nervous breakdown now would we."

Evadne pushed her fellow captain back in his seat and stomped out of the pub, not caring about the frightened looks she was getting. She'd gotten her point across and was eager to get back to her HQ. Unlike her peer she'd do anything in her power to get them all out of there as soon as possible.


"Are you sure that you don't want me to tag along with you?" Ichigo asked with a worried voice for what was probably the fifth time.

Orihime shook her head. "I promise that I'll be fine Kurosaki-kun. I'm just going there to talk with them." The healer didn't look at her crush. She found his concern for her well-being sweet and couldn't help but smile in spite of the dangerous task she'd set before herself. So she opted to observe as Urahara worked on assembling the pieces needed for a garganta that would lead to Hueco Mundo, and more specifically the castle of Las Noches.

"Maybe, but I seriously doubt that it will go smoothly." Ichigo's voiced darkened a little. "These guys held you captive not too long ago Inoue. So you'll have to excuse my mistrust of them."

Orihime nodded solemnly. "I do understand Kurosaki-kun and I might have agreed with you but… I brought the arrancar back to life and I need to believe that they can change for the better, that I did the right thing. It's the only way I'm able to sleep at night." She turned to Ichigo with a tentative smile. "We haven't heard anything from the arrancar since then so hopefully they really have changed." Orihime didn't tell Ichigo about her other reason for wanting to go see the arrancar. It would just complicate things.

The substitute shinigami sighed and supported his head with his hand. "Yeah, I guess. Aizen ain't there anymore to manipulate them so that's probably helpful. But still, I think you should be more wary of them."

"That's why Ishida-kun is coming with me." Orihime countered.

"But I…" Ichigo protested.

"You and Urahara-san have things to talk about. You said that yourself."

"Yeah but…. I… ehm… argh. Fine. You do what you gotta do." Ichigo finally conceded. "But if you're not back within the day I'm coming in there to get you. You got that?"

Orihime stared at Ichigo for a few minute before bursting into a fit of giggles. "Yeah I got it Kurosaki-kun. But don't worry about it. I promise you that I won't be a bother like that again."

Ichigo blinked. "You're not a bother Inoue. You're…"

"And we're done!" Urahara horribly ill-timed shout drew everybody's attention towards it, including the two strawberry haired teens and their hidden audience.

"DAMNIT!" Yoruichi, Love, Rose and Lisa all shouted from behind a rock. They muttered words of disappointment, threw away their popcorn and went back to their manga reading.

"Weirdoes." Urahara muttered. "Anyway, this portal should bring you straight to Las Noches. I'm not entirely sure if you'll end up outside or inside the place but that's not really important now is it?"

"Indeed." Uryu spoke up from behind the group as he approached them, decked out in his quincy outfit. "The important thing is that we have a quick getaway in case things get messy. I'm stronger than I was the last time we went there. But even now I wouldn't be much use against the upper echelons of the espada."

"Oh, you're too modest Ishida-kun." Urahara playfully admonished. "But your assessment is correct. That's why I've designed these." The shopkeeper held up a couple of black wrist bands with small glass sphere attached to them. Inside the sphere there seemed to be a dark vortex trashing around futilely. "These are portable gargantas. All you have to do is to focus reiatsu into the wrist bands and a garganta will open up. It's only good for a single one-way trip and the portal will close up the second you exit it to stop anybody following you. All good?" Uryu and Orihime nodded. "Alrighty then. Let's do this."

One incantation later a large, swirling garganta had opened up right in the middle of the cavernous training grounds. Orihime took a deep breath as she stepped forward to the road that would take her to Hueco Mundo. A place she wasn't exactly looking forward to revisiting.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked back at Ichigo, who was starring rather intently into her eyes. "Make sure that you come back." Orihime deafly nodded as Ichigo let go of her and turned to Uryu.

"You too make sure that she comes back. You got that!"

"Thanks for the concern Kurosaki." Uryu deadpanned. "But there's no need for the order. I'd already planned on doing exactly that." The quincy confidently adjusted his glasses and stepped up to the portal along with Orihime.

"Within moments they'd leapt into the gaping maw that would lead them to a barren and hostile world full of cannibalistic spirits and unimaginably powerful monsters. Behind them the guardian of Karakura town stood alone long after the portal had closed. As if to say that he would watch their backs even from across the dimensions. He…" Ichigo elbowed Urahara in the face, putting a stop to his narration.


2 months ago…

"I'm sorry. Could you repeat that again? I might've misheard you." Evadne cautiously asked the individual that stood with their back to her, looking out the office's sole window.

"I want you to lead the group that's going to investigate the eastern branch of Soul Society." A deep, female voice answered shortly. Evadne's eyes narrowed into a glare at the long silver coloured hair that covered the other woman's back. She held her tongue for a few minutes so as to not say anything foolish. When she spoke once she'd swallowed her frustrations or most of it anyway.

"While I am honoured that you have chosen me for this… extraordinary task I feel that I must inform you of a pressing concern that could hinder the mission." Evadne took the still silence as an allowance to continue.´

"I don't believe that I am the best person suited for this mission as I have certain prejudices against the other jurisdictions."

"Such as?" The other woman asked with a neutral voice.

"I don't have certain prejudices against other cultures that might interfere with my work. I'd get so frustrated with the situation that I couldn't think properly of focus on my assigned tasks. I can admittedly understand the language but I have certain difficulties in doing so. While my administrative skills are the greatest in our organisation I doubt that my cross continent relation skills are up to par." Evadne quickly counted up to her superior.

"I see. That is a problem." The silver haired woman agreed.

Evadne's mood perked up a little at this possibility. "I'm happy that you see it that way. Not to worry though. I'll help you find the second most qualified…"

"I meant that it's a problem for you. Not for me." The other woman explained, her voice not betraying the slightest bit of emotion. "You will take on the task I've assigned to you now and you will do it without letting your prejudices get in the way."

"But surely there are other captains that would be a better fit for this. What about Banes? It is a peaceful mission after all." Evadne tried with a voice that crackled with restrained anger.

"If Banes leaves his division would be completely unprotected and it would be rather disastrous if it was brought down during a surprise attack. You'll have captain Hawkins and lieutenant Lumiére there to assist you with any language problems so there's no need for a hissy-fit."

"Why can't Hawkins lead the mission on his own?"

"Because he's too much of a slacker to trust with anything else except for the interviews. Your administrative skills make you the best choice to spear-head the mission. Now, I expect you to do your job and not complain about this any more. Is that clear?" The voice was courteous enough so Evadne dared to voice a protest.

"But why..?"

"I said," Heavy reiatsu flowed from the older woman as she turned her head just enough for Evadne to see an eye covered by a dark red mask-piece glare at her. "No more complaints." Evadne felt her skin prickle and she couldn't stop herself from shaking and she was reminded of her position.

"Yes, captain." Evadne reluctantly said and the reiatsu stopped flowing.

"Good, then go prepare yourself. It'll take awhile to make all the arrangements. That'll be all for now." Evadne retreated from the office room without another word and kept herself from shouting furiously until she reached her own office.


Present Day…

With the humbling and humiliating memory of fresh in her mind Evadne refocused her attention on the paper in front of her. She glared at the foreign signs on it and cursed her superior officer in her mind.

"It's a bit difficult using my administrative skills when I can just barely manage reading the blasted papers!" A low growl escaped her lips, drawing attention from the only other occupant in the room.

"Troubles, captain Erasmus?" A helpful male voice said. Evadne composed herself a little. She would not look like she was losing her temper in front of a subordinate.

"No no, it's nothing serious Lumiére. Just a bit of frustrations with the written language." She looked up and tried to pull off a fairly jovial smile to show that she didn't let it get to her.

Lieutenant Nicodeme Lumiére stared at her, adjusted his rimless glasses and pretended to believe her. "Very well, that's perfectly understandable." He turned back to the evaluation reports that captain Hawkins had turned in. Then another paper was shoved into his field of vision. It was in Japanese.

Nicodeme looked up at Evadne, her hood folded back. "Ok, I'm a little more than frustrated. I'm also tired. Now read this to me." The lieutenant put away his own papers and explained the contents of the one in front of him to the captain.

"It's basically a summary of how the intruders escaped from their prison cell. Apparently one of the captains aided them in doing so." Nicodeme turned his gaze to Evadne and waited for her response.

She blinked once and then twice. "Really?"

Nicodeme shrugged. "That's what is says."

Evadne turned around and went back to her desk in the large and currently sealed off office, muttering all the way. "And this was back when they had all their captains. I'm surprised that the place has fallen apart already now that they've lost the captain-commander."

"I would believe that'd be your prejudices talking captain Erasmus." Nicodeme said neutrally as Evadne sat down.

"And what would you know about those?" The dark haired woman asked accusingly.

"Just what our own captain-commander warned me about." Evadne immediately deflated and sank into her chair. Clearly she was not in the mood for more work. "I understand that our situation is bothering you and I am sympathetic. But I would advise that you don't take it out on our hosts. It is true that they had a horrible time that they haven't fully recovered from. But those things happen. We've had our own fair share of unusual and disastrous event befall in our district."

"True," Evadne conceded. "But we'd damn well gotten the show running properly quicker than five months afterwards."

"They seem to be doing rather well I'd say. Nothing I've read so far suggests that they're experiencing any true drawback from the loss of their captain-commander or the central 46." The lieutenant argued.

"And what about the vizards?" Evadne asked with a bored voice.

The lieutenant answered with a question. "What about them?"

"The shinigami haven't done anything about them. No search and detainment. No imprisonment. Nothing. Examples of one of the greatest crimes in our society is staring them right in the face and they haven't done anything about it."

"According to the reports the vizards gave the shinigami a lot of assistance during the battle against the traitors."

"And then they disappeared and haven't been heard from." Evadne countered. "From what I've understood they were only out for personal revenge against that Aizen guy and then ran like the criminals that they are. Somebody should bring them to a trial."

Nicodéme noted the harshness in his superior's voice and sighed. "Again, I believe that your prejudices are dominating your judgement."

"Maybe," She answered with a dismissive tone. "I just wish that Graystone would find them already. Hell, I wish that the bastard would report anything in here. Hawkins is slacker, Greer is an idiot and pointless to this mission, and Fairchild is spending too much time with the shinigami medics if you ask me. I'd hoped that at least Graystone would prove to be less of a nuisance."

Nicodéme decided not to ask what her opinion about him was. At that same moment a blipping noise was heard from a little device lying on his desk. It resembled a calculator or a cellphone, just with a larger screen. The lieutenant took a look at it before announcing what the message said.

"Apparently lieutenant Graystone was exhausted after some fight against an army of hollows and has been bed-ridden for a couple of days. So he's not been able to make any progress during that time. He apologises for this and promises to make up for it as soon as possible." After reading up the message Nicodéme looked at Evadne who's face was turning a bright shade of red.

Nicodéme sighed. "Oh hell."


Ruins.

There was nothing left of the city-sized fortress known as Las Noches but ruins.

The sight left Orihime breathless. "What… what happened here?" She asked with an unsteady voice and took a few steps amongst the rubble. "Were they attacked?"

"I don't think so." Uryu answered his friend who turned her eyes to him for further explanation. "There's no sign of any casualties for one thing. No corpses. No cut off limbs. I can't even see any bloodstains. There's also this feeling but… it's probably nothing."

"No, please tell me what you're thinking Ishida-kun." The healer's voice was filled with a need for reassurance.

"When I approached this place in the past it felt as though the entire castle emanated hostility. Even when all the battles had caused it large amounts of damage the enmity would not decrease. But now there's nothing like that here. It's the opposite actually. There's a sense of serenity now." He looked out over the hostile terrain. "Strange as that may seem. It's as if this area has been cleansed of an unnatural presence. Whatever happened here it wasn't of an evil nature."

Uryu paused and adjusted his glasses. "Of course it's just a feeling and has nothing to do with factual evidence. But…"

"But I'm more at ease now." Orihime finished. "Even if it's just a feeling." She smiled optimistically at her bespectacled friend. "Come on Ishida-kun, let's find the arrancar."

Uryu nodded and closed his eyes. Seconds later a platform of blue energy manifested between the two and they got on; it was large enough for the two of them to stand on. Quickly but steadily the platform rose up to the dark and cloudy skies of Hueco Mundo.

"So, where should we head off to?" Uryu politely asked.

"Eh… Give me a minute Ishida-kun." Orihime said with a professional voice and started raising her arms horizontally. Then, before she could go about her business, the healer's eyes widened with shock and excitement.

"Over there Ishida-kun! Look! On the horizon!" Orihime shouted and pulled fiercely on the quincy's collar, surprising him with her strength.

"What? What am I looking for Inoue-san?" Uryu bewilderedly asked. Then he saw it.

Tiny but intense lights blinked in and out of existence far off in the distance. At first there was just an occasional one here and there. But very quickly the frequency grew and suddenly it turned into a veritable fireworks display.

Uryu's eyes narrowed. "It's a battle." Cautiously he glanced over at Orihime. "They might not be a part of it."

"They are. I can feel it." There was a distant alarm in the healer's voice.

"Ehm… just because I had feeling about the castle I don't think that we should…"

"No, I feel their reiatsu flaring up and down. We have to get there." The alarm was still there but now a tone of clarity had made its way to her voice. "FORWARD!" Along with the attitude of a commanding general that Uryu didn't care to disobey.

The quincy put his hands on Orihime's shoulders to stabilise her as the platform shot towards the cascading lights.

Upon reaching the field of battle ten minutes later both the quincy and the human took a pause to look in awe at the scene before them.

Dozens of hollows and arrancar, most of them in their resureccion form, were engaged in a vicious battle. From the looks of it the arrancar had the upper hand, even though a lot of them seemed injured. The burnt, bloodied and broken remains of the regular hollows that littered the sand made Orihime swallow in hesitation.

The battle was taking place in front of a hexagon-shaped building with a dome-shaped ceiling and six very tall pillars at the edges of the building. Overall it was about a tenth the size of Las Noches.

"Shouldn't we help them?" Orihime cautiously asked her bespectacled friend.

Uryu pondered for a few second. "I'm not sure. We don't know how the arrancar will react to our presence. But we might not earn their trust if we just stand here and do nothing. I'd say that we…" Uryu whipped around, activated his bow and launched a volley of arrows at the hollow racing towards the duo.

Despite its bulky dragon-like body the hollow managed to avoid the arrows and smash through platform with one of its wings forcing the duo to jump to the sides. Uryu aimed another spread at the hollow as it seemed to target its sights on Orihime. Unfortunately he failed to notice the hollow's thick tail flailing in his direction. It struck him heavily on the side and sent him flying down.

At the sight of Uryu's falling body Orihime quickly sent the three sprites that form her signature shield and used it to safely catch the quincy before he crashed into the desert floor. Naturally this left her completely open to the attacking hollow and its gaping maw.

Panicking, Orihime blanked on what to do and tightly shut her eyes so that would be spared from seeing her impending doom. Imagine her surprise when instead of being crushed by a row of sharpened teeth she felt a strong arm circle around her waist and pulling her through the air.

As the orange haired healer opened her eyes she could hear the sound of a sword forcefully stabbing at flesh followed by a calm voice. "Ola Azul!"

Unfortunately Orihime looked up just as a projectile of yellow energy blasted through the dragon hollow followed by the blade that impaled it swiftly cutting it in half.

"AAAAHHHH!"

"Calm down. You should be used to sights like this by now. He is no longer a threat to you or anyone." Orihime looked up and locked eyes with the frightening visage of Tia Harribel's masked face.

"Harribel-san. I was looking for you and…"

"Are you able to fly?" Harribel asked neutrally.

"Yes I…"

Harribel let Orihime go. The girl fell a short distance before she made herself stand on the air. "Go to your friend and tend to him. We're soon finished here and then I'll deal with you." The espada ordered with a tranquil voice before speeding down to the battle once more.

Without any other option given to her Orihime made her way to her friend.

Harribel stepped down next to the fiercest of her personal servants, Apache, who was currently nursing a leg injury while muttering curses.

"How are we doing?" Harribel asked while looking over the remainder of the battle.

"Pretty damn good. We've killed most of the bastards with only minor and major injuries to our forces. There's only those five left." The black haired arrancar pointed to a group of five giant hollows that were doing a pretty admirable job of holding back a group of arrancar that outnumbered them three to one.

"We'll beat them but I'm not sure if we can do it without any casualties." Apache begrudgingly admitted.

"And Grimmjow?" Apache twitched at the subdued anger in her leader's voice.

"He said that he got bored with the small fry and went back inside."

Being a mature and controlled individual Harribel kept her anger in check, only letting out subtle hints of her true feelings. A tightened grip on her zanpakuto. A slight increase in her reiatsu output. Her eyes narrowed.

Her voice growing dark and threatening. "Take it easy Apache. We'll get you healed as soon as I take care of this annoyance."

Harribel speed away, kicking up a cloud of sand that covered Apache. The weaker arrancar watched as her blonde leader placed herself before the five giant hollows.

"Everybody!" Harribel shouted, gaining the arrancar's attention. "Disperse!" Without question the arrancar jumped away from their opponents. Leaving Harribel alone with them.

The biggest of the hollows, a four-armed giant with rocklike hide, stepped up in front of his comrades. Harribel could easily fit in the palm of its hand and yet she didn't seem fazed by her opponent's immense size.

"Look at this one boys. For a horrible aberration she sure is one hot little piece of ass. Do you think the boss would mind if we had some fun before we kill her?" The hollow asked to thunderous laughter from his comrades.

Harribel didn't respond to the crude remark. Instead she just held her zanpakuto in front of her and pricked her left index finger on it, letting a small drop of blood trickle down the blade.

"What's the matter toots? Are ya too scared? You afraid of what I'm gonna do to ya? Ya should be. Because…"

Harribel charged up as she pulled her sword back, grabbing the hilt with both hands. A pillar of yellow reiatsu blasted out from her, forcing the giant hollows back. The desert sands were kicked into a chaotic dance around her as reiatsu engulfed her blade.

The giants trembled. They hadn't expected to face an opponent that could paralyse them with nothing but her reiatsu. But the largest of wasn't about to let this hold him back. He would destroy the enemy and gain favour with their lord.

"DIE ABOMANATION!" He roared and lashed out at the blonde arrancar.

But it was too late.

"Grand Ray Cero!" Harribel shouted as she swung her sword in a wide horizontal arc. A wave of pure destructive energy was released from the zanpakuto. The force behind it was enough to knock over all of the arrancar watching the match-up, and it was large enough to cover the torsos of Harribel's opponents five opponents.

Ear-piercing roars were mixed with the sound of flesh being incinerated. Within moments there was nothing left of the five giants but scorched carcasses that toppled over into a massive heap.

Harribel turned around to face the victorious cheers of her subordinates and returned her zanpakuto into the sheath on her back. She blurred over to a crowd of about 25 arrancar and began issuing orders.

"Begin clearing the remains away from the field. All of the injured can wait here Sun-sun, go inside and tell groups three and four to come and help with the giants. Menoly, investigate if the fortress received any significant damage to it. Mila-Rose, go and get Starrk and Neliel." Harribel shifted her gaze to the newcomers a distance away. "Tell them that we've got company."

The lesser arrancar all lingered as they looked in the same general direction as Harribel, who didn't appreciate when her orders went unheeded. "I meant now!"

All of the arrancar speed off to their assigned duties. Harribel turned to Apache and lightly touched the smaller woman's shoulder. "Wait here. I'll be back with help for you and the others soon enough."

She blurred away and appeared in front of Orihime and the recovered Uryu the next instant. With her arms crossed and narrowed eyes she didn't exactly make for the most welcoming person.

"Good day Harribel-san." Orihime cautiously greeted the taller woman. "I… ehm… I… like your new outfit."

Harribel had indeed change her clothes from the last time the two had met. Now she was wearing a tight white tank top that reached up to her neck and all the way around her back, the edges were coloured black. On her arms she wore white, fingerless gloves that reached up to her elbows. Flat sandals with thin grey wrappings adorned her feet. Her skirt was white and reached down to her ankles while slits ran up to her hips. But the piece that probably attracted the most attention was the mask. Unlike her previous outfit this one showed the part of her mask that covered her face, giving her a terrifying predatory appearance. Like before her sword-sheath was strapped across her back.

The blonde woman didn't respond to the compliment. Instead she just stared at the human and the quincy with an analytical gaze. Orihime fidgeted with her hands and felt as though she was being examined in detail.

It took the healer a few seconds to build up her courage and speak again. "Harribel-san, I…"

At the same moment the arrancar bowed her head with closed eyes and spoke with a reverent voice. "It is my pleasure to welcome you, Inoue-san, to Las Dias."


Michael leaped from building to building, growing increasingly frustrated with each second that he was unable to find his targets.

"I've only been asleep for a few days. The city seems to be perfectly peaceful still. Nothing indicates that anything out of the ordinary has occurred since the battle with the gillian. So why can't I find them? There should be at least one of the running about."

He halted on a rooftop in the southern part of Karakura town to gather his thoughts.

"Calm down, you're going to be a captain as soon as this damned mission is over. Start acting as a person of that position and honour." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes in concentration. "Now then. Just because things appear normal it doesn't mean that's the case. What possible reasons could the anomaly and his friends have for hiding from me?"

Wicked machinations.

Michael's thoughts suddenly focused on a singular idea rather than considering multiple venues. "They're planning something behind my back. Possibly with the accursed vizards. The shinigami have allowed the anomaly and his peers to operate un-supervised for who knows how long. Who knows what kind of dark and unnatural abilities that they've unlocked by now."

His expression darkened with each passing thought. As his anger at the evil deeds he imagined was being committed rose so did his reiatsu output. Very soon a faint orange aura surrounded the grim reaper, making him a veritable lighthouse to anybody spiritually sensitive.

"Lieutenant Graystone!" Rukia appeared behind the grim reaper with a concerned expression. The suddenness of it knocked Michael's thoughts off track as he whipped around to face the shinigami.

"Thank goodness that I was able to find you." Rukia continued with a friendly smile. "We were worried about you after the battle. What happened?"

Michael just stared at Rukia, all the rage had disappeared from his face and been replaced with confusion. The dark thoughts were slowly fading and the red head was having trouble remembering what he'd been thinking.

"Lieutenant Graystone," Rukia approached him slowly. "Are you feeling ok?"

He wasn't quite sure how to respond. Michael quickly ransacked his mind and figured that the best option was to strike her down.

Ok, one down. I'm hoping to get out two more chapters before the year is over. And since my calender is getting sort of empty that will actually be fairly possible. So cheer me on for that. But for now please review and tell me what you think.