Yo everybody!

Sorry for the delay. I was suffering from writer's block. So I have been working on some of my other ideas. And I have been going nuts waiting for the newest chapters of Bleach and Naruto. Sasuke vs. Itachi and Kenpachi vs. Nnoitra! Those fights are looking so awesome.

Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.


Chapter Nine

Urahara Shoten

The front door of the Urahara Shoten opened up, revealing captains Soifon, Kenpachi Zaraki, Shunsui Kyoraku and lieutenants Nanao Ise and Yachiru Kusajishi (naturally she was perched on Kenpachi's left shoulder).

"You're earlier then I expected." Urahara said. "I assume you're here for them."

"Yes." Soifon answered. "Captain-General Yamamoto wants the three arrancar brought to the Soul Society before Aizen realizes what's happened and tries to retrieve them."

Ichigo found himself again asking, "What will happened to them when they get to the Soul Society?"

"They will be taken to the Second Division headquarters for interrogation. After that, their fates will decided by the Captain-General." Soifon answered.

"And what exactly will their fates be?" he asked.

"I can not say for certain, but it will likely either be, imprisonment, being sent to Research and Development for research on the artificially created arrancar, or execution." she replied.

Ichigo was shocked. Imprisonment, execution, or being guinea pigs for experiments. He honesty didn't like the sound of what would happen if they went to the Soul Society. But then what alternative was there? He couldn't let them go back Hueco Mundo. They would simply rejoin Aizen's army and remain their enemies. At the same time, he wasn't in the condition to stop the captains from taking them to the Soul Society. Even if he was at a hundred percent, he doubted he could stop them.

Soul Society, Hueco Mundo. It didn't matter which one they went to. It was bad for them either way. There had to be something else.

"Don't look so down Ichigo." Shunsui said. "Old Man Yama knows that they were your friends. So he has offered you, Chad and Orihime a chance to come to the Soul Society and plead on their behalf."

He closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. There was a chance.

Then the thought hit him. 'But what would it change?'

Nothing. They would still be arrancar. They would still be their enemies. There had to be a way to fix them, a way to turn them back to who they were.

"But first they have to be taken to the Soul Society." Soifon added. "Urahara, are they ready to be moved."

"Not quite. Another ten minutes or so and their wounds should be healed enough to allow them to be moved."

"Well then. We might as well sit down and relax and wait till then." Shunsui said as he stepped into the shop and sat down. "Hey Kisuke, what do ya got to drink in this place?"

A vein throbbed in the forehead of his lieutenant. "Captain Kyoraku sir, you wouldn't be trying get a drink while in the middle of mission, would you?" she said as she shot him a death glare.

"No, no. Of course not Nanao." he nervously replied. "I'm thirsty. I wanted to see I could get some water or something. That's all."


Ten Minutes Later

Everything had pretty much quieted down. Tessai had moved Keigo back into the room with Tatsuki and Mizuiro. Kenpachi and Yachiru were in there with them to keep an eye on them. Occasionally, Yachiru could be heard saying things. He heard her say a moment ago, "Hey Kenny, look at this one. He's got a hole in neck. I wonder how he talks?"

The rest of retrieval team that had been sent was currently discussing things with Urahara and Yoruichi. The members of Hitsugaya's team were either resting up or talking amongst themselves. Chad was...well being Chad, sitting quietly and not really doing anything. Orihime was staring into space, with a sad look in her eyes. Ichigo couldn't blame her.

Even after everything that happened, after everything that he saw, he still couldn't believe it. The whole thing seemed like a surreal nightmare that he couldn't wake up from.

He recalled how their faces had changed Tatsuki, her once friendly smile now a feral grin. Keigo's goofy grin now had a darker, predatory edge to it. Mizuiro's calm face had become cold and emotionless. Their faces all had one thing in common, they seemed utterly alien to Ichigo. Yet at the same time, he had known these people for years.

For what was at least the hundredth time tonight, he cursed Aizen. Damn him for targeting his friends, damn him for turning them into monsters.

Again, Ichigo found himself wondering what if. He knew it was pointless, there was no way he could have known Aizen would do such a thing. He still felt guilty though.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud yell coming from the back room. "GET YOUR HANDS OUT OF THAT!"

It was Mizuiro. He was awake.

Urahara stood up, walked over and opened the door, revealing Yachiru, who standing over Mizuiro and poking the hollow hole in his neck.

Yachiru, ignoring Mizuiro's protests, asked, "How can you talk with a hole in your neck, Glowy Eyes?"

Mizuiro stopped and stared at her for moment. "What?! Are you serious? Wait...Glowy Eyes?"

"Yeah. I wanna know."

Before he could reply, another voice called out, "Enough already. I'm trying to sleep."

It was Tatsuki.

Both she and Mizuiro, like Keigo, their coats had been removed and replaced with bandages. The majority of Mizuiro's chest, with some smaller ones on his arms and face. Tatsuki had the most out of all of them. Her upper body, left shoulder, arms and right hand were wrapped in bandages.

"Well now, you two are wake." Urahara said. "I assume you know where you are and what's about to happen."

"We're in your shop and we're about to shipped off to the Soul Society for interrogation." Mizuiro said in an emotionless tone. "Then once their satisfied that they have pulled out every scrap of information from our heads, they'll either lock us up, execute us or they'll hand us over to your successor."

Tatsuki groaned as she slowly sat up, the chains on her arms jingling as she did. "Well then. Lets not keep them waiting. Oh, could I have my coat back?"

"So your not going try to escape then?" Urahara asked.

"At the moment, we can't, so what's the point." Mizuiro answered as he sat up.

He glanced at Keigo, who was still asleep. "Might wanna wake him up."

Tessai appeared with a bucket of water. Without saying anything, he dumped the contents of the bucket onto Keigo's head.

The reaction was immediate. "GAAAAAH!! Cold cold cold! What the hell?! Was that really necessary?!"

"We had to wake you." was Tessai's response.

"So you poured ice cold water on me! Couldn't you have just shook me a bit or slapped me? Especially, you violated my mind!"

Tessai simply replied, "This was faster."


A Few Minutes Later

Everyone was standing of outside of the Urahara Shoten. Hitsugaya and his team would stay behind and keep an eye on things, in case Aizen tried something. Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo were standing there, their coats back on, and their arms bound behind their backs.

Shunsui pulled out one of his swords and summoned the doorway to Soul Society. "Alright kiddos, lets get going."

Shunsui and Kenpachi (again Yachiru was on Kenpachi's shoulder) took the lead, Soifon, who was carrying Keigo's, Mizuiro's and Tatsuki's weapons and Nanao took up the rear. Everyone else was in the middle.

Everything was going well, but for some reason Ichigo found himself growing increasing uneasy. The feeling started the moment he stepped out of the shop.

They all stepped through the doorway and started running through the passage way to the Soul Society.

They had running for a few minutes when Kenpachi and Shunsui stopped.

A black opening was forming in front of them.

"Alright! Finally some action! And here I thought this was gonna be a dull mission." Kenpachi said as he and Shunsui drew their swords while Yachiru jumped off Kenpachi's shoulder.

Soifon passed the weapons to Nanao and joined the other captains. Ichigo drew Zangetsu while Chad raised his transformed arm, both ready for combat.

Shunsui turned his head to them and said, "Nanao, take them and go back to Urahara's, we'll cover you."

The opening finished forming, revealing Grimmjow, Luppi, and Yammy.

Grimmjow laughed and said, "It's entertaining to see you brats taken down a peg. How does it feel Arisawa, to be beaten and in chains?"

"I don't know. How does it feel to be a dumbass Grimmjow?" Tatsuki shot back.

"Bitch."

"Cripple."

Grimmjow raised his arm and pointed at her. "Say that one more time Arisawa and I'll rip your throat out." He then pointed at Ichigo. "Then I'll rip his out."

"Ah! Even with both arms tied behind my back, I can kick your crippled ass all the way back to Las Noches."

"Oh yeah. Well let's see-"

"Enough." an irritated Luppi interrupted. "We didn't come here to listen to you two argue."

"Yeah. We're here to bust 'em out." Yammy said before he charged the three captains.

Yammy raised a fist and slammed it into Kenpachi, who blocked it with his sword. The two giants began trading blows while Luppi began firing belas at Shunsui, and Grimmjow and Soifon began fighting fist-to-fist.

Ichigo was about to join the fight when Shunsui turned to him and said, "What are you waiting for? We'll hold them off! Take them and go!"

Ichigo reluctantly nodded. He turned back to Chad, the two of them nodded at each other and moved towards Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo. Now wasn't the time to see if they were willing to go back to Urahara.

Chad slung both Keigo and Mizuiro over his shoulders, both of whom were protesting their treatment while Chad completely ignored them. Ichigo was about to do the same to Tatsuki when a second opening formed. This one was blocking their path back to the world of the living.

The gateway to Hueco Mundo opened, revealing Ulquiorra and a female arrancar in a revealing outfit. But Ichigo's attention was on the one standing in between the two arrancar.

It was the bastard responsible for all of this, Aizen.

"Hello again Kurosaki." Aizen said with a grin. "I see that you have taken good care of my subordinates for me. But I'm here now to take them back."

"The hell you will, you bastard!" Ichigo shouted.

Ichigo roared as he ran at Aizen, not caring that he hadn't used his bankai or his mask. All that mattered was destroying the man responsible for all of this. He swung Zangetsu at Aizen, who caught it with one hand.

"Oh, you plan to stop me without using your bankai Kurosaki?" Aizen said in an amused tone.

Aizen raised his free hand and said, "Hado 33. Shot of Red Fire."

A red energy ball slammed into Ichigo's chest, sending him flying.

"Ulquiorra, Halibel, free them."

"Yes Aizen-sama." the two arrancar said before they sonidoed.

The female arrancar, Halibel, appeared in front of Chad and drove a fist into his stomach. Chad stumbled and fell down while Mizuiro and Keigo slid off his shoulders. Keigo hit the ground while Halibel caught Mizuiro. She gently set him on his feet and cut the bonds on his arms. Then she picked up Keigo and did the same.

Ulquiorra appeared behind Tatsuki, his sword drawn and cut her bonds. As soon as her arms were free, she rubbed her wrists and forearms. "Thanks. Those were starting to chafe." She turned her head to Nanao and added, "Now to get back what's ours."

Tatsuki sonidoed in front of Nanao and drove her knee into the lieutenant's midsection. She stumbled back, dropping the weapons she was holding. Tatsuki caught them and punched Nanao in the face, sending the sending the lieutenant to the ground. Tatsuki then tossed Mizuiro and Keigo their weapons. Tatsuki strapped her sword back on her back while Mizuiro tucked his back in his belt. Keigo twirled his kamas in his fingers for a moment. "At last. My arms are complete."

He then tucked his kamas into his belt. Then the three of them then bowed their heads at Aizen. Ichigo felt sick to his stomach at the sight of that. But it only got worse.

"Aizen-sama, forgive us for failing our mission." Tatsuki said in a respectful tone. "We allowed ourselves to be exposed and captured."

Now Ichigo felt like throwing up. Hearing Tatsuki say 'Aizen-sama' was just too much.

"There's no need to apologize. The fault was not yours', it was Grimmjow's for disobeying my orders." Aizen glanced over to where the captains and the Espada (and ex-Espada) were fighting and added, "It's time to leave."

"Yes Aizen-sama." the five arrancar answered as they started to walk to the opening.

"Tatsuki, you don't have to go with them! None of you do!" Orihime desperately shouted.

They completely ignored her. Orihime grabbed Tatsuki's right arm in an attempt to stop her. Tatsuki responded by punching her in the face with her left arm. Orihime fell to the ground with thud.

Ichigo, who had gotten back up to his feet during all this, flash stepped in front of their path. "I'm not letting you pass. Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro, please come with us to the Soul Society. Don't go with this bastard."

The three of them rolled their eyes in annoyance. "The Soul Society? Why would we go there when all that awaited us was imprisonment, interrogation and in the best case scenario, being locked up forever. Hueco Mundo is our home now." Mizuiro replied.

Before Ichigo could say anything, a fist hit the back of his head, causing him to fall to his knees. Before he could try to get up, a foot slammed into his back, pinning him to the ground.

Ichigo turned his head to look behind him and saw Ulquiorra standing on him. He tried to get up, but Ulquiorra managed to keep him pinned to the ground.

Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro and Halibel entered the portal to Hueco Mundo. Ichigo heard Keigo said, "So long Ichigo."

As soon as they disappeared into the portal, Ulquiorra stepped off him and followed them.

Ichigo got to his feet, shooting death glares at Aizen. "You bastard. You're gonna pay for what you did to them."

Aizen simply chuckled. "Actually, I did very little. All I did was awaken their dormant spiritual energy, turn them into arrancar and I trained them. They joined my army of their own free will. In fact, they have become such good subordinates of mine. Who knows, maybe one day they'll join the ranks of the Espada."

"LAIR! I saw what you did to them, what you said! You poisoned their minds!"

"Not really. All I did was speak the truth. After you and the others returned from the Soul Socitey, I kept an eye on you. You kept them in the dark about what was happening, and almost entirely cut yourself off from them, despite the fact that they were your friends. It was only natural for them to feel bitter and abandoned. So Kurosaki, if you're looking for someone to blame, you need only look into a mirror."

Ichigo started to feel guilt rising inside him. No. It wasn't his fault. Aizen was using a little bit of truth and twisting it.

"No." he said. "We kept them in the dark to protect them. And you twisted it, just like you twisted them."

Aizen laughed and replied, "Protect them? How does keeping them in the dark keep them safe? All it did was make them feel like you didn't care about them anymore."

Aizen turned around and added, "Don't worry Kurosaki. This isn't the last time you'll see them."

"You're not going anywhere Aizen! BANKAI! Tensa Zangetsu!"

Aizen chuckled as his faded away. "Hado 90. Black Coffin." (by far the coolest kido spell)

Ichigo turned his head around and saw Aizen standing behind him for a split second before the black energy walls of the coffin formed around him. Dozens of knife blades raked across body causing numerous gashes opened up across his body. The walls faded and Ichigo fell to the ground.

Aizen stepped over his body and stopped at the edge of the passage way Hueco Mundo, just as the captains returned from their own fighting. Aizen look behind himself and said, "So long Kurosaki and better luck next time."

He stepped through the opening. As soon as he did, it began to close.

Ichigo repeatedly slammed his fist into the ground, venting his anger. He had failed his friends again.


Urahara Shoten

12:03 am.

Urahara sighed before taking a sip of sake. Ichigo, Orihime and Chad had returned just over ten minutes after they left. Aizen had ambushed them and retrieved his arrancar. Secretly, both Yoruichi and himself hoped it would happen. It was extremely unlikely that Ichigo and the others could convince Yamamoto to let them go after the interrogation. At best, they would be sent to the Twelfth Division. Which would mean that Mayuri would personally 'examine' them. His former third seat (1) was brilliant and was a more then capable captain. Unfortunately, his lack of ethics left something to be desired.

If they survived that, they would locked up in long term holding cells. If they were sent there, they wouldn't be coming out. He should know, he almost ended up there.

Those cells had been colorfully referred to as the Black Hell. And for good reason.

The cells were in a vast labyrinth, located underneath the First Division Headquarters. Guarded by an elite force of soul reapers and powerful, ancient kido spells. Even he would have a hard time escaping from there or breaking someone out.

The cells themselves didn't have any windows or any lights. The last thing a person would see was the door closing before they were locked in total darkness. And they would be left there, in that black hell, until their sentence was up. Which hadn't happened to any of the prisoners in there yet.

Of course, he'd imagine that just about everyone and everything in those cells were devoid of even barest traces of sanity after a few years of being in there. So even when a person's sentence was up, they'd be too dangerous to let out of their cells anyway.

The second Ichigo returned, he demanded that he open a portal to Hueco Mundo for him. He told them that he hadn't finish creating a portal strong enough for people with captain-level spiritual power. And if he tried to cross through a normal Garganta, it would become unstable and collapse, killing them all.

It was a total lie of course. He had finished the reinforced Garganta several days ago. He just wasn't about to let Ichigo and the others run into Hueco Mundo, especially Orihime. If Aizen didn't know about the full extent of Orihime's powers by now, he'd be surprised. Chances are, they were bait to draw them to Hueco Mundo so Aizen could get his hands on Orihime.

His thoughts were interrupted when the front door of his shop opened up. It was Isshin. He was out of his gigai. The ex-captain sat down at the table and poured some sake into a cup sitting on the table. He picked the cup up and downed the contents in one sip.

"Tell me what happened tonight Urahara." his tone was serious. "Tell me why two of Ichigo's friends were fighting a life and death battle against each other. A battle that my daughters were caught in the cross fire of."

"I'm sorry. Does Ichigo know?"

Isshin shook his head. "No. I modified Yuzu's memory and told Karin not to tell anyone about what happened." He then added in a quiet voice, "He doesn't need to know about that."

Urahara nodded his head and began to tell the story of happened. Isshin sat there and didn't say anything. When he finished, Isshin said, "You know they'll keep on asking you about the Garganta until you have no choice but to tell them that it's done."

"I know. They won't rest until they save them. And I suspect that's what Aizen wants. As long as he has them, he can get Ichigo and others to dance to his tune and they won't even now it."

"Can they be saved?" Isshin asked.

Urahara stared at his old friend for a moment. "Yes, it's possible. Orihime's power to reject events for example, could do it. Though she will not be able to turn them back to humans."

Isshin raised an eyebrow. "Thought her power could reverse anything."

"Yes and no. She does have limits. She could reject that they were turned into arrancar, turning them back to adjuchas, but she would end up killing herself trying to turn them back into human souls. As she would also have to restore all of the hollow they consumed. She doesn't have the spiritual energy to do that for one person, much less three. No one does."

"There is one thing she can do. She can partially restore the human part of their souls, or at least what remains of it. If she manages to restore enough of it, I believe it may cause the hollow part to split off, like a vizard. Of course this is just speculation."

He sighed and added, "The real question is can they live with themselves afterwards."


And that all for now.

(1) It's my belief that Tessai was Urahara's lieutenant when he was captain of Squad Twelve. I also believe that Jinta and Ururu were experiments of Urahara's, similar to Nemu.

I'm almost ready to start posting chapters for my Bleach/Naruto fanfic. Or at least I was until lightingstrxu's comments in his review. Now I'm not sure if I should give Neji Mayuri's or Byakuya's zanpaku-to. It's driving me nuts. Any advice or feedback on this is welcome.

Though I do have the prologues for both that story and my Akatsuki story pretty much done. So I'll probably post them in a couple of days.

Please review!