Rebirth: Sternenprinz

by RamenSpice20

"Eyes glued on the water, Ichigo waited as a car passed to move closer to the edge before climbing the railing. Wind tugging at his hair, Ichigo closed his eyes and slowly raised his arms out to feel the last rays of sun on him. Taking a deep breath, Ichigo stepped off the bridge." Rebirth has always been a tricky business, and fate is far crueler to Ichigo in his second life.

10. Chapter 9: The Thanks I Get

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

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AO3: RamenSpice20

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This one's hella long, but hopefully that's a good thing. Thank you all so much for the feedback!

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Inner Speech/Thoughts

Chapter 9: The Thanks I Get

-x-

Ori Mishuira

Ori's heartbeat pounded in his ears as he ran, little legs pumping faster than he'd ever ran before. Ragged sobs interrupted his panicked huffing and puffing as he flew across the slightly overgrown path. It didn't matter how many times he tripped or stumbled over roots and rocks in the blinding darkness, Ori refused to slow down. Fear led his swift flight through his once friendly childhood play-place, branches scratching at his face and arms.

Ori took a sharp turn in the path with a skid, not stopping to look where he was going. Something inhuman screamed from where Ori had left Ichigo, piercing the night.

Almost there...

Almost there...

He knew this forest like the back of his hand, even at night. All he had to do was look for the red rock, take a left, turn right at the brook, take another left at the beehive and he'd make it out of the forest. Ori strained to see the landmarks he was looking for, a terrifying thought entering his head. What if he missed them? What if it was too dark and he took a wrong turn or went too far?

He had little time to think about that anymore as another scream broke the night. It didn't matter if it was too dark, he had to make it into town. Red rock, brook, and beehive eventually flew by and Ori finally made it out of the trees with a stumble. He could see where he was now that he had the moon shining bright above him casting the high grass between him and his town in an eerie light. He barely noticed the scrapes on his knees and elbows from his hasty flight, nor the many cuts and scratches as burst into the empty town. Most everybody was asleep, but there had to be a few star-gazers out that Ori could talk to.

"Ori!" Someone called from behind him. Ori was roughly yanked backwards by a familiar grip.

"Ori Mishuira, where in the god's green world have you been?! Where's your sister? I told you to never ever EVER stay in the forest past dark - I was about to send a shinigami in after you!" Ori's mother cried.

Indeed, a red haired man with wild tattoos clad in black shihakusho robes was being towed along by Ori's mother with a rather exhausted expression. Upon being mentioned, the shinigami yanked his sleeve away from the distraught woman to turn in front of her.

"I already told you to go to your local shinigmai for matters of curfew breach, I'm here on official shinigami busi - " He never got to finish his complaint as Ori grabbed onto his robes.

"You have to help me! Something took my sister in the woods - you have to hurry or it's going to kill her!" Ori exclaimed, panic making his words run together slightly. The shinigami knelt down and immediately reevaluated Ori's distraught state, taking in his scrapes and cuts.

"Woah, just hold on kid. Something took your sister?" He asked. Ori's mother made a choking noise.

"YES" Ori emphasized, pulling desperately on the shinigami's robes "We don't have time to talk, it's gonna kill her! Please we have to go NOW!" Ori begged, sobbing.

"Look, just tell me where to go and I'll find her!" The shinigami said, taking Ori by his shoulders.

"No you don't understand, you can't get to her unless you know which path to take! I know where to go - just follow me!" Ori cried, wriggling out of the shinigami's grip to pelt back towards the woods.

"Ori!" Ori's mother called out behind him, but he was already breaking out of the streets.

"Hey!" The shinigami yelled, much closer.

"Kid, stop!" He yelled, catching up to Ori with a flash and grabbing him.

"No! You won't know where to go I have to -" Ori screamed, but the shinigami interrupted him.

"I know, I know! But it's faster if I carry you - just point out where to go!" He said, pulling Ori up onto his back.

"That way!" Ori cried, pointing to one of the paths. The shinigami took off in a blur, definitely faster than Ori.

"Oy, your name's Ori, right?" He called out over the rushing wind.

"Yeah!" Ori responded.

"My names Renji. We're gonna get your sister back, I promise!" He cried. Ori heard the resolve in his voice and was reminded of Tensa. He trusted them both, but he just hoped they were fast enough.

"I believe you, just hurry!" He cried.

"Will do!" Renji growled.

-x-

Ichigo Godebert

"Nara!" Ichigo screamed. He could just see her face bobbing in and out of view, but whatever was dragging her through the trees was too fast for him to see her fully. He just hoped she was still intact...

An inhuman scream pierced the air and Ichigo immediately recognized it as hollow. He'd suspected that's what had taken Nara, but for some reason he still couldn't sense it's reiatsu. It was obviously a hollow with special abilities, but even so it felt like Ichigo should have been able to prevent this. Nara had literally told him there was something hunting people int the forest at night and he'd just waltzed out with two vulnerable children.

Now he was chasing after a cunning hunter probably leading him into some sort of trap. Ichigo knew he was faster than this hollow even with his limbs burning from the strain of being so active after yet another fight, but he hadn't figured out how to use shunpo or sonido without releasing even just a small part of his reiatsu. He'd been sure he could catch up without, but it seemed this hollow was advanced enough to use its own sonido. How such a powerful hollow had managed to hide in the Soul Society for so long was beyond Ichigo, but he had a feeling it had to do with some sort of cloaking ability.

Growling, Ichigo pushed himself to move faster, leaping over branches and pushing off against trees to try and catch up in a blur. He barely noticed the small zings of pain as he moved, nor how spastic his breathing had become. He actually felt surprisingly good compared to how he normally was, but that might just be because he was used to his normal level of chronic pain. If Shiro hadn't still been sleeping, he would have actually been pretty impressed with Ichigo's speed and agility. He'd also probably scream at Ichigo for never telling him about how movement pained him.

Launching himself over a small ravine, Ichigo finally caught sight of the hollow holding an unconscious Nara hostage. One of it's long black limbs covered in the same dark shaggy hair as the rest of it's body held Nara over it's back as it turned it's pale white mask to sneer at Ichigo. Snarling back, Ichigo shot out to try and grab it, but it flashed away in a buzz of sonido.

"Come back here you coward!" Ichigo yelled. He'd seen now that it was intelligent, so maybe he could egg it on into stopping to fight him.

Howling laughter echoed through the trees as Ichigo threw himself from tree to tree. He caught sight of it again when the two reached a small clearing.

"Why waste a fight with a weakling like you when I have this tasty morsel?" It called mockingly.

Shit, so it wasn't hotheaded like Ichigo had hoped. Worse yet was that the same lack of signature that normally protected him was now preventing him from getting to that bastard. But he'd made a promise to protect Nara and Ori, and he'd be damned if he didn't pull out all the stops he had left to do so.

"Then why don't you get a chance to look at the menu?!" Ichigo yelled, releasing a tiny portion of his reiatsu. But even a tiny portion was stronger than any ordinary shinigami and blanketed the trees around them with heavy pressure. It burned through Ichigo's soul, setting his nerves on fire like it always did when he used his power. Ichigo was in front of the hollow in a flash.

"!"

The hollow dodged Ichigo's lightening fast strike with a shocked expression to jump back as far as possible. Ichigo's stomach twisted when he saw Nara's limp body dangling from the hollow's shoulder like a rag doll.

"Foolish boy, if you'd kept that tempting reiatsu in check I might have let you escape, but now I can't help but add you to my - " Ichigo cut the hollow off with a swing from behind, cleaving partway into it's shoulder before it flashed away. Blood splattered the ground where it had been and the hollow screeched in pain.

"Little bastard! I don't know what you are, but you'll pay for that!" It screamed. It had had a taste of Ichigo's reiatsu and could figure out that Ichigo wasn't completely shinigami, so that let Ichigo know this bastard wasn't like other hollows.

Ichigo flashed behind it again to swing, but this time the hollow knew what to expect. Hopping away back into the trees, the hollow immediately realized it was too slow. Surprising Ichigo, it shot up out of the trees. Close behind, Ichigo broke through the foliage into the starry night. The hollow was standing on air not too far away, but it didn't look as defensive this time. Instead, it held Nara out in both hands right by it's mask.

"Have you ever wondered, dear boy, how it is that you never noticed me in the day? How I manage to draw people into this forest no matter the rumors?" It snarled. Ichigo wanted to cut the blasted thing down, but his instincts were telling him that was a bad idea right now. So he stood precariously on air, huffing slightly as he glared.

"Not really since you'll be dead soon." Ichigo replied with a growling cough. The hollow grinned.

"Oh, but I think you'll find that's very hard to do, ill one. The shinigami have tried to find me before, but those stupid bastards always assume I'm ordinary and weak like those other filthy fiends... I'm unlike any other hollow!" It bragged with a cackle.

Ichigo was seriously tempted to shut the filthy beast up right then and there, but the way things were going right now it didn't look like he could do that easily. He couldn't use any of Zangetsu's abilities, couldn't hollowfy, couldn't use any quincy abilities (which were pretty limited anyway) and never learned kido. All he had was his speed and sword skills. Luckily Ichigo had been down this road before and knew if he waited, the arrogant hollow would tell him all about its abilities and make this shitty situation a little better.

"Unlike those common fodder, I possess several abilities! For years I survived in Hueco Mundo by hibernating underneath the sand in a special type of reiatsu seal I learned to impose on myself. Undetectable, all I had to do was wait and draw in my prey. I grew stronger and eventually learned to make my lures far more impressive..." It hissed. Something about that seemed familiar, but Ichigo paid it no mind.

"I've heard of other hollows being able to create their own traps and lures, but such things waste energy. Instead, why not use somebody else's energy? I tried implanting my energy into corpses and found that those freshly dead were subject to my whim - my puppets! I became known as the Necromancer and eventually found my way into the Soul Society. Hollow corpses obviously wouldn't draw out those stupid humans from the safety of their town, so I began experimenting with those that wandered too far. I found my techniques even stronger if I implanted my reiatsu into the living, but only if they were severely wounded." The Necromancer cackled.

"...and that's why people keep seeing their loved ones in the forest at night. Hibernating in the day and luring people into the forest at night. Bastard!" Ichigo hissed. The Necromancer simply cackled more, unwittingly encouraged to reveal more by Ichigo's comments.

"I am the perfect hunter, and my strength is far above yours! I've watched these children for some time when dusk hits, but they've always made sure to leave before night. Until you came... You seem to care about this girl and her brother, so why not savor this particular kill?!" The Necromancer cried.

Before Ichigo could move, the hollow stabbed one of it's claws right through Nara's back to come poking out her chest. Ichigo screamed for her, but the sound was drowned out by the following explosion of energy surrounding her body. Ichigo threw his arms up to shield himself, refusing to yield to the other's reiatsu.

"Behold! My prey created anew!" The Necromancer cried.

Lowering his arms as the reiatsu waned, Ichigo stared wide eyed at Nara. He could feel the Necromancer's reiatsu infecting her soul and reacting to her own promising reserves like a catalyst. In this strange state she no longer bled, injuries healing themselves with the foreign power coursing through her body. The way she stood on air was unnatural and indeed puppet-like, loose posture and slumped shoulders belaying the coiling power within her. Slowly Nara lifted her head up and opened her eyes. Her usual sun-soaked earthy brown eyes were now completely black, blankly staring at Ichigo as if blind.

"...Nara?" Ichigo called out, hoping despite what he knew to be true that she would be able to call back.

"I'm afraid this little fight of ours will end in only one way, shinigami. It's how you get to that end that matters, however. Will you kill this girl to defend yourself only to fall to me, or let this girl kill you out of those useless morals you humans cling to? Either way, you are mine." The Necromancer hissed.

Ichigo was forced to dodge as Nara suddenly attacked him. She was only wielding a wooden sword, but energy danced along the blade dangerously with each slash. Getting cut probably meant he too would become the Necromancer's puppet, so he avoided the strikes and countered as best as he could without hurting Nara. Ichigo quickly squashed down the urge to cough at his sudden movement and fought. Kicking Nara back, Ichigo surprised the Necromancer by squandering his opportunity to attack Nara to instead appear directly behind it.

"I think there's room for a third option here!" Ichigo bellowed, bringing his massive sword down on the Necromancer.

He would have cleaved the arrogant puppet-master right down the mask if it hadn't been for Nara suddenly attacking from the side. Ichigo only managed to split the top part of the hollow's mask before he was forced to dodge Nara and put some distance between them.

"Kill him already!" The Necromancer screeched, cradling his bleeding mask in pain.

Ichigo could see that he was beginning to heal the wound, so he tried to leap behind him again, but Nara cut him off. Damn if the girl wasn't good, she was certainly pulling out moves worthy of any shinigami. No wonder she'd been targeted by the Necromancer, she had quite the potential. Potential that may never get the chance to blossom...

"Nara, if you're in there, SNAP OUT OF IT!" Ichigo yelled, blocking a vicious strike.

All he got was another blank stare and lightening fast strike. Ichigo growled as more than a pang of guilt twisted his gut. He refused to hurt her, but she was making it difficult to cut down the hollow like this. It was a struggle to hold back like this, so Ichigo resolved to use his speed instead. He just needed to stay ahead of Nara and he would be able to fight the hollow.

Nara might be fast, but she was nothing compared to Ichigo. Suddenly there was only an orange blur as Ichigo shot out to attack the Necromancer yet again. Slashing, cutting, and kicking out he continued to flash and blur in a dizzying display of shunpo and sonido, sometimes a blend of both, to simultaneously avoid both Nara and the Necromancer while trying to land his own hits. It was somewhat difficult to keep up this delicate dance when he felt like he was about to cough up his lungs, but Ichigo had almost never fought a battle where he was even remotely matched in his life. Massive power-imbalances were just the norm, and so was overcoming them, so this was pretty much a cake walk.

It seemed the Necromancer could tell that despite the numerous disadvantages, Ichigo was far more skilled because he began to fire ceros at Ichigo the third time Ichigo managed to land a hit. Narrowly avoiding the glowing red beams, Ichigo had to double over immediately after to avoid Nara. Another cero almost singed the back of his head when he had to drop down right on top of the trees. The Necromancer was behind him in a buzz of sonido to fire another cero, but Ichigo was ready and instead of dodging or jumping back like expected, he rushed forward along the red beam inches from burning his face to slash at the Necromancer with an uppercut.

"Gaaaah!" The Necromancer gurgled, clutching at his throat.

Blood poured from the slash reaching from the Necromancer's stomach up to its throat to chip the very bottom of its mask. Ichigo growled in approval and jumped forward to strike another blow in the Necromancer's shock, but Nara blocked him with a killer strike. Unfortunately Nara's intervention left the Necromancer enough time to start healing, but Ichigo noticed it wasn't healing as fast as it should be. The shock from Nara's wooden blade laced with power hitting Zangetsu actually left a tingling numbness in Ichigo's hands. Any other would have been unable to keep their grip on their sword, but Ichigo was used to having that shocking pins-and-needles feeling in his hands. He'd developed a death-grip a long time ago.

Damn, its been a while since someone's hit hard enough to make my hands numb... is she getting stronger?

Trading more lightening fast blows with Nara, Ichigo realized she was. Her attacks were stronger and faster, and more disturbingly the power dancing on her blade was brighter and more potent than before. It definitely wasn't Nara's power clashing against Zangetsu, so it had to be that she was gaining more of the Necromancer's power. That gave Ichigo an idea, and he immediately went back to his original tactics of staying ahead of Nara.

Ichigo poured more power into his shunpo and became a blur of pressing attacks on the wounded Necromancer. Even seriously limiting his power outtake, Ichigo was faster than Nara and finally managed to land another blow on the Necromancer across the shoulder. Yet again, Nara blocked Ichigo from finishing the Necromancer with more power than before as the Necromancer healed at a snail's pace. Now he knew something was going on, but he couldn't quite figure it out. He felt close, like it was tickling just at the back of his mind...

"Tensa!"

Ichigo whipped his head around at the familiar voice to see a blur of red flash by. The Necromancer screamed in agony as something cut it. Immediately he was thrown back by a burst of power from Nara. Whoever had wounded the Necromancer was also thrown back directly into Ichigo and the two fell back down through the trees and into the clearing. All the breath was knocked out of Ichigo as they hit the ground, further winded by the weight of the man crashing into him.

"Agh!" Ichigo cried as pain lanced through his sore body.

The other let out a grunt of pain and struggled to get off of Ichigo. Slightly less dazed than the other (he was used to being knocked down by now), Ichigo shoved the red-head off him with a growl.

"Watch who you fall on!" Ichigo gasped. He was still trying to get the rest of his breath back when the Necromancer dropped down hacking blood with Nara close behind. He and the red-head immediately picked themselves up to face the assailants.

"Tensa! Renji!" Ichigo's stomach dropped when he heard Ori running up behind him and the red-head he assumed was "Renji."

"I thought I told you to stay away from the fight!" Renji exclaimed. Ichigo whipped around to face Renji.

"You took him with you?! You can't just take a kid into a fight!" Ichigo cried. Renji bristled and turned.

"I didn't know where to go or what had happened - and I wasn't going to bring him into a fight!" Renji snapped. The two were interrupted by Ori pushing in between them to gaze at his sister with a stricken look.

"Nara?" He whispered. Ichigo placed a hand on Ori's chest to stop him from going to his sister. Renji noticed the gesture and began eyeing Nara.

"That hollow over there, the Necromancer, implanted his reiatsu into your sister in order to control her like a puppet. I've tried to get her to respond, but she's basically a mindless zombie. She is still alive, so there's a chance we can save her - which means no hurting or wounding her no matter what." Ichigo said the last part with a glare at Renji.

"I wouldn't hurt a kid, no matter who was controlling them." Renji growled.

The Necromancer who'd been quietly observing while Nara paced defensively began to laugh quietly. His laughter grew into a cackle and Ichigo, Renji, and Ori stared at him. It seemed his wounds weren't bothering him nearly as much as they should be as the Necromancer shuddered with manic scream-laughter. Finally he ceased his bloody hacking laughter and took a step towards Ichigo and Renji. The two immediately brought their blades up.

"Oh, you wouldn't hurt an innocent child? It seems you and this pest of a boy share the same weakness!" The Necromancer sneered. Ori gripped the fabric of Ichigo's shihakusho in fear, reminding Ichigo he was still there.

"Get out of here Ori!" Ichigo hissed, trying to shake him off.

"But -" Ori was interrupted by Renji.

"You'll only get in our way - if you want us to save your sister, you need to get a safe distance away so we can focus on saving her. We can't focus on protecting two people at once." Renji said.

Ori looked like he was going to argue more, but the Necromancer let out a scream. Ori gave one last fearful look to his sister before bolting off into the trees. Ichigo had no doubt Ori wouldn't actually leave, but at least he wasn't still in the clearing with the two threats. Besides, Ichigo was a little pre-occupied with the cero being fired at him.

"You take the kid, I'll take the hollow!" Renji called as the two jumped out of the way.

"Alright, but don't let any of it's reiatsu pierce or touch you - that's how it infects you!" Ichigo called back as he flashed out of view. He just hoped whoever this shinigami was was strong enough to kill the Necromancer.

Ichigo flashed in front of Nara before she could stop Renji from rushing the Necromancer with a powerful downward strike. He could hear the Necromancer scream in pain and smiled grimly. It seemed the other was as capable as he'd hoped he would be. But rather than feeling relieved that someone else was here to fight with him, Ichigo felt even more apprehensive. Something felt wrong and was further driven home when Nara's power suddenly rose again. Now the power coating her wooden sword was practically melting off the damn thing, coming off of her strikes like a weaker Getsuga Tensho.

Dodging a potent slash of reiatsu, Ichigo tried to catch Nara by surprise by appearing directly behind her. But she was faster than before and managed to narrowly avoid a kick. Ichigo could see flashes of Renji and the Necromancer fighting as he struggled through his own battle of restraint. His senses were cast in a million different directions as he fought between the Necromancer's reiatsu, Nara's, and the strange foreign reiatsu tickling at his soul. He could feel the Necromancer's life force waning as the fierce red-head blocked ceros and landed hit after hit. Another shriek of pain was heard from the Necromancer as Renji managed to run his zanpakuto through its stomach. Immediately a blast of power came from Nara, throwing Ichigo back.

As hollow reiatsu flowed over Ichigo in ribbons, something familiar stirred inside him to meet the tide of power beyond the burning on his skin. There was also something incredibly invasive he didn't like too. But this time he didn't shy away from the power as it drew back into Nara. He shot his hand out again despite the burning pain increasing to feel it more, but had to snap it back when Nara nearly took his hand off. But that brief instance was enough for him to get a better read on it. It was definitely hollow reiatsu, but it wasn't completely the Necromancer's like Ichigo had assumed when he first felt the connection between Nara and the Necromancer's soul. It was Nara's reiatsu with a hollowified edge to it, but that made no sense...

Nara flashed to appear inches from Ichigo's face, wooden sword pressing against Zangetsu that Ichigo'd snapped up to protect himself. Now the power waging war against Zangetsu was close enough to make Ichigo's face burn. Again he could feel reiatsu flowing over him, the invasive feeling skyrocketing. It felt like something was trying to worm it's way into his soul, but his own power was enough to stop the reiatsu from completely leaking into him. What was there made Ichigo gasp and reflexively release his own wave of power.

Nara was forced to jump back as Ichigo sucked in a breathe and put a hand to his chest. The feeling was gone now, but there were still traces that left a terrible dread in the pit of his stomach. He knew what was going on and he needed to stop this fight as fast as possible.

"Renji stop! Don't kil -" Ichigo was cut off by a scream of pain from the Necromancer.

"Take that, ya ugly bastard!" Renji yelled in triumph.

Everything seemed to pause as Ichigo held his breath. For a moment Ichigo thought he might have been wrong as the Necromancer fell to its knees and began to fade away, but the sudden explosion grimly assured him of otherwise. Renji and Ichigo were both immediately thrown backwards as the clearing exploded in angry red power flowing from where Nara and the Necromancer were. Both had to dig their heals into the ground to stop themselves from flying away as they crouched low to the ground. Ichigo could hear screaming, but to his horror recognized it as Ori's. He'd forgotten that Ori had been watching the fight.

-x-

Renji Abarai

"- and that's when I started running!" Ori finished.

Renji winced slightly at the volume Ori had been telling his story, but he supposed it couldn't be helped since Ori needed to yell to be heard over the rushing wind as they shot through the forest. They weren't far from the spot Ori's sister had been taking, but they still had to pick up on the hollow's reiatsu to try and track it. Renji just hoped this Tensa guy was fast enough and strong enough to stop the hollow from killing the kid. An uncomfortable silence made Renji glance back at Ori briefly to see if he was alright. Ori looked unhealthily pale, eyes unfocused and flicking this way and that. Renji had noticed him shaking their entire journey, but now he was painfully aware of his fear.

"So what's this Tensa guy look like, besides being dirty and beat up?" Renji asked, jostling Ori slightly. He really did feel bad for the little guy, the least he could do was distract him from the situation for a little while.

"Oh, uh, he has orange hair, but I thought it was brown at first because of how dirty and ruffed-up he is. He's got shinigami pants-robe thingies, but his shirt-part is missing - that's how I could tell he was a warrior. He had so many scars - oh! I told you about how his sword is stuck in shikai, but I didn't say how big it was! It looked twice as big as me and was completely black." Ori said. Renji frowned. Something about orange hair and many scars tickled at Renji's memory, but he was too focused on trying to recall any shinigami that matched the description. But he didn't know any shinigami like that, especially one named Tensa with a shikai...

"Did he happen to remember what division he's from, or if he's seated?" Renji asked, ducking low to avoid a branch.

"No, all he said was that his name was Tensa and he was hunting a hollow." Ori said.

"What about a last name?" Renji asked. From the way Ori had described Tensa's shikai and how he had used such an advanced technique as soul ribbons, he should be a seated officer, and Renji knew or had heard of almost all the seated officers within the gotei.

"No, only his first name... I actually don't know that much about him..." Ori admitted. Renji wanted to believe Ori, but something about the situation seemed kind of fishy.

"So you just found this random guy who won't even tell you his last name wandering around these cursed woods and took him to your base... tell him that you're all alone...the day your sister gets attacked..." Renji trailed off. Ori immediately stiffened.

"He was there with me when Nara was taken! He promised to protect us! He's not bad!" Ori exclaimed, voice cracking at the end. Renji immediately felt bad.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry kid, I shouldn't have said that. I'm just trying to figure out everything that's going on." Renji apologized.

"...Alright. I'm just... I'm just scared." Ori said almost too quiet for Renji to hear. Great, Renji felt like even more of an asshole.

"It's okay to be scared Ori, everyone gets scared... I bet even someone like Tensa gets scared." Renji said. He was taking advantage of the fact that Ori seemed to look up to Tensa a little, but so long as it made the kid feel better, Renji didn't think it was such a bad thing.

"Really? Well, I guess he did seem scared when I tried to blow the Scary Death Whistle... and when Nara went missing even though he tried to hide it." Ori said.

"Scary Death Whistle?" Renji asked.

"Oh, the um, quincy whistle thing I told you about, the one that hurts hollows." Ori said.

"Oh, that... Yeah I still don't get how a whist - " Ori gasped suddenly, cutting Renji off.

"You can have the whistle! I took it with me when we left to walk home because I wanted to tell my mom about it - I still have it!" Ori exclaimed.

"But what took your sister might not be a hollow..." Renji said. Ironically, he'd been tasked with figuring out what was going on in these woods after the last shinigami had gone missing. His captain had figured a sixth seat would be more than enough to put to rest what was going on, but so far Renji had been unsuccessful in finding anything.

"But what if it is? You don't know yet, so isn't it better to take it?" Ori asked. Renji could hear the desperation in Ori's voice and realized how badly Ori wanted to help. He certainly remembered what it was like to be Ori's age, to be so helpless compared to the shinigami who were supposed to protect his district.

"...Alright. I won't bet all my money on it, but I'm sure it'll come in handy. Good thinking bringing that along." Renji quickly added on. Ori simply nodded and they continued running through the forest. Renji was about to pass an open spot on the path when Ori started patting his shoulder.

"There! Right there's where it took Nara!" Ori exclaimed, pointing at a spot on the path.

Renji quickly flashed to the spot and set Ori down. He could definitely feel several lingering reiatsu signatures here. Casting out his senses, Renji tried to sense any nearby hollows, finding one a good ways away. Gritting his teeth, Renji forced himself not to immediately go after the hollow, instead focusing on the leftover signatures in the area so he could track the hollow and see if it had any partners... Well, it was definitely a lone hollow, but he could only sense one other soul, Ori's sister. Renji turned to Ori and had him hop back onto his back.

"Are you sure this is where Tensa was, I don't sense any reiatsu here." Renji said.

"Yes, he was here! Maybe he was hiding his reiatsu because we were weaker than him? Maybe he was too powerful and needed to hide it!" Ori said hopefully. Renji patted Ori's arm.

"Hey, it's alright, that probably is what he had to do if he had a shikai but you didn't feel anything around him." Renji said before jumping off in the direction of the hollow.

Renji meant what he'd said, and it was starting to set him on edge. If this guy had shikai but still didn't let his reiatsu out, that probably did mean that he was too powerful to let ordinary souls sense him... But Renji should know him if this was the case. He was trying his best not to let these nagging feelings overtake his trust in Ori, but something just didn't feel right. It felt like his gut was trying to tell him something important, but he just couldn't quite get it, like it was on the tip of his tongue. Nevertheless, his focus was on finding the hollow and saving Ori's sister as he flew through the trees with Ori.

"Are we close?" Ori called.

"It's stopped moving, but that probably means it's fighting -" A powerful wave of energy made Renji stop mid-sentence.

Another, smaller but just as potent one rose up to meet it. The first he could tell was the hollow, but the second one felt different than anything Renji had ever felt before. He knew it had to be Tensa's and expected it to be like a shinigami's, but this was not standard shinigami reiatsu. It both was and wasn't, a strange blend of power just hidden under the surface that made the hair on the back of Renji's neck stand up. It felt familiar and different at the same time, a rare zing of danger electrifying the air. He needed to get there now, before the fighting got out of hand.

"Ori! I need you to hold on as tight as you can and try not to throw up on me!" Renji called over his shoulder.

"What? O-okay!" Ori cried, tightening his grip on Renji's shoulders.

Renji poured his reiatsu into his speed, flashing across the forest in a blur of shunpo. Branches scratched at his face, but he barely noticed it as Ori burrowed his face into Renji's back. He could feel the clashes of power and hear the screaming the closer he got to the fighting. Swaying trees and red beams of light forced Renji to stop from going any further. Jumping back to avoid the backlash of another beam, Renji dropped down to the forest floor and took Ori off his back.

"I've got to go help Tensa get your sister back - I need you to stay here, away from the fight!" Renji ordered. Ori tried to protest, but Renji wasn't having any of it.

"Unless you can fight, you need to stay here!" Renji exclaimed. Ori shook Renji's hands off his shoulders.

"Okay, I'll stay here! But you gotta take this!" Ori said, taking what looked like a toy turtle out of his robes.

"It's the whistle." Ori said, handing the small object to Renji.

"Alright, now stay here. I made a promise to save your sister, and I don't plan on breaking it!" Renji said. Ori nodded furiously and Renji shot off into the trees.

Flashing into a clearing, Renji narrowly dodged a stray cero. He could see the fight going on just above the trees and clearing, glowing red ceros blasting wildly to light up the night each time the hollow fired. The hollow in question was certainly a strange one, covered in black fur like some strange ape all the way down to its long limbs. It was bleeding profusely from several wounds, but what drew Renji's attention the most was the girl he assumed to be Ori's sister fighting the guy Ori had described as Tensa. She was fighting Tensa with a glowing wooden sword, pitch-black eyes focused on nothing as she flashed in and out of existence with her opponent. Renji could immediately tell something was off, especially after he began to see a pattern in the fight. Tensa would go to attack the hollow, but the kid would try to block him and draw him away. She was protecting the hollow.

But as strong and fast as the kid was, Tensa proved to be faster. He was nothing but a dizzying whir of attacks and dodges, slipping between ceros, swipes, and slashes to strike at the hollow while fending off the kid. It was an incredible display of speed, strength, power, and agility, but Renji could see something off about the way he moved. There was no hesitation as he fought, but his movements were snappy and jerky, like he was forcing himself to move in unnatural ways. It was a seamless speed he used to attack, but the way he fought just felt so strange. Loose and flowing like water one moment, tight and immovable the next as he twisted and threw himself like something possessed. It reminded Renji of a broken doll.

Renji shook his head. There was no use just standing here and watching the strange display. Just because Tensa was handling things now didn't mean he could keep that up forever. Luckily the three were so engrossed in their battle that they hardly noticed him.

Unsheathing Zabimaru, Renji launched himself at the hollow just as someone cried out behind him. Distracted, Tensa gave Renji just enough time to flash past him and slash the hollow across its chest. Immediately Renji was thrown back by a burst of power from the kid. Renji crashed into something behind him, cushioning his rough landing as the two fell into the clearing.

"Agh!" Came a cry from beneath Renji.

Renji grunted in pain - hey, he might not have been used like a couch cushion, but it still hurt. Tensa felt surprisingly bony and dug painfully into his back as he tried to get off. Pushed off from below, Renji rolled over onto all fours, catching his breath.

"Watch who you fall on!" Tensa gasped. Renji was going to give a biting response when the hollow dropped down hacking blood with the kid close behind. Renji and Tensa immediately picked themselves up to face the assailants.

"Tensa! Renji!" Renji internally groaned. Can't he just have one part of his day go right?

"I thought I told you to stay away from the fight!" Renji exclaimed. Tensa whipped around to face Renji with a shocked and aggravated look.

"You took him with you?! You can't just take a kid into a fight!" Tensa cried. Renji bristled and turned. It wasn't like he was trying to put the kid in danger!

"I didn't know where to go or what had happened - and I wasn't going to bring him into a fight!" Renji snapped at the scrappy teen. Their bickering was interrupted by Ori pushing in between them to gaze at his sister with a horrified look.

"Nara?" He whispered. Tensa placed a hand on Ori's chest to stop him from going to his sister. Noticing the gesture, Renji began reevaluating the kid. He knew that kid wasn't fighting as herself, but how and why she was fighting against Tensa and for the hollow was a mystery.

"That hollow over there, the Necromancer, implanted his reiatsu into your sister in order to control her like a puppet. I've tried to get her to respond, but she's basically a mindless zombie. She is still alive, so there's a chance we can save her - which means no hurting or wounding her no matter what." Tensa said the last part with a glare at Renji.

"I wouldn't hurt a kid, no matter who was controlling them." Renji growled. Jesus, he was acting like Renji hadn't just stepped in and wounded the Necromancer.

The Necromancer who'd been quietly observing while Nara paced defensively began to laugh quietly. His laughter grew into a cackle and Renji, Tensa, and Ori stared at him. It seemed his wounds weren't bothering him nearly as much as they should be as the Necromancer shuddered with manic scream-laughter. Finally he ceased his bloody hacking laughter and took a step towards Renji and Tensa. The two immediately brought their blades up, Zabimaru's unsealed blade beside Tensa's rather formidable shikai. Tensa definitely wasn't an ordinary shinigami, but Renji didn't have time to think about that.

"Oh, you wouldn't hurt an innocent child? It seems you and this pest of a boy share the same weakness!" The Necromancer sneered. Ori gripped the fabric of Tensa's shihakusho in fear, reminding Renji he was still ind danger. Luckily Tensa had the same thought as Renji's and started trying to get Ori to leave.

"Get out of here Ori!" Tensa hissed, trying to shake him off.

"But -" Ori was interrupted by Renji.

"You'll only get in our way - if you want us to save your sister, you need to get a safe distance away so we can focus on saving her. We can't focus on protecting two people at once." Renji said.

Ori looked like he was going to argue more, but the Necromancer let out a scream. Ori gave one last fearful look to his sister before bolting off into the trees. Renji was glad Ori was finally out of the way, but he had a feeling unless they didn't end this soon, he'd try to intervene. The Necromancer shot a cero at him and Tensa with a manic grin.

"You take the kid, I'll take the hollow!" Renji called as they jumped out of the way.

"Alright, but don't let any of it's reiatsu pierce or touch you - that's how it infects you!" Tensa called back as he flashed out of view. Renji grimaced. He'd definitely be heeding that advice if he didn't want to end up some sick puppet.

Renji jumped forward to attack the Necromancer as Tensa blocked Nara behind him. Dodging a swipe, Renji flashed directly behind the Necromancer catching it off guard to slice Zabimaru down its back. The Necromancer let out a piercing scream and just managed to get away before Renji could land another hit. Suddenly a burst of power exploded out behind him from Nara. Renji whipped around prepared to block an attack, but Nara was too busy with Tensa.

Now if he can just manage to keep her busy, I can end this before somebody gets hurt...

Renji threw himself back into his fight with the Necromancer, dodging ceros and strikes from the now enraged hollow. Renji could tell that he was beginning to tire the Necromancer, each attack growing slower and weaker. He was landing more and more hits, a stab to the shoulder, a slash through the thigh. The Necromancer shrieked in pain again as Renji ran Zabimaru through its stomach. Immediately another blast of power behind Renji came from Nara, whipping up Renji's red locks. This explosion was stronger than the last and really starting to worry Renji. He didn't have time to check and see how Tensa was doing, he needed to kill this hollow now.

Releasing as much reiatsu as he could without using shikai, Renji pushed himself even harder. Now it was his turn to show his skill as he dodged and attacked with stunning speed and accuracy. He could hear Tensa clashing with the kid behind him, but he was too busy redirecting ceros to pay much mind. It wasn't long before an opening presented itself, and Renji took it.

"Renji stop! Don't kil -" But it was too late for Renji to stop his attack. He was already slicing the Necromancer in half.

"Take that, ya ugly bastard!" Renji yelled in triumph.

Renji watched in grim satisfaction as the Necromancer fell to his knees, turning to Tensa to ask why the hell he was freaking out, but froze when he saw the look of absolute horror on Tensa's face. A massive explosion tore Renji's focus away as he and Tensa were both violently thrown backwards as the clearing lit up in angry red power flowing from where Nara and the Necromancer were. Both had to dig their heals into the ground to stop themselves from flying away as they crouched low to the ground. Renji grunted as the howling wind brought gusts of power flowing past them. He could faintly hear screaming behind him and realized it was Ori. Renji turned to Tensa.

"What the fuck's happening?!" Renji screamed.

"I told you not to kill it! I warned you not to!" Tensa screamed, face contorted in anger.

Almost as abruptly as it had began, the explosion of power stopped. Renji nearly fell forward from the sudden lack of force. Everything felt empty for a second before the dust cleared and Nara emerged. Everything about her was malicious now from the seething black and gold eyes and pale white skin to the manic smile plastered on her normally childish features. The aura she was giving off was no longer her own, but the Necromancer's at a much stronger level. Not-Nara sauntered forward with a rumbling laugh.

"Aaaah, what a feeling... Surprised? Well, only one of you seems surprised..." Not-Nara sneered. Tensa snarled at it in a surprisingly feral manner.

"Don't think that we won't be able to take Nara's body back!" Tensa shot back. Renji was trying his best to keep up, but this was ridiculous. He'd just killed the Necromancer - shouldn't Nara be free from its hold?

"There's no way a hollow could possess a soul, so whatever trick you're using can't be strong enough to keep the kid like this!" Renji said.

"Oh? Why don't you explain it to him, shinigami." The Necromancer said with a secretive look. Tensa stiffened for some reason, but nonetheless he turned to Renji and explained the situation.

"He's not possessing her body, he's using it like a parasite. When hollows consume one another, the strongest consciousness takes over to maintain individuality. Usually it's the hollow that ate the other one that remains in control, but occasionally there are hollows that can fight their way in a hollows' soul to become dominant. That's what the Necromancer has done with Nara. He implanted his reiatsu into her soul not only to make her his puppet, but to start hollowfying her. I didn't figure out what was happening until I felt her reiatsu up close, but it was too late then. Once you killed him, enough of his power had been transferred to her that he could allow himself to fuse with her soul the same way hollows do when they're eaten. If we don't find a way to remove the Necromancer soon, Nara's body will completely transform into a hollow - the Necromancer's new body." Tensa said bitterly.

"Oh shit..." Renji whispered. The Necromancer only laughed harder.

"Well, I think you'll find that to be quite the challenge considering this child's unlocked reiatsu is now apart of mine!" The Necromancer exclaimed, dropping it's heavy reiatsu down on them like an anvil.

Renji was nearly thrown to the ground under its weight, but managed to stay standing. He might be a sixth seat, but he was far stronger than he'd yet shared with his captain. Renji was surprised to see that Tensa was also still standing, even looking better than Renji. Just who was this guy? But a cry of pain from behind him made Renji turn around and see much to his horror that Ori had indeed followed them and was now being flattened beneath the weight of the Necromancer's reiatsu.

"Ori!" Tensa cried, running back to him.

Renji was going to join Tensa in shielding Ori from the potent reiatsu, but the Necromancer suddenly attacked him. Just barely managing to get Zabimaru up to block, Renji was thrown back by the force of the Necromancer's blow. Skidding on the grass, Renji came to a stop for just a few seconds before launching back into action. Thankfully the Necromancer's reiatsu was beginning to let up the pressure around them as Renji rushed forward to slice at the parasitic hollow. Nimbly dodging with double the speed it had before, the Necromancer launched a much larger cero right at Renji's head. Flashing out of the way just in time, Renji had to dodge again as he was nearly sliced in half by a wooden sword. At this point the play sword was more dangerous than an actual sword. Renji raised Zabimaru high and prepared to release his shikai.

"Howl, Zabi -" Tensa's frantic yelling interrupted him.

"Don't! Ori can't handle any more reiatsu!" Tensa yelled from behind Renji. Turning around, Renji saw that Ori was still gasping on the ground as Tensa tried to shoulder some of the reiatsu. So the Necromancer hadn't let up on his reiatsu... Renji must have been getting stronger.

Damn, just one fight was enough to make me stronger without shikai. This is going to be tough...

Renji put Zabimaru back down and re-engaged the Necromancer. The next cero the Necromancer was much more powerful than an ordinary hollow's and managed to graze Renji's shoulder, surprising him. Lashing out with Zabimaru to try and push the Necromancer back, Renji found that the hollow was just beginning to test its newfound power. Wild ceros kept Renji constantly on his toes with barely enough time to block the sword strikes the Necromancer was doling out. Less and less openings were appearing as their fight continued, and it was beginning to wear him down. Grunting in pain from a strike that managed to catch his side, Renji knew he was running out of options. If he released his shikai, he might end up crushing Ori. If he didn't, he wouldn't be able to kill the Necromancer and Nara would no longer be Nara. Even his best option wasn't that great; having Tensa leave Ori to help fight the Necromancer would leave Ori vulnerable.

A random cero managed to slip through Renji's defenses to clip his side, splattering blood as Renji cried out in pain. Renji stumbled back and received a sound kick to the stomach for his imbalance that sent him flying back. Things were going downhill fast, and he didn't know how long he could keep this up. Rolling out of the way just in time to avoid being stabbed, a thought entered Renji's head. Jumping back up, Renji drew the Necromancer farther away from Tensa and Ori.

"Tensa! How far can you get Ori away from here in a minute?" Renji called between grunts and attacks.

"Not far enough away to be free of the Necromancer's reiatsu - but far enough away that I wouldn't need to shield him!" Tensa called back, catching on.

"Then hurry up and do it already!" Renji bellowed. Renji could feel Tensa disappear from the clearing as he struggled to keep the Necromancer at bay.

"Isolating yourself from the boy so early? It doesn't really matter in the end, once I'm finished with you I'll kill the sickly shinigami and consume the boy!" The Necromancer cackled. Renji frowned at the way the Necromancer had described Tensa, but he shook it off.

"I wouldn't get so cocky - that orange asshole and I are gonna tear you right out of that kid!" Renji retorted. He wasn't proud to say that he was sweating and breathing heavily when he said that, but at this point he didn't care. The Necromancer just laughed again and began attacking Renji, a manic grin splitting Nara's childish features.

"Oh? And what makes you so trustful of this 'shinigami'? You may have figured out my nature, but it seems I'm the only one who's figured out his..." The Necromancer whispered suddenly close to Renji's face.

Renji instinctively lashed out and pushed the Necromancer back. Renji's blows were becoming fewer and farther in between as their fight continued to go downhill. A well-timed faint had Renji stumbling forward right into one of the Necromancer's strikes, blazing energy from Nara's blade cutting into his abdomen. Renji gave a sharp cry of pain and haphazardly flashed away clutching at his stomach. He wasn't even halfway through his shunpo step when the Necromancer tried to deliver another blow. Renji managed to push off the other's blade but was shoved to the ground in the process. Head snapping back to crack against the ground, Renji had just enough time to feel his stomach drop as the Necromancer swung Nara's blade down at him.

"Oh no you don't!" Tensa cried out of nowhere.

Renji felt the whoosh of air from Nara's sword as Tensa flew into the Necromancer just in time. The two danced around him trading blows, foreign reiatsu washing over them. Renji saw Tensa stiffen suddenly and dart forward to - what the hell?! He grabbed Nara's sword, hand becoming engulfed in energy. For a moment Renji swore he saw Tensa's eyes flicker to something else, but it was gone before he could even remember it.

"We're running out of time, you have to do something now!" Tensa yelled. Renji tried to stand, but a wave of pain from his abdominal wound sent him back to the ground. He suddenly felt unbelievably sick before realizing with a spike of dread was going on. He'd completely forgotten.

"I would, but you know how you told me not to let its reiatsu pierce me?" Renji called, breathing heavily.

"Shit!" Tensa hissed after a slight pause. The Necromancer cackled.

"It seems I'm quite the ladder-climber! The red-head will be my best puppet yet!" The Necromancer declared with a lustful look that sent shivers up Renji's spine.

"Not if I kill you before you get the chance to overwhelm his soul with your reiatsu!" Tensa snarled with a massive overhand strike.

That's right! That bastard had to flood the kid's soul with his reiatsu before he could make her his puppet and body - if Tensa could just kill the Necromancer as is, the fourth will hopefully be able to remove all the foreign reiatsu...

That meant Renji had to get away from this fight. Struggling to his feet, Renji spared a glance at the furious fight going on between Tensa and the Necromancer. Shockingly, Tensa was doing better than Renji, but it was obvious that he was still in trouble. Renji tried to ignore the lancing pain coming from his bleeding wound as he stumbled away towards the tree line. He heard a desperate warning from Tensa and instinctively threw himself down to the ground to thankfully avoid a cero that had slipped past Tensa. Renji had to quickly roll over as something hard jabbed painfully into his stomach. Fumbling in his robes, Renji pulled out a small blood-soaked object. With a jolt, he realized it was the whistle Ori had given him. God he hoped what he was going to do wouldn't screw him over in the end...

"Get ready for an opening!" Renji cried, holding the whistle up for Tensa to see. Tensa's eyes flew wide when he saw what Renji was holding.

"No, wait Renji! Don't use -"

A hollow whooshing of air ushered from the whistle as Renji put everything he had into blowing into it. For a moment as he blew the silent whistle, he thought it was broken, but the sudden piercing hollow screams dispelled any doubts. Renji choked and nearly stopped blowing into the whistle as he felt his reiatsu unexpectedly drop, sucked into the whistle as fuel. But what shocked him the most was the chaos he was witnessing.

The Necromancer had dropped to its knees screaming and clawing at Nara's face with an expression of pure agony as its reiatsu raged out of control. Renji was horrified to see Tensa in the same state, warbled screams far from human as he clawed at his head, black sclera'd and gold-pupiled eyes shining with pain. What looked like black blood bubbled out of his mouth and crept down from his nose like a nosebleed. Renji didn't know whether he should stop or not, but Tensa held him transfixed as he struggled to slowly stand straight and jerkily bring his sword up fighting the whistle's hold on him. With a desperate scream, Tensa launched himself at the Necromancer and plunged his sword directly into Nara's chest. Renji stopped blowing the whistle to scream.

But instead of blood pouring out of Nara like Renji expected, blinding white reiatsu shot out in ribbons from Nara's chest flowing from Tensa's blade through Nara out her back. Black tendrils bubbled out from behind her like some kind of macabre wings.

"STOP IT! STOOOOP IIIITTTT - AAAAUUUUUGHHHH!" The Necromancer screeched throwing Nara's head back.

Another anvil of power dropped over the clearing and the Necromancer arched convulsively. Just as the white reiatsu overtook the black, Renji felt something snap in himself, but not in a bad way. It was like getting rid of something blocking your lungs, like the feeling you get directly after you throw up. With that the Necromancer stopped screaming and hung Nara's body limp as Tensa removed his blade to collapse. All the power was gone now and all three souls were left in eerie silence. It wasn't long before that silence was broken by Tensa's violent hacking as he tried to support himself with his sword. No longer in pain from his wound (at least the infection part), Renji forced himself to his feet and made his way to Nara as quickly as he could manage.

"Come on come on, be alright kid..." Renji said breathlessly as he checked her for signs of life. He heaved a heavy sigh of relief when he felt a pulse beneath his fingers, however weak.

"Check her *cough* eyes... the Necromancer should be *cough* gone..." Tensa grated from where he was trying to prop himself up with his blade. Renji did as was told and gently opened Nara's eyes. They were no longer black and gold, but the normal white and brown. He didn't sense any hollow reiatsu.

"I don't sense anything other than her own reiatsu. She's going to be fine." Renji said with a sigh.

"Oh thank god - " Renji violently jerked Nara away from Tensa as he tried to drag himself closer.

"Stay away from her!" Renji snarled. Tensa flinched and stopped moving.

"What did you do to her?! What the hell are you?!" Renji demanded.

"I removed the hollow from her - stabbing her was the only way to make a connection to her soul!" Tensa exclaimed, genuinely distressed. Renji hesitated a little at that since it made sense, but there was no forgetting what he'd seen.

"Fine, but you didn't answer my question - you're not a shinigami, and you're certainly not human." Renji accused, eyeing Tensa up and down mistrustfully.

He hadn't gotten the chance to get a good look at Tensa before, but now that he was really looking, the guy looked way beyond normal. As Ori had said, his hair was orange, but it was so faded and dirty that it looked more brown. Long and shaggy, his limp hair hung down around his bare bony shoulders. In fact, his entire frame seemed unhealthily skinny, wiry muscles standing out unnaturally where they should have been strong and youthful on his body. It gave the impression that he had once been well-muscled but had since degraded. He was sharp and gangly in all the wrong places. Tensa's cheekbones stood out sharply from his pale and haggard face, dark circles making his wary eyes stand out despite the strange desaturated nature of his dull brown eyes forever shifting and watching. Scars littered his body anywhere he had skin, crossing over and layering from old to new scars, many thin and faded from his soul's accelerated healing rate except for the strange marks on his wrists, ankles, and neck. Renji honestly didn't think he had any skin not marked by scars.

Tensa opened and closed his mouth to speak, but shut it with a click. He hung his head and shook it, shoulders slumped in a clearly defeated air.

"That's all anyone cares about, isn't it? Why don't you just focus on helping Nara." Tensa muttered bitterly. Renji went to respond, but the sound of movement behind them made him turn.

"Nara!" Ori screamed from his perch on one of the figure's shoulders. Renji immediately recognized his captain as the stoic man stepped into the clearing and was forced to drop Ori. Following close behind was Captain Mayuri and his lieutenant Nemu.

Two captains and a lieutenant? What the hell's going on here?

"Don't come closer Ori, I'll take Nara to you!" Renji called, picking Nara up bridal style and quickly making his way over to the distraught boy and watchful captains.

Ori immediately ran up to him to inspect his sister once he set her down, crying in relief when he saw that she was breathing. Tensa moved to get up and follow, but Renji's captain Byakuya stopped him by unsheathing his sword. Ori looked in confusion between Byakuya and Tensa, but Renji knew his captain would explain soon enough.

"Stay where you are, ryoka." Byakuya ordered emotionlessly.

"What's wrong, why aren't you helping Tensa?" Ori asked. Mayuri rolled his eyes and turned to the boy.

"Unless you have something useful to contribute, I suggest you stay quiet. Children shouldn't meddle in such important affairs." Mayuri muttered to himself. Byakuya turned to Renji and zeroed in on his wound.

"I'm assuming the hollow and its parasitic abilities have been taken care of?" Byakuya stated flatly. Renji quickly nodded.

"Yes taichou." Renji said, attempting to bow with a hiss of pain. Byakuya quickly signaled for Renji to cease formalities.

"I'm sure you're wondering what such high-ranking shinigami and I are doing here, but I will answer simply and take questions later; I had Mayuri place a tracker on you." Byakuya said. Mayuri grinned wickedly and Renji's stomach dropped. The maniacal captain actually looked to be excited, and everyone knew that was a very, very bad thing.

"And who would have thought such a mundane mission would have led to such an interesting specimen? I suppose I should be thankful for your captain's insistence on monitoring your activity in the event you too disappeared, but with the tizzy my sensors were in I would have found my precious specimen with or without your interference." Mayuri said with a sideways glance at Tensa. Tensa stiffened and shifted into a more defensive crouch. Mayuri grinned harder.

"Oh don't get testy, did you really think you'd be able to remain undetected? Though I doubt you remember it thanks to the state you were in, but your little stunt in Hueco Mundo didn't sit too well with the gotei." Mayuri sneered.

That's when things suddenly clicked for Renji. The strange behavior, hollow eyes, orange hair, powerful reiatsu, captains showing up. Tensa was the rogue hollow evading everyone's sensors. Renji wanted to smack himself now that he realized what was going on. The Las Noches Imperio had put out a hit on a rogue hollow using an untraceable hybrid garganta with bright orange hair and unexpected strength. Checking their sensors over and over again, the research teams had found much to their alarm that they had indeed been unable to pick up on the hollow nor the portal it had opened up. It was even more disturbing because the portal described should have taken an enormous amount of obvious power to open, but there wasn't even a whisper of anything. That was when Mayuri had first gained interest, assigning a team to monitor all senkaimons and gargantas for anything unregistered. Not long after, an alert was issued that the same hollow had evolved to an arrancar level adjuchas and was massacring the Forest of Menos with extreme hostility. According to the research team, it was likely the hollow was going to evolve again, hopefully making it more traceable.

Tensa must have come to the Soul Society and evolved here into an arrancar, but started hiding his reiatsu again. The gotei was automatically monitoring all gargantas and portals, so they probably couldn't isolate the one Tensa had made as belonging to him until after their fight with the Necromancer began and Tensa was forced to release his reiatsu. The tracker Byakuya had put on Renji must have been geared for sensing any type of soul and alerted the scientists at the research center when something wrong. It made a lot more sense now that Byakuya had sent Renji instead of a lower seat out to investigate; this was an area where an unregistered garganta had been opened.

"But Tensa couldn't have been in Hueco Mundo - he was hunting a hollow here in the Soul Society!" Ori exclaimed, looking between the captains ad Tensa in confusion. Tensa avoided Ori's eyes. Mayuri chuckled, but it was nowhere near a pleasant sound.

"Our sensors can tell us without a doubt this hollow was in Hueco Mundo not a day ago. Sensors don't lie, but people do. Pesky little trait, isn't it?" Mayuri asked, not bothering to watch Ori for a reaction. Ori turned to Tensa again, confusion scrunching his eyebrows.

"Hollow? What's he talking about?" Ori asked. Tensa was looking extremely guilty now, but Renji didn't have much sympathy. Tensa had lied to them about what he was, who he was, and why he was there. Everyone knew how dangerous and largely unpredictable arrancars are, especially those not within the Los Noches Imperio. Seeing that Tensa wasn't going to answer, Renji spoke for him.

"Tensa lied to us. He's not a shinigami, he's not hunting any hollows, and he was in Hueco Mundo. He's an arrancar." Renji said. Tensa winced slightly and turned his head away.

"That's not true! He saved Nara!" Ori burst out. Renji shook his head, but he knew he needed to tell Ori the truth.

"I used the whistle, Ori. His eyes turned black and gold and he was affected by it just like the Necromancer." Renji said. Ori tried to protest more, but his cries were beginning to falter the longer Tensa avoided him.

"Tensa?" Ori asked in a small voice. Tensa clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes shut. Finally he opened them and looked Ori in the eyes, his no longer white and brown, but black and gold. Ori blinked in shock and took an involuntary step back. Tensa let his eyes fade back to normal and seemed unsure how to address Ori.

"... I'm sorry Ori, I - " Ori interrupted Tensa with an angry shout.

"You LIED!" Ori yelled. Tensa flinched at the words, but this time he didn't turn away. There was a strange look on his face... A sad sort of resolve in his eyes that Renji didn't quite know how to feel about...

"I know, I did lie to you. But I wasn't the one who told you I was a shinigami, or that some hollow stole my memories. You made up those things and wouldn't listen to me when I tried to tell you they weren't true. I was going to try and tell you when we made it to your base, but then Nara came out of nowhere. I really, truly wanted to tell you the truth, but I knew that Nara would know better than you and tell the local shinigami about me." Tensa explained, eyes pleading for Ori to understand. Ori threw his hands up.

"So you just kept lying to us? Why did you even try to walk us home then? Why couldn't anybody find out what you are? Were you even trying to protect us, or just get rid of us?!" Ori demanded. Now it was Tensa's turn to get angry, eyes flashing as he stiffened. Renji instinctively moved closer to Ori.

"I never lied about protecting you! I never lied about wanting to keep you safe! I never tried to lie about what kind of person I was, I never tried to hide myself or pretend to be your friendly neighborhood shinigami so you'd trust me!" Tensa cried, jabbing a finger at himself.

"I came here because someone was trying to hurt me and I needed to get away! All I want is to be left alone! I don't want to hurt anyone, I don't want to cause any trouble, hell I don't even want to be near anybody!" Tensa exclaimed. Ori seemed a little uncertain now, but he didn't say anything.

Renji shifted slightly. He certainly seemed sincere, but he couldn't expect to get off scott-free. It was his duty to stop people like Tensa, illegal invaders causing trouble. Well, trouble he had actually been a part of... He really shouldn't feel bad for the guy though, he was a dangerous arrancar. He'd lied and already shown that he was capable of killing people, he needed to be stopped. He was a threat, so this was what they should be doing...

"Whether that's true or not is of no consequence to the situation. You are trespassing in Soul Society and have therefore lost all rights afforded to you in Hueco Mundo. Captain Mayuri takes full responsibility for you from now on." Byakuya said. Tensa visibly paled, if that was possible with his already pale skin.

"No, no you can't do that! I didn't do anything wrong - hell I just got done helping one of your people take down a hollow!" Tensa exclaimed in a horrified voice. It was true that Tensa hadn't really done anything wrong, and he'd even helped Renji to save Nara...

"Well if you just come with me I'm sure we can take some statements abou -" Tensa interrupted Mayuri's "offer."

"Don't give me that bullshit, I know exactly what you plan on doing with me! I know what people like you do, how you pick apart and destroy anything different just because it's different!" Tensa spat, bristling. Mayuri took a step forward and Tensa immediately began releasing his reiatsu. Now Renji could clearly feel that hollow tint to it, the dark and aggressive nature he was showing them now. It was a clear sign for them to back off, and Mayuri took the hint to stop moving towards the skittish outsider.

"You have much experience with this, hmm? I can see the artful little tinkers of another... such odd marks and designs... precise enough for an experiment, but cruel enough for something else..." Mayuri mused. Tensa leaked out a little more reiatsu and the clearing got heavier. Renji couldn't help but curiously notice it was only enough to convey his aggression, not pressure or harm Ori and Nara.

"But who would want such a dangerous pet...?" Mayuri asked. The effect was immediate as Tensa visibly reacted to those words, body suddenly tight and rigid, eyes wide and shining dangerously as his body trembled. This time the reiatsu increased dramatically before being reined in just barely before reaching the point of hurting Ori and Nara.

Renji felt a chill run down his back at the way Mayuri was describing Tensa and when he realized what Mayuri was talking about. He himself wasn't a medical expert in the slightest, but he did know battle scars, and too many of Tensa's didn't look anything like the result of battle wounds. What the hell was Mayuri implying? Tensa had come from Hueco Mundo, so was it possible he'd been one of Sazyel's experiments? Everyone knew he experimented on hollows and other unfortunate souls the same way Mayuri did while everyone else turned a blind eye, but wouldn't a soul that turned out this powerful have been too dangerous for the Los Noches Imperio to allow continued research? Unless Sazyel had removed Tensa from his status as research subject to something else... Is that what Mayuri meant? Sazyel kept him in the records as a pet?

"It doesn't seem the wisest decision to rile this ryoka up any more..." Byakuya warned in a subtle threat. Renji knew full well that Byakuya had little tolerance for Mayuri's shenanigans and would step in if he felt things had gone too far. Mayuri rolled his eyes.

"Despite your rather base initial assumptions, there is far more to learn about this subject than just that he's an intruder. I think this subject may be my most interesting find all week!" Mayuri exclaimed with poorly hid glee.

"Like hell I'm gonna be your subject!" Tensa snarled. His massive blade was already up protectively in front of him, practically oozing malice.

"And what other choice do you have here? You may not have realized, but you have told me many things about yourself in our brief encounter, anomaly. The scars on your body are far too old for you to have gained them today, so it's clear that you sustained them the last time you were in a humanoid state without natural regeneration. You speak of 'people like me' like you have significant experience and memories of such people... which would be impossible since you've only existed at an arrancar state for a day. You show evidence of being aware of when you sustained your injuries which could only have been long before you reached a stage in hollow evolution where your mind allowed for memory..." Mayuri explained.

"There are two possible explanations here; one, you somehow remember your living life from before becoming a hollow. Or two, you've been at this arrancar stage before, but somehow have the ability to regress and progress at will. You can play with your own evolutionary abilities." Mayuri concluded. Everyone looked at Tensa in shock. Those were really the possibilities?

"Of course there is the third possibility that you're not completely hollow, but that's always a possibility to consider when finding new subjects. Either way, both prospects are enormously interesting and dangerous. You really have only two options here. There's no way the gotei could let such a dangerous being exist... unless it was let to live for research purposes..." Mayuri said with a manic grin.

"Either you come to my lab as a subject and live..." Mayuri said.

"Or choose to fight us here and die." Byakuya finished. An odd look passed over Tensa's face and suddenly he was much closer to them than before.

"Not exactly a choice for me." He whispered.

An explosion of power blinded Renji and for a terrifying moment he thought that Tensa had fired a cero at them, but the way the dark red energy flowed made it completely harmless to them. Tensa hadn't aimed to hurt them... Renji heard his captain calling for him before he saw him, stoic man cutting the energy with his own blade to cross over to him, Mayuri already chasing after Tensa.

"Get those children to the village and meet Mayuri and I wherever we capture that ryouka when I give the signal." Byakuya ordered.

"Yes taichou!" Renji replied, taking Ori onto his back and Nara into his arms. As an afterthought, he quickly retrieved an object that had gotten blown to the edge of the clearing.

"Take this - it uses reiatsu to harm anything hollow! I've seen it work on Tensa once already!" Renji said, throwing the whistle to Byakuya. He caught it and nodded before disappearing in a flash.

"Hold on tight to me, Ori!" Renji warned. Ori nodded numbly and Renji took off as fast as he could with his injuries. He'd stop to bind his stomach once he got to the village. For now he could handle it. Rather than bothering to take the forest paths, Renji skipped straight to bursting out above the trees, mindful of not scratching Ori and Nara with tree branches.

"The-the v-village is that wa-way!" Ori stuttered, pointing towards a dark clump in the distance. Renji could feel him shaking and knew the poor kid was close to a breakdown.

"Just hold on Ori, everything's gonna be okay! You and Nara are going to be just fine!" Renji called over the sound of the wind rushing by them. Pain lanced up his abdomen every time he pushed off the sky, but he tried his best to ignore it. Too bad he wasn't that great at healing kido...

"Okay, just please, please..." Ori's shaky pleas quickly devolved into sobbing as he buried his head into Renji's shoulder. Renji gritted his teeth and pushed himself harder. It wasn't long before they reached the village, much faster this time now that they were going at it at a straight shot. They landed somewhat clumsily at the edge of town, Renji falling to one knee with a hiss of pain.

"Ori! Nara!" Someone cried from the darkened village. Renji looked up to see Ori's mother running towards them. She must have been waiting at the edge of town ever since they'd left.

"Mom!" Ori sobbed.

"Oh my gods, what happened?!" Ori's mother exclaimed, grabbing her son into a fierce hug and helping Renji lay an unconscious Nara on the ground.

"Turns out the hollow was way tougher than it should have been... both of your kids are alright they just need a little rest and healing." Renji coughed. Ori's mother gasped.

"You're hurt! Let me help you -" Renji waved away the woman's attempts to help.

"Can't afford to let you help, I need to be on guard. I'll be fine." Renji said, painfully picking himself up. Taking off his shihakusho's top, Renji ripped it into long strips and began binding his wounds.

"Get these two to your local shinigami, they'll be able to heal them and keep them safe." Renji said.

"But -" Renji waved the woman away, drawing Zabimaru to face the dark woods. She set her jaw and nodded, scooping up Ori and Nara to leave.

"Wait! Please don't hurt Tensa!" Ori cried. Renji turned to him and opened his mouth to speak.

"I know he lied to us, but I decided I'm not mad at him anymore! He was scared, just like you said everyone is. He shouldn't have lied and I'm still mad that he did that, but he was hurt and scared and he just wanted somewhere to hide. He was still nice to us and tried to help us get home safe even when he shouldn't have - he helped save Nara!" Ori exclaimed.

Looking at Ori, renji knew he couldn't tell the kid no, but he now knew for certain he'd be lying. Whether or not Tensa deserved it, Mayuri was going to hurt him, badly. But he couldn't say that. Instead he gave a curt nod to Ori who returned it. Seemingly satisfied that her son was done conversing, Ori's mother gave an appreciative nod to Renji and made to leave. Renji turned back to the forest and heard the three leave into town behind him. He could sense the battle waging from here, but he couldn't tell what was going on, not until Byakuya gave him the signal to return. He waited tensely for some sign that it was over until finally he felt a familiar wave of reiatsu rage. From the feel of it, Byakuya had used the whistle on Tensa and he was not dealing with it well. For a moment he couldn't sense anything, but then he felt a single spike of Byakuya's reiatsu falled by a smaller spike; the signal.

He was off in a flash, leaping over the forest to close in on his captain's position surprisingly far from where they'd confronted Tensa. He must have put up one hell of a, albeit short, fight because there were massive chunks missing from the forest where broken trees smoked. Finally arriving after a path of destruction, Renji dropped down into a battle-made clearing of burnt trees and singed foliage. Navigating the decimated tree trunks, Renji saw Byakuya and Mayuri standing over something. For a moment he thought they'd killed Tensa, but coming closer he realized both still had blades at the ready, so he must have been alive.

"Taichou!" Renji called. Byakuya didn't bother looking up to respond.

"I assume the children are safe?" Byakuya asked as Renji came huffing up behind him.

"Yes taich -" Renji stuttered to a stop when he saw the state Tensa was in.

He'd assumed that a fight with two captains would have left anyone on the brink of death, but Tensa wasn't even unconscious. He was pinned to the ground with a strange bakudo Renji had never seen before, gold bands of power digging into Tensa's flesh each time he sucked in a shuddering breathe. He was bleeding from a couple injuries, but nowhere near as many as he should have been. Black substance oozed from his nose and open mouth as he coughed and wheezed, watching them with wide eyes. Renji had to look away as his wild gaze met his. He looked like a caged animal, intense brown eyes blurry with pain, fear, and...something else...probably some horrible poison knowing Mayuri...He wouldn't be awake for long.

"It turns out my new subject had more fight than we anticipated, but as you can see, he seems to be sick at the moment. No doubt that fascinating whistle you found only affects him so because of this ailment, but the affects could be exacerbated simply from fighting and of course..." Mayuri continued to chatter incomprehensibly to himself grinning like a maniac about his theories and plans. Renji turned to Byakuya.

"...Is he really going to be Mayuri's new subject?" Renji asked.

"That's up to the Head Captain, but you know how central 46 feels about halting Mayuri's potential for discovery." Byakuya said with a slight sniff. Renji was one of few who knew Byakuya well enough to know that he disapproved of Mayuri and his research center.

"...But he's not like other subjects, he's completely sentient and hasn't shown any ill wi -" Byakuya interrupted Renji sharply.

"Do not mistake this ryoka for being one of us, he is not like you or I or even other souls and even if he was he is in serious violation. I'll not have my lieutenant wasting time on a lost cause simply because he mistakenly empathizes with a dangerous intruder. I have my duties and you have yours." Byakuya said.

"...Yes taichou." Renji said. Duty... rules...Byakuya had always emphasized these above all else, so Renji really shouldn't have been surprised. He did have his duties, and he wouldn't besmirch his captain's honor by going against his orders. So he clenched his fists and straightened.

"What now then?" Renji asked. Byakuya eyed him searchingly for a moment before seemingly satisfied and turned back to Tensa on the ground.

"We bring him to the research center and begin filing the report." Byakuya said.

---

National Alliance on Mental Health

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The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
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USA National Child Abuse Hotline
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National Safe Place
- Text SAFE and your current location to the number 69866 (24/7)

---

This one was a bitch of a chapter to get out, I had to finish writing it on my Thanksgiving vacation which consisted of driving fourteen hours straight through the night because my family decided to drive to California Wednesday night. I can't sleep in cars, probably because of a little car accident I was in with our pastor when I was younger (nothing major but I just have a good memory and a strong desire not to die) so I was awake until the last half-hour when I found out we had some sleeping pills I could take. Well, I finished the chapter on our second day here (we're only staying two days 'cause we're punks) but decided to make one hell of a masterpiece the day we arrived...You should really check out the beautiful fanart I created on AO3...

Reaper - Thank you! No, the creature in Kisuke's lab is not a part of his soul, it's a completely separate creature. I recall you saying before that you just skip and skim over parts not with Ichigo, but I would really suggest reading chapter 8's scene with Kisuke explaining everything in his lab. I know it's long and has a lot of information, but there's a lot of really important stuff in there to pay attention to...

As always, thank you for your feedback and feel free to tell me what you think!