Ten! Yay! Wow, guys, we're actually here.

Yup. A slightly changed title and a completely different summary.

I'm sorry: This chapter has no HitsuKei moments. Hopefully I'll have one next chapter. I kept trying to write different versions with them together in a scene but I didn't like any of them. I was horrified when one result was, in my beta's words, "95 fluff."

Sorry I took so long to update. Mostly it's because this story is getting horrendously hard to write.

Thank you: viettvnt, sunlite, Kristine93, Okibimaru, hyperactivesoccerchick, yasminkov, whiningqueen, bluewinter, and shuriken-thrower for reviewing! Thank you to my beta Wry Bread, who I now have to share.

Quick recap of OCs:

14th squad captain: Seishin Kei

14th vice captain: Hissori Takara

Fourth traitor to Soul Society: Sora Hanabi They're on Earth.

I SO BADLY wanted to write a Christmas chapter for this. But I guess it'll just be delayed. I was hoping to have gotten them together by Christmas, but… Oh, well. There's always Valentines Day and White Day! Happy Holidays, everyone!

Enjoy!

"What do you mean, they're GONE?!" Takara yelled, the echo of her voice reverberating off the bathroom walls.

Kei cowered slightly under her fukutaichou's accusing gaze, but held her ground. "Well, by 'gone' I mean disappeared. That was why I couldn't kill that Hollow and you had to save me."

"You could have used your Zanpaku-to, and then you wouldn't have needed saving," Takara replied sullenly, abruptly changing the subject. She always had a tendency of avoiding uncomfortable and problematic topics in conversation by simply dodging around them. Somehow, she thought that if she left the topics alone, they would slowly resolve themselves.

Unfortunately, Kei caught on immediately to what her vice captain was doing, primarily because she had the same habit. "Don't change the subject, Takara! No matter how many times we don't discuss it: our powers won't come back."

"How do you know that? And anyway, that's easy for you to say. You barely used them."

"And you overdid it!" Kei retorted with growing frustration. "Maybe if you weren't so dependent on them, you wouldn't be mourning over them so much!"

Naturally, Takara zeroed in on the overemphasized word. "I am not mourning; I am stating their absence. At least I give a damn that they're gone, unlike you." Kei's insensitivity was starting to push Takara's buttons.

Kei, whose temper was much shorter, lost it at her vice captain's words. "I do care, Takara! I'm just trying to accept it and move on! At least I'm not the one overreacting and acting so upset over something so insignificant and downright stupid."

Takara opened her mouth to reply, no doubt with a nasty one. But before she could say anything, the door opened and a familiar orange-haired head poked in.

"Excuse me," Orihime nervously said, glancing worriedly at the both of them. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes." Kei replied shortly, not even bothering to look at Takara. "Everything's fine, Inoue-san. Why?"

"Um, because… because you're being rather loud and it's nighttime. Rangiku-san and Toushirou-san are sleeping. Plus the bathroom echoes…I would appreciate it if you two would quiet down."

Kei could feel her quick temper beginning to cool off. She felt slightly ashamed. "We're sorry, Inoue-san. We'll go outside."

"It's all right. But can I help in any way?" Orihime smiled, but Kei noticed a strange emotion in her eyes that the taichou couldn't place. The human girl looked troubled and stressed. Kei felt something pulling at her to say something about Orihime's worried expression, but decided not to.

"No, everything's okay. Come on, Takara." Her vice captain wordlessly followed her out, looking just as embarrassed.

Once the door had closed behind them, the two stood wordlessly, eyes trained on the cement. Oddly, though they had plenty of words to say before the interruption, they were wordless now.

Kei finally spoke. "Well… what can we do now?"

Takara sighed. "Nothing. We have no idea how we got our powers, so we can't get them back unless we know that…"

Kei watched a crow marching along the empty street. Her anger, so quick to rise, had completely faded. "Yeah… Takara? I'm so sorry about what I said. And I'm glad you saved me. Thank you."

Takara scuffed the ground with the tip of her shoe. "Yeah, I'm sorry too. But as for the saving thing… you would do the same for me, so don't keep going on about it."

Her taichou smiled. "Okay. And Takara? You seriously need to stop swearing. It's vulgar."

"Oh, stop it. Leave me and my filthy mouth alone."

A lone girl strolled along the otherwise empty sidewalk of a main street, interestedly watching the world around her. Noting the steadily sinking sun, she pulled on the jacket that had been looped around her waist. A sudden breeze ruffled her long blonde hair, blowing strands into her face. Impatiently pushing them away, she hurriedly answered her cell phone, which had been vibrating insistently a few moments before. "Hello?"

"Hanabi. I have a mission for you."

She almost squealed with delight at the sound of his voice, but remembered just in time that she was supposed to act mature. Not wanting him to think her a child, she replied with an almost forced calm, "Hai, Aizen-sama."

"You remember that talk we had a few weeks ago?"

"Somewhat." Despite her standoffish answer, she could recite the said conversation word for word. Heck, she had memorized every single "talk" they had ever shared.

"Well, then, you should remember telling me about your two childhood friends, Kei and Takara?"

"Yes…" She had no idea where he was going with the topic. He wasn't the type to make small talk. But she knew that if she waited, he would get to the point. That was one of the many reasons she admired him: his offhanded directness.

"I began to monitor them, starting from when they were still in Soul Society. Our monitoring devices have been malfunctioning slightly, but I have seen enough. And I must admit, I can see potential uses for their powers. If we acquire one of those girls, it will be quite easy to infiltrate Yamamoto's mind, read his plans, and make an effective counterattack."

The girl was now frowning slightly in distaste at his words, her expression unknown to anyone but herself. She could understand the logic behind his plot, but still. After her catty exchange with Kei and Takara, she was quite unhappy at the possibility of having to share living space with them.

Also, knowing that Aizen would act courteously to the two prisoners in order to soften them down, she couldn't ignore the jealous twinge in her stomach. Not that he mistreated her; she just disliked the fact that they would be his first priority.

But she wanted to please him. And that was what made her say, "When do you want them?"

He chuckled. If Hitsugaya was there, he would have bristled at the sound, instead of intently tuning in to the noise like she was doing. "Hanabi. You misunderstood me, it seems. We do not need the both of them; one girl is sufficient for our plans. You have the privilege of choosing our future guest."

All right. She still wasn't pleased at the thought of one of her ex friends invading Las Noches, but one was better than two. "Okay."

Her fingers were about to snap the phone closed, since she thought he was done giving orders. But his voice spoke once more.

"Hanabi."

"Yes?" She replied, clutching the device to her ear as she tried to juggle the two schoolbooks in her arms that were threatening to splat onto the sidewalk.

"Like I said, pick one. But as for the other… we cannot risk Soul Society employing her to use our tactics against us. Please dispose of her promptly and quietly."

To her horror, she could feel a sick sensation rising in her stomach. She felt light headed, faint. Why did she feel this way? She didn't get it. Swallowing too fast, she choked on her own spit.

"Please send word concerning your progress in a week." His calm voice easily carried over her desperate coughs. "Good bye."

There was a soft click as he hung up.

Whoo, my chapters are getting wordier and wordier. And longer and longer.

Hanabi has the weirdest relationship with Aizen right now… admiration/respect/obsessiveness/love/hate…

Isn't it interesting how arguments usually start over something small, and then spiral off into personal accusations?

Thanks for reading! As always, review!

-Tide