SailorStar9: After getting Chapter 8, this is Chapter 9 of this fic. For everyone who put this fic on your favorited and followed lists and/or story alerts, thank you, but remember everyone, a lot of authors (myself included) sustain on readers' reviews.

Pairings: Ishida/Hasu, minor pairing Hitsugaya/Karin

Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot bunny. Heck, even the pairings aren't mine.

Chapter 9: The Swooping Descent of the Dark Emissary! The Propagation of Malice

"Shōta, I'm going to see where that flute's sound is coming from, so you'll have to head back alone." Matsumoto informed the Plus Soul.

"I"m going too." Shōta insisted.

Wait, Matsumoto frowned. There could be more of them nearby. "Fine," she relented. "But in exchange, you have to stay with me the whole time. Freeze." she managed to stop the Arrancar from devouring another Plus Soul. "What's going on? Not only does it have the same Reiatsu as the last one, but it looks exactly like it. Stay back." she warned Shōta and jumped onto the roof to engage the Arrancar. "Ikkaku killed this guy. How can there be another one? Are there more of you out there? Captain." she sighed in relief when Hitsugaya caught the fling Shōta in mid-air. "Right." she received the order and engaged the Arrancar. "Growl, Haineko." her stream of dust sent the Arrancar falling to the ground.

"This is as far as you go." Hitsugaya was immediately beside the Arrancar, his Zanpakutō resting against its neck. "Matsumoto, we're taking him alive. What's so funny?" he frowned when the Arrancar chuckled.

"You think you've captured me?" the Arrancar mocked.

"A third one?" Matsumoto echoed when a similar Arrancar jumped in. "And a fourth?" she frowned when another Arrancar joined in.

"There are lots more of us." the Arrancar laughed.

"What?" Hitsugaya's eyes widened when a wave of similar-looking Arrancar surrounded them.

"So, there are more of these Arrancar." Matsumoto noted. "Growl, Haineko." she attacked the Arrancar chasing Shōta.

"You can't beat us, no matter how many you kill." the Arrancar mocked, surrounding the two Squad 10 commanding officers.

"They're..." Hitsugaya gasped when the Arrancar split itself.

"This is Ayasegawa." Yumichika voiced over Matsumoto's earpiece. "We've engaged a group of Arrancar. We detected their Reiatsu and it led us straight to a bunch of them. So what in the world is going on? They're all the same as the one Ikkaku killed this afternoon, aren't they?"

"Yeah." Matsumoto agreed. "In others words, Captain...""

"Madarame, Ayasegawa, we're fighting them too." Hitsugaya informed. "This thing can multiply itself. Kill every last one of them."

"There's nowhere to run." the group of Arrancar cornered Matsumoto and Shōta under a tree in the park they were fighting in earlier that afternoon. "You're finished."

"You're the one who's finished." Hitsugaya jumped in from the jungle gym. "Sōten ni zase, Hyōrinmaru!" he summoned his Shikai and took out the wave of Arrancar in one massive attack.

With the fight over, the Shinigami group regrouped when Shōta noticed someone sitting on a nearby bench.

"That's..." Shōta ran over. "Yui." he recognized his sister. "It's Yui." he informed Matsumoto. "My little sister."

"At the moment, there's nothing wrong with this child." back in her Gigai, Matsumoto gave Yui a look-over. "She's a normal soul."

"Was searching for your sister the thing you just had to take care of here?" Hitsugaya realized the reason Shōta refused the Konso.

"Shōta, what happened?" Matsumoto pressed.

"We were all in the car." Shōta remembered the car accident. "When I came to, this chain on was on chest and mom and dad were gone."

"So, you started searching for your sister." Hitsugaya concluded.

"Onii-chan." Yui stirred, seeing her brother beside her.

"But why did she suddenly appear in the park?" Hitsugaya wondered. "Can you think of something? Ukitake?" he blinked when the 13th Squad Captain sizzled on screen.

"Captain Hitsugaya, seems you're having a tough time." Ukitake noted.

"This is sudden." Matsumoto remarked. "What's going on?"

"It's about the Arrancar you encountered." Ukitake replied. "I thought it'd be best if you spoke directly with someone from the Bureau of Technological Development."

"I'm Akon from the Bureau of Technological Development." Akon took over.

"So an Arrancar you defeated reappeared?" Ukitake questioned.

"Yeah." Hitsugaya replied. "In fact, it duplicated itself right in front of me. I exterminated every one I saw, but I don't know if that will be the end of it."

"Probably not." Akon confirmed. "When we checked over the Reiatsu readings, we found that all the duplicate Arrancar's Reiatsu can be traced back to the same spot. In other words, we're not seeing new Arrancar formed through duplication, but simply multiple parts that, when put together, form a single creature."

"Meaning they all share the same consciousness?" Hitsugaya reasoned.

"Correct." Akon confirmed. "Most likely, this Arrancar acts by controlling several parts of itself at once so that it can gather souls more efficiently. The real one must be hiding somewhere while giving orders to its copies."

"Is there any way we can find it?" Matsumoto asked.

"Verifying where it is will be tough." Akon admitted. "According to the report, you've heard a flute playing beforehand? I'll analyze the sound as quickly as possible so that you can find him when that sound starts up again."

"This is starting to be a pain." Hitsugaya sighed, after Akon turned off the communication.

"Now then," Hitsugaya put down his ta cup after dinner. "Determining the Arrancar's location is just like I explained earlier. Either way, we need to get its underlings to gather together so that we can get the main one. We'll patrol the town in shifts. Matsumoto, please stay here and watch over them."

"Not gonna do a Konso?" Ikkaku wondered.

"We can do that later." Hitsugaya assured. "Let's go."

Later that night...

"What's wrong?" Matsumoto saw Shōta was oddly silent.

"It's nothing." Shōta looked away when they heard the sound of a window sliding open from the bedroom. Flinging the door open, the pair realized Yui was missing.

Upon hearing a female soul's scream, the three male patrolling Shinigami went on the offensive.

"Split up and take them out." Hitsugaya ordered Ikkaku and Yumichika in the air.

"Yui!" Shōta ran back to the park with Matsumoto in tow.

"What makes you think she's here?" Matsumoto asked.

"Because..." Shōta sped up and stopped when he heard the swing creak.

"When did she..." Matsumoto gaped.

"Yui, what're you doing here?" Shōta asked.

"I'm not doing anything." Yui replied. "I just wanted to go to the park."

"Damn it." Shōta cursed. "I ran away." he admitted. "I abandoned Yui here and ran for it."

Kon-sama's Ultimate Shinigami Illustrated Guide

The group were in the middle of eating dinner.

Yumichika: You know, we've been acting like this is our room to use, but is this really okay?

Matsumoto: It's totally fine, since Orihime and Kuchiki went to Soul Society together.

Ikkaku: (Looks up from his bento) That so? Makes sense.

Matsumoto: I'm upset that I cant' eat Orihime's yummy cooking now, though.

Yumichika: Is her cooking that good?

Ikkaku: I wouldn't mind trying some.

Hitsugaya: You really shouldn't. (Shivers mentally as he recalls Inoue's dishes)

Yumichika: (Puzzled) Why's that?

SailorStar9: In the next chapter, the Arrancar is revealed to be able to disguise itself as the human souls it has devoured. Upon learning of the attack on Yui by the Arrancar, Hitsugaya assumes she is one of the copies, and his inability to send her to the Soul Society confirms this. Still unsure, Hitsugaya has the Soul Society track the disguised Arrancar while Yui is sealed within a barrier cast by Karin using Suzaku's powers. The analysis confirms Yui is one of the clones, and that the Arrancar acquired its cloning power from her. As Yui's brother, Shōta has similar powers, and Yui uses him to diffuse Suzaku's barrier. Now that's done, read and review.