Emm297: And here's chapter 11! :)

Sakura: Emm-chan does not own Bleach, its characters or anything else part of the Bleach franchise. She owns anything else you don't recognize though.

Emm297: Right! Okay, let's carry on!

==x==

Argh... I've got a splitting headache...

Where am I? Oh right... Las Noches...Wait. What am I doing here?

The last thing I remember is a flash of light. Kasumi, do you know what happened?

Kasumi? Kasumi, you there?

Kasumi? Kasumi? Kasumi!

KASUMI!

Sakura awoke with a start and the force jerked her upwards. She would have found herself in a sitting position, if not for the fact that there were buckles strapped onto her hands. A bright light was shining from above and Sakura couldn't help but squint.

"Hey, what gives?" she thought, while trying to wiggle her way out of the straps. Her struggling, however, was unnecessary, as she found it quite impossible to get out of the leather straps.

She lifted her second finger and pointed it at the light that was hanging above her. "Let's hope this works," she thought out loud. She was hoping that by aiming a kidou spell at the light, it would be reflected back onto the strap and it would break. It was a big risk, but she knew she would have to take it.

She was just about to fire her spell when suddenly, a force slammed her hand back onto the metal table she was strapped on.

"Who's there?" Sakura yelled. With a shimmer, Aizen materialized at the side of the table.

"Now, now... Don't tell me you thought that you could escape from here?" he asked. "Weren't you the one who came to Las Noches willingly?"

Sakura turned her head away so she wouldn't have to look at him. "I didn't come here willingly. I came here because you were threatening to annihilate Soul Society."

Aizen chuckled. "To me, you came here willingly." There was a moment of silence, which was unnerving yet strangely calming at the same time. Sakura turned her head back to the other side and noticed that Aizen had already walked out of the room.

She considered trying to escape again, but a nagging feeling in her mind told her not to. Even if she tried a billion times, the result would still be the same. Aizen would always be one step ahead. It seemed a bit cowardly of her to just admit defeat, but it was her fault anyway for trying to act the hero.

"Damn it, I shouldn't have come here."

Footsteps approached and Sakura had to squint to see who was arriving. It was the pink-haired Arrancar, Szayel Apporo Grantz. In his hand was the weird contraption she had seen earlier. Behind him, Aizen, Gin and Tousen strode into the room.

"Sakura-san, don't move please." Szayel instructed.

Sakura ignored him. "Oi, Aizen! What the heck are you going to do to me?"

Aizen walked over to the side of the metal table. "Hmmm, I think you have a right to know, don't you?" He grinned. "This, my dear, is a converter."

"Converter? What, you couldn't think of a more creative name?" mocked Sakura.

Aizen pretended not to hear her. "Szayel, make her sit up." Immediately, the Arrancar pushed a button on the side of the table and Sakura found herself being raised up, allowing her to be in a sitting position.

"Okay, so what now?" she asked.

"Do you know how Arrancar are created?"

The question caught Sakura by surprise. She racked her brains for a minute before remembering something that Hitsugaya had told her not too long ago.

"Hollows are given Shinigami powers, aren't they?" she replied.

"Do you know that Shinigami can also go through a process called hollowfication?" Aizen questioned. The astonished look on Sakura's face said everything.

"Wait... we... we can?"

Aizen merely nodded. "Yes, Shinigami can be given Hollow powers. Now, have you heard of a Shinigami turning into an Arrancar?

Sakura furrowed her brows. "Wouldn't that mean that the Shinigami would have to die, turn into a hollow, and then given Shinigami powers again?"

"Technically, yes. Yet, it can be done without killing the Shinigami in question." Aizen paused before continuing. "Think about it. Wouldn't an Arrancar be much more powerful if it didn't lose its Shinigami powers in the first place?"

"And you can do that... how?"

Aizen pointed his index finger at the contraption that was in Szayel 's hands. "Using that, my dear."

In a split second, the contraption had been placed on Sakura's head and the buckles that held her down her tighter than ever. She tried to remove the buckles by trying to lift up her hands, but it didn't work.

"Aizen! What did I ever do to you?" Sakura yelled, trying to shake off the helmet from her head.

"You didn't do anything," he replied. "I just need someone, you were conveniently in Karakura Town, and Grimmjow said that you were strong.

"Besides, if I kidnap you, Hitsugaya-kun would probably run here to rescue you. That's killing two captains with one stone."

Sakura stiffened. She didn't think about that. By coming here, she was actually endangering Hitsugaya's life as well. How could she have been so stupid as to fall for Aizen's trap?

"So are you going to try out this… thing on me? What are you going to do to me after that?" she yelled.

"Well, I think that you will make an excellent Pseudo-Arrancar, don't you think so too?" To Szayel, he said, "Let's begin the process."

He turned back towards Sakura and whispered, "Goodnight, Sakura-san."

There was a great blue flash and a piercing scream echoed throughout Las Noches.

==x==

Meanwhile, back in Karakura Town

"Orihime-chan! I'm back!" Matsumoto called out, shutting the front door.

"Rangiku-san, I'm in the kitchen!" Orihime answered. Matsumoto walked towards the kitchen and saw Orihime bent over the stove, stirring a pot of orange liquid.

"What're you cooking?" asked the Shinigami. Orihime looked up and smiled at her.

"It's coffee, leek and red bean curry! I'm almost done with it," she said. She lifted up the pot and turned off the stove. "Rangiku-san, can you open the cupboard by the table and take a red bottle out for me?"

Matsumoto obliged and took out the red bottle. "What's in it?"

Orihime wrapped the base of the pot with a pink cloth and placed the pot on the table. She unscrewed the cap and showed Matsumoto the contents. "It's mayonnaise!"

Matsumoto made a 'o' shape with her mouth. "Is it for the curry?"

Orihime nodded excitedly. She used a spoon and dumped a spoonful of mayonnaise into the bubbling orange curry and stirred vigourously.

"It's done! Would you like a bowl, Rangiku-san?" Orihime offered.

"Yes please!" exclaimed Matsumoto. Orihime grinned and went over to the sink to retrieve a silver bowl and poured a bowl of curry for her. Matsumoto thanked her and the two went to sit by the sofa.

"Hey, Orihime-chan?" Matsumoto said. "Have you seen Sakura-taicho-chan?"

Orihime shook her head. "I thought I heard someone in the room when I entered the house, but when I checked, no one was there."

Matsumoto pouted. "She's probably at Urahara-san's shop." She took a mouthful of curry and beamed. "This is really good!"

Orihime laughed. "You think so? We can finish the whole pot together and have some ice-cream later!"

Matsumoto nodded excitedly and the two of them quickly finished their food.

==x==

Two hours later, still in the Inoue residence

"Matsumoto!"

Matsumoto, who was on the floor eating ice-cream from the carton, looked up. "TAICHO! YOU'RE BACK!" she squealed.

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow after looking at what his subordinate was eating. "What the heck is that?"

"Oh, it's green tea ice-cream with whipped cream, celery, chocolate syrup, red bean, carrots, peach and milk tea!"

Hitsugaya frowned at the weird combination. "Where's Orihime?"

"In the kitchen cutting more peaches. Want some?"

Hitsugaya shook his head vehemently. "Have you seen Sakura?"

This time, Matsumoto shook her head. "I haven't seen her since I got back two hours ago. Isn't she with you?"

"No, she's not at the shop either. I checked." Hitsugaya bit his lip. "Where could she have gone? She's still got a wound."

"Sakura-taicho-chan's a big girl, taicho. She can take care of herself. The Sou-taicho probably sent her on a mission at the last minute and she didn't have time to tell us."

"Oh right, he does do that sometimes," Hitsugaya agreed.

"She'll be fine, taicho." Matsumoto reassured.

"I hope so."

==x==

Emm297: Sorry for the wait! But here's chapter 11 :)

Hope you guys liked it!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed/pm-ed/story alert-ed/favourite-d, ILY! (my email is hanging again, can't access the names, I'll get it fixed asap, sorry!)

So, hold on tight and see you in chapter 12!