Hi everyone! To be perfectly straight with you, updating has pretty much come to a standstill, and I'm up to my elbows in exams and work, an there's a lot going on in my private life...Basically, I'm stressed out and I've struggled to find the time to write. I'm sorry.

Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo, not moi.

"We need to get out of here. Now."

He could feel it. He could feel the cold trickling down his spine. Every instinct he had was screaming at him to run faster, to leave the three people behind him, and get the hell AWAY from the creatures. They were relentless, and he wanted NOTHING to do with them.

Sighing, Byakuya squashed the feelings down, focussing only on the task at hand. Looking behind him, he saw Yoruichi, hot on his heels, and Kisuke all but dragging the Kurosaki-Hollow out of the shop's entrance. His eyes narrowed. Urahara had been acting even odder than usual, irritable and confrontational, instead if his eccentric norm. Could he be..? He dismissed the thought, filing it away for later. Now wasn't the time.

"Byakuya!" Yoruichi called, panting as she ran, "Where are we running to?"

"...I don't know yet, but nowhere is safe. I'm running until we leave them a suitable distance behind." he replied, keeping his tone free from the anxiety creeping into his soul.

"Then, why aren't we using Shun'po?" Kisuke growled, drawing level with the duo. He was keeping up well despite the fact he was essentially carrying a teenager and they were running over rooftops in the grey light of dawn.

"They are attracted to Reiatsu, it... feeds them. So Shun'po is out of the question." Byakuya responded, tone flat. Kisuke nodded, interest piqued, despite his irritation.

"Crap!" the Hollow heard Ichigo curse, "They feed on Reiatsu? That means..."

"We must be an all-you-can-eat buffet." Zangetsu finished, grimly.

Wonderful. That was JUST what he wanted to hear.

"So, we're running away from them until...?" the Hollow queried, gritting his teeth at how his voice shook slightly.

"Until I think we're a safe distance away," Kuchiki-taichou replied, repeating what he'd said to Yoruichi.

The conversation died for a while, only panting breaking the silence. The streets passed in a blur, all of them too highly strung to pay much attention to the world waking up below them.

Byakuya seemed to get less tense the further away they got from the shop. Kisuke watched him closely. Something was...off with this whole situation. Why had Kuchiki-taichou AGREED to help them? It didn't take a genius to figure out he didn't want to be there, and, if that scar on his hand was anything to go off, he had BARELY survived his encounter with revenants. Yes, his experience would be useful, but clearly, it was a taboo occurrence, one they weren't supposed to know about. If it was so secret, why was he here? He didn't like it. He knew next to nothing about these revenants, and it was SO irritating! How could he have let such a fascinating, and obviously dangerous, creature escape his attention?!

He was so caught up on his musings that he nearly ran into the suddenly stationary Kuchiki. He skidded to a stop, glaring daggers at the raven haired man in front of him. Byakuya looked around, his head whipping from side to side as he checked for any signs of pursuers. Yoruichi sniffed the air, tensed and ready for anything.

"We can rest here for now," Byakuya said, eyes still warily darting about, "but don't get comfortable. We won't be staying long."

"Thank goodness," Kisuke huffed, ignoring the startled yelp from the Hollow as he dropped him, "I was beginning to think we'd never stop!"

He sat down next to the heap that was the Hollow, stretching. He produced a Soul Pager from within the dark folds of his cloak and dialled a number.

"Boss?" Tessai answered, voice crackling over the line.

"Where are you?" Urahara asked, keeping his voice steady.

"We're later than anticipated, Boss," Tessai replied, sounding annoyed, "but we should be at the shop within the hour!"

"Don't go to the shop," Kisuke ordered, injecting as much authority into his voice as he could muster, "Something's...come up,and I need you to take the kids and yourself elsewhere until further notice."

"…Sure thing, Boss. Do you need any help?"

"No, but thanks for the offer. We should be fine without your help this time!"

"But, Bo-"

Kisuke severed the call, not allowing Tessai to finish. He didn't want to hear it. Yoruichi put a paw on his hand, a gesture of comfort. "Don't worry Kisuke," she murmured, "Tessai's not stupid. He'll be fine."

"You sure, Yoruichi?" Kisuke asked, quietly, "You know I don't like empty consolations."

Silence filled the air, and Yourichi lowered her head.

"The only reassurance I can offer you," Byakuya said, flatly, "is that WE'RE the prime targets. Tessai and the children you keep around should be targets after we're dead."

" 'We' meaning me?" the Hollow asked, the morning light making him look paler than earlier. The Kuchiki nodded once, and looked away, into the horizon. The morning light made him look timeless, the slight breeze ruffling his hair. The Hollow was suddenly struck with how...unnaturally composed he was. It was like he was trying TOO hard to remain his usual stoic self. He wasn't the only one who'd noticed, either. Kisuke shot him a sideways glance, confirming his suspicions. Internally, it seemed that the Kuchiki was freaking out as well. How comforting.

"Kuchiki-taichou, could I just confirm something?" Kisuke ventured, dipping his hat over his eyes. The man nodded his consent, turning his deceptively flat gaze to the shop keeper. "You've encountered these...creatures before, right?"

Byakuya's eyes tightened, and he nodded again, keeping quiet. "Well, could you give us some background information on them? It would help if we knew what we were up against."

The taichou lowered his head, and stared at the roof they were sat on. When he spoke, his tone was devoid of any emotion and colder than Kisuke thought possible.

"Those creatures are known as revenants," he began, slightly hissing the name, "and, as of yet, there is no known way to get rid of them. They can only be contained, and even that requires a lot of luck."

"Is that how you survived?" the Hollow interjected, "You were able to contain it?"

"I didn't contain it, but yes, the one that..." he trailed off, staring off into space. The Hollow exchanged a look with Kisuke, who just shrugged. Spacing out wasn't a Kuchiki thing... Yoruichi padded softly over and nudged his hand with her head. The Kuchiki blinked, shook his head, and continued speaking.

"Simply put, revenants are a special kind of Hollow, unbelievably strong and supposed to be more of a myth, than reality."

"How come no-one but you and Yoruichi know about them?" Kisuke queried, sounding more like himself than previously.

The duo mentioned looked at each other, locked in silent conversation. Byakuya nodded, whilst Yoruichi gazed imploringly at him. After a minute, she relented and curled up, sighing.

"The reason Bya-bo and I know," she murmured quietly, "is because a revenant is the hollowfied soul of a member of one of the Noble families."

An awkward silence descended on the rooftop. Yoruichi was staring very pointedly at the roof beneath them, and Byakuya seemed to be spacing out again. Kisuke absorbed the information silently, eyes wide, but unquestioning.

"So... who hollowfied?" the Hollow asked, utterly ignoring the tense silence, feeling a little unnerved.

"That seems to be the question, doesn't it?" the Kuchiki murmured quietly, dragging himself from wherever his mind had ended up, "I don't recognise it at all."

"Recognise...?" the Hollow queried, gritting his teeth, "As in there's MORE of these things?!"

"I'm sorry to say there are at least two more," Byakuya said heavily, "but they should... Is something the matter?"

"Huh?"

"You've been scratching your mark for the last minute... is something the matter?" Byakuya asked cautiously.

The Hollow looked down at his hand, noticing his bloody fingers and the angry, red eye-scar that was suddenly UNBEARABLY itchy. He hissed, scratching harder. Damn, that was so itchy, it was BURNING!

A cold hand snatched his hand away, stopping the frantic movements. Everyone jumped at the sudden movement, staring at the Kuchiki who had his wrist in a death grip. With his free hand, Byakuya tore the scarf from his neck and wound it around the wound, tied it, and stood, dragging the Hollow with him. Yoruichi jumped up, Kisuke following reluctantly.

Byakuya scanned the skyline, frantic, jerky movements a stark contrast to the calm, composed captain of Gotei 13 they were used to. He froze, eyes widening. He took a breath, closed his eyes, and turned in his heel.

"Run for your lives," he said flatly, and disappeared in a cloud of dust.