A/N: Sorry it's been so long since I wrote anything on this one. It's kind of been back burnered but honestly it will be finished SOMEDAY. Just not sure when.

I caught myself folding my hands behind my back as I walked into Creepy's lab. Old habit. I'd learned to keep my hands to myself after a few mishaps. One of those had resulted in a fire and some radiation. Another had made Creepy turn all puddle of goo and sulk for days. I knew better than to touch anything now, but the impulse was still there. Hands behind my back. Do not touch.

We passed through the monitoring room, Akon was hard at work reading a magazine at his desk behind the monitors, unlit cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.

"Hey Nut-head. Catch." I took the pack of cigarettes out of my robe and tossed it to him.

He caught it without looking up and put them on the desk, then opened a drawer and set a candy dish on the desk next to them. I grabbed a couple of pieces as I passed and tossed them in my mouth. Nice that they still stocked for my visits. I didn't invade... er, visit as often as I used to.

Creepy gave me a dirty look but kept right on going where ever he was going. Which turned out to be a lab room I had seen before, though the machines looked different from the last time I had been there. He pointed to a table and then crossed his arms. "Show it to me."

I untied my obi, shrugging out of the top part of my uniform and hiking up my Hello Kitty undershirt. It was worth it. For a moment, Spookybutt's eyes went wide and then he frowned at the happy kitty. "That is hardly standard shinigami issue."

I eyed his purple poofy collar and hopped up on the table, swinging my feet idly. "Nope."

Then, he was all business. He poked and prodded and waved various things at my belly button. Not very interesting if you ask me. Honestly, his muttering was more interesting, at least the parts not about me being stubborn and irritating. Of course, then we can to the questions phase.

"You said that this was inserted into your gigai?"

"Yup," I answered. "And he told me then that I'd keep it when I came back." I'd already answered twice, but that was how we played this game.

"And there was no kido or incantation?"

I thought about it for a moment, then shook my head. "I think I would have noticed incantations. Could have done it without one though. He is a former captain."

His eyes narrowed slightly and then he smiled. It was his not nice smile, as if he had another one. "Hiraku?"

I nodded. "Yup. He seemed all right. Unicorn girl was a real pain though."

Spooky looked thoughtful as he followed along. Surprisingly, he gets my nicknames better than most people. Maybe he really is that smart. "That would have been?" He made a gesture about unicorn girl high. "Pigtails?"

"Hiyori," I answered, getting bored of the whole thing. He had to be done with anything he needed me for.

He gritted his teeth and looked thoroughly pissed off out of proportion. "Yes, that would explain certain things very well." He took another few sets of readings with his stick on a box and then had me lay down and pointed a big humming box at me for a while.

I got a nap in. I woke up when Spooky and Nut-Head were looking at some kind of colored pictures tacked to a wall and arguing.

"But that's akin to using bankai to swat a mosquito!" Captain Spookybutt was pacing and throwing his arms out dramatically. "Even she could hardly be that stupid."

Nut crossed his arms and gave him a look that said whoever they were talking about very well could be.

"It's absurd!" Creepy continued, working up to a good rant and stomp fest.

"What is?" I sat up and stretched wanting to cut him off if I wanted to get out of there any time soon.

Nut nodded to my stomach. "Hiyori ripped off Urahara's technique to implant things in people's souls. At least to a certain degree."

"And while I have no problem building off techniques developed by others," Mayuri continued without a pause. "I would at least expect it to be done correctly. That little... hack! She was always a terrible lab assistant!"

Never mind. He was going to go off no matter what. I jumped down and pulled the top of my uniform back in place. "So I can go?"

Nut-Head eyed his boss. "There is a problem with the artifact."

"There is?" I sighed.

Creepy squared his shoulders and I could see lecture mode coming. I sat back down as he clasped his hands behind his back and started pacing in front of me. "Are you familiar with the archaic bait the Quincies used to draw hollows?"

"Nope."

He looked perturbed and glanced at Nut.

Nut sighed. "Long story short, it attracts hollows with a sort of reiatsu emission."

"What's that got to do with me?" I had a sneaking suspicion, just wanted to hear them say it.

"It would appear due to my former subordinate's lack of finesse, so does that thing you are wearing."

"That's a problem?"

Nut looked amused. "Hollows hunting you down to tear you limb from limb won't be a problem, will it?"

"I'll keep it in mind." I jumped off the table again. "Might be handy."

They exchanged a look that clearly said they thought I was crazy. Whatever. Ken-chan might think it was cool. If hollows came to us, we wouldn't have to go looking as often. If they were pissed off, they might be a good fight when we did find them. I was missing the problem or downside.

Just then, a very nervous looking messenger came looking for me. "Message for Vice Captain Kusajishi from Commander General Yamamoto."

Eep, I'd never gotten one of those before. Nut and Spookybutt suddenly got very busy with other things and ignored us completely. I squared my shoulders and thought like Vice Captain. "Carry on."

"The Commander General requires your written report of the mission you and Captain Hitsugaya performed in the world of the living with all haste, to be delivered to him by this evening, so the proper course of action can be performed at the earliest possible time."

I had expected to have to write a report. I didn't think there would be an as soon as possible clause on it. I nodded. "Message received." I shooed the messenger off and grimly started off to write my report. I wanted to get it done even sooner than possible because I wanted to compare notes with Hitsugaya before he finished and turned his in. And knowing Snowball, he was already hard at work on the second draft.

"Hey," Nut-Head called out behind me. "And next time you think about body modifications, come see the professionals! We'll hook you up."

Yeah, that wasn't creepy at all.