"Speaking Japanese" "Speaking English"

'Thinking' 'Zanpaktou'

"Hell Butterfly" "Radio"

'Hichigo' "Hollows"

Alex turned from his partner, to the black butterfly, and back again.

"So…let me get this straight." He looked between the two again, noting the amused look in Toshiro's cold teal eyes. "That…bug…can send messages…by thought?"

"In a sense, yes. It's called a Hell Butterfly. This one just sent a message to my fellow Soul Reapers, giving a brief description of what I'm doing."

"What did you tell them?"

"I simply asked them to stop looking for me because my goal is still the same. It's just that my methods in completing it are different and I need secrecy to finish."

"And they'll listen?"

The white haired captain sighed, putting the butterfly into a sort of stasis and pocketing it for another time.

"Here's hoping. We'll just wait and see if they try to come for me again at the next attack. You have the helicopter ready?"

Alex grinned and patted the front of the large gunship he'd managed to take from right under the nose of the military. There was a loud metal thunk as he tapped it.

"In as good a shape as any and fully loaded. So what's the reason for making me steal a chopper?"

"If my friends stay back like I hope they do, then I'm going to try adding my Spiritual Pressure in the form of kido onto the rockets. It should give them a power boost and cause them to be more destructive."

"Sweet, less rounds for more destruction." Alex grinned wider, looking like a kid in a candy shop. Or, more accurately, a rookie soldier in a weapons locker. "In that case, your buddies better watch their step!" He stepped gleefully into the cockpit and started it up.

"What a strange man." Toshiro sighed in Japanese.

'I'll say, it's hard to tell what's Mercer and what's a different memory. This is probably his pilot memory kicking in.' Hyorinmaru added on grudgingly.

'Perhaps. But we'll just have to get over it.' Hitsugaya stepped into the helicopter before Mercer could take off without him.

Alex wasn't as smooth a pilot as the one he'd had before, so he was forced to fully strap in before trying to concentrate on pushing his Spiritual Pressure into the rotary guns and missiles along the helicopter's sides using a modified kido spell. When the metal weapons could hold no more, he moved on to the next, filling them up rather quickly without even slightly tiring himself. He had plenty to spare for an attack if needed.

The chopper shook violently as Alex pulled back to avoid a Hunter.

"Came out of nowhere!" Alex snarled, turning the vehicle to face where the Hunter had landed.

"I'll take it out, just get to the hive and destroy it." Toshiro ordered, unbuckling the straps and removing the headset before jumping out. The wind settled down as Alex flew off as he was told.

It was just the Captain and the Hunter, both beings staring the other down. The Hunter was confused by Toshiro's calm stillness. Most either ran or attacked, never did they remain still.

"Kill him…it's a Soul Reaper…destroy him." A voice hissed.

Toshiro's eyes narrowed as several Hollows appeared. To his disappointment, one was an adjuchas, having been feeding off Hollows, souls and Blacklight Virus victims. It was that Hollow that had whispered to the Hunter.

"You're outnumbered, Soul Reaper." The Hollow sneered, a humanoid beast not unlike a Hunter, though with distinct wolf like features.

"But not outmatched." Toshiro snapped back. This Hollow was formed from one of the souls on the island, proven by its English voice. It must have been avoiding him, gathering up others to try and outnumber him.

"Oh? Shall we test your confidence?" It gave a bark to the others and they, along with the Hunter, leaped in for an attack.

The Hollows made it there first, but the low level beasts were easily cut down with swift strikes of Hyorinmaru. One tried to sneak up behind, but Toshiro simply side stepped and cut upwards, cutting through the mask quickly and watching the Hollow die off in a swirl of blue spirit particles.

Next was the Hunter, much harder to kill. After seeing the others go down so quickly, it took its time, learning from their mistakes.

Not that Toshiro was going to let it. He tapped the tip of his blade to the ground and ice flowed across the building top toward the prowling beast. Sensing that this ice was a danger to it, it leaped up onto a higher part of the building, roaring at the small Soul Reaper.

"Hm, tricky one, aren't you?" He growled at it.

"Forgetting something?" Came the voice of the adjuchas.

Hyorinmaru blocked the wolf Hollow's fangs with a lazy stroke backwards.

"What?" Startled, the Hollow made to back off, but found itself frozen to the blade from Hitsugaya's Spiritual Pressure.

"You'll have to do better than that to kill a Captain." Toshiro narrowed his eyes at the slowly freezing adjuchas. "Now die."

He broke his blade free from its frozen jaws and lifted the blade for the final strike when something slammed him to the ground. He felt something shift in his side as he landed heavily onto the concrete rooftop and there was a searing pain in his arm from being crushed under him. He was lucky Hyorinmaru wasn't underneath him, or he might have been killed by his own zanpaktou.

Ignoring the pain, Toshiro turned icy teal eyes upwards to his assailant. The Hunter he'd tried to freeze over had pinned him down and was lifting up for a final strike on him.

"Not…today. Bankai! Daiguren Hyorinmaru!"

The resulting explosion of Spiritual Pressure coming from Toshiro effectively knocked the Hunter off and sent the adjuchas Hollow stumbling some ways away.

"To think…I'd have to use…my Bankai on…the likes of you." The Captain snarled, still feeling immense pain from his surely fractured arm and whatever had shifted in his side.

The ice that formed around his arms and feet kept him cool, keeping the pain from stretching too far with its searing heat. The wings on his back, made from ice as well, were partway shielding him from any further attack. Ice was forming across the rooftop and clouds were quickly forming in the sky, the weather becoming colder in a large area.

The Hunter did not agree with the new cold and was on the attack again. However, now that he was in his Bankai, Hitsugaya simply waved his sword in its general direction and an ice dragon formed, spearing the Hunter into a frozen block before shattering.

"Dragon…Hail Flower." Toshiro turned to the adjuchas now cowering against the side of the building, rushing forward and running it through before freezing it solid as he did once before with a hive. After it froze, he struck it again to shatter it. He watched carefully to make sure it was dead, waiting until he saw the blue sprit particles fade away before he released his Bankai and fell to his knees, using his now sealed zanpaktou as support.

"You really did it this time."

Toshiro whipped around to face the source of the voice.

"Captain…Soi Fon." He gaped, before snarling angrily. "I told you not to come after me!"

"You should be glad I did, considering your condition." Soi Fon rushed over to him. "And don't worry, our plan has changed. We're not trying to bring you back just yet."

"You're not?" In no condition to fight her, Toshiro simply leaned against the wall and let Soi Fon use healing kido to fix his arm.

"No. We got you're message and Lady Yoruichi is reporting in to the Head Captain. Kuchiki and Kurosaki will continue to assist in destroying hives and distracting the military from you and Mercer. I'm going to aid you from now on."

Exhaustion was beginning to catch up to him. Using Bankai with a limiter really wore him out, not to mention his injuries. He would need rest to recover.

"Mercer will be back eventually…since I'm not going to meet him." Toshiro moved his arm for a moment and took the bracelet from his wrist. "Use this…so you can understand him…let him know what happened, otherwise he'll go on a rampage."

"That's bad I'm guessing?" Soi Fon raised an eyebrow but took the bracelet.

"Let's just say he's…unpredictable." Toshiro gave a final nod and fell into sleep.

Ah, poor Toshiro. But he can't always be badass and not get hurt, and he had to use Bankai at some point or another. And i needed a way to get him still so Soi Fon could catch up. Everything is starting to come together, but can they save the island? Especially now that Hollows are working so well with the virus again?

Please continue to Review! (I've caught up with my done chapters, so now it may take longer for the next capters.)