Hey All, it's been a while, but I'm really excited about the events coming up! By the way, this chapter get pretty smexual, so be prepared for that. This is rated M after all. Hopefully it's tasteful. It's odd, as much of a pervert I am, I feel mildly uncomfortable posting smut. ANYWAY.

**(In Japan, children often speak in the third person, as it is basic speech for them. So they would say 'Ayame wants to play' or 'Is it okay for Ayame to go outside?' It is a very complex language, so the concept of 'I' is not often understood by children. Some popstars have been heard talking like this though, to sound cute and adorable. So it's been a fad to talk like a kid. Ex: Misa from Death Note does, I think? OH! And Tobi from Naruto! On! A! Roll!)**

Oh, and I know I hate to ask this, but it'd be really nice to see a sign to know if there was someone alive and reading this...

OooOooOooOooO

After Ayame was back in bed for the night, Kisuke had waited outside her door for midnight to come. There was only a few minutes left until the meeting he had called would start, but somehow he hadn't felt prepared at all. He didn't know much about the hanobake senshi, but at least he now knew where to find information that could possibly help, as odd a place it would be. It was a stretch, but it was worth the shot. Kisuke frowned. The girl in the room behind him had asked him of one thing, not to meddle with her past anymore, yet here he was deliberating on the best way to do it. As much as he wanted it to all just go away for her, it was impossible to ignore the impending doom she presented unknowingly. She was far worth the fight, but he knew she worried about everyone getting hurt. While there was a slim chance that she wasn't involved with the hanobake senshi, the evidence was clear and he couldn't ignore her violet and honey eyes. Sometimes they were one color, and the next moment they were the other, but never both at the same time. At first he thought his memory was going, but given recent developments, he couldn't deny the coincidences anymore. As much as he'd like to think she was pure human, everything told him differently. Her father, her past, her scars, her sight, and especially her powers, all of it told him that his little friend was a big player in the plans of the Hanobake Senshi.

When his few minutes of waiting were over, he joined the others in his cave-like basement to start the meeting. Everyone in the area had come and gathered around, waiting to hear of the next battle they would have to fight. His staff was there: Yoruichi, Jinta, Tessai, and Ururu, Kurosaki's friends were there: Rukia and Renji, the 11th squad was there: Zaraki, Yachiru, Yumichika, Ikkaku, and Makizo, and the 10th squad: Toushiro and Rangiku. As they stared at him, Urahara had no choice but to begin. "The Hanobake Senshi; the half-monster soldier. We might be dealing with this sooner rather than later. I have no information on this matter, so I would like you all to tell me what you know -about Ayame, about the Hanobake Senshi, and anything else strange and relevant." He turned to face Zaraki, who had Yachiru perched on his head. "You mentioned you saw her before, correct? -Please, tell us what you saw."

Zaraki nodded and began excitedly, knowing that a good battle was coming up. "I was walking around -your division-" he looked to Yoruichi, "looking for a good fight, when I saw this battered girl in white stumbling along."

"You're sure it was Ayame?"

"Yes. No doubt. I thought maybe she was falling all over the place to disguise her true power, so I asked her what she was doing. She only looked horrified at me -it was your girl, Urahara, but she went by Suzukyo Mayu. At least, that was what Hanakokari said. He came running up -crazy, he was- saying that one of his other chairs had wiped her memory and that she was simply lost. It was a well blundered lie, but I didn't question it. He was mad, no one really took to heart what he said, nor did they bother checking for legitimacy."

Yoruichi nodded at Zaraki's tale. "So, this could mean that either Ayame is really Suzukyo Mayu with a lost memory, or 'Mayu' is a made up name for a made up experiment. We'll need to figure out which one she is."

Agreeing, Kisuke scratched the top of his head. It was then that everyone noticed what was missing from him: his green and white bucket hat. He ignored all their shocked expressions and turned to Toshiro as he put his hat back on. "What do you know?"

"I told you, I heard it in a whisper on my way out. The guy was hidden in shadows. It could possibly have not been meant for me, though, I am fairly sure it was."

"Was it anyone you knew? If not, someone needs to alert the Soul Society that they may have someone mad running around."

Renji scoffed and quickly dismissed Urahara's request, "I'm sure everyone would have noticed a mad man running around if there was."

After Yoruichi gave Renji a good smack and told him to trust in Urahara, Urahara went on. "Alright. Anyone else?" When no one answered, Kisuke sighed and began to tell everyone what he knew. "First, what color eyes does Ayame have?" When everyone answered out loud either purple or honey, his suspicions were confirmed. "Hanako Ayame has been seen with two different eye colors, purple and honey; the same two colors that Hanakokari had as he started to go insane. We've also confirmed that she's been sighted more than a hundred years ago in the Soul Society, seen with Hanakokari. Her 'father' Hanako Hayate, has conducted experiments on her right here in Kurakura town, most recently. He did a ritual using a great deal of Ayame's blood. I believe he was trying to create a kaiheiki, or 'crossing gate'. With that kind of gate, it would need a host -Ayame- to grow and extract it from. This may have been a failed attempt for her father, and we can only assume in his madness he tried to force it out of her prematurely. He nearly butchered her with his zanpakuto."

Everyone listening stared gravely at Kisuke, who felt their dismay just as equally if not more. He still had no choice but to continue. "The way he conducted this experiment can only lead us to assume that he was trying to create a new world. This gate would be able to enhance the powers of hollows and give them free range of movement as they passed through. Thus, the hollow problem would grow exponentially and they could start to come into places like the Soul Society. Hanako Hayate is insane, remember, he is not on someone's evil side, he his trying to create chaos. We need to find him." Kisuke turned to Toshiro, "I think the one who told you of the Hanobake Senshi is Ayame's father. By now, he has probably figured out a way to restore the gate inside of Ayame. Now he has to find her, after he left her for dead. No doubt he has figured out that she is still alive, so he's going to use you to lead him to her. We cannot let her be reunited with him. I don't know how long the process takes, but if it's almost instant, we wouldn't stand a chance. He has no man power, so I would like a third of you protecting Ayame, a third of you gathering information and the rest going to go find him.

"Those watching Ayame should know some things. She has strange powers that I personally haven't seen before. While being drawn in and attacked by a hollow, she assumed an unconscious state, in which she was able to repel anything that came at her, but only once per shield. She doesn't seem to have any offensive powers, so there's no reason to be cautious. Most of all, she has no idea about us, the Soul Society, or the situation she's in. I don't want anyone mentioning it or threatening her, as I don't want to awaken anything that could alert her father to where she is. We are working around a mad man, using information from another mad man, so we need to be delicate with everything we do. She knows nothing of this, so please leave it to me alone to obtain information from her.

"Those looking for Hanako: He is a mad man and his courage is mindless, he will not hesitate to do what you wont expect, so stay open. Most likely he will panic when confronted, so when he is found, I don't want anyone to do anything until we can figure out a way to detain him. We just want to watch him until we can be sure we know how to stop him. His pride will not let him give up information, so we're more likely to gather information from observation. He's smart too, so he's probably hiding amongst the ranks. We're looking for a man who is probably doing his best to blend in. We can guess that he wont be in any of these divisions: 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 12th, or 13th. He wouldn't be able to stand being so close to order, so that's why he wont be in the 1st, 6th, 7th, or 9th. Because of the work we saw on Ayame's body, he wouldn't be in the 4th either. He'd stand out too much in the 8th and 13th, because he wouldn't be able to keep calm at all -too easily spotted. Izuru Kira has a good eye, so he would have reported someone suspicious, so he couldn't be in the 3rd either. He wouldn't dare go near the 12th, because he'd easily be too tempted. That leaves the 2nd, 5th, 10th, and 11th."

Urahara began to assign, starting with his old time friend. "Yoruichi-chan, he will like the 2nd because they are mass in numbers and they all look the same, so he will be hiding amongst them if he's there. Your best bet is to get him to twitch." Kisuke turned to Rukia, "the 5th will be hard to find, as he can just play nice and go unnoticed. You're quiet as well, so he wont suspect you if you lay low and inattentive, but he will easily suspect you first if you let him. You'd likely find him sitting alone during happy times. He'll join in festivities, but wont seem to have the proper spirit." Next he turned to Zaraki so he could properly explain why he suspected the 11th. "Zaraki-san, you have a tendency to overlook anyone not worth your time, even if they're on your squad. I suggest sending out Ikkaku and Yumichika out to challenge people. Hanako does not know how to fight, but if he's hiding in your division, he wont back down from a fight. Your two should challenge him, but not anything near death, as that will make him frenzy. He will be the one who shows no real battle skills or enthusiasm. Remember, he's just humoring their challenge to keep cover." Finally, Urahara made it to Toshiro, "the only reason I suspect he could be in your division is because he knew you were being sent out to this town. Matsumoto should be looking around for some one who has recently started to partake in certain activities around you, like delivering messages to you from other captains, cleaning your room, and even doing your laundry. He knows you are here, so he's probably assuming these duties if he is among your ranks."

Kisuke finally took a breath as he looked around at his tired group, but there was one more third that he had to help. "Ichigo, Zaraki, Renji, you are the best to retrieve information."

Yoruichi didn't get this one, "those three? They aren't exactly the scientific type..."

"No need," Urahara assured confidentially. "There is a lot of information that doesn't make sense in this case and we don't have any outside information. Yet."

The dismayed three finally looked up and held a look of hope -however little it was- in their eyes. "Yet?"

"This is going to sound crazy, but..." Kisuke then explained his plan, receiving looks of excitement, bewilderment, and sheer 'what the hell.'

Renji was the first to explode once the plan was finally said, he was having a hard time understanding the point of all of it, but with Yoruichi standing right next to him, who was he to argue? "Okay okay, so you want us to sneak into the Soul Society and locate the grave of a former captain, and then proceed to dig up his corpse to retrieve his sock. Are you kidding? It's an insane and pointless plan. What do you honestly plan to do with his sock of all things. Dissect it?" When Kisuke nodded and the others just avoided eyecontact, Renji blew up as if he were on a roll with his great understanding powers. " 'Dissect it' " he repeated, "what could you possibly find out from that besides what grade of cotton a mad man preferred?"

Kisuke understood Renji's reasoning, but it was too much of a coincidence that the former -crazy- scientist of the Soul Society died on the words of the very problem they were probably dealing with. After that final battle, he had thought to believe that 'tabi' was just the ramblings of a dying man, but he thought better now. Hanakokari was a genius -as well as mad- so if Kisuke were to ever go insane, the first place he would hide information on what made him crazy would be what he'd be buried in. His hat. Hanakokari knew he was dying and that Kisuke would be taking his place -or at least some part of him did- and he passed information on out of pride; too proud to let his work go unfinished. The time had come for Kisuke to end it. If he was right, then the information would be right in his socks, be it a chip of some sorts or at least some bit of evidence. No matter what it was, it would help them now. "I understand your concerns -all of you- but I firmly believe that we will get information out of this. We don't know how big of a battle this is going to be or when it's going to come. We need to be prepared should anything happen."

The group nodded and looked away from eachother with grim looks, except for Zaraki and his fuku-taicho, who were nothing but excited for a good fight. Eventually everyone left for the night, leaving Kisuke and Yoruichi alone in silence. Both of them knew that they were probably the only ones who truly understood the danger coming. Yoruichi was about to walk past her very still and silent friend when she stopped a foot behind him. "Ayame?"

Yoruichi's thoughts were also understood by Urahara, but so far there had been no reasons to think that Ayame is involved by her own will. If she was, then she couldn't remember and therefore couldn't be held responsible. "I think she has everything to do with this, but I don't think that it's her doing it. I don't think she's had any idea of any of it."

"Kisuke-"

"I just think..." Urahara paused and looked off into the distance, hoping to find some sort of explanation to everything troubling him, "I just think she's a girl who needs saving."

yiyiyiyiy

Urahara Kisuke went to bed, but lay awake, his mind too busy to find room to allow some sleep in. Recently, he and his team had found little bits of confusing knowledge, and for some reason today was the first time they had actually compiled all the information. It was also the only day that any of it seemed to make any sense. As much as he wanted to believe that Ayame wasn't involved, he couldn't deny her involvement in it all. It was times like these that he hated fate, because he saw more how unfair life can be when dealt to the wrong people, like his new friend. He was sure that she would never involve herself in something of this nature, in fact, he found it hard to believe she would even be capable of handling it with her soft demeanor. This was probably, he figured, why she has no memory of her past. Some part of her unconscious mind was wiping her memory in self-defense, protecting her from the horrors that would destroy her had she remembered, saving only small details. She remembered colors only out of her lost memories -like eye colors and seal colors- as she related colors to pleasant things. He figured her hemophobia was based on the same principle, but opposite; her experience with blood -associated with horror- gave her the fear of it. The poor girl, though she knew nothing of it, had an evil past. There was nothing he could do about that, but he could help her toward a better future... With him.

Kisuke sat upright, sighed and stared at his dark room, the white walls looked gray with the lack of light and the open windows made little difference. Normally, he wasn't one for leaving windows open, but he was finding himself opening them frequently recently. Outside in Kurakura town, someone -someone like him- was sleeping next to his spouse without any worries more serious than bills to pay and if the contractors would be done in time for the in-laws' visit. That someone wasn't worried about how many allies around him would die if he made the wrong judgment call, or terrified of losing a fight against someone who could dramatically shift the balance of good and evil should he fail, or scared to death of losing the one person who had become so close to him.

Kisuke's thoughts of Ayame only stopped when she herself was present at his doorway, standing in an almost lewd posture. At first, he only saw her leaning against the door way innocently as he was only looking at her disheveled appearance -with her tank top falling carelessly over her shoulders and her tiny pj shorts low on her hips- but then he saw that she was anything but sleepy. He said her name, but it went unanswered. She came forward towards him in a slow and controlled pace, hips swaying as if she actually knew the power they had on a man. It was dark and the open window wasn't of much help, so her face was hidden in shadow. Thinking she was just scared from a nightmare or simply couldn't sleep, Kisuke beckoned her over to join him on the bed with intentions of comforting her. When she made it to the end of his bed, she crawled on her hands and knees up to him.

She didn't bother going to either side of him, instead, her intentions were heading right toward him. Stopping over his knees, she lifted her face to reveal her face which held a look of sexy determination with her eyes smoldering on him. He said her name again, but a bit more huskily; again receiving no answer. Instead, she crawled up until she was straddling him and leaned her head toward him as if she were going to kiss him. Naturally he moved toward her to meet her halfway, but at the last second she turned her face away and moved her lips toward his ear. "Kisuke," her voice whispered, sending a tingle down his spine and a searing heat in his cheeks. "Kisuke... You have something Ayame wants..." **

Kisuke found it odd that she spoke like a child, but something else besides his brain was thinking. The most he could say with her breathing hotly in his ear and on his neck was weak, "what? W-what?" He stuttered as she placed a searing kiss right below his ear and started to trail down his neck.

When she reached the hollow of his throat, her left hand came up to push his chin up and to the side so she could have better access as she began to kiss up his throat. Once she reached his chin, she worked her way across his jaw line until she made it to his ear again, where she said in a sultry voice. "Kisuke... Will you let Ayame have it?" Slowly, but without hesitation, her hands ran up the front of his chest to cradle his head between her hands. In turn, this made his hands move up to hold her at her sides, right at the ribs. Moving to kiss him on the lips, she once again stopped short, letting her sweet breath tickle his lips. "...What she most desperately wants."

At last, Kisuke couldn't take it anymore; he moved his head forward in attempt to capture her lips, but she turned away, so he only caught her cheek. She seemed unfazed and carried on her seductive ways by pulling his top apart to reveal his chest, to which she stroked her hands down. Kisuke let out a sharp gasp as she ground her hips down on his already growing arousal. "Ay-"

Ayame did it again, but with a little more pressure. The first time was not hesitation, but a tease, the second was a signal that she meant business. So was the third and fourth. She leaned forward again to attack his neck, biting his skin a bit rougher than before. He liked it. Growling deeply in his throat, he tried to go for her neck since she layed it so willingly in front of him, but Ayame was in control on this one. The second his lips brushed over her neck, she pushed herself away and stared at him, treating her stopping as punishment. She ground her hips on him again, eliciting a deep groan from him, to which she smiled wickedly. Her hands traveled down his chest, past his hips, and under his pants as she lifted off his hips. Nimble fingers met the heated, growing organ, sending a chill up Kisuke's spine. Her phalanges curled around him, stroking and squeezing as if she were experienced. Finally she kissed him, biting at his bottom lip until he opened up. Not that he hesitated. Once their tongues started playing roughly, his attempt to gain dominance failed quickly when she forced his head back to give her more room to stroke him at a better angle.

Kisuke was losing his control. Somehow he got enough control to lift his hands to pull her tank top off from the bottom up, even though doing so separated their lips for even the slightest time. She didn't have a bra on underneath, for which he was grateful as he reached up and fondled at her chest. This ignited an even hotter fire in her. With a loud moan, she squeezed and stroked until he was nearly on the brink of bursting. Colors swirled behind his lidded eyes, he was coming close to his finale. Something needed to happen. His body took control over his mind and easily overpowered Ayame's futile attempts to keep control by reversing the roles. He flipped them over, staying in between her legs. He originally had no intentions of stopping, however, the instant the back of her head hit the mattress her eyes closed and her body stopped completely.

Kisuke panicked, checking all of her vitals. She was alive, but it was like she had passed out completely. He would have to investigate in the morning, when she was awake, but there was one thing he had to check before he fell asleep. With his thumbs, he gently lifted up her eye lids. Part of him was horrified, but part of him half expected what he saw.

Ayame's eyes were violet and honey colored, but they were fading set into the purple color he knew of. He was going to have to wake up Yoruichi. Right after he dealt with a personal problem.