Chapter 25:

It all seemed to happen in slow-motion. Ichigo could hear his feet dashing across the rooftop at a fantastic speed but his legs seemed much slower as he dove to protect Veneno. He threw himself in front of the attack. There was nothing else he could do.

He felt a sharp pain on his face. It felt a lot like a bee sting. Soi Fon froze, staring at him in shock. Then she pulled Suzumebachi free from his cheek, leaving behind a black butterfly tattoo which spread from his right cheek over his eye and lips.

For a moment they stared at each other in silence. Then she snarled at him and demanded, "Why did you do that? Get out of my way!"

"No!" Ichigo stood stubbornly in front of Veneno, blocking him with his body. He had made it in time. If he had been just a split second late, Veneno would have taken Soi Fon's attack and quite possibly could have died. Ichigo had taken the attack for him and saved his life. Ichigo quickly glanced over his shoulder at Veneno on the ground staring back at him with wide eyes.

Soi Fon started to move again and Ichigo moved his body to block her. "Move!" she demanded.

"I won't!" Ichigo held out his arms, acting as Veneno's shield. He wasn't going to let Soi Fon pass.

The Captain of Squad 2 growled, seeing that Ichigo was not going to stand aside. "Aiding the enemy, Kurosaki? Have you lost your mind?"

"He isn't our enemy!" Ichigo barked. "He just saved you guys." Ichigo knew what he was saying and he choose those words not on a whim. Veneno may have just saved them all. No one sensed that Hollow and no one seemed to be a match for it. Hopefully stating that Veneno had saved their lives would cause Soi Fon to back down. Or at the very least cause her to lower her weapon and hear them out. He never expected her to say 'thank you'.

"Saved us? Ha! That's ridiculous." She pointed Suzumebachi at Veneno's forehead. "I saw his mask. He's an Arrancar! He just attacked us!"

"No, he didn't! He just saved you all from that Hollow."

"What Hollow? If there were a Hollow in the Seireitei, everyone would have noticed. We would have sensed it."

"But you didn't! It was running around loose and Veneno just got rid of it for you. That thing was strong! The other Soul Reapers couldn't handle it."

Soi Fon didn't believe him. Her expression said it all.

One of her men from the Stealth Force took one step forward, "Captain, one of the injured Soul Reapers just confirmed that there was in fact a Hollow in the Seireitei. Ichigo must be telling the truth."

Before Ichigo could feel relieved, Soi Fon had another quick answer. "They could have been working together. For all we know that Arrancar could have let that Hollow in and attacked as a team."

"But reports confirm that the Arrancar attacked the Hollow. They weren't working together. They were clearly enemies."

"See?" Ichigo thought for a moment that Soi Fon would realize the truth. Sadly that was not the case.

"It could have been a ploy. That Arrancar could be putting on an act to gain our trust and then stab us in the back."

"He's not putting on an act! He just save your ass and then you try to kill him? He's an ally! Can't you see that?"

"He's an Arrancar!" shouted Soi Fon. "He has no place among us!"

Ichigo could hear the exact moment Veneno's heart dropped into his stomach. He took his eyes off Soi Fon to look at the man behind him. Ichigo's heart dropped, too. Veneno's expression was that of great sorrow. Ichigo could feel Veneno's pain in those sad downcast eyes. Soi Fon had just confirmed what he had believed all along. No matter what, he would never be accepted. No matter how much good he did, the simple unavoidable fact that he was an Arrancar meant that he would be sentenced to death no matter what. He was meant to die. He could never belong.

That only made Ichigo's blood boil. He turned back to Soi Fon, scowling at her.

"Now move out of the way," she ordered.

Ichigo didn't budge.

"I said move!"

"And I told you no!" Ichigo snapped. "Veneno isn't our enemy. He got rid of the Hollow and saved everyone. He fought along side me and helped me out when I needed him. He helped the Soul Reapers when they needed him, too. Don't you get it? He isn't the enemy! He helped us."

"You are so gullible, Kurosaki. You'll believe anything this Arrancar says simply because he assisted you against the Hollow."

"No. I believe in him because Veneno's my friend."

Ichigo sensed Veneno lift his head to look at his back. Hearing Ichigo call him 'friend' seemed to bring him some comfort.

"Your friend?" Soi Fon's tone was that of angry amusement. She wasn't just skeptical. She was insulted. Insulted that Ichigo would say such a thing to her face and expected her to accept it. It was like a child lying to his mother and somehow finding reason behind his wrongdoing. It was as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar and then blaming her for leaving it out where he could get it, making it her fault and not his. She actually felt insulted. "This Arrancar is your friend?"

"Yes, he is. And he has a name. It's Veneno."

"I don't care what his name is. He's going to die right here." Soi Fon moved to strike at Veneno again only to have Ichigo block her path. She couldn't attack without risking hitting Ichigo instead. If she hit the same mark twice, it was all over for the teenager. "Move aside, Kurosaki!"

"Will you listen to me?" Ichigo shouted in her face, completely unafraid. "He is not our enemy. He helped us. He's done nothing wrong! You can't attack him if he hasn't done anything."

"For all we know, he could have let that Hollow in here in the first place."

"That's impossible! He's been with me this whole time. I would have seen it."

"Oh, so you never let him out of your sight? You've been here watching him from sunrise to sunset, is that it?"

"Well..." Ichigo hadn't been shadowing him all this while. He had been traveling back and forth. "No. But-"

"Then he could have!"

"But he didn't! I'm telling you he isn't a threat to us! He's innocent! We can trust him! I trust him! He's an ally." Ichigo had to make Soi Fon understand. "I'm telling you the truth. He has done nothing wrong. He helped us. We can trust him. He isn't a threat."

Soi Fon back away, but wasn't backing down. "Oh, really?" She put her hands on her hips and looked around at her men. "If there's anyone here who feels the same way, please, by all means, step forward. Does anyone here other than Ichigo believe that we can trust this Arrancar and that he is no threat to us?"

Ichigo glanced around at the men dressed in black from head to toe. No one moved. Ichigo swallowed, his eyes moving slowly from man to man. No one was moving. He stood alone.

Behind him, Veneno slumped in sadness. His chest hurt as if he had swallowed a mouthful of needles.

"You see?" Soi Fon said in a snide tone of voice. "You're the only one who thinks that. No one else considers him not to be a threat. No one else here believes in this Arrancar."

Ichigo lowered his head. What did this mean for Veneno? Were they really going to kill him? Was he really alone?

A shadow covered the ground at his feet. Ichigo lifted his head and realized he wasn't alone.

"I do," said Akon confidently. He was standing beside Ichigo, shielding Veneno from Soi Fon and her men with his body. Between the two of them, they formed a human wall between the Arrancar and the Soul Reapers.

Soi Fon stared at him. At first she was shocked. Then angry all over again. "What are you doing, Third Seat Akon?"

"You asked if there was anyone here besides Ichigo who believed in this Arrancar and I gave you my answer. I do. I believe in him."

The sadness within Veneno began to dissipate as he stared at Akon's back. He and Ichigo were both shielding him. They were protecting him, defending him. They believed in him.

Perhaps he did have reason to hope after all.

"You're defending that Arrancar?!" Soi Fon shouted at him.

"His name is Veneno, and yes I am." Akon didn't flinch, even when Soi Fon raised her voice.

"How can you possibly trust this Arrancar's word?" she demanded. "How do you know he isn't lying? All the things that have been happening here in the Soul Society could have been his doing."

"Impossible."

"How do you know?"

Akon answered honestly. "Because he's been with me all this time. I've been watching him and so has Ichigo. And Ichigo is telling the truth. Veneno did help protect us. He fought alongside us and defeated the Hollow."

"It could have been a trick. He could have let that Hollow in here in the first place."

"Not if he was with me the whole time."

Soi Fon let out a growl, frustrated. "Be that as it may... he broke into the Seireitei. He's dangerous."

"He never broke in here. You have it all wrong."

"How is that? How can you prove that he isn't a threat? How can he be our ally?"

"Because of the fact that he's been here all along. He's never broken in. He was here to start with. No one ever noticed him. But he's been here, alright."

Soi Fon peered over their shoulders and noticed Veneno's clothing. "He's been masquerading as a Soul Reaper. Do you take me for a fool? Simply dressing as one isn't going to fool anyone."

"Captain Soi Fon, please let me explain. You must listen to me before jumping to conclusions." Akon had to tell the truth. There was no avoiding it now. "Veneno has been helping us all along. He's been living side by side with Soul Reapers for two weeks now and no one's noticed a thing. You can point fingers and blame him for things he didn't do but at the end of the day it's nothing more than speculation. None of it is true anyway. He's never broken in here and he didn't unleash that Hollow. He fought against that Hollow in front of a number of eye witnesses. He didn't just appear. He's been here for weeks."

"Where has he been all this time and no one noticing?"

Akon took in a deep breath through his teeth. "In the laboratory... Squad 12."

"In there, huh? And how can you guarantee that he is no danger or threat to anyone? If he didn't break in then what happened?"

Again, Akon, took in a deep breath before answering. "My Captain... he..."

"I knew Mayuri had something to do with this. But creating an Arrancar? Who gave him permission to do that? Was the Head Captain made aware?"

"Technically, Veneno wasn't created as much as he was... resurrected." Akon hesitated. "Remember that Arrancar a few months ago... the whole Hollow Reaper incident?"

A look of rage passed over Soi Fon's face. "He's the one who..?!"

Akon held out his arms to prevent her from leaping over them and attacking Veneno. "Whoa, whoa! Not exactly! Hear me out, Captain Soi Fon!"

"There's nothing to hear out! He's the one who nearly ruined us all and put both worlds into chaos!"

"Let me explain! He's not the same as he was back then! He's different now! Let me explain!"

Soi Fon stopped struggling. "Make it fast and make it good."

Akon spoke very quickly. "The Captain found a way to revive the Arrancar. Veneno was never really dead as much as he was incapacitated. While keeping his mind and memories intact, Mayuri managed to restore Veneno's body and healed him. That's it in a nutshell. However, when Veneno awoke, he was like an infant. He had no idea who he was or what was going on. He was completely helpless. I was put in charge of him. I watched over him and took care of him. Slowly, he began to regain some functions and learned quickly. He wasn't allowed to leave the lab but eventually, in order to help the learning process, we allowed him to help us out in the lab. Veneno did very well."

"Get to the point! How does this prove that he isn't a threat?"

"Because he couldn't remember being an Arrancar. He didn't even know what Soul Reapers were. We were all dressed the same and living in the same place. Everyone assumed we were equals. No one noticed anything amiss. No one in the lab thought he was any different from the rest of us. We are equals."

"So?"

"So? So without a reason to fear and hate, there was never an issue. Don't you see? It was our fear and hate that made us enemies in the first place."

Soi Fon rolled her eyes, scoffing.

"It's all true!" Akon insisted. "Veneno hated and feared us because of what we did to him and we were taught to hate and perceive Arrancars as our enemy. Without that getting in the way-"

"So what was the point of the experiment? To see if he would live beside us without issue?"

"That wasn't the intention at first, but it was proven true. Because everyone thought he was a Soul Reaper, no one thought him to be a threat. No one threatened him and no one attacked him. No one had any pre-judgements. We were able to judge him based off of who he is rather than what he is. Captain Soi Fon, is the only reason why you're attacking him because he's an Arrancar? Have you witnessed him do anything evil?"

She didn't answer him with words. Only a glare.

"Then I insist we discuss this more fairly. Before you make any rash decisions, before you act, give us time to explain and plead our case."

Soi Fon looked from Akon to Veneno and back. Growling, she lowered her weapon. "Fine. But the Head Captain will hear about this at once."

"I understand."

"At any rate, I'm not allowing him to live simply because you begged me. It's because we need to question him. That's easier to do when he's alive. That's the only reason."

Akon nodded. "I understand."

Soi Fon turned around and ordered her men to fall back. The men and their Captain flashed away.

Akon turned around and looked Veneno over. "Are you alright?"

He didn't answer. He kept his eyes on the ground. He looked hurt.

Ichigo turned to Akon. "Thank you for helping. Because you defended him..."

"I didn't solve anything. I just bought us some time. That's all I did. The worst is yet to come. Now Captain Soi Fon is going to inform the Head Captain and he's going to want to speak to me and my Captain about this and..." Akon sighed. "Either way, it's not looking too good. If Head Captain Yamamoto considers Veneno to be a threat, he will have him killed."

"After he helped save you guys? That's not fair! He hasn't done anything." Ichigo had a feeling that this would happen but he had hoped that it wouldn't be true. "There's got to be something you can do, Akon."

"I'll talk to them but I can't make any promises."

"You can't let them kill him when he hasn't done anything wrong!"

"I know that, Ichigo! I'll try my best but I can't promise anything. It's out of my hands. The best I can do is defend him and tell them the truth. Veneno is no threat. I will tell them that but what they decide to do from there is their business. I can't interfere. You have to understand that. There's only so much I can do."

He knew Akon could only do so much. After seeing how Akon defended Veneno, Ichigo knew he would do his best to help protect him. In the end, Akon was right. Whatever they decided to do after that was out of his hands. He couldn't do anything more than talk to the higher-ups and plead his case. That was it. There were limits. All Ichigo could do now was pray that they would listen.

They helped Veneno stand up. He looked at the black butterfly on Ichigo's face which was slowly starting to disappear. The mark made Veneno's chest feel strange. It was a battle scar; proof that Ichigo had come to his rescue, even if it meant putting his life on the line to protect him. Was that why his chest felt so strange? He couldn't place the feeling. He didn't know what this was.

Veneno started to walk aimlessly across the roof.

"Veneno, are you alright?" asked Akon.

He glanced up. "I knew it all along. It doesn't matter."

"What doesn't matter?"

"What I do. What you say. None of it matters."

Akon approached him. "I'll meet with Yamamoto and the other Captains and we'll straighten this out. I'll speak with them about this. You helped us. That could work in your favor. We-"

"It doesn't matter!" Veneno screamed. "It doesn't matter what I did to help them!"

"Veneno, it does-"

"I'm an Arrancar!"

Veneno's voice echoed. Ichigo and Akon stood silently, unable to say a word. Veneno's whole body was shaking.

"It doesn't matter how much good I do, how many Soul Reapers I help. None of that matters! All they're ever going to see is an Arrancar! Arrancars are the enemy of Soul Reapers. No matter what I do, I will always be a threat in their eyes." Veneno's voice started to shake along with his body. He lowered his head again, hiding his eyes. "I will never stop being an Arrancar."

No matter what he did, the Soul Reapers would never stop seeing him as an enemy. Veneno felt so helpless. He was destined to be alone. Even if Ichigo came to rescue him, he was one of the few who would. He would always have more enemies than allies. He would always be living in fear.

Ichigo truly wanted to help him and not out of pity but out of a sense of justice. It wasn't right for the Soul Reapers to kill Veneno solely because he was an Arrancar. His good deeds must have counted for something. They should only deal out punishment on those who have done wrong and not on account of their race.

Veneno had a right to live.

It was taking longer than expected for the meeting to begin. Akon and Ichigo never let Veneno out of their sights. They remained together, waiting. Akon was sure they would want to speak with Veneno was well and hear what he had to say. However, no one came for them. He was beginning to wonder if this meeting was only for the Captains.

Ichigo tried to offer Veneno some comforting words. "It'll be ok. Everything will work out."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. No matter what, I won't let them kill you. Not when you haven't do anything wrong."

"You can't do that, Ichigo," said Akon. "If they do decide to have him put to death, there's nothing you can do about it."

"If they have such a problem with him being here then I'll take him somewhere else."

"That's a bad idea, Ichigo. If you take him somewhere else, they'll assume you're helping the enemy escape and you'll be in trouble. Besides, nothing makes you look guilty than running away."

Again, Akon had a point. Still, if the Captains did decide to have Veneno killed, Ichigo would try to help him escape. He wouldn't let them kill him.

Akon looked down the hall and straightened up. "Captains Ukitake and Kyoraku, good afternoon."

Ichigo looked up. Ukitake and Kyoraku were walking down the hall towards them. "Afternoon," they greeted.

Ukitake looked at the person standing beside Ichigo near the wall. "Say, Shunsui..."

"Well, well, well," smiled the other Captain. "Is this the Arrancar I've been hearing so much about?"

Word had traveled faster than expected of Veneno's Arrancar identity.

The two Captains were staring at Veneno. Their gaze pushed Veneno behind Ichigo where he hide like a shy child. Veneno must have been afraid that these Captains were about to capture him and drag him away somewhere.

"So you're the Arrancar, huh?" said Shunsui. He smiled at him as if meeting a distant relative. "So what's your name? Don't be shy."

"I'm not shy!" Veneno snapped from behind Ichigo. Ichigo stepped to the side but as he did, Veneno stepped with him, still trying to hide his body. "My name's Veneno." He glared at the Captains over Ichigo's shoulder.

"Ah..! Nice name." Shunsui leaned his body to one side to get a better look at Veneno without taking a step closer. He didn't want to invade his personal space. "How long have you been here anyway?"

Veneno mumbled the answer into Ichigo's shoulder.

"Sorry, I couldn't catch that."

He took a step to the side, moving away from Ichigo ever so slightly. "I said two weeks maybe."

"Wow. And no one's noticed you? You must be stealthy. Either that or I'm not very observant. I must be getting old."

Ukitake chuckled. "You're not as old as the master."

"Old man Yamamoto has to be old, otherwise we wouldn't be able to call him that. Then he'd just be 'man Yamamoto'. Not as fun."

Veneno's lips curled into a smile, finding that amusing.

"If you're an Arrancar, then where's your mask? You should have one."

Veneno lifted his bangs, showing them his mask fragment.

"Ah! I see it now. Very subtle. I like it."

Veneno dropped his bangs, grinning slightly. "T- thanks..."

"Dressed like a Soul Reaper and the mask is well hidden... no wonder no one noticed. I feel better. I'm not getting old after all."

Veneno was still smiling. Now Ichigo could see what they were doing. They were trying to engage Veneno in conversation so he would feel more comfortable and open up to them. They were trying to learn more about him.

It seemed to be working. Veneno wasn't hiding his body anymore. He no longer considered them a threat.

"Say," said Ukitake. "I'm curious. Would you be able to show us some of your skills later on? I'd love to see them. I'm guessing you have some skills with a sword."

"I do. I've been training with the men in Squad 11's dojo."

"I see. That's excellent. If you're able to keep up with them, you must be very strong. Those guys don't mess around."

"Where have you been staying?" asked Shunsui.

"Squad 12 barracks."

"Nice. I hope they've been treating you right."

He nodded. "I have a bed and clothes and Ichigo's been bringing me things to eat from his world."

"Good. You seem like a good man so I'd hate it if they were to bully you. You seem very nice to me."

Veneno's smile deepened.

"I hope Squad 11 hasn't been giving you any trouble. Those guys are tough as nails. They like to pick on people as a game. They just love harassing people from Squad 4. I hope they haven't been asking you to join them in that."

"No." Veneno looked curious. "They pick on other Soul Reapers?"

"Yeah. They call it friendly teasing. They do that to each other and call it fun. Don't take it personal if they do it to you."

"Yeah, it's just their way of saying they like you. At least that's my understanding of it. What do you think, Shunsui?"

"Eh. I try not to understand them. They're weird. One too many blows to the head if you ask me."

Veneno was smiling again. He was almost laughing.

Ukitake looked up then back at the other Captain. "Shunsui, we should get going. The meeting's about to start."

"Oh, yeah. Time really flies, huh? We had a few minutes now it's up. Oh, well." Shunsui reached forward toward Veneno. Veneno flinched and shut his eyes tight, expecting to be hit. Instead he felt the Captain's hand on his head, patting him gently. He opened his eyes and looked at Shunsui's arm a little surprised. "You take care of yourself, you hear?"

Veneno nodded.

Shunsui removed his hand and Ukitake ruffled Veneno's hair. "I look forward to seeing what you can do after the meeting's over so don't go anywhere, ok? I'm very interested."

Veneno smiled and nodded his head up and down. "Ok."

"Good. See you in a bit." Ukitake and Shunsui walked down the hall toward a pair of large doors. The meeting was about to begin.

Ichigo watched Veneno's expression and actions. He was watching the Captains leave with a smile on his face. He seemed to be won over by their kindness. He was afriad of them before because he wasn't sure what they were going to do to him. Now he considered them to be friends. He liked them. He couldn't sense any ill intent. They seemed very nice.

Akon smiled at Veneno's smile. "They don't seem to be afraid of you. I think they like you."

Veneno turned to Akon.

"You've got nothing to worry about." Akon patted Veneno on the shoulder. "Soi Fon is always like that, but most of the Captains here are very nice. They're the ones whose opinions matter."

That's right. If Ukitake and Shunsui both liked Veneno and sensed that he was a good person, they may come to his defense during the meeting. Soi Fon may not trust him but she was just one Captain. Now they have two Captains who liked him. Things may work out for them after all.

Suddenly, another Captain came striding down the hall with an angry look on his face. Mayuri reached out and grabbed the back of Akon's lab coat and dragged him down the hall toward the large doors. "Get over here, you miserable sorry excuse for a bag of pus!"

Ichigo and Veneno watched helplessly as Akon was dragged away by his Captain. It seemed if Mayuri was going down, he was taking Akon with him. The Captain of Squad 12 was not pleased that his Third Seat had leaked information about the experiment and confessed that he had performed it without permission. Because of this, Mayuri was in a terrible mood and Akon was going to pay for it.

Ichigo and Veneno exchanged looks. "I guess we just wait."

Veneno nodded and sat against the wall wrapping his arms around his knees. "Yeah."

"Don't worry. I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Captain Kurotsuchi," boomed the Head Captain as the meeting began. "It has come to our attention that you have conducted an experiment on an Arrancar without consent and released it into the Seireitei. What do you have to say in your defense?"

"You never let me have any fun," Mayuri rolled his eyes. "You don't understand. I fail to see what I've done wrong. All you have are speculations."

"Then what do you call that out in the hall?" demanded Soi Fon. "Are we lying about the Arrancar? Is he not here among us? That is hardly a speculation!"

"Captain Soi Fon, let him explain himself," said the Head Captain.

"You never liked me anyway," Mayuri mumbled under his breath. Then he spoke louder for the other Captains to hear. "I did not set him loose into the Seireitei. That is speculation. He was safely in my lab. He's the one who let him out." He pointed to Akon.

Akon's head snapped up. "Now I'm on trial here?"

"You know you are not allowed to conduct any experiments without permission."

"Technically, I didn't. You gave me permission to experiment on Hollows. That has been approved. An Arrancar is nothing more than an advanced Hollow. So, technically, I haven't done anything wrong."

"Stop trying to get out of this on technicality!" snapped Soi Fon.

"I'm not trying to get out of anything. I'm simply stating the facts."

The Head Captain regained order and addressed Mayuri. "Explain yourself. This is your experiment, after all. What exactly is this Arrancar?"

"If you're asking if I created him, then the answer is no. I'll try to explain. A few months ago during the attack involving Hollow Reapers, Ichigo Kurosaki managed to defeat the Arrancar responsible. Since he was my experiment in the first place, you allowed me to have his remains brought back to my lab. I found it odd that his body was still intact despite being dead for some time. I suspected that he wasn't as dead as we thought and decided to test my theory. I extracted certain parts of his being and only then did his body pass on. In other words, he was never dead to begin with."

"How can you say that?" asked Komamura. "We had his body checked before bring him to your lab. He had no pulse. Ichigo had killed him."

"Ah, so it would seem." Mayuri started to smile, enjoying this. "You see, while his physical form appeared to be dead, his mind continued to work, just not at full capacity. He was in a vegetative state or a kind of coma. His body was no longer able to function. His vitals weren't working the way they should which was why you mistook him for dead."

"Impossible," scoffed Soi Fon. "If he had no pulse, wasn't breathing, no heartbeat, how could he still be alive?"

"There are cases in which people are mistakenly pronounced dead and are buried alive. It's rare to come by nowadays but still possible," said Unohana. "I believe Captain Kurotsuchi may be correct on this. I have come across studies of this."

"As I was saying, no one could detect life within him because of this so he was assumed to be dead. He wasn't. All I did was restore him to his former glory."

"So you resurrected him?" asked Shunsui.

"Not really," explained Mayuri. "I simply extracted the parts of him that were working and were still living. His mind and blood mostly. His brain worked, his body didn't, basically. Since his body was no longer of use, it disappeared once his consciousness was no longer there. That was the only thing keeping his body from passing on. There's no need for a useless body, so it's gone. What I did after that was restore his body. His mind was still working, he just needed a body. Put simply, I healed him. I revived him."

"So..." started Ukitake. "The body he has now... is it a type of gigai?"

"No. Arrancars are capable of regeneration. I just helped him along. With part of him still working he was slowly healing himself but it was taking longer than expected. With his body no longer there, his Arrancar powers were struggling to figure out how to heal itself. His body wasn't able to be healed which was why it disappeared. Think of it as a paraplegic. The person still has a full body but part of it is no longer functioning. The brain is sending signals to the legs to move however, that signal never reached that part of the body. The body is fully attached but the connection is severed on the inside."

"I think I understand."

"So it is for the Arrancar. You just helped him heal."

Mayuri nodded his head. "Correct. Took months but it happened."

"You still shouldn't have done that," said Hitsugaya. "You should have left it well enough alone."

"It was my experiment in the first place. I was given permission to experiment on Hollows. I was allowed to do that. That Arrancar may have evolved, but he's still my experiment which means I'm allowed to do this." Mayuri sighed, throwing his arms up in a shrug. "I never expected a child to understand."

Hitsugaya glared at him. "I understand perfectly. It started off as a Hollow, which you were given permission to experiment on. Then through your experimentation it developed into an Arrancar. It never stopped being your experiment no matter how it changed. Evolved or not, it still belongs to you because of how it started out. I know that's how you're justifying your actions and reasons for bringing it back."

"I never resurrected it."

"No, but you did bring it back to working order. That's my point."

"All that is irrelevant," said Soi Fon. "What we need to know is if the Arrancar is dangerous or not."

"I agree," said Komamura. "This is in fact the same Arrancar that nearly brought all of the Soul Society to its knees and turned almost everyone into Hollow Reapers. Now that he's back, doesn't that spell bad news for us? What makes you think he won't do it again? He's already tried once and now he's back."

"My Third Seat has been keeping a detailed log of the Arrancar ever since his revival," said Mayuri. "The Arrancar has been in his care ever since. He would be able to tell you everything you need to know."

"And you can't?"

"I never said that. Of course I know. I just figured you wanted to hear from someone else on the subject."

"Then what is your opinion, Captain Kurotsuchi?" asked Unohana. "Would you say he's dangerous?"

"That all depends. But I doubt he'll repeat his actions from before."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because when he was revived, he had complete amnesia. Had no idea who he was or what he was, much less anyone around him."

"Is this true, Akon?" asked Komamura.

Akon nodded. "Yes, sir. I was there at the time. Veneno did not even know how to walk and he could not speak. He had to be shown everything all over again. Even feeding himself took some effort. His personality was different as well. Never once did he show any sort of hostility. He couldn't even remember his powers. If he ever displayed an ability, he seemed surprised he was able to do it. He developed slowly but he's a fast learner."

"How do you know this isn't some act?"

"All the tests a ran confirmed this," said Mayuri. "Plus his log told me everything I needed to know. Basically, part of his mind wasn't fully active yet. Think of it as him walking around half asleep. His memories were locked away in part of his consciousness. He couldn't have been lying about any of this."

"Veneno didn't even know he was an Arrancar," Akon continued. "Nor did he know what we were. Because we were all dressed the same and worked together, he assumed we were all the same. So did the other Soul Reapers. No one noticed a difference."

Unohana seemed hesitant to speak, knowing what it would stir up. Nevertheless, she asked her question. "It seemed that since then, he has regained his memory. Is that true?"

Akon answered truthfully. "Yes. Veneno's memory has been restored. Recently."

"But is he dangerous or not?" asked Soi Fon again. She wanted a 'yes-or-no' answer. So far no one had answered.

"That's difficult to say. Anyone could be considered dangerous. But so far, he hasn't done anything wrong. He's never hurt anyone and he's continued to help us. However, remembering his past seems to have made him wary of Soul Reapers. He doesn't fully trust us."

"And we do not trust him." Soi Fon looked at the Head Captain. "Sir, I insist we eliminate this Arrancar before anything happens."

"Now hold on there, Soi Fon," said Shunsui. "I think we're getting a bit hasty. If he hasn't done anything, why should we kill him?"

"He's an Arrancar, isn't he?"

"Maybe so, but that doesn't prove anything either way. If he hasn't done anything..."

"What about what he did in the past? We can't overlook that."

"We can't punish him based off his past," said Ukitake. "He was defeated then. The way I see it, he's already been punished for his crimes. We can't punish him again months after the fact. That just isn't fair."

"Even without thinking that way, there's something else we need to take into account," said Komamura. "So far there have been two Hollow attacks within the Seireitei. This has never happened before. The Arrancar has been among us for only a short amount of time. It could be possible that he is behind this. If we were to kill him, it limits us as far as what to do about the situation. What if he is the only one who can stop it from happening again? Kill him, kill our chances."

"I doubt it," Mayuri scoffed. "When the Arrancar was restored, there were some traits that were discarded. Some of his abilities that never transferred over. One of them was his cloning ability."

"So he's in a weakened state?"

"More or less."

"Still..."

Akon stepped forward. "If Veneno was going to do something, he would have done it by now. Besides, he was never able to produce Hollows before so why now?"

"Maybe this is a part of his cloning ability," said Hitsugaya. "Maybe he cannot clone himself anymore, but maybe he can create Hollows? Pieces of himself? Like a compensation."

"Then we should lock him up," suggested Soi Fon.

"Caging him may only provoke him," warned Akon.

"We have to keep an eye on him somehow. He may do something if we don't."

Akon couldn't take it anymore. They didn't trust Veneno, they were blaming him for things he didn't do and now they were going to cage him out of fear that he might do something. Akon had spent so much time looking after Veneno he knew what he was capable of. He knew Veneno shouldn't be locked away, especially after saving them.

"In that case, we should lock you up!" he shouted at Soi Fon. He never meant to, but it just came out. "You might do something wrong so we should lock you up, too. We can't lock people away out of fear that they might do something. We should punish someone only after they have done wrong and not before. Everyone here has the potential to do something wrong but we choose not to. It's a matter of choice and not ability. Kenpachi has the power to do great damage and everyone knows he's a loose cannon, but we still keep him around and we don't cage him. You're only treating Veneno differently because of his race. That isn't fair. Need I remind you that we've had three Captains betray us and started a war? They were Soul Reapers, people thought to do good and protect others. We cannot judge based off of a person's race anymore. We've been wrong. Judge the person based on their actions. What matters is who they are and not what they are."

When Akon was finished with his outburst, he had to take several deep breaths to calm himself. He had spoken with such passion, but that wasn't the reason for his racing heart. It was the fear that he would be punished for it. He had spoken out of turn. He could tell from the serious faces staring back at him. Akon couldn't remember a time when he had felt so small.

"I agree," said Ukitake.

Akon exhaled.

"We've been wrong before. We trusted Aizen and the others and look what happened. We need to be open to the idea that there can be good elsewhere and not just among Soul Reapers. After all, we weren't born Soul Reapers. We became this way. We all started out as regular people and had to work our way up. We are not so different from others. It's time we stop being so arrogant."

"But Arrancars are known for their wickedness," argued Soi Fon. "He's done wrong before."

"So what? He could be trying to make amends. We would be wrong to stop him. Besides, he only attacked us out of fear before. As long as we show him that we can be humane, there shouldn't be an issue."

"Yeah, and besides," added Shunsui, "... we spoke with him outside before coming in. He wasn't hostile toward us at all. Actually, he seemed frightened. He's still unsure whether or not he can trust Soul Reapers. Once we showed him that we were not a threat, he opened up to us. I think we can trust him."

Ukitake nodded in agreement. "Yes, I think we can trust him. He doesn't seem dangerous. Not unless we make him out to be."

Soi Fon turned to Akon. "I was going to say that you've allowed yourself to be won over by an Arrancar. After all, you've spent so much time with him, you must be letting your personal feelings get in the way of your better judgment."

Akon gave a soft smile. "I can assure you that is not the case. I am a part of Squad 12, Research and Development. We know all too well not to get attached to any of our creations or experiments. You never know what might work and what you might need to take apart. What you might need to throw away. If you allow yourself to get attached to something, it will be that much harder for you to make progress. We look at the facts and see what works and what doesn't. We don't let personal feelings get in the way of our work. So rest assured, this Arrancar experiment is no different. I don't have any personal feelings one way or another. I'm just stating the facts."

Soi Fon nodded once. "Like I said, I was going to say that you did, but if these Captains are able to back you up on that and do not see him as a threat... then I suppose that is not the case." Soi Fon folded her arms. "Ok, so what should we do from here?"

"Should we put it to a vote?" asked Unohana.

"We're missing two Captains," pointed out Komamura. "Byakuya is still in the Wolrd of the Living and no one has seen Kenpachi in two days."

"Anyone know where he is?" asked Ukitake.

"Last I heard, he was going to the candy store with his Lieutenant." Shunsui started to chuckle. "We'll see them in another day or so. Probably lost."

"Voting isn't a bad way to go."

"Need I remind you that that Arrancar is still my experiment? I should get to decide what to do with it from here."

"You're allowed to vote, too," said the Head Captain.

Mayuri folded his arms and turned away. "And after I shared my research with you... None of you will ever understand. Always looking for the simple answers. Don't want to know how or why, just the result. Typical."

How will they vote?

You've seen the arguments. What would you say? How would you vote?

Please review! ^-^