Twilight Marionette: Ahhhh I hate the summer, its far too warm, bring back the winter, bring back the cold!

Twilight Puppeteer: -sighs- And before it was its far too cold, I hate the winter, when will it be summer!

Twilight Marionette: I'm melting...

Twilight Puppeteer: And further into insanity she falls...

Chapter 26: The Burning Seal

Akatsuki looked up at the ceiling and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She didn't remember too much of what happened after she left Ichigo's room and returned to her own but she came to the conclusion that she had fainted. Why else was she sleeping in the middle of the floor. Shortly after reality worked its way back into her mind the pain returned with it and she grasped her head as a migraine swept over her.

Her head was still feverish but at least it had relented a little now and she wasn't burning up. She tried to get up but for now her body seemed to like its place on the cool floor and she lacked the energy to convince it otherwise. The light shining through the window told her it was early morning and her stomach told her it was a little too early for breakfast. Then a more critical voice in her mind added that she normally had breakfast when most people had lunch.

Akatsuki groaned as another wave of pain traveled through her, only this time it was her chest rather then her head and it felt much worse. Feeling as if she would throw up at any moment she manged to pull herself together enough to get unsteadily to her feet. By then the feeling had passed once again and she cursed under her breath.

She slowly walked over to her bed and with little grace threw herself into its cool and soft embrace. She found herself staring up at the ceiling again and sighed. She might have fainted but by no means had she rested well last night. She had dreamed of that girl again. It was depressing since it hadn't happened it nearly 5 days before then. This time it felt as if the dream was trying to make up for all the lost time and she could remember every detail clearly, which in hindsight, she really wished she couldn't.

She had been in some dark room this time, so dark that she could tell it was a room and not merely darkness by the virtue of a solitary but weak line of light on the floor. She guessed it had been the slit under a door but she had no way of moving to find out. Whatever was stopping her moving it was also keeping her upright, her back pressed firmly with no space against what felt like a metal table. Only this table seemed to be held up against a wall.

She had tried to call out but found that once again her voice carried no sound and as she tried to reach up to her throat she realized that her hands were bound as well. That's when the panic had set in. Whatever it was that she was held against she was also completely bound to. She couldn't move her arms, her legs, her body, her neck or even her head. With the exception of her fingers and toes she couldn't move an inch.

A sudden noise, like the noise of someone bumping hard into a door filled the room with a weak light that barely did anything to the gloom. She looked towards where the line of light had been to find that it was indeed a door, and now the door was open. She tried to ask who was there but her lips moved wordlessly. In fact, all that came from her mouth was a faint, unintelligible whisper.

It was then she had the strangest sensation, it was the sensation of being watched by someone you can't see but who you know is there none the less. Her eyes opened wide in panic and she looked around what little field of vision she had with desperate eyes. With every passing second the dream was becoming more and more painful and she wanted it to stop. Her body was starting to feel as if it was being torn apart from the inside out.

She blinked heavily to try and gain some control of this dream. It was almost laughable that someone like her had absolutely no power at all in her own dreams and it was not lost on her that the pain she felt was now very real indeed.

It was then that she finally saw the girl who haunted her dreams. She was standing in the light of the open doorway, her figure silhouetted against the weak light which was too bright for Akatsuki's eyes to bare. Akatsuki was unable to do anything as the girl slowly crossed the space between them in what seemed like an eternity. The girl came to a stop just underneath Akatsuki and looked up at her with such intense, unblinking red eyes. In fact, it was the only details she could she in the unrelenting darkness.

She looked into those red, uncaring eyes, full of neither anger or hate but also devoid of compassion of any kind. She saw her own reflection in them.

Akatsuki blinked heavily as the memory of the dream reworked its way through her head. She rested the back of her hand against her forehead and had to resist the urge to cry. She had seen herself in that girls' eyes and she wished she hadn't but she couldn't forget it no matter how hard she tried.

She had been retrained by various straps and devices to a flat, metal medical type bed. She was covered in bruises and blood and instinctively knew it was her own. But that had not been the worst of it. The girl reflected in those eyes had the eyes of the insane, not the white hot insanity of the those pushed over the edge but rather the insanity of those who have not only been pushed over the edge but kept on falling. The girl reflected in those eyes was smiling.

"It didn't feel like a lie," she said quietly to herself as if she had just said something sinful. After dwelling on the subject for far too long she shook her head violently and in one motion forced herself upright in bed. "It was just a dream right, I mean, there's no way that was real, there's no way I'd forget something like that? Right?"

She looked out of the window and with determination threw the window open to the early morning air. "I'm not scared of you!" she shouted to the world in general. Only then did she look down. A surprised Chad was staring back up at her with his usual stoic expression, she might have been able convince herself that she had not just been seen doing that if it had not been for a solitary sweat drop working its way down his brow.

Chad found himself being confronted by an apparently angry Arrancar from her bedroom window. It might not have been so tense had it not been for the fact she seemed to be wearing nothing at all except for a pair of panties and and an unbuttoned white shirt. Only her long hair was keeping him from seeing certain things that would no doubt only make the situation far worse once she realized.

"Good morning," Chad said as neutrally as he could. Akatsuki looked back down at him in shock but her expression quickly lightened and she waved back down to him.

"Ah! Sado-san! Good morning! What are you doing here so early?" Akatsuki replied cheerfully and thought it best to pretend she hadn't just done that. As long as Chad played along it would all be fine. A devious smile crossed her lips and she hid her lower face behind her shirt sleeve. "Or are you here to see me?"

Chad had merely been jogging and for a change of route had decided to pass by the Kurosaki clinic. Things had been going down hill from that point on at a rather rapid pace. Was he supposed to mention that she almost naked or not? Maybe he was supposed to pretend that he hadn't seen anything or was he supposed to apologize? Before he could decide on the best course of action his mouth decided to take action all by itself. "That's a nice shirt," he said with perfect honesty.

Akatsuki sighed heavily. "That's all your gonna say huh?"

"Hmmm?"

"Never mind, I guess I should be grateful," Akatsuki said with a certain amount of annoyance in her voice. Though of course it was best if they both pretended nothing had just happened it was still a little annoying that Chad had not commented on her state of undress. A compliment would not have been ill received either. "Hmmmmm."

Chad was starting to feel uneasy, he was sure he had reacted in the best possible way and that in theory she should have taken it in the best possible way. He wondered if he made some kind of mistake but a voice in the back of his head was screaming at him to not do anything he would regret later. Akatsuki seemed to be in two minds about something and was almost glaring at him with dangerous looking eyes. It might been his imagination but her eyes were starting to take a dangerous glint.

"Are you feeling OK? You look a little pale?" he finally decided on and watched as her expression remained carefully unchanged.

"That's really all your going to say isn't it Sado-san?" Akatsuki sighed as she spoke, her eyes narrowing as they remained locked on Chad. A little compliment would be almost appropriate after seeing a girl naked she thought, it fact, it was almost required. Chad was really starting to look ill at ease and she decided to have mercy on him. She smiled back him cutely and wrapped her hair completely around her body, faking embarrassment as she did so. At least he had enough sense to not look relieved.

"Heeeeeeh your really good at this!" Akatsuki said wryly and grinned. Chad responded with a small, almost indiscernible nod, obvious or unconcerned with any implication she was trying to put forward. "You've done this before huh?"

Chad carried on walking, unconcerned with either Akatsuki's weight on his back or the odd look or two he got from people he passed by. Akatsuki had been riding on his back for a good while now and he might have been annoyed by it if his personality wasn't the way it was. Besides, it wasn't too much of a hassle since she was far lighter then her height suggested. It was like carrying a child on his back. "Its nothing, your not very heavy at all."

Akatsuki looked at the back of his head critically and tried decide whether he was being a smart ass or if it was a compliment. Akatsuki smiled cheerfully as she realized it was probably neither, it was just something Chad would say in a situation like this. "Awww how sweet of you Sado-san, if you keep this up I may start to blush, whatever will Ichigo say if he finds out that your trying to make moves on his most precious and cute guest," Akatsuki replied with only the smallest hint of sarcasm.

Chad twisted his head to look back at her cheerful expression and decided he had imagined the sarcasm. He was aware that talking to people casually was not his strongest talent and it was nice that she wasn't pointing out his awkward compliment. Unsure of how to respond he settled with something that seemed safe. "Its not the kind of thing Ichigo would worry about so don't worry about it."

Akatsuki looked up over his head and cocked her head on its side as she thought very carefully. She reached down absently and placed some hair in her mouth and sucked on it until she nodded to herself, having reached a decision. She knew what he meant but she knew she couldn't help herself either, it was like when Ichigo had walked in on her as she was putting clothes on, sometimes you just had to tease. "So you think I'm cute huh?" Akatsuki said innocently and let her head slide down so that they were cheek to cheek. To his credit he didn't react much but she could tell he had just gone tense.

Chad understood his mistake now and realized that Akatsuki would take anything he said literally and anything he didn't say as a cue. Chad was also the kind of person who was honest when there was no need to lie. "Your not my type, but you are cute yes."

"Heeeeh?" Akatsuki was taken aback and lifted her head away from him and placed the hair back in her mouth quickly. Something was wrong here and she couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. She now wished her experience with men and the things they said extended to more then the Espada and Aizen. Chad didn't fall into any category she knew how to read well. "Um-mm, thank you Sado-san."

"Your welcome."

He was far less emotion then Ichigo and Akatsuki found herself tempted to read his emotions. It was so very tempting that she had to shake her head to dispel the idea. She smiled to herself and sighed. "Of course your not serious, that's not the kind of person you are right?"

"I was telling the truth," Chad replied plainly as he carried on walking up the street.

"Seriously!" Akatsuki replied in shock and hid her mouth behind her sleeve. Despite herself she blushed. She stared down at the back of his head with enough concentration to burn a hole though steel.

'This is a very good day for you huh?' Hakumei said in the back of her mind and Akatsuki went rigid. She was about to have a serious talk with Chad about this when another thought occurred. So he was that kind of guy.

"Never mind, you meant it that way huh?" Akatsuki said evilly to herself. She looked away with a look of annoyed embarrassment and sighed heavily.

"Whats wrong?"

"Nothing at all!"

That sounded like a lie to Chad but he had a feeling he was involved in whatever internal evilness was going through her mind and thought better of asking anymore.

Soi Fon nodded as the report came in loud and clear in her earpiece. The target had been not been located yet but that was not exactly bad news. Soi Fon now knew at least where she wasn't and one of those places was with Kurosaki Ichigo. She knew that because she been following him since he had left his home, alone. A quick sweep of the premises had revealed enough evidence to show that a Arrancar had indeed been living there but for what purpose she couldn't begin to fathom. She wondered what kind of deception she was using on Ichigo.

She jumped across, completely silently, to another rooftop and stood looming over the edge to watch as Ichigo carried on with no realization that he was being followed. She raised her left hand and looked at it intently for a moment. She would of liked to have believed that Ichigo was being deceived and manipulated by Hakumei Suika as this was the kind of tactic she herself would use to deal with such a powerful threat. However she was also not the kind of person to be swayed by emotion or something so unreliable as gut instinct.

Watching him go about his business with no worries in the world did nothing to lighten her resolve. Whether he was being used against his knowledge or will, or whether he was fully aware of what he was dealing with were irrelevant. Either way he might very well end up turning that monstrous power of his against her. She had no choice but to use the seal.

The seal, she had worked on it for a long time, a seal designed to completely block a Shinigami's power from being released. Such seals already existed and on her body she wore one very similar. However, those seals were designed to limit the power a Shinigami released, not to prevent the powers release in the first place. It wouldn't hold for too long but it would hold more then long enough.

Ichigo was worried. Akatsuki was nowhere to be seen and he was starting to get a little uneasy about it. It wasn't like she didn't disappear all the time normally and it had nothing to do with him being close to her, after all, it wasn't like he needed her to stay close to him all of the time. It was annoying. He stopped for a moment and surveyed the roof ledge but found them all devoid of an annoying Arrancar with ridiculously long hair. Not that he was worried or anything.

"She could at least tell me when she's sneaking out!" he mumbled loudly to himself, realizing as he said it just how stupid it sounded. He had to remember that eventually Akatsuki planned to return to Hueco Mundo, it wasn't like she had any reason to stay here with him, it wasn't like she had anything binding her here. But she wasn't the kind of person who would leave without a fuss and he had promised to look after her until the day she could leave on her own.

Ichigo carried on walking but now in a less hurried manner. It wasn't that he wasn't worried about her but there was still a bad feeling in his stomach. It was feeling that was making him feel angry and worried at the same time. His inner Hollow was perfectly still and quiet. Usually Ichigo would have been grateful for this but right now it just made him feel like he was in the eye of a storm. His instincts were screaming at him that something was about to happen.

People moved towards and away from him as they walked by the almost stationary Ichigo. People seemed to blur into mere gray shadows as they moved about him. It was like he was trying to see something that wasn't there. Had his senses been able to focus he might have noticed the black haired woman walking towards him with her head bowed out of view. Time seemed to slow even more as she passed by his side, her hand gently blushing over his chest. His senses snapped back with full force and he spun his body around but found that he was alone among the crowd once again.

He reached down and felt his chest but nothing seemed to be wrong and he wondered if he had imagined it. He turned around with the intention of breaking out into a jog but froze immediately and his eyes focused with grim realization. He was now very much alone in the road, any and all people had mysteriously vanished from sight and he was now left alone in the center of a group of dark blue chad Shinigami wearing familiar looking face masks.

"What the," Ichigo started to say but was cut off as the closest man to him raised his hand to silence him. His attitude was hostile but not aggressive and Ichigo knew at once what was going to happen.

Rukia had heard of the deployment far too late and was making haste towards the nearest viable Senkai gate when a figure in a large, billowing white coat stood out into her path. She stopped hurriedly and for a moment raised her guard before lowering it quickly on realization that it was her own captain. She took a step back out of both respect and weariness. "Captain Ukitake."

"Rukia-san, please wait, I know where you would go and what you would do and I can't let you interfere," Jushiro said kindly even though he spoke with complete authority.

"Captain?" Rukia mouthed, unsure of her next actions. She didn't care a great deal about protecting Akatsuki, at least, not as much as Ichigo did and that was the problem. She had to stop Ichigo from getting hurt or hurting the others.

"Rukia please, follow this one order if not any others, do not interfere. A mandate has been given that the suspected Vizard Hakumei Suika is to be brought in for questioning immediately in regards to events one hundred years ago. There's no reason for anyone to die today."

Rukia was about to protest but her mind caught up with her mouth and changed the words that were trying to be spoken. "Vizard?"

"Is that not right Rukia?" Ukitake asked in a way which made it perfectly clear that he knew she knew a lot more then most people here about the one who was once called Suika. His words retained the kind concern even in a situation such as this and Rukia was gratefully for having such a kind Captain. If only she could explain things away so easily as she wanted to. "It is Hakumei Suika isn't it? She is a Vizard in Ichigo's care is she not? Anything you tell me now can be used to help her Rukia, I know you trust me so trust my words. If I can I want to help her but I can't if you don't tell me."

Rukia was uncertain but it wasn't like she had many options open to her right now. If her Captain wanted to he could easily stop her movement. He was giving her a chance that he didn't have to give. "Her name isn't Hakumei Suika, its Akatsuki. And she's not a Vizard. She really is a Hollow."

"I see," Ukitake said in all seriousness.

"Blast!" Akatsuki sat up straight and looked around quickly, her wide eyes scanning the people around them for the cause of the disturbance. It had run across her senses like a breeze on a hot, still summer day.

Akatsuki looked down at Chad as he carried her along in perfect nonchalance, making it obvious he had felt nothing at all. Now that she was alert she concentrated her senses in all directions, intangible waves of spiritual energy were all over the town and slowly surrounding her. "Damn it, useless gigai," Akatsuki growled to herself which caught Chads attention.

"Whats wrong Akatsuki-san," Chad said as he turned his head to look up at her face. She didn't seem to hear him and was turning her head all over at speed, as if she was trying to watch dozens of things at the same time. The look in her eyes was a mixture of anger and frustration. The longer he stared the more it felt like he was being stared back at by another pair of eyes hidden deep inside hers, red and cold as steel and just as focused. "You OK?"

The sound of Chads voice snapped her out of her frantic soul searching and she looked down at the person she completely forgot she had been riding. She regarded him with a focused expression for a moment as she decided what to do next. Then she smiled and closed her eyes. "Are you really worried about me?"

Chad was about to reply in the affirmative but was put off by the look in her eyes, it wasn't cold or harsh but it seemed defensive. It was like he was being summed up or judged. It was not entirely pleasant. "That depends if I should be I suppose," Chad replied carefully and stopped walking. It hadn't occurred to him before but there were suddenly a lot fewer people on the streets then there had been before.

"Ah! A good answer!" Akatsuki replied cheerfully and waved her hand about and looked away from him with a devious expression. Before Chad could reply she slipped herself off of his back and with the grace of a snake slipped by and in front of him so that she was looking up into his face. She considered him for a another moment and then visibly relaxed.

Akatsuki closed her eyes and smiled innocent at Chad who stared back stoically. "What is it?" Chad asked curiously, wondering if he had said something to suddenly gain such intense interest. Akatsuki grabbed hold of her long red hair and started twiddling some strands between her fingers.

"Its nothing at all," Akatsuki's voice echoed kindly as Chad found himself suddenly staring at a empty space where only moments before he had been sure he was looking at Akatsuki. He looked around slightly frantic and wondered where she had disappeared too but the feeling was quickly replaced by an overwhelming feeling of tiredness. His eyes closed and his huge body fell forwards.

Akatsuki caught the heavy body as it sagged forwards towards her and gently rested it against the nearest wall. Her eyes glowed a vibrant red as she considered Chad for another moment longer before turning away from him and started to walk away. She turned around to face him one more time before running off, her long red hair flowing behind her like water.

On Chad's chest was a note on a piece of paper tucked into his breast pocket, it read simply; "Forgive me" with a happy face drawn next to it and a hand making the V sign. Against his body lay Akatsuki's gigai.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, for the duration of this operation we request that you remain uninvolved," the nearest squad member to Ichigo said with his hands placed firmly behind his back as to appear as non hostile as possible. The effect was ruined by the rest of his team who were all ready to draw their weapons.

"Who ordered this! On who's authority!" Ichigo shot his arm out in a wide arc and clenched his fist as he almost shouted the question. It was plainly obvious what was happening, Soul Society had finally decided to act on the whole Infiltrator issue. It had taken them a while but now it seemed that they were serious. He gritted his teeth in frustration. "Get out of my way!"

"We cannot do that Kurosaki Ichigo, General Yamamoto Genryusai's orders are absolute, please, do not resist," the shinigami replied in a calm and reasonable tone.

"Heh," Ichigo laughed quietly and appeared to outwardly relax. The surrounding Shinigami were far too weary however and reminded on alert. As one they all tensed as Ichigo slowly reached into his coat and slowly but purposefully removed the device Ukitake had given him for just such an occasion. "Then I'll just push on through you!"

Akatsuki glanced from left to right as she ran down the streets of Karakura town. Her eyes glowed red as she reached out with her senses. All around her she could feel the pulses of spiritual beings that were trying to hide their spiritual pressure and a fair amount of beings that weren't, which was strange. If they were trying to catch her by surprise why had they sent people out with no sense of stealth, to Akatsuki it didn't make much sense. At least the obvious spiritual pressure's were stationary around a single point a good distance away.

Behind her her large black scythe trailed through the air with no discernible sound at all. Normally she was loath to resort to violence straight away but if she was caught without a weapon this time there would be no second chances like with Ikkaku. The black scythe's razor thin edge glinted in the morning light, leaving a black and red trail in the air as it passed.

"Shinigami huh," Akatsuki mumbled under her breath without taking time to pause. If she really had been the one who breached the Seireitei then it was always a likely possibility that they would come looking for her eventually. Not that they hadn't before but this time they were moving with resolve. And the way they were moving suggested a purpose which only now she realized.

Akatsuki came to a rapid halt and spun around in a wide arc with her weapon, coming to stop in the center of a large open area which she vaguely recognized as the park but she was not concerned about that. She held Hakumei up with both hands in front of her defensively and closed her eyes. She was being herded she now realized, the way everyone was moving suggested they didn't know where she was, but it also suggested that they knew in fact where she wasn't and that meant they could guess where she was. All around her now were spiritual presences which were so well hidden that only now did she feel them, she was surrounded.

"How cowardly! Should a captain really by hiding in the shadows like that? Its shameful!" Akatsuki shouted as her eyes darted from tree to tree, waiting for even a minor rustle or movement. She thought that her bluff had failed until she felt movement behind her and cursed to herself as she spun around. Her scythe was struck with great force as a kick came crashing down into the center of the shaft, her opponent had been aiming straight for her head, that told her a lot about her opponent. She wasn't going to give her any chances.

"Heeeeeeh! I didn't know you really were there Shinigami-sama, I mean, I was just guessing," Akatsuki said with a sarcastic ring to her voice. Her assailant spun away backwards using her scythe as a surface to kick away from. Soi Fon landed a good distance away in a totally relaxed manner, raising neither her guard nor attacking again. Akatsuki felt herself losing her nerve under that woman's stern gaze, she was being judged and she could tell from the look on her face that she was being completely disregarded.

"Your senses are worthy of praise, very few people can sense the movements of my unit or myself included. However, such powerful senses can be easily confused and manipulated. We knew you would sense us before we came close enough to sense you, we were not so arrogant to assume otherwise. Knowing that it was easy enough to control your movements long enough to surround you." Soi Fon walked closer to towards her and stopped when Akatsuki tightened her grip on her Zanpakuto. The longer she looked at Akatsuki the more obvious it became that her and Hakumei Suika were the same person. And something about the large scarf she wore around her neck was starting to bother her, it was obviously hiding something. "You are under arrest for Treason! Do not resist and come with us peacefully or we will be forced to use deadly force!"

Akatsuki's serious expression failed. She released her grip on Hakumei and let the blade fall towards the ground. She pulled some of her hair towards her mouth and started to suck on it while regarding Soi Fon with a serious though questioning stare. Soi Fon to her credit didn't react one way or the other but Akatsuki wasn't paying too much attention. Soi Fon could feel it as well, Akatsuki wasn't staring at her, rather at a point sseveral feet behind her, she was being ignored. "Who?" Akatsuki finally replied with innocent curiosity.

"What?" Soi Fon replied incredulously. She wasn't sure what Akatsuki meant but she was assuming she was being mocked in some way. "Don't try to deny it, we know who you are now Hakumei Suika so you can drop the act."

"Heh! Me? My name's not Suika, I've never even met anyone named Suika, I'm Akatsuki," Akatsuki replied honestly, her face still half hidden by the hair she was now twiddling between her fingers.

Soi Fon's expression remained calm but her opponents cheerfully innocent tone of voice was grating on her nerves. "Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, a traitor will be a traitor to the very end, I suppose its naive to think you would be honest now. No matter, my orders remain the same. Prepare yourself."

"No wait wait wait I'm serious, I have no idea what you talking about!" Akatsuki waved an arm frantically as Soi Fon turned and started to walk away. Akatsuki was about to run up behind her when Soi Fon suddenly raised her arm into the air and clicked her fingers. Around Akatsuki 5 figures appeared, all holding their hands together in exactly the same way. Before she had time to react they all shouted the same command in unison. The floor seemed to fall away from Akatsuki as all around her a bright pink light exploded up around her.

Ichigo slammed the seal against his chest to draw his spiritual form free, after a moment of confusion a kick exploded against his hand and another into his chest, slamming the charm out of his hand. Ichigo watched as the the Shinigami charm fell away from him as he flew backwards into the ground. He hit the ground hard and rolled but pulled himself to his feet before coming to a stop. "Why?"

The Shinigami who had kicked him walked over to the charm and picked it casually, regarded it for a moment and then slipped it inside of his coat. "Please do not resist Kurosaki Ichigo. We are authorized to subdue you if you do, so please do not force our hands."

Ichigo glared at the Shinigami and pointed accusingly towards him. "What the hell did you do to me! Why can't I release my spiritual form?" More Shinigami appeared behind the stealth corps speaker and he knew that some would have appeared behind him and to his sides as well.

"Your spiritual form has been sealed temporarily Kurosaki Ichigo, it is for your own safety."

"Don't give me that crap! Your after Akatsuki aren't you!" Ichigo shouted accusingly.

"Please, do not interfere Kurosaki Ichigo." The speaker turned and walked into the others surrounding Ichigo, instantly becoming one of many indistinguishable foes.

"Your gonna give that back right?" Ichigo said threateningly, his body seemingly relaxing despite the situation he was in. He pointed at the group of Shinigami before him and smiled confidently. "If not I'll take it back! And then I'll break this seal and stop you!" Taking advantage of Ichigo's posturing a Shinigami launched himself towards Ichigo's side with the intention of restraining him. Ichigo sensed the first attack coming and the Shinigami found himself being thrown backwards by a powerful kick. Ichigo grinned.

Deep inside his soul Hollow Ichigo grinned as well.

"Be still and silent," Soi Fon said quietly as the sealing demon art exploded all around Akatsuki in a painfully hot pink light. She was about to turn when instinct told her to turn around, her reflexes barely able to command her body in time to leap to the side as the black scythe whipped silently through the air, its blade cutting a deadly path past the point her head had been in moments before.

Soi Fon whipped herself around to see the scythe slam into the ground blade first with a huge explosion of force that sent all of her men near it flying to the sides. Soi Fon heard the sound of bodies hitting the ground behind her and span around on the spot and lunged towards where Akatsuki had been sealed. As she moved through the air she was aware of another flying past her, her eyes turning to see Akatsuki stepping past her at the same speed. "Damn it!"

Soi Fon skidded on the ground and rapidly gave chase, her speed was greater then Akatsuki's and she was upon her momentarily. Soi Fon cut down with her hand towards the back of Akatsuki's back. Her eyes opened wide as the side of her hand came into contact with the cold, hard metal of Akatsuki's Zanpakuto. Akatsuki's golden eyes met Soi Fon's and both smiled at the other, Soi Fon smiling with renewed interest, Akatsuki with cheerful innocence.

"Gahhh!" Ichigo grunted as another Shinigami slammed an indirect hit past his shoulder only to be followed by another strike from a Shinigami behind him. The force sent him to his knees for a moment before he forced himself to his feet and slammed his body hard into the Shinigami behind him. The two of them rolled but the Shinigami had had the wind knocked out of him and Ichigo pushed himself off of his body and started to run again down the road.

Ichigo's heart was beating heavily in his chest and he reached up to his breast, his fingers tracing the faint outline of what he guessed was some kind of seal. In was cold and weak to the touch but he could feel it burning away inside him now as he tried harder and harder to use his shinigami powers. It felt like a hand enclosed around his soul.

His instincts told him another Shinigami had caught up to him and he span around just in time to catch his assailant in the side of the face with a crude but effective kick. Another two were already upon him and he managed to punch another one before the other caught him under the ribs with a accurate and fast kick.

The air was forced out of Ichigo's lungs as the lick landed, he gasped for air and by time he had manged to regain his bearing a second kick caught him across the side of face, knocked off guard he found himself completely open and was hit by a third kick to the center of his chest, the force sending him flying backwards into the nearest wall. Plaster and stone fell around him as his body slammed into the wall with crushing force. He slummed backwards into a sitting position and he found himself surrounded by the stealth corp members once again.

The Shinigami kept their distance but remained on guard, they had been given orders that under no circumstances were they allowed to let Ichigo interfere with the operation but their orders also told them that Ichigo was not to be killed. Of course subduing him was fine. With the seal in effect he was just an interfering human.

Ichigo caught his breath and looked up into their eyes, they were calculating and cold and he remembered that these guys were professionals. With the seal on his powers in effect they could have killed him at any time they felt like. His instincts were still working but there was no way his body could keep up with them. Ichigo grinned at them as he pushed his way to his feet. "I promised her, I promised her that as long as she was here I would protect her. I won't let, I won't let you."

Deep inside his soul Hollow Ichigo broke out into a grin. He had found a way in again, whatever was happening to the female Hollow that annoyed him so much it was breaking down the barriers that she had reinforced Ichigo's mind with. He had found a key. All he had to do was twist it in the lock.

Ichigo stumbled forward into a run but was instantly slammed back into the wall as the closest Shinigami grabbed him by the neck. Ichigo's body seemed to relax in his hands. Ichigo looked back up into his eyes and the Shinigami felt the breath leave his body under the stare of those cold, malice filled yellow eyes. Ichigo broke out into a manic smile. "I won't let you make me brake my promise!"

"What the?" The shinigami managed to say and without thinking went to attack Ichigo's chest to wind him again. Before he had even started to move Ichigo had reached up and grabbed his wrist, his other hand punching heavily into his arm just behind the hold. Blood was sent flying as the bone was shattered through his skin. The Shinigami fell away screaming, grasping at his arm, over top of his slummed figure another three Shinigami launched themselves towards Ichigo to catch him off guard.

"I won't let you!" Ichigo half roared, half screamed, with a sound that was not one or the other but two voices coming together as one.

"Oh no!" Soi Fon exclaimed as she jumped out of range of another wide swing of the scythe, coming to a stop a safe distance away from Akatsuki. It was a good distance away but she could feel it, the seal was crumbling. "He's forcing the seal, that's not possible, no Shinigami has so much power in the world of the living."

Akatsuki wasted no time and flashed towards Soi Fon, reappearing mere feet in front of her, with her scythe held above her with two hands she slammed down hard, the scythe cutting into the ground with a sickening crunch.

Red and black energy trails jumped from the blade to the ground excitedly. Akatsuki stood upright and let the scythe fall to the ground as she reached her right hand from its grip. She reached up to her chest and took the fabric of her scarf into her hand. She smiled warmly as she held onto it and closed her eyes. "He's such a idiot," Akatsuki said kindly and sighed.

Soi Fon walked through the clearing dust of the small crater completely unharmed and considered Akatsuki for a moment. She wasn't an expert on such things but there was something about the way that had sounded and the look on her face as she had said it. Soi Fon now decided she understood enough. "Your in love with him?" Soi Fon said not unkindly.

Akatsuki turned on her with a panicked look and waved her free arm about frantically in denial. "No, no no no that's not it, that's not it at all! Your completely wrong Shinigami-sama!" Akatsuki pleaded in frantic, overwhelmed tones.

"Well that's fine I guess, it doesn't really change anything. He won't make it here you know, no matter how much he fights against the seal. He might be able to break the seal with his own power alone but by then it will be too late. You will already have been defeated!" Soi Fon launched herself high into the air, coming down towards Akatsuki with a spinning kick.

"Wait wait wait!" Akatsuki cried out in annoyance.

"Wahahahah!" Hollow Ichigo roared in delight as he swiped away another Shinigami who had tried to approach him from behind. He had never taken control of Ichigo's living body before and the effect was disorientating but manageable. He was able to push this body well beyond its human limitations.

The Shinigami who were now being pushed into the defensive by Ichigo watched in mounting horror as Ichigo's skin turned a pallid shade of white along with his hair, his eyes were now completely black and yellow. Only his clothes remained the same but that was not much of a comfort, it wasn't the clothes that were trying to kill them.

Hollow Ichigo reached up to his chest and grabbed the top of his shirt before ripping it off in one clean motion revealing the seal over his heart. He looked down on it in both amusement and annoyance. It amused him that someone had gone so far as to seal Ichigo's power but the seal was surprisingly strong, even for him to break. His power was leaking through but the seal still held.

Suddenly a sharp pain burned its way into to the back of his shoulder and he looked around with an evil expression. A short sword was buried in his shoulder by a Shinigami who was visibly shaking on the other end. Hollow Ichigo grinned at him and the man fell away from his weapon. With no apparent care for the pain Hollow Ichigo reached over to the hilt and ripped the blade free. The wound steamed as it rapidly healed moments after withdrawing the blade. The blade clattered as he dropped it to the ground.

Hollow Ichigo looked around himself and smiled maliciously. Though obviously an unplanned attack the rest of the stealth corp had gathered around him and all stood in exactly the same pose, their fingers held together in what Hollow Ichigo guessed was some kind of Demon art seal. He started to laugh to himself hysterically and lunged towards the nearest man with almost Shinigami like speed.

Just before his out stretched fingers reached the mans throat he felt a huge pressure bear down on his body, forcing him to stop and take a few steps backwards. "Heh! Persistent bastards!" he screamed as he tried to lunge at them again but was forced back with even more force then the first time. "So, the seal can be reinforced from the outside huh?" he said casually even as he felt his body started to slump forwards. At this rate Ichigo was going to gain control back without even trying. Hollow Ichigo snarled.

Hollow Ichigo stared into the eyes of the man directly in front of him. His face was a mask of concentration and fear. Hollow Ichigo saw movement in the mans eyes and grinned.