Hey there everyone, IVI here. Time for us to again pull back a bit and get an outside perspective from yet another of our fabulous OC's.

The woman cast a worried glance to her husband, prompting him to step forward; it was not because she was generally one who was used to hiding behind him. In better days, Tsubaki Nazaraki thought, the opposite might have been stated as absolute truth, and there had been quite a few quips on how her authoritative nature sometimes caught him on the wrong foot.

Still, since the new darkness had descended, the woman was well aware that her heritage had been the root of all of their troubles – the entire family had been simply lifted from Ugendo, and dragged here…Ten months had passed, and Tsubaki was still unsure where she was. She'd not been allowed to as much as catch a furtive glance at the sky.

It was odd, she considered, how changes in circumstance rendered even details like that insignificant – for the first two weeks, she'd been held alone, questioned, and not even allowed contact with her husband and sons. When she'd finally convinced her captors that she represented no danger at all, and that being of the same blood as Ukitake Jushiro did not mean that she shared any of his powers, her husband and her sons had been returned. Though the children had been truly frightened and rattled by the sudden upheaval in their lives, she'd been glad to have them under her supervision, and at least know that they were as safe as anyone could be around these…

Whatever they were, Tsubaki thought, stealing a glance at the young human-Hollow before her.

The young blonde one was different from those who insured their every day guard – unlike those, whose masks boasted horns and covered their faces down to their chins, her mask was a single, white band with fiery red imprints, covering her left eye. She must have been one of the higher Hollow, she thought – since the day when she'd laid eyes on the frighteningly pale Cuarta Espada, the thing who had arrested and still held them all, she had not seen another of this kind.

Despite the fact that the Hollow did not look particularly threatening, Tsubaki felt scared.

Had the prison command changed? And if so, the woman queried herself, feeling an icy chill in her spine, would the rules of their imprisonment change, with the new commander?

The Gods only knew what more these could take from them – Tsubaki and her family had had their freedom restricted to a single corridor and two small rooms, with barely enough amenities to be distinguished from actual cells; the fact that they had no windows did not even allow her to figure out whether the structure where they were held was above ground or under it. Their single contact with anyone else had been the silent Exequias – she did not even know if the rest of her siblings were similarly held, or if they had been killed…There was not much more, she thought, cringing, in fact, she could think of nothing that would be left to take.

Nothing but their lives.

In hind thought, Tsubaki considered, shuddering despite the fact that she'd promised herself to show no fear, perhaps it was not that the prison command had changed; perhaps, she thought, swallowing dry, something had happened to Jushiro…Something that made holding them unnecessary…Something that perhaps made them unnecessary altogether.

Though, she thought, more intently glancing at the young Hollow, and allowing her childish looks to somewhat dull the quickly rising blade of anxiety, the girl did not look as if she had been about to deliver grim news. In truth, she looked a little bit frightened, in her turn.

How old could she have been? Tsubaki wondered, immediately berating herself for the thought. Even for plusses, the shape of one's body was a poor indication of age. Still, the Hollow did not look much older than Tsubaki's eldest son.

Fourteen? The woman thought. Fifteen, at most?

The Hollow noticed the scrutiny, and shifted uncomfortably.

'Uhm, yea,' she said; by the way she fidgeted, Tsubaki could definitely tell her age – not in actual years, but…

The Hollow advanced, and, as if she'd found no words she simply stretched out a rolled in parchment; the paper was of poor quality, and Tsubaki could tell that it was fully covered in writing. But, above all, she recognized the insignia of the twin fishes which was carefully etched on the seal, and hastily took a step back, not accepting it.

'Has something…' she asked, losing her voice to all the horrors her mind had suddenly conjured. It did not matter that reason told her that if Jushiro had indeed been dead, the last action these would do would be to deliver a message on his behalf. It did not matter that the precision of the etching's execution told her her brother was the one who had sealed the parchment. For a moment, nothing much mattered at all.

'Has something happened to my brother?' Tsubaki finished, when the Hollow's outstretched hand did not tremble, and continued to hold the parchment out.

'Oh, no, no,' she rushed to deny – she somehow appeared relieved that she'd been spoken to. 'Uki…er, Shiro is OK, well as much OK as he ever is OK, I guess, but…No, nothing happened.'

'Then…'Tsubaki began, stepping up, and still hesitating to take the parchment, 'why…'

'I…'

The Hollow could not explain herself, and looked frustrated at her inability.

'What is your name?' Tsubaki's husband inquired, in a gentle voice. The woman looked to her side, noting that her husband's voice perfectly matched his smile, and though she could not muster the behaviour in herself, she knew that it was perfectly justified. The creature might have been Hollow, but she was also young and seemingly frightened – there was no better way of addressing a child than kindness.

'Lilinette,' she answered. 'Uh, Primera Espada Lilinette, or half of the Primera, which I guess makes me like Espada zero point five,' the girl chuckled. 'Not that it matters!' she exclaimed, catching herself.

The suspicion in Tsubaki's eyes lingered, and the Hollow lowered her arm.

'I worked a lot to find you,' Lilinette said, softly. 'Ulquiorra is not forthcoming with this stuff, and…'

'What is this?' the woman asked, pointing at the parchment. The anxiety had not fully receded, and, in fact, though she oddly believed that the Hollow was honest in what had regarded Jushiro, she immediately began suspecting something else was at play. Tsubaki knew nothing about the whereabouts of her other siblings, yet, by the fact that the questions she'd been asked during the first two weeks of captivity had centered on Jushiro and Hayoto, she suspected that the little one had not yet been caught. If they had not caught him then, in the initial turmoil, it was quite likely that he'd hidden even deeper, and the New Central had made no progress in finding him.

'A letter,' Lilinette answered. 'I…'

'Why now?' Tsubaki asked, guessing that her voice had sounded harsh, but not truly caring. 'Ten months have passed…'

The Hollow was taken aback.

'We have not been allowed any communication for the past ten months,' the woman reiterated, taking the girl's hesitation as a sign that she had been right. 'Why are we being allowed communication now?'

'Cuz now Uki had a chance to…' Lilinette answered, not expecting to be believed – indeed, she was not.

Tsubaki shook her head and turned away, crossing her arms over her chest.

'You are perpetrating a cruel jest, Hollow,' she said, sadly glancing over her shoulder – she could not bring herself to hatefully stare at one that looked so young, but bitterness had solidified in her chest. 'Even if Onii-san were still alive, the ban on his communications with us would not suddenly be lifted…'

'It took me almost three weeks to get permission,' Lilinette said. 'I ain't done anything like this in my life so, maybe…'

'Would we also be allowed a response?' Tsubaki asked; though her husband had given her an uncertain glance, the harshness in her tone only accentuated.

'If you wanna…' the Hollow shrugged, swallowing dry. 'I'm trying…'

'I know what you are trying to do,' the woman interrupted, in a pained voice. 'If that paper was truly written by Jushiro, I can only imagine what duress you have placed him under – the only reason why we would suddenly be afforded the luxury of communication is that my younger brother is probably still loose. You are attempting to see if there is something I know that your questioning has failed to surface.'

'No,' Lilinette said, softly.

'Which can only mean that Hayoto must be making use of his freedom to stint you in some way,' Tsubaki followed, her words shedding the sorrowful edge, and responding with pride. 'And if that is so, Hollow, I am glad – but I know nothing of his whereabouts. Leave us be; there is not much more you can take from us. At least allow us the dignity of our intelligence.'

The girl bit her lower lip, shifting from foot to foot; at least lying did not come as easy to her as one might have imagined, Tsubaki thought. The notion was too small of a comfort.

'This has been most cruel,' the woman said, simply. 'You may congratulate your superiors…'

Lilinette's eyes narrowed.

'Yeh,' she interrupted, suddenly sounding bitter. 'I can tell you've been in this dump with no news of the world for ten months. Cuz if you had any clue of how Ulquiorra operates, you'd know that if he really wanted to get stuff outta you, devising something like this would likely be his very last choice of method.'

Tsubaki frowned in turn, taking the words for a threat; she swallowed dry, thinking of her children, who were probably huddled in fear in the adjacent cell, but did not look her husband's way before speaking.

'You are the only one among us who can come and go freely,' she said.

'Tsubaki, maybe…' the man softly intervened – she shook her head, and sadly glanced to him.

'I cannot take much more of this,' she whispered. 'That they would hold us and the children here, for so long, and then attempt to play with our heartstrings…'

He nodded, taking her hand, and she heavily leaned upon it.

Maybe he is dead, Tsubaki thought, with unexpected clarity. Maybe they have truly killed him, and now…

She sensed the sting of tears approaching, and spun around to face the back of the cell, not wishing to give the Hollow the satisfaction.

…and now, if they cannot hurt him anymore…

'Please, leave, Lilinette,' the man said, kindly. 'We do not wish to be rude, but…'

The young Hollow nodded, in something that resembled bitter sorrow, then turned to leave, pulling the cell bars closed behind her – the unconscious gesture added another twinge of fear to Tsubaki's heart – so far they'd been allowed some freedom of movement in the small section of the prison that they'd been allotted, and, as a matter of ritual, they'd sought never to close the cell bars that led to the corridor.

Perhaps it was a signal that things would change, from now on.

The Hollow had all but made it to the end of the corridor on which the two cells lied, and which, Tsubaki thought, would probably mark the perimeter of their freedom for the Gods only knew how long. Then, instead of the sound of the heavily bolted door opening and closing, and of the nightmarish screech of the turning handle which caused the locks to fall back in place, she heard the rails of the cell bars opening once more, and looked over her shoulder, quickly wiping her tears.

Lilinette was once more taken aback by the sight, and minutely inched backwards – her fingers were clenching the rolled parchment so tightly that the sheet had crumpled, and Tsubaki noted, the Hollow's palms must have been sweaty, for the ink had begun to spread through the thin paper.

'I wish that I would find at least one of you who doesn't hate me on first sight,' the Hollow unexplainably said; looking as if she'd been fighting a battle at each step, she once more advanced inside the cell, and decisively placed the parchment on a shabby table in the corner of the room.

'He spent all night writing this letter,' the Hollow bitterly said. 'An' he just wanted to tell you he is so very sorry that you are suffering because of him. Don't read it, if that's what you want.'

She left without a further word, and the lock fell in place; guessing that it was now safe, the two boys rushed back to their parents, and all four huddled on the ragged mattress which passed for a bed.

The parchment, with its beautifully etched seal, its thin paper and its faint, but visible ink stain painfully loomed above them all.

Tsubaki Nazaraki, sister to Ukitake Jushiro brought herself to open it many hours later, once her husband and her sons had fallen asleep, and then, along the imprint of Lilinette's nervous fingers, her teardrops caused the ink to spread even further.

'Hate ta tell you this, kiddo…' Grimmjow shrugged.

'Then don't, eh,' Lilinette mumbled.

'S'gonna happen every time, babe,' Apache said, putting her hand on Lilinette's shoulder. 'They look at ya, but in fact they look through ya. S'all that ever happens.'

Lilinette sighed, and stretched out even further, looking at the sky. She'd always found the sensation of lying on grass funny, especially because taller strands always ended up ticking the inside of her Hollow hole. Today, the girl thought, she hated the sensation.

'Don't wanna ruin your mood,' she sighed, wistfully glancing up at Apache's round face.

She was being selfish, Lilinette thought – after all, Apache and Grimm rarely got to hang during the day, since, when it came to Grimmjow, Halibel tended to be bloody prescriptive about Apache's time.

'It's OK,' Apache laughed, lying back in her turn, and placing her head on Lilinette's stomach, while crossing her feet on Grimmjow's lap. 'He ain't getting tail in the middle of the day, that's fo' sure.'

'Fucking hell, woman,' the Sexta moaned, making both girls laugh.

'Dude, I only hang out here in the day cuz Sun-Sun's driving me up the wall with all of the stooopid paperwork!' Apache chuckled. 'If I see one more requisition form, I'm gonna stuff it up her nose…'

'Then why the hell am I here?' Grimmjow muttered, almost to himself.

'Cuz we're eating and you wanna get tail later,' the Tercera Fraccion helpfully clarified; to Lilinette's amazement, Grimmjow sighed deeply, and could think of no scalding reply.

'You guys are sooo funny,' Lilinette laughed in her turn, not missing the fact that despite their verbal exchange, the two had amusedly glanced at each other, and Grimmjow's hand had slipped inside Apache's trouser leg, and encircled her ankle.

'Yeh,' Grimmjow admitted, with a shrug. 'So,' he said, with his mouth full of rice rolls, 'watcha wanna do? An' what did you expect in the first place? Them people have been locked up for like a year now – they ain't gonna like ya.'

'If that was me, I'd prolly rip your hands off,' he innocently admitted.

'Yeah, I guess,' Lilinette admitted, in her turn.

'What's with ya and the woos Shinigami, anyway?' Apache asked, cranking her neck up to catch Lilinette's eye. 'You wanna adopt him or, what? Ain't he like, already cost you Stark?'

The blonde girl shifted uncomfortably.

'The thing I don't get is why we are still keeping them locked up,' she muttered, ignoring Apache's question. 'I mean, where's Uki gonna go?'

'Where'd those Kira and Hisagi go?' Grimmjow asked. 'And where do all of these folks who make our days interesting go – or well, come from in the first place? Ulquiorra ain't got dibs on any of them…'

'Yeh, well,' Apache muttered, clearly venting Halibel's frustration, 'that's prolly cuz the concept of actually doin' shit is foreign to him as a bloody base rule. Pass some of that fish my way,' she said, half sitting up; Grimmjow helpfully placed the wooden trey which held their lunch on the girl's stomach. She picked up a piece of sashimi salmon, dipped it in soy, then held it dangling over her open mouth for a second, in a manner that Grimmjow clearly found deeply erotic.

'Them's dangerous moves, girl,' Grimmjow purred. 'Sashimi sex…'

'Ew, you guys!' Lilinette protested.

The Sexta chuckled, and Apache slowly chewed her food, apparently giving herself time for thought.

'It's the truth, tho',' she shrugged, after swallowing. 'Ulquiorra is good at holding shit…how does Halibel-sama say? Aye, he's good at holding a status quo, which means that shit don't change,' she helpfully clarified. 'Ask him to think o'something new, an' you got him totally swamped.'

'Ain't that the truth,' the Sexta laughed.

'Well, yeah it is – like for instance, we, well, Sun-Sun and Halibel-sama mostly got something going with the 12th where we try to watch what's going in an what's going out of Sereitei trade wise. It's kinda cool, though I wish they didn't make me write in stuff, an' then make fun of me cuz I can't spell…'

'Ya could learn to spell,' Lilinette offered, gaining a glance as cold as Apache had ever given anyone.

'Riiight,' the Tercera Fraccion mumbled. 'Like you's fucking scholars.'

'No, but we got minions,' the Sexta laughed out loud.

'Pff,' Apache huffed, taking another piece of fish from the platter. 'In any event, we been tracking what's goin' in an' what's going out o'Sereitei for ten months now, and my spelling aside, I gotta say it's turning into a cool thing, an' makes our life easier, cuz, for instance, we know when what division gonna run out of what, and we can order stuff when it's needed, without me running around like a headless chicken an' asking people what they want…Or me forgettin' where to put stuff…Wanna avoid the rotten turnip incident over at the 6th ,' she suddenly chuckled.

'No kidding, dude!' Lilinette smirked, remembering the evil miasma that had drifted over Sereitei for two weeks, after Central supplies had misplaced a massive transport of vegetables, leaving it to rot in the summer heat, in some forgotten granary which could only be identified once the smell had gotten bad enough.

'I can't remember all that shit,' Apache apologetically shrugged. 'Before we did this record keepin' crap, I'd even write it down then lose the fucking paper…'

'Don't worry, babe, you're already hot, you don't got to be smart as well,' Grimmjow snickered, earning himself a swift kick in the groin. 'Ey!' he protested. 'Watch the goods!'

'What I was gonna say,' Apache continued, giving him the evil eye, 'is that now there's a record of who is bringing in what that's stretching for ten months. Sure, there's stuff we won't see, but if I was to bring in shit that blows up, knowing that Sereitei's watched like a bomb…he…he,' she chuckled at her own word play, 'I'd prolly try to keep clandestine stuff to a minimum. I mean, chances of getting caught while jumpin' the wall are higher than if you smuggle stuff in in a sack of potatoes.'

'Point,' Lilinette observed, lifting herself to her elbows. 'I didn't think of that…'

'True enough,' Grimmjow shrugged, leaning back against the tree they'd been lying under. 'If one thing's for sure is that Ulquiorra's creepers are all over the place…'

'All over dem walls, but not all over tha place,' Apache responded. 'Where's more shit gonna go down? On a wall, or in a market? So, Halibel-sama thought she could help him, an' told him to have a look at our lists an' see if there's some sort o'…I dunno, stuff that happens again and again…'

'Pattern?' Lilinette helpfully inquired.

'Smart ass,' Apache muttered, poking her tongue out, but not taking offence. 'Like the same guy bringing in stuff within a week of an attack, that kinda crap. An' Halibel-sama was even nice, cuz she went to Ulquiorra first and told him about the list, tho' frankly, he's such a ball buster in New Central meetings that I wouldn't wanna help him at all. Screw him,' the girl spat, setting off Grimmjow's approving and somewhat proud nod.

'An' he didn't want it,' Apache concluded. 'He didn't even wanted after we went to Gin with it – Gin was ready to take it even, but then Ulquiorra got Tousen to say that 'twas too much effort for too little gain, an' that we should just keep blowin' the heads off folk till they chill out.'

'Didn't ya turn out to be the pacifist,' Grimmjow noted, swiping the piece of butterfish that Apache had just dipped in soy sauce, and tossing it in his mouth along with five wasabi beans.

'No, dude, but I'm workin' too hard…' Apache whined. 'Plus, I dunno…'

She dreamily looked at the sky, oddly only closing her brown eye, and letting the soft clouds above reflect in her blue one.

'I don't wanna be chasing stuff that I ain't eating, right?' she muttered. 'I mean people getting their heads blown off is fun enough for a while, after that it's just a fucking loss – I mean, if we're gonna waste'em anyway, why can't we at least eat'em? Sure fed up with fish, eh,' she mumbled, demonstratively picking a piece of tempura off the platter, then smirking horribly as she found it was a dastardly piece of cauliflower.

'An' I don't want Halibel-sama to get hurt,' she said, in a tone of voice that made Lilinette cringe. 'I mean, fuck, man, look what happened to Stark…'

A cold breeze swept over the sunny afternoon, causing the clouds that reflected in Apache's blue eye to swirl.

'What if it had been Halibel-sama? I mean,' she recanted, 'fo' sure she wouldn't have got hurt, but if I was there, or Mira Rose was there or even Sun-Sun…'

Grimmjow looked away, with sudden tension in his Hollow jaw – Lilinette reckoned it was because, as always, he really hated talk of Apache's mum or sisters, who did not stomach him in the least; for a moment, it looked like a battle was raging in his teal eyes. His hand still disentangled from Apache's ankle, and briefly swept over her fingers.

'Don't be demotivational, girl,' he said. 'Nothing gonna happen to ya.'

'We can't know that though, can we,' Lilinette whispered.

'Ya both about to go hormonal on me now?' Grimmjow loudly protested. 'So I know an' clear out…'

'Dolt,' Apache giggled. 'Here, have a maki roll and shut up,' she said sitting up, and feeding him. 'Thing is,' she said, taking a deep breath, 'I dunno why Ulquiorra wouldn't even give the idea shot. I mean he's up on Aizen's behind an' jealous of Halibel-sama an 'everything, but he's gotta know that it's a good idea. I think he simply cannot do new shit,' she shrugged.

'Look at all the others,' she huffed. 'You two guys ain't had no incidents; Szayel Aporro's crowd is so peaceful that he makes me think he got drugs on tap out there an' even Stark's made some sort o'peace. Sure, Barragan's still keepin' 'em quiet by takin' their heads, but…wherever the individual shadows have no control, and stuff's down to the Omnistkido, people keep blowin' themselves up cuz' Ulquiorra is just that hateful.'

'The problem is,' Lilinette sighed, 'that no one's ever gonna get nowhere if we just keep taking people's heads.'

'Ha!' Grimmjow exclaimed. 'Ya think so?'

'Ya I think so,' Lilinette snapped back. 'I think Uki must be some sort of ubermensch if he can keep talking to me after we hold his family like we are…'

'He got interest in talkin' to ya,' Apache dryly reminded.

'I know,' Lilinette sighed. 'But…Hell,' she sighed. 'Ulquiorra's got them buried in this dungeon out in the middle of the woods, and they're all just normal plusses. With kids and stuff. That's like fucking over the top. Plus, Uki's never gonna do what Kira did – even without his family, he wouldn't run off and leave his guys to get hurt…'

'…think maybe you're fantasizing a bit, eh?' Grimmjow asked, gently lifting Apache's crossed ankles off his lap, and lying down to Lilinette's right hand side; he looked up, squinting against the sunlight, and extended his left arm in the grass. Apache did not need a second invitation, and settled next to him, with her cheek on his shoulder.

'He ate just too much crap so far to protect them,' Lilinette simply refuted. 'He's not going nowhere…'Sides,' the girl sighed, 'his bros are plusses…Ya don't need to keep them sixty feet below ground to keep an eye on them. By the looks of them, they can't even jump a fence.'

Apache minutely lifted herself from the grass and knitted her fingers on Grimmjow' shoulder, looking over him and to Lilinette.

'That's got you shook up, eh, babe?' she asked, inquisitively narrowing her eyes.

'Yes,' Lilinette said, seamlessly resting her chin on Grimmjow's other shoulder; the Sexta snickered.

'Can't wait till you're all grown up, Lili,' he said. 'Ya girls cuddlin' me will make such an awesome picture in a couple of months…Ow!...the fuck!' he artificially protested, when both girls punched him in unison. 'Rough love!'

'In ya dreams, asshole,' Lilinette huffed.

'Not even there,' Apache warned, smacking him sharply over the head.

Neither of their words had an effect, and Grimmjow continued to chuckle manically to himself; still, he held Apache tighter and the Tercera Fraccion settled, after yet another murderous glare.

'So what d'ya wanna do with them people?' Apache asked, continuing to look at Lilinette over Grimmjow's chest. 'Nobody's gonna agree to let'em go.'

'And no one's gonna give 'em to you, Lili,' Grimmjow said. 'Gin ain't dumb, kiddo,' he added, feeling her tense. 'Plus, Ulquiorra gonna fight tooth an' nail. I say, just chill and forget it,' the Sexta shrugged. 'Dunno, if you're feelin' soft, send them fruit or summat…They ain't gonna thank you, anyway.'

'They're just freaked out of their minds,' Lilinette sighed. 'I know I'd be if I'd spent ten months underground…We could at least keep'em where they can see the sun.'

'He's got 'em all down there?' Grimmjow asked, then whistled in surprise at Lilinette's nod. 'That's gotta be an army.'

'It is, sorta,' the blonde admitted, with a sigh.

Apache frowned, and propped herself up on an elbow.

'How much chance ya willin' to run…How many are they?'

'Five families,' Lilinette shrugged.

'An' all of them with like seven brats?' Grimmjow asked, with wide eyes.

'No, dude, they got like two three kids, those who have kids,' Lilinette answered, with a menacing scowl.

'Hm, five,' Apache mumbled. 'Thing is…'

Grimmjow tilted his head to the side, and glanced at her, frowning.

'What ya thinking?' he asked.

'Well, if you was gonna sell holdin' 'em somewhere else, what would ya sell it with?' the Tercera Fraccion asked.

The Sexta sat up, and picked another piece of fish off the platter, clearly pained by the fact that he'd been asked to perform in his least favourite arena.

'Dunno,' he aggressively mumbled. 'First thought would be that it's not smart to keep'em all together. I think that might work on Gin.'

'Yeah,' Apache nodded. 'The other thing is, like, cost…'

'Huh?' Lilinette chuckled. 'Ya been drinking Sun-Sun's water?'

'I'm trying to help ya here, cut me some slack…' the odd eyed girl sighed. 'I've been looking at numbers so long my mind is broken…an' I don't even know math!'

'S'OK,' Grimmjow hasted to answer, as if the very notion of Apache knowing mathematics had frightened him to the core. He laid back down, and both girls resumed looking at each other over his chest.

'…but tho' I don't really know math, I gotta figure that keepin' all them people down there's gotta cost a bunch, and if not, it's still gonna keep a fuckload of Exequias busy. I mean, ya gots to feed 'em, give 'em cloth and stuff…'

'On the other hand, ya don't really got to watch them,' Grimmjow said. 'Ya lock the door, and you're done.'

'Yeh,' Apache conceded, 'but ya could argue that if you had them on random division grounds, ya wouldn't be doing any extra effort either. I mean, is not like we're busy like ants, 'round here.'

'True that,' Grimmjow sighed.

'So what you guys saying?' Lilinette asked. 'That we pitch to Gin that we take them outta where they're at, and split them among division grounds?'

'That was my thought,' Apache shrugged. 'There's plenty of houses left empty after…yeh,' she said, dispensing with the multiple executions and the exiled Shinigami with yet another shrug. 'Maybe they grow their own food sometimes, so we don't gotta supply for that, and whomever's around can watch them. Ya can even say there's better supervision, since one full Arrancar's gonna be better than five Exequias.'

'The thing that I was thinking, tho' is that you don't get them out of the frying pan an' into the fire, babe,' she added, letting her elbows slip to the side, and leaning her palms on Grimmjow's chest. 'Ya ain't got five friendly divisions…'

'Ain't ya getting a bit ahead of yourself?' Grimmjow smirked. 'I mean, sure, maybe it could fly, but…'

'Thing is, Grimm, if I go with this to Halibel-sama, it's gotta be complete.' Apache said. 'Halibel-sama don't look at unfinished stuff, an' I don't want her to be wasting her time thinking where we put these guys. If I'm gonna ask her to go to Gin, then I gotta have a plan, eh?'

'Stick in the mud,' Grimmjow mumbled.

'Well, no,' the Fraccion scowled, 'is only fair. When I ask Halibel-sama for shit, only thing she wants is that I know why and what I am askin'. So, quit being an ass.'

'Ya girls are boring,' the Sexta sighed. 'But cute,' he sighed once more. 'If we could get Mira Rose to hate me less, we could do like, a pile-up…'

'Dude!' Lilinette exclaimed.

'Eeh…' Grimmjow sighed. 'Right. So we gots five eggs,' he muttered, ' and what…three, maybe four? baskets.'

'Who you thinking of?' Apache asked.

'Us for one,' Lilinette answered. 'I agree Gin's not gonna let me have 'em all, but he's going to let me have one. Then we got the 4th and the 12th , which are awesome safe…'

'An' then we're out,' Grimmjow said. 'Unless you're considering Stark getting one of 'em, but…'

'That isn't any kind of smart,' Lilinette conceded.

'The 1st could work too,' Apache suggested. 'That would make four. How willin' are you to chance that we put one with Barragan?'

'I'd rather not,' Lilinette cringed. 'Not any of the ones with little kids, anyway…'

'Ya could pitch two in one place, tho',' Grimmjow suggested. 'Specially if it is at the 1st .'

Lilinette managed to crack a smile – chuckling, Apache reached over Grimmjow's chest, and caressed her cheek.

'See?' she laughed. 'We get things done, we do…'

The blonde swallowed dry, and let her head slip from Grimmjow's shoulder, and into the grass.

'Halibel's not gonna help me, Apache…It's nice of you to think of it, but…'

''Course she will,' Apache snickered. 'Cuz I'm gonna ask her, and if the askin' don't work, I'm gonna tell her it will piss Ulquiorra off to no end.'

Lilinette nodded, watching the clouds roll above.

'Maybe,' she said, stretching her arms up.

'You got a major crush on this guy, dontcha, babe?' Apache asked; Grimmjow cringed, but did not interrupt.

'I dunno,' Lilinette answered. 'I really dunno.'

Door after door opened before them, and closed behind them, in a mad rush; her arm kept slipping off Yuki's shoulder, as the boy could not keep up the pace and kept stumbling in fright – Tsubaki clenched her teeth and redoubled the strength of her grip, all but carrying him along. Her arm and shoulder were already sore, but she did not let go, nor did she think of asking the Exequias that were pushing them forth to slow down.

After so many months of utter silence from their part, Tsubaki wondered if they were even truly capable of speech.

She was soon proven they were.

They had ascended five different flights of stairs. Even in the rush, she could tell that the structure they had been held in resembled a gigantic beehive of corridors and cells just like the ones they had been occupying. Oddly, she did not see many doors that looked as if they had been intended to be locked; whatever had been previously held here, she thought, must have been allowed a certain freedom of movement within the confines of the building.

It did not change the fact that once they had finally arrived at the topmost level, a gigantic doorway, fitted with equally gigantic locking mechanisms which even spread an eerie, greenish light, clearly showed that the building had always been a prison.

The Exequias stopped, and sheathed the weapons they'd been using to push them forth, and impose the pace. Despite the fact that she could barely feel her arm, Tsubaki held Yuki closer, then found the strength for a faint smile when her oldest son touched her on the other shoulder, and gently prompted her to pass him the satchel she'd been carrying. Tsubaki all but refused – she thought that Eiji was carrying too much already, and the satchel was not truly that heavy.

A lifetime fit into five sacks, she thought, cringing. And not even those are heavy.

She still passed the satchel, understanding that it was the gesture that mattered; in whatever shape, the young man was simply trying to ease his mother's load. Tsubaki found strength in his smile, and finally brought herself to look ahead.

They had been dragged before yet another human-Hollow, who did not seem to be much older than the last one, but had a poignantly different attitude and bearing – the girl had sleek, dark hair, and donned a far more modest outfit than her companion. But for the bone like ridge that rose from her hair, one could scarcely have coined her for a Hollow, as her long dress hid her Hollow hole from view.

The Exequias bowed as one, and Tsubaki drew a deep breath.

If they had planned to kill us, they would not have made us gather our belongings, she once more repeated to herself, as she had all through the transport. Just like the previous hundreds of times when she'd forced the words through her mind, they helped little.

Despite the show of deference from the other Hollow, the humanized one did not look up from the stack of papers she had been reading.

'Are thesse the lasst oness?' she asked, oddly hiding her mouth behind her sleeve as she spoke. Tsubaki could not tell whether the soft lisp she had sensed had been a characteristic of the young one's speech, or simply a question of her voice filtering through the silk.

'Yes, Sun-Sun-sama,' one of the Exequias responded, remaining bowed.

'Nazaraki,' the girl said, finally looking up from her paper.

Her pale, lavender eyes shifted her glance from the frightened family before her to the paper.

'Four,' she nodded to herself. 'Correct.'

She took rapid note of something on her stack of papers, then flipped the first page over, to extract a yellowish envelope, adorned with a brightly green seal.

'I'm booored!' a voice exploded from the side.

The graceful Hollow almost dropped the envelope, and Yuki was so startled that he jumped to embrace his mother.

'You are sso irritating,' the Hollow hissed – and now, Tsubaki thought, it was clear that the lisp was not a question of the silk sleeves.

The gigantic door swung aside as if it had been made of straw, and even though the light of day was dull, showing that the sky had been overcast, Tsubaki shielded her eyes.

'I ain't irritating, I'm standin' in the rain like a muppet,' another young Hollow muttered, approaching from the outside, her hands deeply shoved in her pockets. Her crooked walking stance seemed to denote nothing but aggression, and drew attention to the sharp horn on the top of her head. 'Would ya hurry up?'

'I am proceeding as fasst as iss reassonable,' the one they'd called Sun-Sun answered, regaining her calm. 'I doubt you will be volunteering to retroactively fill in paperss for the Omnitsskido…'

'What is this?' Tsubaki's husband dared, minutely inching forward – as if the man had suddenly gathered an attack stance, the Exequias straightened, and half pulled their swords. Terrified by their reaction speed, and where it might have led, Tsubaki grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back.

'Chill,' the horned Hollow ordered.

To Tsubaki's surprise, the Exequias slipped their swords in their scabbards as quickly and uniformly as they'd began to draw them.

'Nazaraki Kissuke,' Sun-Sun said, for the first time directly glancing at the man. Her gaze was cold, but not aggressive, and bore the same curious undertone as the odd coloured eyes of her companion. 'The conditionss of your detention have been altered. For the besst,' she added, noting that the man had clenched his jaws.

He frowned lightly, and exchanged a quick glance with his wife.

Sun-Sun's reassurance had not sounded false, but oddly rehearsed – as if intuiting the source of the confusion that reigned in Tsubaki's eyes, Sun-Sun shifted her glance to the woman and gave her an unexpected smile.

'All of your brotherss and ssissterss assked exsactly the ssame quesstion,' the Hollow said, hiding her thin chuckles in her sleeve.

'All…'Tsubaki whispered.

The Hollow nodded.

'It is deemed by the New Central that ssince the term of your detention iss unknown, your occupation of the ssingle reiatssu concealing holding facility in Ssereitei iss inefficient ussage,' Sun-Sun shrugged. 'You will therefore be held under housse arrest, at…'

She consulted her papers.

'Third divission groundss,' she completed. 'You'll be exspected to cater for yoursselvess to a certain exstent, but you sshould agree that it iss an improvement over pressent conditionss... Who's ssigning for thesse at desstination?' Sun-Sun asked, looking over her shoulder, and ignoring the disbelief of the family before her. 'Grimmjow or Lilinette?'

Tsubaki's attention sharpened.

'Fuck cares,' the horned Hollow spat. 'Can we just move?'

'Ulquiorra will care,' the other calmly responded. 'It iss very unpleassant to deal with the third divission,' she sighed. 'I never know what name to put on which formss.'

'Fine, let's say Grimm signs,' the odd-eyed girl sighed.

'Oh?' Sun-Sun queried, with a chuckle that sounded distinctly malicious. 'I wassn't aware that he could…ssign hiss name. Very well,' she said, once more scribbling on her paper, and once more extracting the yellowish envelope.

'Your travel and packaging orderss,' Sun-Sun said, holding the envelope out towards the Exequias. One advanced and took it from her veiled fingers, not once straightening his back. 'Nazaraki, party of four.'

The Hollow's voice suddenly turned cutting.

'Make ssure that they reach in four,' she hissed, and though she knew that her reaction would frighten her youngest even further, Tsubaki could not withhold a shudder.

Many things swirled through the woman's mind and heart as they followed the Exequias out and under the grey, overcast sky; none of them were strong enough to gain true substance and overcome the others. Not the sensation that they were being moved around like cattle; not even the fact that in the daze, they must have moved and followed like cattle as well. The Hollow's words simply spun endlessly in her mind.

All of your brotherss and ssissterss assked exsactly the ssame quesstion.

Could this mean that they were all alive? She wondered, not noticing the heavy rainfall, and simply looking on as Kisuke loaded the five satchels which contained the remnants of their life into a small, creaky wooden cart. Had they all been granted the same treatment?

Was this all a ruse so that they can take us to our deaths without struggle?

She swallowed dry, feeling her heart had once more begun to race, and looked over her shoulder to the horned, odd-eyed Hollow, who'd been casually leaning against the large doorframe and gazing at them in undisguised curiosity.

'Why now? Why, after ten months…' Tsubaki questioned, not knowing what else to say, and not truly counting on a response.

'Because your bro' makes friends none of y'all deserve, and because his friends got friends too,' the Hollow answered, sounding slightly angry.

Both the strange vibration in her voice and the meaning of her words was wasted on Tsubaki, and the woman felt too overwhelmed to even truly consider them. The little convoy set in motion, their speed impaired by the muddy forest track. Throughout the journey that might have lasted as little as half an hour, but certainly felt like an eternity, the woman felt as if the world was simply sliding by her. Her heart was beating in her throat, and she felt so terribly cold that Yuki's hand in her own felt incandescent.

None of it was real, Tsubaki felt – not the majestic crowns of trees rolling above, not the lead filled skies…not even the white walls of Sereitei, the cobbled roads and the peaceful houses that lined quiet streets. The little white gate before which they finally stopped felt like the barrier between two worlds.

The Exequias took a step back.

Now, she thought. They're going to do it, now.

Not knowing what else to do, she reached for Eiji's hand in blind.

The Exequias simply turned and walked away, but the sensation of being afloat and outside of her body lingered until, with hesitant steps, the family made their way through the unknown garden and unto the unknown porch.

Kisuke laughed, and pried her hand away from Yuki's, gently dragging her to the side; Tsubaki followed without hesitation.

'Would you look at that,' he whispered, kissing her temple, and gently coaxing her chin up.

A small, clearly misshaped and overgrown cherry tree bonsai stood on the outside of the unpolished, dark windowsill; a note in childish, uncertain calligraphy hung amid its branches.

Uki says you'll know what to do with this better than he does. The note read – and it was only then that Tsubaki melted away from the nightmare, and into her husband's arms.

Next week, we see how Stark manages with his new and very much unwanted acquisition.

You can be sure only that he will be displeased.