Chapter 15:

Training the behavior wasn't as easy as they thought it would be. Granted, Shinji didn't think it would be easy. It took him time to conquer his Hollow and he was giving himself and Hisagi a day to overcome their wolf half.

Using the private training yard at his Division, Shinji encouraged Hisagi to try fighting him as a Soul Reaper and see what happened. They used wooden training swords, of course, and began their mock battle. All went well for the first round but then their wolf side started to show itself. Shinji became aware of it when Hisagi started chewing on the wooden sword. After locking swords during a different round, they somehow ended up wrestling, biting at each other playfully.

Shinji had his back pressed against the ground with Hisagi on top of him before he realized they were no longer fighting as Soul Reapers. "I don't think we can do this in front of people," Shinji told him flatly. "Not without making all the girls blush."

Hisagi noticed how they must have looked and got off of him. "Is this working?" he asked. "I think we're just bringing out our wolf selves instead of controlling them."

"Well, we have to know what triggers them to come out and how we can correct it when it does." Shinji stood up, grabbing his discarded sword. "I have to lead a training demonstration in front of the Squad and can't be rolling around nipping at my opponent. If I notice that's what I'm about to do, I can hopefully try not to do it when I feel it coming on."

"We haven't been able to do that yet," said Hisagi. "I'm starting to think we're making our wolf halves stronger by doing this. Maybe we should have just ignored it."

"And if I start play fighting during the demo, what's my excuse?" Shinji held his sword out, ready for another go. "I hope by doing this, instead of discouraging the behavior, I can curb it. Maybe after all this, we'll just tire ourselves out so we won't act this way in front of people."

"Let's hope." Hisagi picked up his sword to do one more round.

After hearing about the blood incident, Hitsugaya made a decision.

If he had to choose between Byakuya gaining more slaves or losing transfusion packs, he would rather sacrifice the transfusion packs. Since they weren't facing an enemy at the moment, chances were slim that there would be a need for a lot of transfusions, and while a sudden attack was possible, it was unlikely. Plus, there were still plenty of blood packs, so even if there was an accident or an attack, they would be ready. He would rather Byakuya feed off the blood packs than people. That way, he wouldn't gain a slave or risk the lives of those he had already fed upon, drinking them dry.

Weighing the options, he knew it was a better alternative and, with donors, the transfusion packs would be replenished. It was easier to collect more blood than it was Soul Reapers. But the population dwindling wasn't his main concern. While it was always risky to allow Byakuya to feed off someone because he could end up taking too much and kill them, it was equally dangerous for them to become his devoted servant.

Those who became loyal to him were loyal to a fault. They became like a more frantic version of Momo when it came to her feelings towards Aizen. Even when they were at war, she still insisted that Aizen was a good man and probably had a good reason for doing what he was doing and therefore everything could be overlooked. She wanted Hitsugaya to save Aizen, not stop him. Even after he tried to kill her, she still believed in him and looked her childhood friend in the face as she told him that Aizen wasn't a bad man. Her blind faith was unshakable and ended up taking a toll on her body and mind, not to mention those around her. Though she was able to smile and function, Hitsugaya knew she was still recovering.

He didn't want that for these people. He also understood that such loyalty would put them in danger. If anyone so much as challenged Byakuya, they would fight to the death to defend him. They would turn against their best friend if Byakuya told them to. Even if he didn't tell them to, they would undoubtedly do it. If Byakuya was threatened, they would protect him. If Byakuya was hungry, they would feed him. It didn't matter how.

To anyone not in the know, they would look like a lunatic and a traitor. There would be a fight and neither side would end up winning. If the slaves defended Byakuya with such ferocity, they would either end up killing someone or get themselves killed for their actions. Since they were under Byakuya's spell, they wouldn't care what happened to them as long as Byakuya was safe.

The issue was that they couldn't always tell when Byakuya was in actual danger or gauge how they should respond. If they believed someone suspected Byakuya of anything, whether or not they were wrong, the servant would assume it would put Byakuya in an awkward position and, in an effort to avoid that, might kill the person in order to silence them. That would only end up drawing more attention to them, which wasn't their intent and might make them more irrational. If someone teased Byakuya as a joke, they could take it as an insult to their master and retaliate disproportionally. People would be killed or maimed or who knew what?

For these reasons, Hitsugaya decided that he couldn't risk Byakuya making more slaves who would only end up endangering themselves and others for his sake. Those people weren't in control of themselves and it wasn't their fault. The fewer slaves, the better.

"It will certainly be more manageable," Hitsugaya said to himself. "Can't walk around thinking everyone's one of his minions."

Less of a chance of people getting hurt. Less of a chance for people to misunderstand.

"I doubt the Head Captain will take that into consideration, even if I told him. If they attack another Soul Reaper, they'll end up in a cell. Not that the Head Captain would believe me anyway…"

Which brought Hitsugaya to his next project. Making it harder for Byakuya to feed on those around him, especially those who were close or too valuable.

"You're kidding."

Hitsugaya handed Shinji a clove of garlic. "I'm not. Eat it."

Shinji wrinkled his nose and took the clove in his fingers, sniffing it cautiously. He leaned his head away at the smell.

Hitsugaya handed one to Hisagi as well. Hisagi didn't smell it but he did protest. "Do you know what would happen if we ate an entire glove of garlic?"

"Yes." Hitsugaya put an entire clove into his mouth and crunched down on it. His eyes immediately started to water and he shuddered.

Hisagi looked at the clove in his hand with a grimace. "I'm pretty sure dogs aren't supposed to have garlic."

"We're wolves."

"Which descended from wolves."

"You're just lookin' for an excuse not to eat the thing," pointed out Shinji.

"You still haven't either," retorted Hisagi.

Shinji grinned. "I wanna see if you survive first."

"You're both eating it," said Hitsugaya firmly. "As long as we have garlic in our blood, Byakuya won't want to bite us. And if we smell like garlic, he won't come near us."

"Then let's put the stuff in our pockets," said Shinji. "No one will tell the difference."

"What if Byakuya jumps on you from behind and bites you before he smells it?"

"What if he doesn't?"

Hitsugaya pointed at the garlic. "Eat it. And Hisagi, I want you to cook with it and distribute the dishes to your Division, your friends and the Women's Association. We need as many people as we can to eat the stuff. Make it extra garlicy."

"So Byakuya won't go near them," said Hisagi, understanding.

"This is all a ploy to protect them and have no one know that's what you're doing," said Shinji. "That's why the food's not going to anyone Hisagi doesn't normally cook for so no one will suspect."

Byakuya's more likely to feed off the people in his own Squad," said Hisagi. "What do we do about that?"

"Byakuya's got a refined taste," said Hitsugaya. "He's less likely to feed off some lowly Squad member and those who are loyal to him are going to seek out prime Soul Reapers for his palate. Unless he's desperate, he'll be picky."

"So most of them are safe."

Shinji understood something else about this plan. "You're also trying to limit the power of his servants, aren't you? His taste is one thing you're basing this off of but it's not priority. If he bites a Squad member, that's ok. If he bites another Captain or someone in Squad 12, that's not ok. If he does, he'll have a really powerful slave or someone who won't want him to be cured."

Hitsugaya nodded. "I am strategizing. And yes, a regular Squad member is preferable to someone of Lieutenant rank or higher when it comes to servants. A powerful one, in both physical prowess and pull, would be more dangerous to contend with."

"I get that." Shinji looked down at the garlic and sighed. "Well… Down the hatch." He tossed it in his mouth and chewed quickly to get it over with. He nearly gagged on it but managed to swallow. "Your turn, Hisagi," he wheezed.

"Oh, hell, no."

"You'd rather Byakuya bite you and gain a werewolf slave willing to turn against friend to serve him?"

Hisagi whined and reluctantly ate the garlic clove.

Satisfied, Hitsugaya nodded. "Also, I'm going to need your help tonight," he told them.

"Now what?" Shinji moaned.

Yumichika heard someone walking down the hall and opened his bedroom door to investigate. "Ikkaku?" he asked sleepily. "Did you just get in?"

Ikkaku paused, his hand on the door to his own room. "Yeah. I was training late tonight."

"Ok," Yumichika yawned and closed the door, the breeze stirring up two feathers resting on the floor, blowing them into the hall which Ikkaku promptly ignored.

Yumichika settled back into bed, having built himself a little nest out of extra sheets and pillows. He found it to be more comfortable than his usual sleeping arrangement. The random feathers laying around didn't bother him in the slightest.

Hisagi looked around nervously as they raided the community garden. Squad 4 had its own garden for medical herbs but there was a separate garden for growing vegetables which other Squads used so it was placed on the boarder of the 4th Division. Being this close to where Byakuya was known to feed and where additional security had been placed to protect the blood in the sickbay had Hisagi on pins and needles.

"We shouldn't be here. What if we get caught?"

"Doing what? Pullin' weeds?" Shinji asked, looking over his shoulder at him. "It's the middle of the night and we're in a garden."

"Exactly," said Hisagi. "Who does that?"

"Clearly, us." Shinji looked back at what Hitsugaya was doing. "You sure this is necessary, Captain?"

Hitsugaya raised his head, both arms buried in the soft soil of the garden as he dug. "Yup." He pulled out a plant. "We need to gather as much garlic as we can carry, but not all of it. We have to leave some behind otherwise people will know it's been raided."

"And like they won't notice the holes you dug to fish out those ones?" Shinji pointed to the empty spaces behind Hitsugaya. "They're crops. Made in neat rows with a certain number in each row. If even one is missing, people are gonna notice."

"A lot of Soul Reapers use this garden. The ones that go missing could have been harvested."

Shinji sighed. "Why are we doing this again?"

"Because in my dream, once they discover Byakuya's weak to garlic, his slaves destroy all the garlic crops, even the seedlings. If we don't stock up on garlic now, we might not have a chance once they realize garlic can do their master harm."

"The same dream that's already deviated several times?" Shinji scratched the back of his head. "I'm all for being careful but this might be too much."

"We need to eat a steady diet of garlic and we need to stash some of the cloves around where our friends sleep just in case Byakuya goes hunting. We also need enough to cook with and pass around to as many people as we can as we discussed before."

"Alright," said Shinji. "But let's not go too crazy. We might end up making things worse."

"I'm really uncomfortable being here at night," Hisagi expressed for the tenth time. "Shouldn't we be in our other forms for this?"

"Yeah, because three wolves raiding a garden in the dead of night is much less conspicuous," Shinji said sarcastically.

"So far, no one has seen a wolf and I'd like to keep it that way for as long as we can," said Hitsugaya, pulling out another plant. "It would also be more difficult to explain if we get caught. This way, if someone does see us, we can just tell them we were gardening or heard a noise."

"Because everyone gardens at night," muttered Shinji. "Totally normal. What, you don't? Huh, go figure. You should try it some time."

"Enough of the sarcasm," said Hitsugaya. "I can hear you having a conversation with yourself from here."

Shinji started to load some garlic plants into his pocket. The plan was to use some of these now and replant the rest in the forest for later use. Whatever wasn't hidden in their rooms would be in the ground surrounded by trees. They were unlikely to grow in that location but that wasn't the objective.

"Can we go now?" Hisagi asked, acting as lookout. "I think we have enough."

Hitsugaya pocketed the rest and left half the crops untouched. "Alright, let's head out."

The three of them left the garden and walked towards the forest without talking. By this time, everyone was in bed. Well, almost everyone.

Hitsugaya smelled them before he saw them. He held out his hand and motioned for the others to hide. Ikkaku was walking down the street rubbing his neck. He barely noticed them or where he was going, starting down one street before realizing it was the wrong way and backtracking to take the correct street to his barracks. Hitsugaya suspected Ikkaku had just been fed upon, leading to him being less vigilant than usual.

"That was too close," said Hisagi after Ikkaku was gone.

"He didn't go for the garden," mumbled Hitsugaya. They must not have discovered Byakuya's weakness yet.