Chapter: 32

There was nothing more they could do. When they saw Rangiku exit the building and Renji standing outside the office door, they knew what had taken place. They had failed to protect Ichigo from Byakuya. The trio gave the disappointing news to Hitsugaya and silence soon followed.

Hitsugaya clenched his fists on top of the desk.

Doing nothing wasn't an option, but doing the bare minimum yielded very little. Being proactive either resulted in werewolves being bred or aroused suspicion.

Ichigo may not have been a Captain but he was powerful enough to take one on in a fight and win. He was strong and now Byakuya had him under his control.

This wasn't working. As careful as they were, they couldn't protect everyone. If they had done more, they might have been able to save Ichigo, but they held back because they feared people would notice.

Being careful was no longer an option.

"It doesn't matter if we still fail to protect those around us," declared Hitsugaya.

"What about all the people we have protected?" asked Hisagi. "Those numbers are still high."

"I didn't want to take risks until I was certain a cure was in the works and ready. I was afraid that if we did too much, Byakuya and his minions would notice and take action. But if we keep losing people to his bite, it doesn't matter. Granted, calling attention to ourselves and himself would increase…"

"He'd gather more people faster because now he has a reason to buff up those numbers," interrupted Shinji. "That's obvious. That's why you went this route. He's doing this casually at his own speed. As soon as he thinks there's danger or a reason, he'll work even faster."

"I was trying to prevent that, yes, but it doesn't matter if those numbers keep going up anyway. Even at a slower pace. If he keeps gathering strong Soul Reapers, the speed doesn't matter. He'll already have a powerful army loyal to only him."

"You're right," said Momo, understanding. "If pressed, he'd go after anyone. Given time, he'd target those more powerful to turn. Which means even if he's found out now, he has a fighting chance with the people he's already gathered."

"Does this mean you want to start pulling punches, or..?" asked Hisagi.

"It means we can't hold back anymore," said Hitsugaya. "What we've done so far hasn't been working. It has and it hasn't. This is going to be more dangerous, but what else can we do at this point? Clearly, this method isn't working."

"Going reckless might not work either," said Shinji. "It'll be dangerous and could get us all exposed. Just because it has its flaws doesn't mean we should abandon it. Are you sure this is what you want to do, Captain?"

Hitsugaya sighed. "We can't stop at the end of our chain anymore. We need to keep pulling."

"So no more trying to stop them until they reach Byakuya's door? We kick it down and pull them out of there?"

"That's what I'm thinking."

"That makes it dangerous for several reasons. For one, it'll be harder to explain ourselves and harder to keep the secret." Shinji frowned. "And by secret, I mean ours and Byakuya's."

"If we start actively preventing him from feeding off others, more so than we are now, they're going to realize that we know. We'll be targeted next," said Hisagi, worried.

"Well, what we've been doing isn't getting us the best results. Even if it is slowing him down, his numbers are still increasing. When I last spoke with Akon, he said a cure was close to being complete. I say if we're going to start being bold, now's the time. Before a cure was in the works would have been stupid."

"And kicking down his door isn't? He knows where we live."

"Don't we have allies of our own?" asked Momo. "Non-werewolves?"

"We have other monsters lurking around but none of them are aware…"

Momo's eyes lit up and she bounced in place. "Yumichika! Yumichika knows, I'm sure of it."

"We have been using him but haven't told him anything about…"

"He knows we're werewolves," she told the group. "This morning, he told me my coat was shiny. I thought it was weird at the time but it actually makes sense. I think he's more aware than you think."

The men looked at each other.

"Getting Yumichika to join forces with us would be a lot easier than one of Byakuya's minions. And he's been useful so far. Perhaps we should consider it."

"If he knows we're werewolves and hasn't informed anyone, that makes him trustworthy."

Nodding to one another, a decision was made.

Byakuya watched Ichigo sleep in his makeshift bed with great interest. He expected Ichigo to wake up any minute now but he slept soundly where he was, not moving an inch. He tried waking him at one point but soon gave up after seeing that Ichigo would only moan and not open his eyes.

He was sure he had stopped himself before taking too much. Ichigo must have just been tired. Perhaps it worked differently for humans. Soul Reapers must have been able to bounce back easier.

Byakuya heard footsteps in the hall and stood up from the makeshift bed. "Keep an eye on him," Byakuya instructed Renji and Kira. "See that he's well."

The two nodded and moved closer to take care of Ichigo as their master went to the door.

Byakuya opened the door and stood in its frame to keep the room behind him a secret. Rukia stood with two other Soul Reapers though they were not together. The two beside her were from his Squad who happened to show up at the same time to speak with him.

"Is Ichigo in there?" she asked before the other two could make their wants known. "Renji said he was bringing him here to see you."

Byakuya was unaware that Rukia had wanted Ichigo to assess Byakuya's condition for her, knowing only that he had told Renji to bring him to the office as his next intended victim, so he addressed it as such. "It would seem that was Renji's intent, but Ichigo is unavailable right now."

"Is he in there?" Rukia asked hesitantly. She didn't dare try to peek in.

"No," he lied. "Perhaps he took a detour. I suggest you look elsewhere and leave me to my work. I'll let you know if he turns up."

Rukia bowed her head meekly to her brother and superior. "Yes, Big Brother." She stepped away to let the other Soul Reapers take their turn, making her way quickly down the hall after putting some distance between them. It seemed to him that Rukia was going to search for Ichigo away from the office which was exactly what he wanted.

The other two Soul Reapers respectfully informed him that he was late for a Squad meeting and it couldn't be postponed or transferred to his Lieutenant. Byakuya had to attend. He closed the door, following the two Soul Reapers down the hall, discreetly glancing back at his office, trusting that his servants would tend to Ichigo as instructed.

Yumichika grinned from his perch on a low branch, gazing at the assembled werewolves before him. "I had a feeling," he told them after being confronted with the information. He pointed at Hisagi. "You sounded just like the voice I heard, so I could only figure."

"You knew about us being wolves and said nothing?"

"What would be the point?" Yumichika asked. "Who cares?"

Hitsugaya addressed him next. "It might interest you to know that Byakuya is a vampire and has been recruiting people to use as his slaves and food source. Unless you were already aware of that, too."

"Nope," Yumichika confessed, though he didn't act all that surprised. "That does suit him nicely, I have to say. Yes, he would be the type. And that does explain a few things."

Shinji frowned. "Yet it never occurred to you?"

"Well, I knew he was trying to do something to me in his office but the vampire thing never crossed my mind. Made me uncomfortable, so I peeled out of there."

"Have you noticed anything else odd?" Hisagi asked, wondering how much Yumichika knew.

"Ikkaku's been odd lately."

"He's one of Byakuya's slaves."

Yumichika puckered his lips. "I suppose he would be. The others as well?"

"By others, what do you mean?"

"The people acting strange. The ones catering to his every whim and spending all their time around him, doing his bidding. Those ones."

"Yup."

Yumichika sighed. "Man, that noble has quite the fanbase, doesn't he?"

"I'm surprised you noticed any of this, considering how much attention you pay to yourself," remarked Hisagi.

"I can do more than one thing."

Shinji raised his brow at Yumichika. "Have you noticed anything else?"

"Rangiku is different, too. But I doubt she's a slave to Byakuya."

"She isn't. She's a monster, too."

"Yes, I know, but she seems to have become a creature as well."

Hitsugaya didn't scold Yumichika for the remark against his Lieutenant, feeling the same some days, and tried to steer the conversation back to where he wanted it. "Have you noticed anyone else having gained some kind of power? Or transformations?"

"Nope, just you guys."

Shinji raised his brow again. "Really? No one else?"

"You guys and the ones we discussed."

Shinji's shoulders slumped. "Does he really not know?"

"Know what?"

Momo gave him the answer. "Yumichika, you're a harpy. You're a creature, too."

Squatting on the branch, preening his feathers, Yumichika glanced her way. "What do you mean?"

"Should I get you a mirror?" Shinji asked.

Hitsugaya held up his arm. "Do that and this conversation's over. He'll pay more attention to himself than anything else."

"How does he not see the feathers?"

Yumichika looked at his arms then pointed to the decorative ones near his eyes. "I've always had these."

"Those aren't the ones I'm talking about."

Yumichika cocked his head. "Then I'm not sure what you're referring to."

"How can you be so observant and blind at the same time?" Shinji pointed to Yumichika's body. "Look at the feathers on your arms. Look at the way you're sitting. Have you noticed you're in a tree?"

"You have claws, Yumichika," chimed in Hisagi. "How do you not see that?"

Yumichika looked at his body. "What are you talking about?"

Shinji held his head in his hands. "This guy's a freaking birdbrain!"

"You seriously don't notice any of this?" Momo asked him. "How your body's changed?"

Yumichika looked at his feathered arms then to her. "Lots of people develop freckles or gray hairs. It's no cause for alarm."

"This is a little different," mumbled Shinji.

Hitsugaya waved his arms. "It doesn't matter if he notices or not. Yumichika, can and will you help us stop Byakuya from gathering more minions?"

Yumichika hopped off his perch and landed in front of them, letting his arms drop to his sides so his sleeves covered the feathers. "Sure, why not?"

"That was easy," said Hisagi.

"Though I wonder how much help I can be to you," Yumichika said with a cunning smile. "After all, you've been trying to prevent Byakuya from feeding off new people to no avail. You've even used me to do it, though I was unaware at the time, and still nothing. What do you suppose will be different?"

Hitsugaya looked at the ground. "Before we were too subtle. Taking action without taking action. Stopping before he sees us."

"And things will be different now because?" Yumichika bent forward to look Hitsugaya in the face. "There are too many people for you to protect and adding one more to your side won't change that. One man, four of you, against how many hundreds or thousands of Soul Reapers? How can you possibly protect them all? While you're shielding one with your body, how many others will be exposed? Just because you manage to stop him from feeding off one won't stop him from flying to the next far away from you to get his fix."

Hitsugaya looked away again, knowing Yumichika was right. They had been failing not because they weren't doing enough but because they weren't enough. There were too many people to protect.

"Then we do need more werewolves," said Hisagi.

"No, you don't. You need to make a decision and stick with it," said Yumichika. "The problem is that you're trying to satisfy everyone's needs and end up satisfying no one."

Hitsugaya looked up. "You're right. It's not the wolf in us that's making this hard. It's that we can't do everything."

"Byakuya needs food so he has to feed. In order to feed, he need to bite someone. If we keep him from biting, he needs the blood packs. If we prevent him from getting those, he'll have to bite someone. But if we prevent both from happening, he'll starve."

"And with Byakuya's instincts being what they are, he can't stop himself and he can't be reasoned with. We also can't control his minions because they live to serve him. If they think he's in danger, they'll take action, even if it's irrational."

Yumichika nodded at the group. "Exactly. Plus, you want to keep yourselves from being exposed. If you do too much, someone's going to find out."

"That's why we've been limiting ourselves."

"And that's why he keeps getting more people."

"But we thought if we could prevent him from getting strong Soul Reapers…"

"And yet…" Yumchika chuckled wickedly. "Sorry, Captain, but it hasn't been working. And now it won't matter."

"How's that?" asked Momo.

"Byakuya has so many people working for him now. In different Squads, in different departments. Even if you stopped him from feeding off someone new, he already has all the power he needs."

Shinji looked at the others. "I doubt it was intentionally strategic, but it is. Different Squads so no one can pinpoint his exact location, having people in different areas so he can get information quickly and having strong, authoritative and possibly influential people at his command all works in Byakuya's favor."

"Exactly," said Yumichika with a smile.

"We can still limit how many he obtains at this juncture," said Hitsugaya. "One Captain at his command is better than having them all. And now that he has Ichigo…"

"I wouldn't be too worried aside from the fact that he can go into the World of the Living and recruit more people," said Shinji. "And we have no idea how Byakuya's bite will effect a human. If he turns Ichigo into a fellow vampire and returns to his world…"

"Humans will end up being fed upon as well. We'd have a problem in both worlds."

Yumichika shrugged his shoulders with a smirk. "Face facts, you guys. There's no way to do this subtly. If you go that route, it'll be more of the same. If you take more action, it will be impossible to keep the secret. Either you draw attention to yourselves or you don't. And by 'yourselves' I mean you and Byakuya."

"And if he knows or feels threatened…"

"If anyone confronts him or his minions…"

Hitsugaya shook his head. "Enough holding back and going the subtle route. We don't have a choice at this point."

"But I thought you wanted to wait until the cure was fully prepared," said Hisagi.

"Not at the cost of more people."

"But if the cure works, it won't matter," Hisagi went on. "They'll all go back to normal."

"But if he has too many people on his side, they can defend Byakuya and possibly destroy the cure," pointed out Shinji. "Taking action before he can build up his numbers would be best and we'll already have our hands full with what he's got now. The choice is fighting either a small army or a big army."

"And if Byakuya's numbers keeps growing, eventually his reach will extend to the lab where the cure is being made. He can manipulate everyone into getting rid of it. What if he bites Akon of Mayuri?"

"Then there is no choice," said Momo. "We have to be more proactive, even if it means risking our secrets."

"Not wanting to expose ourselves or Byakuya was the main reason we've been holding back in the first place. Cast that aside and we might have a chance," said Hitsugaya. "Though it will be a lot riskier and more dangerous."

"What else is new?" asked Shinji.

"We're abandoning subtlety then?" Hisagi whined pitifully. "Why do I hate where this is going?"

At some point in the day, Ichigo woke up, but not completely. He didn't seem to be aware of where he was and his eyes were gazed. Renji tried to ask him some questions but Ichigo looked through him and didn't answer any of them. Kira brought Ichigo some orange juice and Renji helped him drink. They hoped Ichigo would perk up after drinking it but he laid back down and went back to sleep.

Kira and Renji looked at each other. They were told to look after Ichigo but weren't sure if this meant Ichigo needed help or not. Knowing Byakuya was busy, neither wanted to find him to ask. All they could do was sit at his bedside and wait for Ichigo's condition to change or for their master to return.