Chapter 38:

Hitsugaya had no luck finding Ichigo, even with his sense of smell. He was worried trusting Ichigo and not locking him up would be their downfall. He seemed subdued compared to Byakuya but these constant disappearances had him concerned. There was no telling what Ichigo was doing out of sight. He had already broken into the blood bank and if Byakuya learned of this and it wasn't one of his minions, he'd know another vampire was on the loose.

"I hate this," Hitsugaya muttered to himself.

He arranged to meet with the others in the forest. He sensed that only one member of the Stealth Force had ventured this far and was unsure if they would follow him into the trees. He made sure no one was around when he changed and was grateful that anything he said in this form wouldn't be understood by the spy.

No one had seen or heard from Ichigo but every werewolf was certain that they were being watched.

"There were two outside our office," said Momo. "Do you think they suspect? Do they know?"

"When I was making my rounds, I sensed one near our building. I also haven't seen Kensei in a while," said Hisagi. "This is all your fault, Shinji. If you hadn't pointed fingers…"

"My fault? Soi Fon was the one to confront them."

"Because you said something."

"She investigated. I doubt she would have said where the information came from. How am I to blame?"

"If she name-dropped you, you are. They would have known you got the idea in her head."

"And meanwhile, we're down two minions. You're welcome."

"Yeah, but if people find out you're the informant, they'll be looking at you which means they'll be looking at us. You screwed us over."

"Only if she mentioned where the idea came from. Besides, I didn't say anything other than pointing out clues. I never said they did it and never said I saw them do it. What I mentioned could have been reported by anyone. It doesn't matter."

"Captain, please help me make a big deal out of this."

Hitsugaya knew they both had good points and didn't believe Shinji was the cause of all this scrutiny. His eyes were focused on someone else.

"Ichigo has been disappearing and now we're seeing Byakuya's spies watching our every move. I don't think that's a coincidence."

"I never mentioned we were werewolves," said Shinji.

"But you did mention that we were aware Byakuya was a vampire."

Shinji couldn't refute that fact. "You think I shouldn't have done that? I needed him to trust us and believe us. What else could I have said? If he was a vampire, he would have been turned by someone. He would have figured it out eventually."

Hitsugaya's ears twitched and everyone looked in the same direction. Yumichika had come to the forest in search of them. "There you are. I was looking for you."

Hitsugaya quickly shushed Yumichika. "There's a spy nearby. Don't address us by name and whatever you have to tell us, try to do it in code so it doesn't look like you're talking to us."

Yumichika whined. "Why do you have to make this more complicated?"

"We're being watched. Don't blow our cover."

Yumichika nodded. "I do have a message to give you."

"What's the message?"

Yumichika thought it over. "What was it again? Oh, yes. Don't come back to the lab. Seems Ichigo was hungry when he came with Nanao, if that makes sense."

The group understood immediately and were quite alarmed.

"Ichigo bit Akon," Hitsugaya gasped. "Oh, no…"

"Oh, no!" cried Momo. "And Nanao, too, by the sound of it."

"I knew this would happen," Hisagi barked. "We never should have done this. We should have locked him up."

"But why would he go after Akon deliberately?" asked Shinji. "I never mentioned… Oh, crap. I said we could work on a cure. Where else would he go?"

"I thought the lab creeped him out. I'm surprised he went there."

"Now that he's bitten Akon, he's going to tell him everything. He's going to know we've been holding back on him. He'll know we've not only been working on a cure this whole time but that we're werewolves."

"Perfect," grumbled Hisagi.

"But Akon got this message to us. Didn't he, Yumichika?" Hitsugaya looked up at him. "He knew he was going to be bitten and warned us so we wouldn't come back and fall into a trap. Brilliant move on Akon's part."

"If he's so brilliant, he'd have avoided being bitten in the first place."

"Nanao was bitten, too. If we didn't know that, how could Akon? He must have figured it out."

"Why not go for help?"

"And get everyone involved bitten as well? It was smart of him to give us this message in code so we'd know."

"But now there's no cure."

"Don't be so sure," said Shinji. "We don't know how Ichigo feels about this. He might not have fully embraced his vampire side. There's a chance he still wants a cure."

"Why else would he have bitten Akon if not to intercept a cure?" asked Hisagi. "He could have bitten anyone but targeted him specifically. I think he's going Byakuya on us."

"I guess he can't help it," said Momo. "The vampire in him is too strong and he can't fight it. Ichigo and Byakuya must not have a choice."

"What can we do now?" asked Shinji. "No cure, two vampires, a growing army. Either we take action to avoid this getting any worse or we leave it in hopes of avoiding escalation."

"It's escalating no matter what. We have to do something."

Hitsugaya agreed. "It's a risk, bringing this to light, but we have no choice anymore. If we do nothing, it will get worse. We avoided getting too involved when we believed a cure was on the way. Now it isn't. Their armies will grow and Ichigo now has access to information he didn't have before. He can use Akon against us and everyone else. We have to do something."

Yumichika flapped his arms and feathers fluttered around him. "Some action, alright. What's the plan? How do you do this without all hell breaking loose?"

"That is the question, isn't it?"

Hitsugaya looked at Shinji. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Go for the minions first to weaken his forces while he sleeps? Heck, yeah."

"There are a couple ways to do this. And the easiest one is the most dangerous. After all, Soi Fon is bound to find out it's them after all this."

"If they attack her, she can probably take them herself."

"As for the others…"

Yumcihika chuckled and smirked. "Leave that to me. I've been in a singing mood today."

Momo smiled. "Be careful, everybody."

Kira's loyalty to Byakuya had not wavered. In Renji's absence, he did the paperwork for Byakuya while he rested. A member of the Stealth Force had come to deliver his report last night and Byakuya had barely spoken since then.

Kira looked upon Byakuya's sleeping face with concern. He wondered what was troubling Byakuya as he slept. His sleep didn't seem as restful as usual.

Byakuya woke up and demanded blood. Kira offered himself to his master and Byakuya began to sunk on his neck. He drank more than usual but Kira didn't complain until his vision started to fade. "M- Master..? I…"

Byakuya pulled away and Kira stumbled to regain his balance, though not out of a sense of relief. After all, being fed upon was pleasurable to a vampire servant.

Byakuya licked his lips, thinking about something other than his meal.

"A vampire, is he..?" Byakuya smirked. "We'll see about that."

"Let them out," Kensei ordered Omaeda. "The blood thefts are still going which means they had nothing to do with it."

Omaeda refused. "The Captain's got strict orders to leave them in there until they fess up about what they know. The more they keep insisting they're responsible, the longer they'll be in there. No false confession on her watch."

"Well, this isn't her watch, now is it?" Kensei stood tall, unintimidated. "I'm a Captain and you're a Lieutenant. Who ranks higher?"

"Uh, well, technically you, but…"

"Right. So stand aside and do as you're told."

"But I'm acting on another Captain's orders. My Captain's. You can't bully me into…"

"And your Captain told me to tell you to let them go while she's following a new lead. So there."

Omaeda hesitated. "I better hear it coming from her, if you don't mind."

"Fine," said Kensei. "And when she comes back here and blows her top after seeing that they're still in there after she ordered their release… Well, I wouldn't want to be around for that lecture. Would you?"

"Uh, right. Um… Just a sec."

Kensei watched Omaeda fumble with the keys, thankful the wealthy Lieutenant couldn't afford better brains. Omaeda released Ikkaku and Renji from their cells and Kensei took them far away before whispering, "There's been a development."

"I don't believe this," fumed Soi Fon, turning her back to her assembled men. "All this time and there's nothing? And who gave you permission to let them out?" Soi Fon snapped at her Lieutenant.

"Uh- uh, you did, Captain," stuttered Omaeda.

"I gave no such order. When did you hear me say this?"

"Well, you never said it to me personally. But Kensei told me that you told him to tell me to let them out."

"You idiot! Wouldn't I have issued such an order in person?"

"Well, I had thought of that, but… I mean, why would he say it if it weren't..?"

"He lied, you moron." Then Soi Fon paused. "Why did he lie, though? For what?"

"Maybe he wanted them out?"

"No kidding."

"No, Captain, I mean… Um…" Omaeda gulped. "I mean, maybe they were important for something and he needed them. He might have also got sick of them being locked in there even knowing they didn't do the deed, so maybe he felt in the name of justice..?"

Soi Fon turned her back on him and her men to think this over. "It doesn't make sense."

"Captain?"

"My men know how to do their job and we've been on worse missions with better results than this. I don't think it's because the enemy is too good. It's like you're not taking it seriously. Or not trying. After all, the first guard did well then failed. The second one did well then failed. Over and over, every time they're replaced. And none of them ever saw the enemy, despite being that close to them?"

Her men were never this incompetent.

They had suspected Byakuya before then suddenly dropped it. Ikkaku and Renji both said they had been framing Byakuya as a prank. If her men had found that out, they would have reported it rather than say that they were wrong about the lead. Both Ikkaku and Renji saying the same thing was just as suspicious. They may have had a childish side, but they would never have taken a joke to this extreme.

Wouldn't investigation have led to them discovering it was a prank?

Blood was still missing. It couldn't have been a prank if it went on this long. Both men were locked up as well during the thefts, so they couldn't have done it.

She suspected they were covering for someone. They weren't acting alone.

"The only ones who know how to get past our defenses are…"

The very people she put at the posts.

The ones who said they would fulfill an order and never did. The ones who dropped the subject too quickly to be anything other than…

Soi Fon slowly turned to her men.

They stood staring at her without a word, their faces covered by their ninja-like outfits.

Omaeda looked from Soi Fon to the Stealth Force, unsure and confused.

Soi Fon's gaze didn't waver, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

One of the men returned her stare and said, "Figured it out, have you? It's nothing personal, Captain."

Soi Fon showed her teeth. "Omaeda."

"Huh?" he asked, looking at her with sweat on his brow.

"These aren't our men."

The entire Stealth Force took their stances. "We'll show you we are."

"Werewolves, huh?" Ichigo shook his head. "Why am I not surprised? I knew he was holding out on me."

"Should we expose them?" Nanao asked.

"No," said Ichigo. "They're not a threat to me. In fact, they're helping me. And we have a similar enemy." He looked at the newcomer. "Akon, didn't you mention there was a cure in the works?"

Akon stepped forward, rubbing his neck and shoulder. "In the top drawer of my desk in the other lab. It was most promising and seemed successful. The blood remained intact, meaning the host wouldn't die. I observed it for longer just to be sure and there seemed to be no change."

"Then there was a cure all along in the works. They lied to me."

"What should I do with it?" asked Akon.

Ichigo thought about it for a while. "Byakuya turned me into this. That was a mistake."

Because of him, Ichigo couldn't go home without putting his entire family in danger. He could never return to school. Classes were held during the day and he couldn't stand the sun. He doubted even Orihime could change him back. Eventually, he'd start looking at his little sisters as fast food.

Clenching his fist, Ichigo gave his answer. "Do not destroy it. If they want to rid Byakuya of the vampire curse, we'll do just that."

Akon smiled. "Yes, Ichigo."

Hitsugaya sniffed but couldn't detect any Stealth Force members. They must have been at a meeting, but which meeting had him worried. He sensed things were coming to a head and needed to find the others.

Momo walked beside Shinji on the way to their Division to meet with their Squad. She was very anxious and tried to hold it together so she wouldn't show her werewolf side in public.

"You think Yumichika can do it?"

"Whip everyone into a frenzy with his singing? You bet."

"Not that. What if others get dragged into this? As long as he only targets the minions, but if they're with other people…"

"They'll get caught up in it, too. I know. But if he has no other choice. And we still have Ikkaku and Renji locked… Oh."

Momo stopped when Shinji did, looking ahead at Renji standing in front of them.

"Seems they have no reason to hold me anymore," Renji said with a smile. "Isn't that nice?"

"Isn't it?" said Shinji.

Renji glanced at Momo then at Shinji. "I've been thinking more about the things Momo's been saying. She saw a wolf the other night and it mysteriously disappeared. No one, not even you took her seriously."

"Well, who would?" returned Shinji.

"Funny thing is, there are wolves in the forest. I didn't know that. Isn't that interesting?"

"Isn't it?" Shinji knew he knew.

"What's also funny is that we can never find them when we go to look for them."

"Wolves are like that."

"Yes. And very… friendly, too. Word has it that Yumichika was conversing with them as if he could understand them."

"He talks to birds, too. The guy's off his nut."

Renji nodded. "Yes… Funny that you're not more interested in this, Shinji. It proves Momo was right all along."

"I owe her an apology, then."

"Yes, you do." Renji narrowed his eyes. "And a few others."

"How's that?"

"You and Hitsugaya both didn't want to do anything about the blood Momo found and presented to Soi Fon. Yet you tell her that both Ikkaku and I look suspicious. Why's that?"

"Did she tell you I said that?" asked Shinji.

"No, but during interrogation, Omaeda let it slip."

Shinji knew it.

Renji took something from his pocket while looking at Momo. "One of our men was going to give this to Rangiku, but I think you deserve it more. Take it as a reward."

Renji tossed it to Momo but Shinji's right hand shot out to catch it first. There was a sizzling sound and Shinji's knees buckled. He dropped the object and fell to his knees, his hand burned and furry.

"Captain!" Momo rushed to see the wound but Shinji shoved her away.

Shinji lifted his head to glare at Renji, his teeth showing along with two furry ears on his head. He was in hybrid form from the injury and couldn't change back.

Renji chuckled knowingly. "If vampires, why not werewolves? I knew there was something about you."

Still glaring, Shinji asked, "And this is your reward, now is it? Exposing me?"

Renji shrugged, cocking his head. "No. But this is."

Shinji sensed what was coming and got ready to run.

"Everyone, help! I found it and it's attacking Momo! The blood thief is here! Come quick!"

Shinji stood and gave Momo the quick warning to run before running off himself.

"Wait!" Momo reached for him but as she did, was pulled away by other Soul Reapers. She watched as dozens of Soul Reapers chased after Shinji with their weapons drawn. In this state, he truly did look like a monster. She called for them to calm down but no one was listening. She turned back to see Renji calmly walking away with a smirk on his face.

"Get it!"

"It's going that way!"

No matter how he tried, Shinji couldn't change back. He couldn't turn into a full wolf, either. He was stuck like this until the pain went away. Until his injury healed. The advancing Soul Reapers didn't give him a chance to use any of his abilities, even kido. All he could do was run and hope to get enough distance between them to make a move.

There was nothing Momo could do, either. She couldn't tell them it was Shinji without exposing him, although, that probably didn't make much difference anymore. She couldn't go after Renji, either. There were too many people swarming. She couldn't justify it, either. Renji put her in a position where it looked like he was protecting her from a monster and a liar. If she attacked him now, she wouldn't be able to defend herself. Even if she said she was attacking him because she was defending her Captain or believed Renji had turned Shinji into that creature, it still made Shinji look worse and Renji could always say he was trying to help Momo. Plus, if that object had been confiscated from another Soul Reaper, he would have been in trouble, not Renji.

The object.

Momo looked down and realized it had been a silver bracelet.

Silver hurt werewolves. And Shinji knew this. Yet, he threw out his hand to catch it anyway before it could touch Momo.

"Had he..? Was he protecting me?" Momo realized with a gasp.

Renji may have suspected Momo or he may not have. He must have tossed the bracelet because he had nothing to lose either way. If they both touched it, they both would have been exposed. Shinji looked more suspicious, so Shinji must have sacrificed himself to spare Momo who didn't look bad by comparison.

Had he done this based on logic or because he knew the alpha wolf would have wanted her safe? Was it because he was looking out for her as a Captain or because she was the group's only female and newest member?

It didn't matter, Momo realized. As long as she was able to get away, she was going to make it count. She had to warn Hitsugaya. After all, Renji mentioned him by name.

Shinji had nowhere to go and no chance to hide. No one would listen even if he tried to speak. Everyone was riled up and would not stop until he was defeated. He resisted the urge to howl and call for help, knowing he would be leading the others into a trap. Renji might find out who the other wolves were based on who came.

The palm of his hand still stung and throbbed. He licked it to start to healing process but it wasn't enough. If only he didn't have so many people chasing him.

A feather fluttered down and Shinji plugged his ears.

The harpy song poured over the Soul Reapers who became even more aggressive but instead of taking it out on the werewolf, they took it out on each other. They took swings at each other and argued loudly while Shinji slipped away into another street and then into a building.

Shinji ran his hand under cold water, shutting his eyes tight from the pain.

They knew. This wasn't good. War was coming. He could feel it. Byakuya's forces were gathering. It would be impossible to hide. One had already been exposed and Hitsugaya was also a suspect. They were bound to come for him next.

Shinji pulled his hand out of the sink and sat against the wall, his hand numb. Once he was able to switch back, he needed to do something.

Soi Fon stood above her fallen men panting but in one piece. "Who do you think trained you?" she scolded the men at her feet. It was difficult taking them all on at once but she and Omaeda managed to overpower them together.

Omaeda was more shaken up by the ordeal than she was. "What was that about? Why'd they attack us like that? These aren't our men, isn't that what you said? Then they're imposters?"

"No," said Soi Fon, stepping away from the pile of unconscious bodies. "These are our men, physically speaking."

"Then someone was controlling them."

"No," she told him. "No one was puppeting them but were pulling the strings."

"Huh?"

Soi Fon frowned. "It's like their loyalties have changed. Someone's been influencing them and I think I know who."

"Who?"

"It's no coincidence that they suspected Byakuya and right after they go to confront him end up like this. They started behaving strangely right after they suspected him. That was when they started being incompetent. He must be the cause."

"But it's Kuchiki, ma'am," said Omaeda. "He doesn't seem the type, I mean... It's Kuchiki."

"You're right. And he shouldn't be able to do this. He's respected but not nearly this influential. I mean, for this…" she said gesturing to the scene before them. "This goes beyond such things. I can't explain it."

"Then we go to talk to Byakuya and see what's going on. He'll explain everything."

"You idiot. If they went there and ended up like this, what do you think's going to happen to us?" Soi Fon couldn't believe his idiocy. "There must be a way to get information without confronting him directly. Not until we know how he's doing this."

Omaeda looked at the time. "Better be soon 'cause it's just about sunset. He'll probably be on his way home."