Ah, another long week gone by, and my head is beginning to hurt with getting ready for those accursed finals. But, nothing bad happened that stopped my writing, or got in the way of my schooling, so at least I get 'a' blessing this week. Yay.

Only got a week left for the poll for Timothy's and Zaraki's fight, and I've only gotten two votes so far. Seeing as how I know the results of the fight, I'm not going to vote as it could lead to giving unintentional hints toward the answer. Although I really would like to avoid using this method, as it would cluster to tab, if you'd like to toss in a vote, feel free to use the review page. If you are an unregistered user, I have to 'approve' your review before it will be posted to the story page. So, go ahead and toss your vote, and if it does not contain a review, I'll decline the 'review', so it doesn't cluster.

Anyway, time to answer some reviews.

xXSpades231Xx: Thanks for the wishes bud, and also the complement. In truth, the last chapter didn't really have a plot development, fight, or much comedy in it; so, to me, it counts as a filler. And considering Timothy spent nearly eleven years doing almost nothing but training and studying kidō, it would make some sense that he would be quite knowledgeable enough to teach it. So, questions…

1: Shouldn't be a spoiler, but yes, they do end up getting along; as much as Toshiro 'allows'.

2: …Uh…no.

3: Considering that he is a soul reaper, and if I'm not mistaken, they age at a tenth the rate that humans do, there wouldn't be much of a change. Maybe besides a hairdo, or facial hair, or things or that sort.

4: Honestly, exactly how I thought of the rest of the story ahead; it comes to me as I go along. Basically, I have a general rough draft of where I want the story to go, and work on it as I go along.

5: Possibly, can't really say to be honest.

6: I can't say for certain if I will do any omakes for the story. If I do, they will not be included in this story, but rather have a 'story' of their own. Kinda like a side story, if you will.

Again, thanks for the review, and hope to see ya next week…stalker.

SoullessSora: Thanks for the vote, and I've got it written down. But, since you technically put in two votes, I'll go with your first one where it ends in a draw. If that's not the case, toss me a PM and I'll change it. Also, thanks for the review; and like I said with Spades, it counts as a filler to me because it didn't meet my requirements as a whole chapter.

Well, with that now out of the way, let's get on to the reading. See you at the end.

(I DO NOT OWN BLEACH; ITS CHARACTERS, NAMES, LOCATIONS, OR STORY! THAT HONOR BELONGS SOLELY TO TITE KUBO AND HIS TEAM! ONLY THE OC, AND RANDOM NAMES NOT MENTIONED IN THE BOOKS OR ANIME ARE MY OWN!


Chapter 9

(Forming a Team)

Squad 7 Headquarters, Seireitei, 3 Hours Later

It was now almost noon and Timothy had found himself back in the squad's headquarters filling out papers and cross-referencing information.

He was still having to take his time and closely look over certain forms, as he was still familiarizing himself with them; although he had gotten the financial and supply forms down quickly.

After getting Tetsuzaemon's permission, he did do as he had suggested to Minato the day before about rearranging the orders of statements and items on the forms. Even after only a day, he could already see the differences in his working speed since he didn't have to go 'searching' for the information that he needed.

He had just finished a form regarding changes in the squad's inventories over the past couple of days and was about to sign it when he heard footsteps enter the room. He glanced up from the form to see Minato walking up to him with a small bundle of papers in the crook of his arm.

"I hope those aren't for me." Timothy stated in a worried tone.

Minato chuckled and waved him off, telling him that they weren't. Timothy returned to the form in front of him and finished signing it before setting the form on the 'completed' stack.

He then sighed and leaned back as he held his arms high above him to stretch them out. He had been sitting in that spot for about two hours staring at his never-ending stack of papers and his arms were a bit stiff.

"So, what's going on with you Minato?" he asked mid-stretch.

Minato lightly and swiftly shrugged his right shoulder as he tilted his head in that direction before going back level.

"Eh, not too much. Just got my set of work done for the day, so I thought I'd give you a hand." he offered.

Timothy finished his stretch and let out a relaxed breath as he grabbed his next form. He looked to the uncompleted stack and saw he only had about four or five more to go.

"Nah, I got it. But I'll take the company though if you want. The stone quiet of this office is wreaking havoc on my nerves." Timothy returned.

Minato chuckled again as he set his papers down and sat in front of him. He picked up one of Timothy's completed forms and briefly looked it over, noticing the changes that Timothy had made.

"I see you've put your idea to work, this actually does look a little bit better and easier to read. Good job." Minato complemented.

"Thanks." Timothy answered as he finished the form in front of him and set it on top of his pile. "Question though." he started.

"Sure." Minato returned as Timothy grabbed his next form.

Timothy stopped and looked at the man.

"The thought came to me earlier and left me curious. Who are the 3rd and 4th seats for our squad? I don't remember meeting them yet." Timothy inquired.

"And you won't, as we don't currently have a 3rd and 4th seat. The 3rd seat has been vacant for about…four months now? And our 4th seat was Jirōbō Ikkanzaka, but he was discharged after sustaining…unrecoverable injuries during the ryoka incident." Minato answered.

"Ryoka incident?" Timothy asked with a raised brow.

Minato nodded. "Yeah, it was a month ago now. Long story short, five humans managed to break into the Seireitei trying to stop an execution. Jirōbō fought with one of the ryoka and lost, resulting in his binding chain and soul sleep to be destroyed. Because of that, he is no longer a soul reaper and had to be discharged." he answered.

Timothy nodded and started back on the form in front of him.

"So why doesn't the Captain reassign someone to those positions?" he asked as he looked down the form.

"Not sure, to be honest. Personally, I think it's because the Captain hasn't found anyone worthy of the position yet." Minato answered as he stretched out his feet.

"Well, I hope he finds someone soon, cause if I'm not mistaken, with there not being a 3rd or 4th seat, I'm guessing that means I'm the third highest ranking person in the squad." Timothy observed.

Minato slightly flinched and stared at him as he suddenly realized it as well. In truth, the thought had never even occurred to him.

"Uh, now that you mention it, I guess it does" he half mumbled as Timothy set a form aside.

"Yeah, I'm not too happy with it myself." Timothy remarked as he grabbed the next form.

"Why not? I thought you would be happy to be that high up the chain already." Minato inquired, getting Timothy's attention.

"Well, I guess I take that back. I'm not exactly 'unhappy' about it, but it's not really something I was trying to go for, if that makes sense." Timothy offered as he turned back to his form.

"I see what you're saying. Don't worry about it. To be honest, I felt the same way when I was offered my position, didn't feel like I was ready for it. And while we're being honest, the Captain offered me the position because of my leadership abilities. I'm not exactly among the best of fighters." the man stated as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Timothy sighed and set his brush down.

"No, you're not…not when you think like that." Timothy said with closed eyes.

Minato became confused. "Huh?"

Timothy sighed again and looked at him.

"It's simple, the only way you're going to be an effective fighter is if you believe you're an effective fighter. If you start doubting yourself, your skills and knowledge will fail you. When I was first learning kidō, it took weeks for me to finally manage to perform Shō, the lowest hadō. After a couple of weeks, I almost wanted to give up on it. But instead I kept trying over and over. Finally, one day I tried it and I managed to do it. Just because you're not on par with most, you shouldn't give up, just try harder." Timothy concluded as he picked his brush back up and started signing the form.

"Yeah, I know. It's just hard is all." Minato admitted.

Timothy froze and turned his eyes to the man without moving.

"Stop worrying about it and 'do' it!" Timothy stated in a stern voice before returning to the form.

Minato sighed and slumped in his chair.

"Great, you're starting to turn into another Lieutenant Iba." he moaned.

Timothy looked at him seriously as he placed the last form in front of him.

"At least I don't drink fifty pounds of coffee every day. Good god that guy is so uptight." Timothy remarked.

Minato lightly laughed at his statement and sat up straight.

"Yeah, he's a bit on the tight end, but the whole squad respects and loves him. Things have definitely improved since he came to be our Lieutenant." he stated.

Timothy finished his last form, setting it on the stack and nodded.

"Yeah, I have to agree with you there. It's just that our two personalities simply don't mesh together perfectly is all. That's why we didn't get along at first, but it was mostly my fault. I'll admit that I was a bit of an arrogant ass when I first came to the squad, but after our little talk together, he set me straight. He's a rough character, but he's fair." Timothy returned as he stood up.

He stretched his arms and back out as Minato stood up as well. After a few seconds, Timothy relaxed and picked up his stack, Minato following suit.

"Here, give me your set and I'll turn everything in. I'll meet you on the grounds in a bit." Timothy stated.

Minato set his forms in Timothy's arms and swiftly bowed before turning and leaving the office. Timothy then walked out of the office and up the stairs to the Captain's office doors and knocked. After a moment, he got no answer. He knocked once again, but still got no answer.

"He's not in at the moment, Durn." a gruff voice stated.

Timothy turned and saw Tetsuzaemon walking up to him.

"Oh, hello Lieutenant. I was just dropping off these forms for the Captain." Timothy notified.

The Lieutenant nodded. "I see that. Give them to me and I'll set them in his office." he instructed.

Timothy smoothly transferred the paperwork into Tetsuzaemon's hands and bowed.

"Will that be all?" he asked as he rose.

"Yeah, you can go ahead and start training with the squad. You'll have a bit less members present today as some were sent on assignment. I'll be down later to see your new 'barrier'." he answered.

Timothy nodded and walked past the man towards the training grounds.

Squad 10 Headquarters, Seireitei, Present

Sitting at his desk that was on the brink of overflowing with paperwork, the short, white haired Captain of Squad 10 was busy signing a form, highly agitated at the scene in front of him.

As was common, the front of his office was nearly littered with empty sake bottles and a single female officer that was the cause of the empty bottles, and the many anguishes of his life.

The woman was none other than his Lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto. A woman of average height, she possessed blue eyes with long, flowing blonde hair that reached to her mid back.

But the most noticeable trait she possessed was her excessively pronounced chest, that turned out to be the most pleasant/agonizing death a man could hope for when she embraced anyone, rendering most of her 'victims' unconscious.

Although she was a very caring person and would do anything for her squad, she was also, to Captain Hitsugaya's dismay, very lazy.

It was exceedingly rare that she did her share of the paperwork, resulting in Hitsugaya having to do it for her most of the time. If this wasn't bad enough, she had a tendency to go drinking with her friends and end up waisted; sometimes, like today, passing out on the floor of the main office.

Captain Hitsugaya's eye twitched as he looked at his Lieutenant who was currently out cold and sprawled out face down on the floor in front of the couch. He gritted his teeth and got ready to stand up and berate her for the umpteenth time when he was stopped by a knock on his door.

'What now?!' he inwardly asked in anger.

"Come in." he answered as calmly as he could manage.

The door opened to reveal Captain Komamura as he stepped in, closing the door behind him. The man took a step forward, but stopped when he noticed Rangiku passed out on the floor.

It wasn't the first time that Sajin had witnessed this scene, and he knew that it would most likely 'not' be the last. The man slowly turned to Hitsugaya with a concerned look to see that he was very clearly annoyed.

"I see that it's been a normal morning for you, Captain Hitsugaya." the furry Captain observed.

Hitsugaya lowered his gaze at the man to stare with anger at his useless Lieutenant.

"You have no idea." he returned with a scowl.

Sajin gave a light chuckle and continued walking towards the desk, bypassing the slumbering blonde. Once he was in front of the desk he took a seat in front of Hitsugaya as the short Captain finished the form he was working on.

"How can I help you this morning, Sajin?" he asked in a slightly calmer tone.

"I came to notify you that my replacements are ready to leave today. They are scheduled to leave by midafternoon, so I wanted to ask if your men are ready as well." Sajin answered.

"I see. My team is also ready, I will have them at your headquarters within the hour, so that you may brief them. In total, there are six members of the team. Will that be alright with you, Captain?" Hitsugaya followed.

Sajin nodded. "Yes, that will be fine. Have you heard anything further on this…energy absorbing hollow?"

Hitsugaya sighed and shook his head.

"No, and that worries me. I've even spoken with Captain Sui-Fēng and asked if she has received any reports, but she hasn't gotten anything either. She withdrew her team yesterday, saying that they were needed for other matters." the short man fretted.

"I see. And has there been any word from Captain Kurotsuchi?" Sajin pressed.

"Tsk…I'm not going to talk to that pompous fool. Besides, it's not like he would reveal anything anyway." Hitsugaya stated as he threw his hand out to the side.

Sajin moaned and nodded in agreeance. It was true that, although respected for his ability to get just about any information that was needed, Captain Kurotsuchi was extremely anti-social and would very rarely ever give out information, unless the Head Captain demanded it. Even then he would still try to withhold it.

"I agree, going to him would be pointless. Anyway, I don't believe that I will need to brief your men. As long as they understand not to interfere with my men's duties, and to be ready in case of an emergency, there is nothing special to mention." Sajin clarified.

Hitsugaya nodded in understanding.

"Alright, as I said, they'll be there within the hour. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a mountain of paperwork that needs to be finished, since a particular 'Lieutenant' is too 'incapacitated' to assist." Hitsugaya growled as he turned to the said Lieutenant laying prone on the floor.

Sajin chuckled and gave a swift bow before standing back up.

"Good day to you, Captain Hitsugaya." he finished.

The man turned and left the office just as his Lieutenant turned over and slowly sat up, her cheeks with a hint of red to them, woken by the closing of the office door.

"Good morning Captain." she greeted in a cheery voice.

Hitsugaya's patience suddenly ran out as he slammed his fists on the desk and quickly stood up with a look of fury.

"Rangiku!"

Squad 7 Training Grounds, Seireitei, Present

Timothy and Minato stood by the arena talking as they waited for the last of the members to arrive at the grounds for the afternoon training session. He was discussing with him what his plans for the training were for the day and what he wanted him to help with.

He looked from the man when he noticed Tetsuzaemon walking in their direction. Both men turned to face him and gave a quick bow as the Lieutenant stopped in front of them.

"Good afternoon Lieutenant." Minato greeted.

Tetsuzaemon nodded to them both and turned to the members standing in the arena.

"So, what have you got planned for em today, Durn?" he asked in his usual voice.

"Little bit of endurance training and practice with kidō. Maybe work on a barrier or two if there's time." Timothy answered.

Tetsuzaemon nodded. "Good. I'll join ya and watch how you do things." he notified.

Timothy nodded back. "Yes sir." he returned, then turned back to Minato. "Alright, looks like everyone's here, let's get started."

Minato swiftly nodded, and the three men started walking towards the front of the group.

"Alright everyone, let's get started for today." Timothy announced, getting everyone's attention. He stopped in front of the group and set his hands on his hips. "By show of hands, who was not here for training yesterday?" he asked.

A few of the members rose their hands as Timothy made a mental estimation of how many members were there. Overall, he saw that he only had twenty-five to thirty members today, just a little less than yesterday as Tetsuzaemon had stated.

Timothy counted the hands to see that there were only four new people.

"Ok, those that raised their hands, you'll be working with 7th seat Minato and he'll show you how to use the new barrier I taught yesterday." Timothy announced.

He turned to the man and was given a brief nod before turning to the Lieutenant.

"Lieutenant, you said you wanted to see the new barrier, so if you don't mind, would you stick with Minato and he'll show it to you?" Timothy asked.

Tetsuzaemon lightly nodded, then Timothy turned back to the group.

"The rest of you, we're going to be working a bit on your endurance and practice maintaining the barrier from yesterday. Questions?" Timothy finished.

He waited a few seconds, but saw no hands raised.

"Alright, those of you I mentioned, please step out and join Minato. The rest, I want you to put up your barriers when I tell you."

He saw everyone nod in understanding as the four members who raised their hands before left the group to join Minato and the Lieutenant. Timothy turned back to Minato.

"I guess go over by the tree. Just teach them the barrier, then split them into teams and have em send the highest bakudō they can manage at each other. But nothing higher than #61." Timothy instructed.

Minato nodded and left with the group and the Lieutenant towards their spot. Timothy turned back to his group.

"Now, all of you put up your barriers now." he ordered.

He watched as one by one the members put up their barriers with only two first-time failures. After trying a second time, he saw that everyone now had their barriers up and ready.

"Alright, now I want you all to run twenty laps on the track. Judging by the length of the track, that should be close to two and a half miles." Timothy instructed.

"Miles?" a member asked confused.

Timothy sighed as he mentally facepalmed.

"Sorry, somehow I forgot that use a different system here. When I was alive, I didn't use the metric system like you do. So, I guess it's about…4 kilometers." he reiterated.

Some of the members moaned, but everyone nodded back before Timothy continued.

"Now, during this run, you need to keep your barriers up. Do not let them drop. If you drop it, just stop, put it back up, and keep going. Now, to make sure that no one cheats, I'll be hitting random people with Rikujōkōrō. If you are hit, drop your barrier like you were taught, then put it back up and keep going." Timothy paused, getting nods back.

"You will have twenty minutes to complete this run. If you are hit with my kidō and didn't have your barrier up, your run will restart and you with have to keep going. If you don't finish the run in time, you will have to run another five laps. Questions?" Timothy paused again, getting another round of nods.

"Once you have finished your run, find a partner who has finished as well, find a vacant spot and start practicing your barriers by hitting each other with your strongest bakudō, #61 and below. Once everyone is finished, we'll take a short break. Any final questions?" Timothy asked once more.

After seeing no one had any, he nodded and sent the members to the track to get ready to start.

"As I said, this will help improve your endurance, as well as help you learn to maintain your barrier while under stress. Everyone ready?" he asked, getting nods back. "Go."

At once, everyone started running at their own paces around the track. It was a little too soon for Timothy to see who the stronger runners were as some people tend to burn all their energy out in the first couple of laps of a run, trying to be the one in front.

Timothy decided to wait until most of the group had finished their first two laps before he started throwing kidō at them. He looked at the group and picked one of the members who was clearly one of the beginning sprinters, seeing that he was already tired.

Timothy pointed at the member with his two fingers.

"Bakudō #61, Rikujōkōrō." He chanted.

The six yellow energy blades hit the member, freezing him in place. The man stood there for a second, then Timothy watched as the kidō broke off of the man as he dropped his barrier. The member brought up a new barrier, then continued running.

Timothy nodded in acceptance and slightly smiled. He looked around for his next target, and saw one of the women towards the middle pacing herself next to another woman.

He pointed at her. "Bakudō #61, Rikujōkōrō."

The woman, like the man before, froze suddenly, then dropped her barrier with the kidō and brought up another before returning to her run.

Timothy scanned the crowd again and chose another member towards the middle of the group.

"Bakudō #61, Rikujōkōrō."

The man stopped in place, dropping his barrier and pulling up another before continuing on.

Over and over Timothy selected his targets, each one being hit and refreshing their barriers before they would continue the run. Once in a while Timothy would strike the same person twice in a row to see if they would relax once they had been hit.

Overall, he was very pleased to see that everyone had managed to keep their barriers up as they ran. He could see that some of the members in the back were exhausted and having trouble.

"Quit goofing off and run! If a hollow was chasing you I'm sure you'd be running faster than that!" he yelled, getting the said members to push a little harder.

Unknown to him and the rest of the squad members on the field, Captain Komamura stood behind the squad headquarters watching the whole ordeal. He was keeping his spiritual pressure heavily suppressed so that no one on the field would notice him watching, especially Timothy.

It slightly confused him when Timothy kept hitting the members with kidō, just for them to quickly get right back up, then a few seconds later continue running.

The man crossed his arms and gave a slight grin, content with how his new officer was handling the training with the squad members. He then gave a slight chuckle before he turned and walked back into the headquarters to return to his office for the morning paperwork.

Back on the grounds, one by one the members would finish their run, then quickly find a partner and begin practicing kidō against each other. Finally, the last member finished the run and Timothy gave him a quick pat on the shoulder before turning back to the rest of the members.

"Alright everyone, take a short break. Group up in the arena in fifteen minutes." he hollered.

Everyone nodded as Timothy walked over to where Minato was training with his group. He saw that he and the Lieutenant were partners against each other while they practiced sending kidō at each other's barrier.

"Yo, Minato." Timothy addressed, getting the man's attention. "Have em take a break." he followed.

The man nodded and passed the instructions to his group while Tetsuzaemon walked towards Timothy. The man stopped next to him and turned to the members Timothy had, clearly out of breath.

"I said to train em, not kill em, Durn." he mocked.

Timothy scoffed in amusement. "What, jealous you weren't with my group, Lieutenant?" he teased.

The man scoffed back in a lighter tone as he turned to him.

"Either way, good job so far. So, what do you have planned next?" the man asked.

"Probably the next part of the barrier." Timothy answered as he turned to his group.

Tetsuzaemon raised a brow to him. "Next part?"

Timothy turned back to him and nodded.

"Now that I can see that they can hold the barrier under stress, I'm gonna teach them another way to use the barrier. So, what did you think about it?" Timothy asked.

"It's interesting, and I'll agree that it could come in handy, and also that it's easy to use." he admitted.

Timothy nodded. "Thanks. I found out years ago when I was still in Fallen Tree that fighting against kidō users could end up being my biggest issue. That's why I came up with it, just in case something happened I would still have a chance. Fighting for survival is not an easy thing to do." he returned.

Tetsuzaemon grunted in agreeance.

"That's true. You always have to fight to be better than the man next to you. Well, I'll be off now, the Captain should be back by now." the man stated.

Timothy gave him a swift bow. "Thank you for joining us Lieutenant."

The man nodded and walked away. Timothy turned back to the members to see Minato walking up to him.

"Ready to continue?" Minato asked.

"Nah, give em a few more minutes, then we'll get back to it. Besides, there's something I wanted to bring up to you." Timothy warned.

"What's that?" the man pondered.

"It's about your remark earlier, about how your fighting skills are a little behind."

"Ok, what about them?" Minato asked with a raised brow.

"Well, I plan on fixing that." Timothy stated with a grin.

Minato swallowed the lump in his throat, not liking the look on Timothy's face.

"How?" he pressed hesitantly.

"Simple, we're going to duel and I'm going to beat the crap outta you until you're up to par. Can't have our squad's 7th seat falling behind now, can we?" Timothy teased.

"Uh…no?" Minato guessed, but Timothy simply shook his head.

"No. We'll start after training time is over. You remember my zanpakutō, Moeru Kitsune, right?" Timothy asked as his grin turned evil.

"Why do I have a feeling that I'm going to die today?" Minato whined.

Timothy started laughing at the stressed man as he deadpanned.

"You were joking with me…weren't you?" he asked in a low tone.

Timothy half recovered from laughing.

"Yes and no. We're still gonna practice, but nothing serious. I was just messing with you is all. We'll use practice swords for it. Sound good?"

Minato nodded, now a little agitated from being teased.

"Yes sir…" he replied in a moan.

"Alright, let's get back to training." Timothy instructed.

"Actually…I've been wondering something, Tim." Minato started.

The 5th seat rose a brow a bit. "Shoot."

The other office loosely crossed his arms. "Yesterday and today, you've shown that you have some skill with leadership; or at least training. So, I'm wondering, did you learn it somewhere, or is it just coming natural to you?"

Timothy chuckled. "Football."

Minato tilted his head. "Football? Isn't that a sport or something?" he inquired.

"Yeah, and the training for it is a bit tough. I used to play as one of my college team's tight ends for a year. But my grades were starting to fall behind, so I had to quit. But basically, some of the methods I'm using now, although a little modified for our…unique requirements, I copied from the team's coach. He knew what he was doing, but the guy was a bit of a drunk sometimes."

"Ah, I see. Well, that does explain it a bit, although I can't say I know what 'football' is exactly." Minato stated.

Timothy chuckled again. "I'll tell you about it sometime, but right now, we should get back to our murder session."

The man nodded again and they both started walking towards the arena, gesturing for the members to gather around them. After a couple minutes they had all of the members listening intently.

"Alright, how is everyone feeling?" Timothy asked, getting a mix of nods, shrugs, and moans back.

"Good, now I'm going to teach you all another trick behind the barrier you've been using. While it's good as a last defense against binding kidō, you can also use it in a semi-aggressive manner. I'll give you a demonstration, then I'll explain how it works. Minato?" he finished as he turned to the man.

Minato gave him a nod while Timothy began putting up his barrier. A few seconds later, Timothy had his barrier around him, then nodded to Minato to continue.

The man held two fingers to Timothy. "Bakudō #61, Rikujōkōrō."

The crowd watched as the iconic yellow blades surrounded Timothy and close in. But before they had made contact with him, his barrier suddenly shattered, causing the kidō to fail and disappear.

Everyone, including Minato, stared at him shocked, wondering what happened. Timothy smiled and turned back to the members.

"Now, I can see that everyone is confused as to what happened. Well, the answer is simple. I dropped my barrier just before the 7th seat's bakudō got to me. When you have your barrier over you, and although your opponent can't 'see' the barrier, his kidō is actually targeting the barrier, not you. So, who wants to tell me what happens if your target disappears 'after' you have shot a bakudō at him?" he finished in a question towards the group.

A couple members rose their hands, then Timothy pointed at one for him to answer.

"The kidō will fail." the man replied.

Timothy nodded. "Exactly. As I said, when your opponent attacks you with a bakudō, that spell is attacking your barrier. So, if you drop your barrier 'after' your opponent casts it, but 'before' it actually hit's you, the kidō will dispel before it even reaches you. However…" Timothy paused as he rose a finger.

"It does have a flaw. Using this tactic requires precise timing. There's a very short period of time between the casting of the kidō, to the moment that the kidō actually hits you. If you drop the barrier too late, the kidō will still hit the barrier. But, if you drop it too early, you just opened yourself up for the bakudō to attach to you. Remember, you are focusing the kidō onto your target 'until' you cast it. Once you have cast it, it will be fixated to the target of choice until either it hits the target, or the target is no longer there." Timothy put his finger down.

"Remember, although the kidō is attacking your barrier, you will still feel the kidō's effect 'through' the barrier. Although you can quickly 'shed' the kidō off you, it will still leave you open to attack for the few seconds it takes to drop the barrier. This tactic, if you get the timing right, will allow you to block the kidō before it reaches you, preventing you from feeling any effects. Questions?" Timothy finished.

He looked around to see no hands raised, then continued.

"Ok, split yourselves up into groups of two, just like yesterday and practice this. Try to find a different partner this time. If your partner fails at the timing, just drop the kidō on him or her and have that person try again. Go ahead and get started." Timothy concluded and turned to Minato.

"We'll pair up again as well." he stated.

Minato nodded back before Timothy gestured towards his favorite tree. The pair began walking away as the other members started splitting off into their own groups and finding a spot for their practice.

Squad 7 Headquarters, Present

Back in Sajin's office, he and Tetsuzaemon were working on reviewing the morning paperwork when they heard a knock on the door.

"You may enter." Sajin announced as he finished signing the form in front of him.

The door opened to reveal an average height man with brown hair. The man took a few steps into the office before taking a knee with his head bowed.

"Excuse me, Captain." he man greeted.

Sajin looked up to the man. "Yes?" he answered.

The man rose his head to the Captain.

"I am Takumi Maruyama, the 6th seat for Squad 10. I'm here with the other members of my squad tasked by Captain Hitsugaya to accompany your men to the world of the living, sir." the man addressed.

Sajin set his brush down and nodded. "Please, come in, and have the rest of your team come in as well." he instructed.

Takumi nodded and stood up, returning to the door and making a gesture outside. A moment later, five more men walked in with the officer and stood in front of Sajin.

"I'm sure Captain Hitsugaya has already briefed you?" Sajin asked, getting nods in response. "Good. Then I don't have anything further to add to his instructions. Though, I will give you a word of warning." Sajin paused as he held a finger up to them and gave a serious glare.

"Do not take this hollow lightly. This creature killed four of my members, and one of my best combat officers, at the same time. If you are attacked by this hollow, fall back and get the assistance of my men before attacking. Is that understood?" he demanded.

The members all nodded. "Yes sir!" they all replied in unison.

Sajin lowered his hand and nodded. "Very good. My men are scheduled to leave in an hour, so you may make yourselves comfortable in our barracks until they leave. That is all." Sajin finished.

The men all nodded once more, then bowed before leaving the office. Sajin gave a depressed sigh as he leaned back and pinched the top of his nose. Tetsuzaemon put his brush down and looked to him.

"Is everything alright, Captain?" he asked.

Sajin gave another, but deeper sigh as he rested his hand in his lap.

"I don't like this one bit, Tetsuzaemon. Something about this hollow matter just doesn't sit right with me." he admitted.

The Lieutenant nodded in agreeance. "Neither do I. I've never heard of a hollow having the ability to absorb spiritual pressure like that."

"Nether have I, Tetsuzaemon." the Captain returned before turning to him. "I want you to assign ten members to be ready and on call at all times in case something happens. Make sure they are aware of the situation. Also, make sure they have one of our higher officers with them." Sajin instructed.

"That may be a problem sir. As you know, our 3rd and 4th seats are empty right now. Our 6th and 9th seats are on assignment at the moment in the world of the living. And our 8th seat is part of the replacement team. That only leaves 7th seat Minato, and 5th seat Durn." the Lieutenant warned.

Sajin turned back forward and closed his eyes. "So that means we have to pick between them. Who would you suggest, Tetsuzaemon?"

The man grunted and lowered his head. "I'm not sure, Captain. Minato is a good leader, but I hate to admit that his fighting capability is a little lacking. And Durn hasn't been in the squad, or even a soul reaper for that matter, for more than two weeks. He can fight, but this is a whole different ballgame." the man advised.

Sajin opened his eyes and turned back to the Lieutenant. "Do you think that either of them can do it? If not, I may have to send you, Tetsuzaemon." he fretted.

Tetsuzaemon started scratching the side of his face as he thought about it. A moment passed before he finally looked up.

"Might I speak freely sir?" he asked.

Sajin nodded, getting a sigh from the man.

"With respect sir, I advise against sending either of them. In my opinion, if this hollow is as dangerous as we believe, you should have sent more personal until we have more information on this matter."

Sajin shook his head. "With what happened with Aizen, we cannot afford to have that many members out at once. The best we can do at the moment is have an emergency team ready to assist." Sajin rejected.

"Understood sir. But going back to who to send…as much as I don't want to admit it, I believe Durn would be the better option. He's good at training, from what I have seen so far, but he is by far a better fighter; whereas Minato is better at training than combat." the Lieutenant hesitantly concluded.

Sajin nodded and lowered his head. "I would have to agree with you, Tetsuzaemon."

"Chances are sir, that the team may not have to be called in. Afterall, we won't only have our team assigned there, but also those six from Squad 10." Tetsuzaemon attempted to reassure.

"We can only hope that's the case, Tetsuzaemon. By the way, how is Tim's training sessions going?" the Captain asked as he turned back to the Lieutenant.

"He's actually doing good, even I am impressed. He managed to teach the members a new kind of barrier to protect against kidō." Tetsuzaemon answers as he scratches his chin.

This got Sajin's interest as he slightly rose a brow at the man. "A new barrier? Then that would explain why he was casting kidō at the members while they were running." he said, getting a nod of confirmation.

Tetsuzaemon begins explaining the best he could about Timothy's barrier and the training he had conducted with its use. The explanation surprised Sajin a bit, and he decided that he should ask Timothy about it sometime.

Both men were interrupted by another knock on the office door, where Sajin turns to it.

"You may enter." he answers.

The door opens where the squad's 8th seat walks in and bows.

"Sir, the team is ready to leave. I'm aware it's still a bit early, but I would like to request that we leave now." the man states as he rises.

Sajin nods back. "Very good. Have you spoken with Captain Hitsugaya's team?"

The man nods. "Yes sir." he replies.

"Very well, you may leave to begin your duties. However, I'll expect reports every six hours until further notice." Sajin instructs.

The man bows to him. "Yes sir, we will leave right away." He replies and leaves the office.

Sajin turns back to Tetsuzaemon.

"Going back to our discussion, we'll assign Tim as our officer for the emergency team. Have him pick out five members that he wishes to take, and you pick out five of our best fighters. I want all of them to be ready at a moment's notice, at all times. Let him know after training has concluded for the day." Sajin instructs.

Tetsuzaemon nods in understanding and continues with the paperwork in front of him while Sajin does the same.

Squad 7 Training Grounds, 2 Hours Later

Timothy and Minato stood in front of the group of members who found themselves, once again, out of breath after the two officers had them all run more laps on the track again. Both officers were also a little winded as they decided to join the members on their run halfway through after sending kidō at some of them.

"Alright...whew…good job everyone. You guys have gotten the hang…" Timothy stops as Tetsuzaemon walks up, but the man gestures for him to continue.

"As I was saying, you guys have gotten the hang of the barrier and it's uses. I'd would strongly advise you to practice it on your own from time to time to make sure it become reflex. I also want you all to keep something in mind. Plan for the worst, but hope for the best. Try to imagine the worst that can happen and plan for it, while also trying to make sure that the worst don't happen. Understood?" Timothy asks.

"Yes sir." the members reply in unison.

"Good. You're all dismissed. See you guys tomorrow." Timothy concludes.

Timothy turns to Tetsuzaemon, but he holds his hand up, telling him to wait while the members leave the field. After about three minutes, the three officers are the only ones on the field and Tetsuzaemon turns to Timothy.

"Durn, the Captain is putting an emergency team together in case something happens in the world of the living, after the recent event." The Lieutenant begins, causing Timothy to close his eyes and let out a deep breath when his thoughts turn to Hetoku. "The Captain has decided to assign you as the officer in charge of the team." He adds, causing Timothy and Minato to look at him with wide eyes.

"Me?! Why?" Timothy asks as he points to himself.

Tetsuzaemon nods. "Yes Durn, you. As much as I hate to admit it, you're the best combat officer that we have available at the moment. We'll try to get one of the two officers on assignment to return and take over, but for now, you are the officer in charge of the team."

"Ok…so what do you want me to do?" Timothy asks as he scratches the side of his head.

"Just be ready to leave within minutes of getting the call to leave. You'll have ten members on the team with you. I'm to pick out five, and you're to pick five of your own. I'll need the names before tomorrow evening. As for your normal duties there ain't no change, just go about how you normally do."

Timothy points to Minato. "Shouldn't Minato be going? I mean, he's been here far longer than I have." Timothy points out.

"That's true, but as I said, you're the better fighter, and that is what this team needs the most are fighters. The Captain and myself are hoping that it won't come to having to call your team in, but we need to be ready." Tetsuzaemon clarifies.

Timothy sighs, but nods. "Question."

Tetsuzaemon nods to continue.

"Once the members for the team has been chosen, would it be alright if we focus on training together specifically? If we're going to be a team, we need to train as a team, so we can know where each other's weaknesses are. Plus, we need to get used to working together." Timothy points out.

The lieutenant nods again. "Sounds good. Once the members are assigned, I'll rearrange their duties to make sure that you all get training in together."

Timothy nods back. "Thanks Lieutenant. I'll find my five and get you the names."

"Good. Minato…" Tetsuzaemon pauses as he turns to the man. "You'll resume the regular training as before."

The man swiftly nods in understanding.

"Alright, that's all." Tetsuzaemon finishes and begins walking away as the two men bow.

"Yes sir." they both reply before raising and turning to each other.

"Wow, your first assignment." Minato states with a smirk.

Timothy scoffs. "Huh, yeah…but like he said, I probably won't be called in." He starts rubbing the back of his head. "I can't believe that I'm the best officer they got for this. How in the world are you guys hurting so bad on officers?"

Minato raises both his palms up as he shrugs his shoulders.

"Lately, finding officers has been a challenge. Normally, if we don't have anyone to fill the spots within the squad, they would try to transfer someone from another squad who can fill the role. But, after what happened with Aizen, normal operations have become a real shitstorm. At least we're not as bad off as Squad 5, they don't have a Captain, or a Lieutenant at the moment." The man explains.

Timothy raises a brow in surprise.

"No Captain or Lieutenant?" he asks.

Minato shakes his head. "No, Aizen was the former Captain of Squad five while Momo Hinamori was the Lieutenant. But she's currently under extensive care at Squad 4, so that means the squad's 3rd seat has to take over for now. Once in a while one of the Lieutenants from another squad will give him a hand if he starts falling behind."

Timothy starts rubbing his temples in wonder.

"I knew the situation was bad, but not this bad." He moans before dropping his hand with a sigh.

"Anyway, I should probably get back to the barracks and figure out who my team members are going to be." He finishes.

Minato nods back before both men begin walking back towards the barracks.

Throne Room, Los Noches, Hueco Mundo, Present

Sōsuke Aizen relaxed in his large chair in the throne room, resting his arms on the side rests, eyes closed and deep in thought; an amused and content smile on his face.

As he had expected, everything was progressing as he had planned, but his thoughts were dwelling on a specific situation that intrigued him. In fact, he was so interested in the situation, that he was seriously contemplating altering his current plans to see what the outcome would be.

At the entrance to the room, several feet in front of him, entered a slightly under-average height, slender man wearing white trousers similar to those of the soul reapers, and a white overcoat where the back extended to his shins.

This man was Ulquiorra Cifer, the Cuatro Espada of Aizen's Arrancar army. Being the Cuatro, he was the 4th strongest being in Aizen's army. He was a very cold and depressing being, very rarely ever showing any form of emotion; the only exception being a slight smirk if he somehow managed to find something amusing to him.

As he walked through the throne room, his footsteps echoed throughout the room as he approached the stairs. Ulquiorra walked up the steps slowly with both of his hands in his pockets, as he usually did, until he came to a stop in front of Aizen.

"You summoned me, Lord Aizen?" he addressed in an emotionless voice.

Aizen's smirk slowly turned into a grin before he opened his eyes to look upon the fourth Espada.

"Yes. Do you remember the task I had assigned for you, regarding the substitute soul reaper?" Aizen asked in his low and calculating voice.

"I do, Lord Aizen." Ulquiorra responded.

Aizen smiled more and closed his eyes as he shifted his seat to where he was now supporting his cheek with his right fist as he tilted his head.

"I would like to ask that you hold off on it." Aizen began, then opened his eyes again. "There is something that I would like to continue observing before you perform your task. I will inform you as to when you may proceed." Aizen instructed.

"As you wish, Lord Aizen." he responded.

"Thank you, that will be all, Ulquiorra." Aizen finished then closed his eyes.

Ulquiorra removed his right hand from its sleeve and held his arm sideways in front of his chest as he bowed.

"Thank you, Lord Aizen." The Espada replied as he bowed.

The Espada rose before turning around and began walking down the steps to leave the room. Aizen slightly opened his eyes once more as he gave a light and very brief chuckle.

Ulquiorra exited the room to leave the calculating man to his thoughts.

Squad 7 Barracks, Seireitei, Present

Timothy sat in the common room on the first floor of the barracks, enjoying a light dinner while he contemplated on who he should assign to his team.

He hadn't been in the squad but a little over a week and still didn't know many of the members. If he had at least a couple more days, he would be able to get to know at least some of them, but Tetsuzaemon wanted the names by noon tomorrow.

It also didn't help with him still being a little surprised that he was the officer chosen to lead the team. He was ok at training the members, but leading them?

Conducting training and giving guidance to the members was one thing, something he had, at least a little, experience in when he was still alive; but leading them in a combat situation was entirely another.

He was fearful of what could happen if he was to do something wrong or give a bad order. The lives of fellow members were in his hands, and that thought was giving him goosebumps.

He rested his head on his left arm and gave a deep sigh as he started thinking deeper on the situation. He sat there for a few moments and was so lost in thought that he never even heard his name being called.

He was suddenly shocked from his thoughts as a hand rested on his right shoulder. He quickly raised his head and turned to see Hinata with her hand on his shoulder and looking at him with concern.

"What?" he asked, causing her to tilt her head slightly.

"Are you ok? I called to you and you didn't answer." She responded with a hint of worry.

Timothy let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding and gave a weak smile back.

"Yeah…I'm fine. Just thinking is all." He assured.

He looked to see Kenta and Issei walking up behind her with worried looks of their own. She let out a brief sigh before walking around behind him and sitting down next to him while the two men sat across from him.

"You sure?" she asked as she sat.

Timothy turned his gaze around back to her.

"Yeah. Why?" Timothy returned with a raised brow.

"You look…worried. Something bothering you?"

Timothy lightly scoffed and shook his head.

"Not really, just got to figure out who to put on this team." Timothy responded as he turned back to his dinner.

Kenta tilted his head. "What team?" he asked in confusion.

Timothy sighed and set his head back on his hand.

"This…emergency response team, or whatever it is." He answered as he waved his free hand side to side before dropping it to the table.

"Response team?" Kenta inquired.

Timothy opened his eyes to him. "Yeah, the Captain is starting up this emergency team in case something happens again like with Hetoku."

Kenta nodded as Hinata leaned over the table to stretch.

"Ok, that does make sense. But why are you worried about it?" she asked before pulling back from her stretch.

Timothy turned to her with an annoyed look.

"Because I was chosen to lead it." He answered in a low tone.

All three friends quickly looked at him with shocked faces.

"You?!" Issei choked out, getting a nod back.

"Yeah, me." Timothy answered.

He folded his arms on the table and dropped his head into his arms.

"I've got to pick out five members for the team while the Lieutenant picks the other five. There's supposed to be eleven of us total." He mumbled into his arms.

He raised his head and rubbed his face as he sighed.

"Problem is, who do I pick. I don't know anyone here, except you guys." He stated, then crossed his arms.

Hinata looked at the two men across from her, who looked at her and nodded before she turned back to Timothy.

"Well, if you've got no one in mind, we'll go." she offered.

Timothy glanced over to her with a raised brow.

"You sure you don't have anything else you gotta do?" he asked.

She simply shook her head. "Nothing important really. Just the normal stuff."

Timothy gave her a slight shrug. "Sure, if you guys want to go, I'll put your names up. So that just leaves two left."

"What about Yuka, Narumi and Junya? You know, the ones that drank with us that night." Issei offers.

Timothy quickly turns to him. "There ain't no way in hell that Narumi is going!" he stated.

Hinata lightly chuckles. "Yeah, she'd probably flirt with the hollow, scaring it off." She teases.

All four friends start laughing at the statement before Timothy shakes his head.

"That woman is something else. But I think that we should keep her and Kenta away from each other." Timothy added.

Kenta turned to him with a confused look.

"Why?" he asked.

Timothy turned to him with a smirk. "Because you would probably try to strip her, then she would be all over you flirting." He teased again.

Hinata and Issei both about fell over laughing while Kenta gave Timothy a look that could kill a thousand hollows.

"I thought Hinata told you to never bring that up again." He seethed.

Hinata held her sides from laughing so hard as she turned to him.

"I think…I'll…I'll forgive him…this time!" she blurted out between laughs.

Timothy joined in on the laughing as Kenta growled.

"I'll get you back for that." He threatened.

Timothy simply waved him off as he tried to calm down.

"That's fine, I welcome a challenge." He retorted.

The three friends continued laughing while Kenta kept giving Timothy his death glare. After a while, Kenta lowered and shook his head while the three others slowly recovered from their laughing fits; with Hinata finally turning back to Timothy after a few minutes longer.

"So, who you plan on taking?" she asked.

Timothy wiped a few tears away from his laughing and turned to her as well.

"Most likely Junya and Yuka." He answered.

Kenta, still with a hint of evil in his face, faced Timothy.

"You do know those two are siblings, right?" he notified.

Timothy turned to him with a raised brow.

"Really?"

Kenta and Issei both nodded.

"Yeah, Yuka and Junya Sano. They make a great team together, until Junya makes fun of her hair." Issei stated.

Timothy started scratching his head.

"Why would he make fun of her hair? It didn't look bad to me that night."

Hinata cut Issei off. "She has 'really' thick hair that is hard for her to maintain. So, whenever she's out practicing or anything like that, her hair gets messed up, and it looks funny as hell."

"He don't make fun of her for long. Man, that girl will put you in the ground when she gets mad." Issei follows.

Timothy suddenly points at Kenta with wide eyes.

"Good plan! Make fun of her hair, then send her after the hollow!" Timothy remarks.

Kenta drops his head on the table with a thud and his shoulders start jumping as he laughs while the rest laugh out loud. It takes an additional two minutes before any form of understandable language could be made.

After their bouts of laughter, Kenta had his head resting on the table while Hinata used Timothy's shoulder for support while they all calmed down. Issei finally turned back to Timothy.

"You're a regular comedian, aren't you Tim?" he asked in a joking tone.

Timothy scoffed back at him. "I guess you could say that. Anyway, I'll probably add their names to the list with yours as well."

Timothy took a deep breath before he stood up with the remnants of his dinner.

"Well, I am heading to my room for the night. I'll catch you guys later and let you know what the Lieutenant says tomorrow." He states.

The two men nod back while Hinata gives him a pat on the back.

"Yeah, see you later Tim." she returns.

He nods back, then leaves to dispose of his trash before returning to his room.

"Hey Tim…" Issei calls out.

Timothy stops his walk and glances over his shoulder back to the table where he left his friends. He saw all three of them looking at him as Issei held up an open hand towards him.

"Thanks for the invite. It'll be nice to work with ya." Issei sated.

Timothy lightly scoffed as he closed his eyes in humor before slightly shaking his head at him.

"Yeah, you're welcome, clown." Timothy jested.

Kenta shook his head as Hinata quietly chuckled and Issei gave Timothy a scowl.

"Oh, shut up!" Issei mumbled just loud enough for Timothy to hear.

Timothy shook his head again as he turned back forward and continued walking to go discard his trash.

After throwing away his trash and giving a last wave at his friends as he walked through the room, Timothy swiftly found himself walking through the doorway into his room. He casually stepped over to his bed and removed both of his swords from his sash, placing the sword that contained Susan's soul on the bed before sitting down against the back wall.

He leaned his head back to the wall and closed his eyes as he mulled over the fact that he was in charge of a team now. Other members were going to be counting on him and looking to him for guidance and orders. Counting on him to make sure they come back alive.

He didn't stay in thought long before he lightly slapped both hands to his face and started rubbing it while he let out a deep breath.

'This is all nonsense.' He thought before dropping his hands into his lap and sighing heavily.

"Well…" he started under his breath as he raised his head and opened his eyes. "Could be worse…somehow." he mumbled further as he pulled his zanpakutō from its scabbard and laid the weapon down on his lap while setting the scabbard aside.

He then set his hands on his legs as he crossed them under himself and closed his eyes again. He sat there, unmoving, for a moment before taking a deep breath and slowly let it out as he cleared his mind to try and speak with his zanpakutō's spirit.

He honestly had expected it to take a few times to succeed, if he even succeeded at all. But, to his surprise, he found that he started getting that familiar feeling of being pulled away into the darkness, deep within the back of his mind.

As before, he opened his eyes to find himself standing in the same field as he had before. But he immediately noticed something different about everything around him.

Although the buildings were still in shambles with no apparent change and still burning, the heavy downpour of water was now a steady, moderate rain. And the fires that littered the fields were gone, the weeds were not as dense, and he could see tiny patches of grass trying to grow.

When he looked up to the sky, although it was still a heavy downcast, he could occasionally see a small patch of the blue sky through the clouds. He found himself stuck trying to look for more of the blue sky as the clouds continued to pass overhead.

"You have…come back." A low and deep voice sounded from in front of him.

Timothy lightly scoffed as he closed his eyes while keeping his head to the sky.

"Yeah, I guess so." He mused back.

He took he short breath before lowering his gaze and opening his eyes to see the spirit sitting in front of him, just like he had during his last visit.

"Some things have changed here. It's not as…gloomy." Timothy observed with a crook of a smile.

The man stared at him with his one exposed eye with an emotionless look. After a moment of continued staring, the man finally turned his gaze towards the fields.

"Indeed…so I see… that you have…finally understood…the feelings…in your soul." He remarked slowly.

Timothy followed the man's gaze out to the fields and sighed heavily.

"I may understand them, but those feelings are still there." Timothy said regretfully.

The man turned back to Timothy with a hardened stare.

"Yet you…are still trying…to correct…those feelings…So tell me…" the man paused, getting Timothy's attention back to him. "Why have…you returned?...What is it…that you seek?" he asked.

"Guidance." Timothy flatly replied.

The man's exposed eye narrowed at him, hardening his stare further.

"And why…should I…help you?" the man half demanded.

Timothy tilted his head a little. "Well…aren't we supposed to be partners? Are we not supposed to help each other?"

The man closed his eye for a moment before he returned his gaze.

"The bond…between the zanpakutō…and it's master…is sacred…but not everlasting…The zanpakutō…trusts…in its master…granting him…the powers…to fight…and to protect…The master…trusts…the zanpakutō…to give him…the guidance…in order to do…what is right…While your heart…is true…and your…intentions good…I have…yet to see…a reason to place…my trust in you…You must…prove to me…that your heart…your soul…cannot be corrupted…by the use…of my powers."

The man held a cloth covered finger out to Timothy. "Only then…can you ask…for my guidance."

The man lowered his hand, but Timothy became agitated. He took a step towards the man as he held an arm out to the side.

"Can't you see the improvements I've made since I was last here? Don't you think you could at least give me some guidance? Don't I deserve it?" he demanded.

The man narrowed his gaze a moment, then swiftly stood up and slowly started walking towards him.

"Did you need help…to destroy…this world…in the first place?...Did you need help…to tear apart…your soul? Who all…was involved…in setting the state…of your being?...You…and only you…There may…have been…entities…that gave you…the means…but YOU…are the one…who caused…the pain within you…YOU…are the one…who has broken…the trust…" The man was now standing feet from him, pointing at his face. "And YOU…are the one…who must fix it!" he finished in a growl.

The man lowered his hand as both men glared at each other. The stare down continued for a moment before Timothy finally closed his eyes and slightly lowered his head. After another minute, Timothy dropped down and sat with his knees to his chest and held his head in his hands, supported on his knees.

"I'm…sorry." He said in a hushed tone.

The man continued to stare at him for a moment more before he closed his eye.

"I am not…the one…you should…feel sorry for…you are." The man said.

Timothy looked up to him, then the man looked back at him.

"You are…a strong one…Timothy Durn…Many underestimate you…You are stronger…than you imagine…You have…excessive potential…that you have…yet to discover…But…it is…up to you…to find it…Do not look…to the past…but instead…the future…Do not give in…Do not fret…Do not falter…"

The man kneeled down to where he was eye level with Timothy and pointed a finger at his chest.

"Believe."

Timothy watched with wide eyes as the man brought his hand to Timothy's fore head with his index finger tucked under his thumb, then flicked him in the head.

Timothy flashed open his eyes quickly as he gasped, finding himself back in his room. He quickly looked around in a brief panic to get his bearings before he took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

He brought his hands up and started rubbing his face in quick motions. After a few seconds, he dropped his hands back down to his lap as he dropped his head back against the wall with a light thud and closed his eyes.

"Tim…you ok?" Susan whispered.

Timothy took a deep breath before opening his eyes and sheathing his zanpakutō. He took another, smaller breath before standing up and sitting back down on his bed to converse with her.

"Yeah…I'm fine." He answered, then dropped his head.

"You sure?" she pressed.

Timothy heavily sighed, not answering.

"You spoke with your zanpakutō again, didn't you?"

"Yeah…still the same thing."

Timothy turned himself and laid back on his bed with his arms beside him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

Timothy slowly shook his head. "Not really. I just have a lot on my mind…like always."

"Tim…please talk to me. I know I can be a pain in the butt to you, but you know that I'm always willing to hear you out." She encouraged.

Timothy lightly scoffed. "Bain of my existence is more like it." He mocked.

Susan scoffed back at him. "Whatever. Point is, I just want to help you out. You can't fault me for that you know." She returned in annoyance.

He sighed and nodded. "I know. I just…I don't want to talk about it. So, I assume you heard everything about me being the officer for this…team?"

"Yeah, I heard. So, what's your plan for it?" she inquired.

Timothy shrugged his shoulders at the question. "Not sure just yet, but I can say this, you're going to be getting a workout of your own as well for the training."

"Ooohh, sounds fun!" she beamed.

Timothy snorted at her remark. "And you better be ready if we get called in. I am 'not' going to let what happened to Hetoku, happen to my team."

"Don't worry. You do your part, and I will do mine.

Timothy nodded and took a breath before sitting back up and walking to the dresser to change. It was then that it dawned on him that he had absolutely no information regarding this hollow that had killed Hetoku.

The only thing that he knew about the matter was simply that he was killed, and it was a hollow that had done it…a single hollow.

Timothy knew that Hetoku was a decent fighter, and if they normally sent unseated officers to protect the world of the living against hollows, then this particular hollow was a tough one, especially if it called for an emergency team to be put on standby.

'I'll have to talk to the Lieutenant or Captain about it tomorrow.' He thought, pushing the matter aside for the moment as he started to change his clothes.

Squad 7 Headquarters, Seireitei, The Next Morning

Sajin sat at his desk, finishing the last bit of paperwork that didn't get completed the day before while Tetsuzaemon made tea for the both of them.

Normally the pair didn't let paperwork get behind, getting everything done before the end of the day. But with having extra paperwork regarding the Squad 10 members, as well as the squad's own team leaving for the living world, the added work prevented them from getting everything done.

Although it was preferred to have the squad's daily paperwork in by the following morning, the Head Captain did allow a two-day grace period to turn in the work in case something happened that prevented it from being turned in at the time. Redeployment of personnel fell under one of these situations.

Sajin only had a few forms left to review by the time Tetsuzaemon returned, setting the Captain's cup down on Sajin's desk before proceeding to his desk.

"Thank you, Tetsuzaemon." Sajin said without looking up.

"Yes sir." the Lieutenant replied before blowing on his cup and taking a sip.

Tetsuzaemon set his cup back down and folded his arms into his sleeves, waiting. All of the paperwork from yesterday already had his signatures on them, and just needed Sajin's final review. The first batch of the day's paperwork had not been handed in yet.

While most of the squad rested for the night, most squads kept a couple members in the offices at night to handle paperwork that was turned in after hours to provide an early batch for the Lieutenant and Captain to look over.

Sajin finished signing the last form and set it aside on the completed pile before picking up his cup of tea. Both men sat in silence as they waited for the morning paperwork that should be in at any minute.

"Tetsuzaemon." Sajin began.

The man turned to him. "Sir?" he responded.

Sajin set his cup down and set his hands in his lap. "Have you received the report from the team that was deployed yesterday?"

The Lieutenant nodded. "Yes sir. They reported in an hour ago. All members arrived safely and besides a few hollows that appeared while there was no team present, there haven't been any incidents. No reports on this…hollow with the weird ability yet."

Sajin nodded. "And what of the Squad 10 members?"

"Once everyone arrived, Captain Hitsugaya's team went to the site of the incident to look around for any clues. Their officer has been checking in with our 8th seat before he reports in."

Sajin nods once again before drinking some more tea, Tetsuzaemon doing the same. Sajin turns with his cup in hand to face the window behind him, seeing the sun just peeking over the rooftops of the buildings.

"Do you think this hollow is still in the area, Tetsuzaemon?"

The man starts scratching his chin as he thinks on the answer.

"I can't really answer that one sir. Milan is quite a large city with plenty of souls. If it acts like regular hollows, it would more than likely still be around somewhere. But seeing that this hollow has this weird ability, that does not make it an average hollow, so it's possible that it may have moved somewhere else, or returned to Hueco Mundo." The Lieutenant answered.

Both men turned to the knocking on the door.

"You may enter." Sajin answered.

Timothy walked into the office with a small stack of paperwork in his arm.

"Morning sir, Lieutenant." He greeted.

"Morning Timothy." Sajin returned while Tetsuzaemon simply nodded.

"I've brought the first bit of work for ya, sir." Timothy said.

Sajin gestured towards Tetsuzaemon's desk. "Please give it to Tetsuzaemon." He instructs.

Timothy walks to the man's desk and set the paperwork down before turning back to Sajin.

"Excuse me sir, but do you have a minute?" he asks.

Sajin nods and gestures for him to sit. Timothy walks over to the Captain's desk and takes a seat in front of him.

"I'm sorry to bother you so early sir, but I needed to ask about this…hollow or whatever it is. If you're going to have this team ready to move at a minute's notice, we need to know what we would be up against, so we can prepare for it." He states.

Sajin thinks about what to tell the man for a moment, considering that even he has very little knowledge about the hollow.

"That's true, though there is not much I can tell you. We have no idea what this hollow looks like yet, but I can say that from what information that we do have, this hollow somehow has the capability to absorb spirit energy." Sajin begins.

Timothy's eyes widen a bit. "Is that normal?"

Sajin shakes his head. "No, in fact it has never been heard of before. From the information that Squad 12 has been able to acquire, former 5th seat Hetoku released a small amount of spirit energy. That energy somehow got absorbed by the hollow. But to make the matter worse, it seems to be able to heal itself by using this energy. This hollow is also a skilled fighter, causing me to believe that it's possible that this hollow may be an Adjuchas." Sajin adds.

"Alright, so what's an 'Adjuchas'?" Timothy asks as he scratches his head.

"It's a class of menos, the second class to be exact. Unlike normal hollows that have very little combat skills, Adjuchas on the other hand are many times stronger, and more skilled. But again, our information on this hollow is minimum, so it could simply be a hollow that has been around for a long time and possibly developed this ability. My only advice is to avoid using kidō, or exerting spirit energy."

Timothy holds a hand up quickly. "Wait a minute, it can also absorb kidō?!" he near shouts.

Sajin gives a serious nod. "Do not use kidō against this hollow Timothy, it will only make it stronger."

Timothy places his chin in his hand as he thinks over what the Captain told him.

"Captain, do you think that the hollow would affect my power?" Susan asks aloud.

Timothy glances at Sajin, listening to the answer as well. But Sajin doesn't answer right away as he is thinking about the answer himself.

"I'm not sure. When we last fought, I could feel your presence while you were visible. But as to your flames, I couldn't feel anything from them, as if they were not there. It's the same while you were not visible, hiding in the flames. It was also the same in Timothy's case when I fought him. So, I really can't give you an answer on that one." Sajin offers.

Timothy nods and finally stands up. "Thanks for the info sir." he says, then turns to Tetsuzaemon. "I've got the names for the team written down, Lieutenant." He adds as he hands a small piece of paper to the man.

Tetsuzaemon looks at the names for a moment, then nods.

"I'll put them down and give you the names for the other five later today. Go ahead and start training with these five for this morning. Once I give you the last five names, you can add them to your training." The Lieutenant instructs.

Timothy nods before turning back to Sajin and bows.

"Thanks again sir." he says as he raises.

Sajin nods back. "You're welcome, Timothy. You're dismissed."

Timothy nods and leaves the office.

Sajin drinks a sip of tea before he starts on the paperwork that Tetsuzaemon had already signed and set on his desk.

Out back, Timothy was on his way from the rear doors of the headquarters to the squad barracks to find his friends that he set up for his team. Along with the Lieutenant's instructions, he also wanted to get started on practicing with them.

Now that he had, at least some, information regarding the hollow that Hetoku fought, he had at least some understanding and idea on how to fight it. He was going to have to focus his team's training very specifically on close quarters fighting, without the use of kidō.

But first he needed to find out what his friend's skills were. Were they going to even be able to handle an enemy like this? On their own, more than likely not, but if they fought together, they should be able to handle it.

Issei had already mentioned that Yuka and Junya fight together on a normal basis, so those two know how each other operates. Now he needed to bring Kenta, Issei and Hinata, as well as the mystery five into the fold, into one well-oiled machine.

"Well hello there…Durn." A violent and cheeky voice spoke behind him.

Timothy froze in place at the very sound of the voice.

'Oh. Dear. God. Not him!' he fretted.

He slightly relaxed and turned around with contempt towards the owner of the voice.

"What do you want, Captain Zaraki?" he asked with an agitated look and voice.

The bloodthirsty Captain gave Timothy his 'happy' grin.

"I thought I'd come by for our match. Or are you still under the leash of that wolf-faced bastard?" he mocked.

Timothy scoffed and growled at the same time as he turned fully towards the Captain.

"One, I'm under no one's 'leash'. Two, I'd have to ask that you respect my Captain, who has done more for me in the past two weeks than you have done for the entire Soul Society in the past millennium." Timothy hissed back.

Zaraki deeply chuckled at the remark. "I see that the furry Captain hasn't caused you to lose your balls. That's good. I don't fight those who can't pose at least somewhat of a challenge, and I certainly don't fight cowards."

Timothy rolled his eyes at the taunt and shook his head. "Look Zaraki, I don't have the time to screw around with you right now. I've got far more important things to do than entertain your desire of getting your ass whooped. Besides, my Captain instructed me not to get into it with you, and I intend to listen to him. If you've got nothing else to do, then take my advice and go jump in a deep hole somewhere."

The man's grin grew wider and he began to laugh. Timothy narrowed his gaze until the man calmed down a bit.

"That's more like it! There's the guts I remember you having! You may have been 'instructed' not to fight me, but make no mistake, I can see the bloodlust you have for me in your eyes. I can clearly see that you want to take a swing at me. Why not challenge me?" Zaraki pressed.

Timothy rose a brow at his question. "What the hell are you getting at, you god damned brute?" he asked in annoyance.

Zaraki smiled to the point where Timothy could now see every one of his teeth.

"Challenge me. No one can prevent you from challenging another, not even a Captain. Especially if the one challenged accepts. If you want to fight me so bad, then challenge me!" Zaraki demanded.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Yachiru popped up and hung of Zaraki's shoulder, smiling down at Timothy.

"Yeah! Fight him, Zippy! That way you and Kenny can have some fun!" she cheered.

Timothy turned to her with a deadpanned look. "Why in the hell do you call me 'Zippy'?" he moaned.

"Cause you zip from here, to there, to there, to there, to there…" she kept saying over and over as she pointed from one spot to another as she said 'there'.

Timothy face palmed and moaned loudly before holding his hand help to try and stop her, since she was still going on and on.

"Ok ok…I get it. Just please…knock it off." He begged.

She stopped her rambling and turned to him with her smile.

"Ok!"

Zaraki's face turned serious as he turned to her. "Yachiru, be quiet." He demanded.

She simply turned to him and nodded, keeping her smile. Zaraki turned back to Timothy, his grin returning.

"So, what's it going to be?" he pressed again.

Timothy scoffed at him. "For god's sakes, why the hell are you so adamant about fighting me? Seriously! Do you really have nothing better to do than go looking for a fight, 'literally'?!"

Timothy's patience was running exceedingly thin by this point, and it was taking every bit of willpower to not start a fisticuffs match with the man.

Zaraki was correct in his statement about Timothy wanting to fight the man for all the nonsense that he allowed to happen with his squad, but Sajin had told him that he didn't want him to fight with the man, and Timothy owed him more than that request.

"There's nothing more pleasant than being able to fight with everything you got, a fight to the death. Ichigo's not here right now, so you're the next best thing, from what I've been told. Besides, I heard that you managed to kick wolf-face's ass the other day. So, if you can take on a Captain, and win, you are definitely too good of an opportunity to pass up. So how about it? All you have to do is challenge me. Like I said, no one can stop you from challenging another."

Timothy slightly lowered his head and closed his eyes in anger while balling his fists.

"I asked you nicely to show some respect for my Captain. I don't care if you don't like Captain Komamura, but you should at least show him the respect that he deserves." He demanded.

Zaraki gives a loud laugh for a moment, then glares at Timothy.

"You want my respect? Then earn it! Fight me and earn it! If you can give me a fight that I'm happy with, I'll take back all of the remarks towards that wolf-faced bastard!"

"I'm done with this fool, Tim! If he wants his pretty ass kicked, then give it to him!" Susan yelled in Timothy's head.

Timothy's patience finally zeroed out.

"Fine, Zaraki. I'll play your game. What're the rules?" he seethed.

"Rules?! Ha! Don't make me laugh. There are no rules in battle, Durn. Fight me with everything that you've got! No holding back! I don't care what you do, just give me a damn good fight!" Zaraki said with a tilted head, eye glaring at him.

Timothy narrowed his gaze. "Are you sure that's what you want? I think you're biting off more than you puppy dog mouth can chew." He taunted.

Zaraki laughed again.

"Bring it to me, Durn! Show me what you've got!" Zaraki demanded.

Timothy nodded. "Fine. To the field then."

Zaraki grinned as wide as possible before using shunpo to land out on the training grounds.

Timothy turned his head to the fields. "That fool wants his ass whooped, I'll gladly oblige."

Timothy shunpoed out to the field as well, landing a mild distance from the Captain. Zaraki turned to his Lieutenant, still on his shoulder.

"Yachiru, go find somewhere else to sit." He growled.

The pink haired girl smiled and nodded. "Ok!" She then turned to Timothy. "Make sure to give Kenny a good time, ok Zippy?!"

Timothy gave her another deadpanned look. "Would you please stop calling me that." He pleaded.

The girl hopped up on top of Zaraki's shoulder before leaping off into the air and landing on the roof of a building several hundred feet away.

Timothy turned back to Zaraki with a confused stare. "How the hell did she do that?"

Zaraki simply shrugged his shoulder, giving Timothy the impression that he wasn't going to answer. Timothy simply sighed and shook his head.

"Whatever. So, what, I have to 'actually say' that I challenge you?"

Zaraki grinned back. "If it makes you fight me better, go for it."

Timothy scoffed at him. "Fine. Captain Zaraki, I challenge you."

The man smiled back. "I accept." He answered as he drew his zanpakutō.

Timothy took a decent look to see that the blade was very long and narrow, the edge scarred and chipped in several places giving it a serrated edge.

"If I remember correctly, the Captain said you don't have a shikai. So that means that I just have to watch out for your sword skills." Timothy pointed out.

Zaraki chuckled. "Even if I did have a sword release, I wouldn't use it. I prefer to make my fights last as long as possible, and a release would only end the fight quicker. Now quit your blabbing and come at me!" he demanded.

Timothy stared the man down a moment, then finally drew Susan's blade from its scabbard, holding it to his side.

"Tease, Moeru Kitsune." He commanded.

The blade reformed while Susan's signature flames started appearing at numerous locations around the field. Zaraki started looking around at a few of the flames.

"A bonfire huh? Just what we needed for this party."

Timothy narrowed his gaze.

"You ready for this?" he asked her.

"Oh, I'm ready for this asshole! He wanted a fight, he's gonna get it!" she returned with a happy and 'demonic' giggle.

He lightly scoffed at her remarked and nodded.

"Then let's do this." He whispered, then rose his voice. "Well, bring on Zaraki! I challenged you, so you get to make the first move!" he taunted.

Zaraki smiled more. "If that's what you want." He stated and immediately charged at Timothy.

Squad 7 Headquarters, 15 Minutes Later

Sajin set a form he had just signed on top of the completed pile and turned to Tetsuzaemon.

"Tetsuzaemon, when you are finished with that, please send these…"

He was interrupted by a sudden burst of strong spiritual pressure resonating in the office. Both men's eyes went wide as they knew immediately whose spiritual pressure is was. The only man whose pressure could, almost literally, slit your throat just by 'feeling' it.

It was Captain Zaraki's pressure.

Tetsuzaemon quickly turned to Sajin. "Please don't tell me…"

They both then quickly glanced towards the door.

"Timothy/Durn" they both moaned in unison.

Squad 10 Headquarters, Present

After, yet another, long berating session, Toshiro and a reluctant Rangiku continued working on the morning forms for the squad. Considering that, as usual, the Lieutenant was 'unable' to assist the Captain earlier, they were a little bit behind.

Toshiro was at his desk, while Rangiku was laying down on the couch holding a form over her head and inspecting it; with several other form scattered on the floor in front of her seat.

The captain 'would' have been happy, or at least content, that the woman was giving him at least 'some' help, but her steady, and very obnoxious out-of-tune humming was beginning to drive him, almost literally, up a wall.

Finally, he had had enough.

He instantly slammed his free hand on the desk with a loud growl as he shot to his feet.

"Rangiku!" he yelled.

But before he could berate her any further, both of their eyes shot wide open as the entire room started to vibrate from an enormous amount of spiritual pressure. But not only that, they both recognized the owner of that pressure right away.

Rangiku quickly turned around in her seat, supporting herself on her hands and knees on the couch as she started at her Captain.

"C…Captain!" she started.

His face dropped. "Just great…what the hell is going on now?" he moaned, then looked at his Lieutenant. "Rangiku, stay here and finish these forms while I go investigate this matter." he instructed, earning a whine from the woman. "And that is an order." He demanded further. "At least this will give me a break from you." He then finished in a whisper, before vanishing in shunpo.

Squad 1 Headquarters, Office of the Head Captain, Present

Head Captain Yamamoto sat peacefully at his desk signing a form as his Lieutenant, Chōjirō Sasakibe, walked up with some morning forms from Squad 9. The old, yet powerful man looked up to the Lieutenant.

"Thank you, Chōjirō." He said in a deep voice.

The man bowed and turned to leave when the office suddenly roared with the power of a dense spiritual pressure. Lieutenant Sasakibe quickly glanced outside, then to Yamamoto. The old man slowly closed his eyes and gave a powerful sigh.

"Hmm…I wonder who the unfortunate soul is to have crossed paths with Captain Zaraki." He said in a low voice.

He opened his eyes a little, then slowly stood, grabbing his cane as he did, and disappeared in a flash step.


Oooohh…cliffhanger deluxe right here, heh heh heh. I know some of you have been 'pestering' me for weeks about Zaraki's fight with Timothy, trying to get any information of spoilers; and to pay you all back for it, I'll leave you all jumping in your seats as you wait for a slow week to pass.

Oh…I am so evil…aren't I? (Grins widely as devil horns grow on his head)

So, if you can't guess, next week you all get to see what you've been waiting for. To see whose ass gets kicked. SoullessSora did make a good point that Timothy is "badass"; but, come on…this is Zaraki we're talking about here. He sure as hell ain't no pushover. But then again, neither is Sajin.

Well, this is where I leave you all, at least until next week. Hope you all have a good week. Laters.