The Death and Life of Erza Scarlet

by Goshinzilla

Death is only the beginning. Erza learns that much at the tower of heaven. But the afterlife, it turns out, isn't much better than life, with all its flaws. As she becomes a shinigami, Erza seeks to make a better world- but Aizen has the same idea... (ErzaXMomo)

85. Real Life Or Just Fantasy?

Ladies and gentlemen! We have come back with another chapter! However, this time things are going to be a bit different. Are you ready to see Erza and some of the others go through a trial unlike any other?! To see our heroes challenged unlike any other in this story so far?! If so then boy is this the chapter for you!

As always, I am eager to ask for feedback on what you think of this chapter, but this time more so than usual. I understand that the last few chapters may have felt a bit slow...but now we're going to kick things up a notch!

Thanks once again to Greatkingrat88 (for writing) and jcampbellohten (for being our Beta)

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo and Shounen jump. Fairy tail is owned by Hiro Mashima and weekly shounen magazine. I own NOTHING. This is all just for fun!

---

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!"

Riruka was on the brink of losing it, clutching at her hair. She was standing on the rooftop of one of the run-down buildings, and at her feet lay the body of a shinigami in tight black clothing. A mask obscured her face, and her eyes were wide open, lifeless. A small trail of blood, already beginning to dry, ran from the back of her head. She was quite dead.

Around Riruka, her fellow fullbringers had assembled. Tsukishima had been the first to sense something was off, and when he had seen what had happened, he had hurried to get Ginjou. One by one, the others had shown up; first Jackie, then Giriko, then Moe and Yukio.

"I didn't mean to do it!" Riruka wailed. "I didn't mean to kill her! I- I just wanted to knock her out before I warned the rest of you! Oh god, oh god, oh god, I- I-"

"Ririuka, calm down," Tsukishima said calmly, putting an arm on the shoulder of the quivering girl. "You didn't do anything wrong. You defended your family."

"Riruka," Ginjou said, his voice calm and reassuring, "I'm not angry, but I need to know exactly what happened here, okay?"

Riruka whimpered something, and Jackie walked over, wrapping her arms around the girl.

"You gotta take it easy," said Jackie. "She just… had to do something terrible."

"I get that," said Ginjou, "but right now, every one of us is at risk. Riruka, I get this was horrible, but for everyone's sake, I have to know. Will you please try?"

"I, I," Riruka whimpered, "I was sitting watch, like we do, you know? I was doing like you taught me, keeping a low profile, not letting my reiatsu show. Then I see this figure in black sneaking up a few rooftops over, and… I think it's gotta be a shinigami. I was just so shocked, you know? We were gonna lose our home again!"

"Sadly, I think that may be the case regardless," Giriko said gloomily.

"Not now, man," said Ginjou sharply. "Riruka, please continue."

"I… I grabbed this piece of iron piping I saw," Riruka said, gesturing weakly toward the rooftop. There was indeed a piece of pipe there, with a bit of blood on it. "I just used my shrinking as hard as I could, and…"

"How did she not see you coming?" said Yukio, kneeling by the corpse. "This doesn't look like an ordinary shinigami. This… is one of their ninja-types, right?"

"Stealth corps," Ginjou confirmed, "that's what those bastards wear. Intelligence specialists. That's a good question, actually… How'd you sneak up on her, Riruka?"

"I just went really fast." Riruka sniffed. "I think I got to her in like… two seconds, maybe. I was really small, and really fast, and then I was full size again and I just… I hit her in the head with a pipe. She was only just turning her head to see me when I hit."

"Looks like you hit something critical," said Yukio, "and hard, too. I guess even shinigami aren't immortal."

"I- I charged a bit of energy into it," Riruka whispered. "I figured I had to, you know? B-because they're so strong. I only wanted to knock her out, I swear!"

She began to cry, averting her eyes from the dead shinigami operative.

"It was an accident," said Ginjou, sighing. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Riruka. It… should have been me."

"It could have been any one of us," said Giriko, nodding. "Indeed, I doubt any one of us would have done better."

"How could we have?" muttered Tsukishima. "Done better, I mean. This is an enemy. They forced us out of our home twice already. They want us dead for who we are. She deserved it."

"Shuu!" Ginjou snapped.

"What?" Tsukishima shot back. "Doesn't she? You are the one who told us they were bastards, and you were right! Twice- no, three times now, we've seen the proof of it!"

"Man's got a point," Yukio said, standing up.

"Look, that- that-" Ginjou said, trailing off.

"What?" said Jackie, "They are our enemies, aren't they?"

"I- I mean… yeah," Ginjou muttered. "Look, right now, we got to go. Everyone, pack your shit. You have ten minutes to grab what matters, and after that, we're out of here. We can be in another city by tomorrow morning. Out of the country by the day after that. Right now we gotta get the hell out of here, or the Gotei will come right down on us. They don't take kindly to their own being killed."

"God damn it…" Moe muttered. He was the newest, youngest member of the group, and he'd never had to move. Not yet.

"I hate this," Jackie muttered. "I really do…"

"I mean, it's our home!" Moe said emphatically, "Our place! We built this! We took a shitty, run-down place and made it liveable! It's everything I ever wanted! God damn it!"

"Do you want to die?" Ginjou snapped. He hated being harsh on them, but this was for their own good. "Do you want to feel a blade run through your chest after watching the rest of your family gutted like fish? That's what they'll do! The Gotei is more powerful than you can imagine, kid! If we stick our neck out, we're done."

He looked around at the fullbringers. His children. The ones he had taken in and raised, the purpose of his life. The one thing that kept them going. They had always trusted him, and now, more than ever, he needed that trust.

"Or, we take the offensive to them."

The cold, dispassionate voice cut Ginjou like a knife. Tsukishima was a good kid, but deep down, he had a ruthless streak- and to make it worse, he was still young enough and ignorant enough to be overconfident.

"Are you out of your mind?" Ginjou snapped. "We're talking several captains!"

"So?" said Tsukishima. "Power doesn't mean a thing next to my Book of the End. If we strike now, if we move real quick… then they'll all be on our side before we know it. When I've got them, there'll be no need to run anymore."

"That's insane!" Ginjou said angrily. "You're getting us all killed, talking nonsense like that!"

"Everyone," said Tsukishima, turning to the others, "do you feel ready to leave behind everything? Our home? Our valuables? Everything we worked for? And for what? More running? A life of uncertainty, fear, your head always in a swivel, always looking over your shoulder for the big, bad shinigami?"

This was bad. The others looked to Tsukishima now, listening intently, even the older, more mature ones like Jackie or Giriko.

"Are you ready to give up and let them take everything from us, again?" continued Tsukishima. "Or, will you stand up for yourselves? Make a stand, settle this once and for all?"

"God damn it, he's right," Jackie muttered. "Ginjou, I know what you'll say-"

"You'll die, Jackie," Ginjou said sharply. "That is what I'll say."

"I'm tired of skulking in the shadows," she said, shaking her head, "and I'm tired of building up and losing. If that's what our life is going to be… then yeah, I'm starting to see his point."

"I am afraid I concur," said Giriko with a sigh. "I… built the bar desk inside from scratch. It took me over a year to perfect it. It's not just that, but… it works as a symbol for everything we've got."

"And you, Yukio?" said Tsukishima quickly.

"How strong can they be?" said the boy. "We've got your fullbring, right?"

"Yukio!" Ginjou snarled, a great anxiety building in his chest. He was losing control of the situation, fast.

"And Riruka?" continued Tsukishima. "Don't you want to stay here?"

"You leave her out of this!" Ginjou snarled, "God damn you, boy!"

"I'm not going to be intimidated by you, Ginjou," said Tsukishima coolly. "I've always followed your lead, but I warned you. Several times. You brought trouble to our door, real trouble, and look where it got us. And for what? Your saviour complex? You've risked all of us just to get that kid a break!"

"So what if we went on the run, huh?" shouted Ginjou. "We'd still have each other, like we always did! That's the most important part. A building is just brick and mortar, but a home is where you make it. It's where your people and your heart is!"

"I call for a vote," said Tsukishima, "for everyone here, right now. We're not a dictatorship, after all. Who here is in favour of staying, even if it means taking the fight to them?"

He raised his hand. Moe's was the first to come up after, lightning-fast. Then Jackie's, then Giriko's, then Yukio's.

"Riruka?" he said.

"I… I don't want to leave," she said, weakly raising her hand. "Ginjou, I'm sorry, but I don't."

Ginjou balled his fists, staring angrily at Tsukishima.

"You can come or you can stay out," said Tsukishima. "Like you always say, nobody's forcing you to do anything. But the family's spoken, and it hasn't spoken your way."

Ginjou took a few deep breaths.

"…So, it's everyone's will here that we go to war with the shinigami in Karakura? Every last one of you?"

"You can see the show of hands," retorted Tsukishima, slowly lowering his.

"Alright," Ginjou said, "I… yeah, okay. God damn it… but if we do this, you follow my damn lead. I'm the one who knows anything about this. Got that?"

"Fair enough," said Tsukishima with a shrug, a content smirk on his face.

"Right now, we do as I said and get the hell out," said Ginjou, "we go to the secondary safe house and plan our next move. We'll come back," he said hastily, seeing the darkening expressions on his companions' faces, "but right now, we can't be here. We need to regroup and find a plan of attack."

"I already know where they're hiding," said Tsukishima, "I followed that red-haired kid around a few times. He kept coming back to this one little shop."

"You followed him?" said Ginjou incredulously.

"Paid off, didn't it?"

"Damn it… yeah, yeah," Ginjou muttered. "Everyone, we decided what to do. Now go pack your shit! We're getting to that safe house before anyone comes looking for that operative!"

---

It felt a little strange to Uryu to think that it was already Saturday afternoon. Just last night he had boarded a flight, and now, here he was, the day having passed behind him in a blur. Friday felt like an eternity ago. He was struggling a little to take in all the things he had seen in the castle so far- so many new things, so many deeply fascinating facets of quincy culture he had never seen before, only dreamed of.

Meninas had faithfully guided him on a tour of the castle, taking the scenic route on the way to the art gallery. He had seen walls and buttresses, buildings old and new. He had seen tapestries and rugs, chambers and halls, rooms from older and later periods. He had seen knights and chevaliers, aspirants and initiates, and everywhere in some form was the black quincy cross on the white background. The colours were omnipresent; the castle didn't let anyone forget to whom it belonged.

Finally, they had arrived at the art gallery, a wing at the east end of the castle. Much to Uryu's disappointment, Meninas had been called away on some official business, and Bambietta had left with her, because the place was just 'too fuckin' boring', leaving Uryu to explore it by his lonesome.

But, even the absence of his mentor did not dampen Uryu's spirits much. Alone or not, he was still staring at some of the greatest culture his heritage had to offer. Slowly, he walked through the gallery, a large and airy room with walls of stone. One would hardly have known it was stone, though; every inch of the walls was decorated with elaborate paintings to the point where it looked a little cluttered. The castle's lord, it seemed, had had a long time to decorate this place.

Uryu walked through the gallery, taking in each painting one by one. Most of the paintings seemed to be made in the same style, signed with a simple 'S.A.Y.', although not all. The paintings had a clear theme. Most of them depicted some great battle, or a heroic figure struggling with an opponent. Sometimes, the enemy was dark as night, and sometimes it seemed like a worthy foe, as noble as the hero who fought him. Sometimes, who the hero was could not even be determined.

Some anomalies existed. Some paintings simply depicted nature in its great beauty, untouched by the ravages of violence. Some depicted animals, such as horses, lions, wolves. One in particular caught Uryu's eye. Indeed, it was hard not to be caught by it; the painting was two meters tall and four meters long, filled with the scene of a great battle painted in exquisite detail. But, the sheer size of it, or the expertise with which it was painted, was not what struck Uryu first.

It was the subject of the painting.

Hundreds of characters could be seen, and it would probably take hours to observe everything about the painting, but there was a clear motif there. A knightly figure with gleaming armour lined with gold held his raised sword pointed toward a horde of enemies. Thick, black hair cascaded down from his shoulders, but his face was obscured by his helmet. There was a formation of knights there, and Uryu turned to look toward the enemies.

They were shinigami. Cloaked in black, their curved katana raised, they looked vicious, dangerous, yet oddly noble. Amongst them stood a figure, as tall and broad of shoulder as the hero at the centre of the painting. Two champions, calling out to challenge each other in the midst of a great battle. The image of it took Uryu's breath away. He looked down to see if the painting had a name, and at the centre of the frame, he found a small plaque that read:

The third duel of champions, 1379- S.A.Y.

A reckoning, then. Uryu marveled at the painting, and time seemed to disappear. There were so many details, such intricacy, and he wondered how many years it would have taken to paint this. It had to be from one of the quincy-shinigami wars. To see history depicted like this, so real and so lifelike… it was like the past having come to life.

"It does look impressive, does it not?"

Uryu winced, nearly losing his footing with surprise. He had been so totally lost in his admiration of the painting that he hadn't even noticed the man who approached him.

"Who-who are you, sir?" he said, clumsily recovering.

"Take a guess," said the man. Uryu sized up the new arrival. He wore plain clothes; a poncho smeared with paint stains old and new over some very simple pants, but he seemed greater than his clothes. He was a tall man with thick, dark hair and a short, well groomed beard, broad of shoulder and with large hands. He held a bundle of brushes in one hand and a palette in the other. He spoke with a harmonious baritone, like the gentle rumble of a bear at peace, and Uryu felt as if he'd tremble if the man would raise his voice.

"I… I would assume you were the painter, sir?" said Uryu, blinking.

"Quite correct," rumbled the man gently. "I have painted at least nine tenths of everything hanging on these walls. It seems as if nobody quite has the same passion as I do for the art of painting."

"Ah- excuse me," said Uryu, cursing himself for forgetting. "It seems I have failed to introduce myself properly. I am Aspirant Ishida Uryu, here to visit for the weekend. I am at your service, sir."

He bowed with one hand tucked over his chest, a move Haschwalth had demonstrated on the flight there, and he hoped he hadn't botched it.

"Quite courteous, aspirant," said the painter with a smirk.

"Sir, are you a knight?" said Uryu.

"No," said the giant, "not a knight. I was in my studio just one room away when I sensed your presence. So you are the new aspirant I heard about?"

"So I am, sir," Uryu said courteously, deciding to speak formally. The man was not a knight, but it would not do to offend what seemed like a valued servant of the order.

"I always feel glad to see my work admired for the first time. I do so envy the observers who see it, marvel at its spectacle, never noticing every little flaw that makes me hold it in contempt."

"Contempt, sir?" said Uryu, astonished. "I have never seen anything so marvelous in life."

The painter shook his head, and smiled. "With artistry, young aspirant, comes a constant dissatisfaction. This work, I believe to be one of my finest- yet every time I look at it, I see everything I wish I had done better. A shade of paint in one area that could have been mixed to be better, more vibrant- or more subdued. A facial feature, imperfect and inaccurate. Sometimes, I feel disgusted with its flaws. Sometimes, I feel glad of it, but never truly, never fully."

"That sounds terribly frustrating," said Uryu. "I would feel quite proud, had I accomplished something like this."

"I imagined the same," said the painter, "but I found out, in time, that nothing could be further from the truth. Truly, it is not as bad as it sounds. The lack of contentment drives me forward, spurs me to always do better the next time."

"I see," Uryu said, staring at the painting. He couldn't imagine being dissatisfied with it.

"Tell me, aspirant, would you like to see more of my work? I am always glad to show it to young quincies."

"Of course," said Uryu quickly. "Lead the way, sir."

The painter nodded, and slowly began to guide Uryu through the gallery, taking his time to pause and explain the paintings briefly, but only after Uryu had had time to make an impression of his own. It was fascinating. The man spoke of the battles depicted, often as if he had been there himself. It was possible; he was a quincy, after all. Uryu could sense that much. Perhaps a retired member of the order?

As they moved forward, closer to the centre of the great hall, the painting landscape changed. By the final wall there was a considerable amount of space left, and there were only portraits there of people- some depicting the whole of a person, some others only the bust. Uryu could see a great many knights, but was surprised to see a fair number of other quincies as well, from other clans. More surprising still was one large portrait of a man in a black, loose-fitting set of robes. He had a stern face, with well groomed sideburns running down almost to his chin, and a thick ponytail trailing down his chest. He was balding a little, but it did nothing to offset his nobility. He stared down on Uryu from the frame as if to challenge him, as if to dare approach. He held both hands on the hilt of a great blade, nearly as long as himself, and half his chest was exposed. He exuded a kind of savage dignity, like some strange, alien god of war from a time past. By his waist, a white coat was tied with rope.

"That man…" said Uryu, staring, "he is wearing a shihakusho, and the haori to boot. Is this… a shinigami?"

The painter smiled, and Uryu felt a little like a rabbit staring down the maw of a lion.

"This," he exclaimed, "is the wall of heroes. This, by decree of the king, is a place reserved for the greatest people of our order- or of other orders of quincies. Or, in some cases, of our greatest and noblest enemies. The men you see over there," the painter gestured toward a few portraits of men in armour, "are men long dead, knight-champions of the order slain in battle performing great deeds of valour. Over there," he said, pointing up, "you see men and women of long-dead quincy orders, whose valour so impressed the sovereign that he decided they should be immortalized here. And here at the centre… here, we pay respect to our greatest foes."

"Who is this man, sir?" said Uryu, "He seems so…"

"Savage?"

"I would have said 'intimidating', but that works, too."

"That," said the painter, and there was passion in his voice as he spoke, "is the likeness of Kumagoroshi Kenpachi. He was the champion of the shinigami forces in the first war. He had a real name once, but Kumagoroshi- the bear-killer- is the name his peers gave him. He was said to have killed a bear with his bare hands before he was old enough to stand, and he earned the title of Kenpachi by dutiful service to his captain. When the previous Kenpachi died in battle, Kumagoroshi succeeded him. He was a fury in battle, like a tempest on the battlefield. Where he went, knights fell, and only the greatest of quincies could match him. In the whole of the five quincy clans united at war, only one man could hope to defeat him."

"The champion from the great painting before?" said Uryu. "The third duel of champions? Was that him?"

"Astute, aspirant," said the painter, rubbing his chin. "The story goes that the champion fought Kumagoroshi three times. The first time, he was roundly defeated, for his strength was insufficient, and Kumagoroshi was too skilled and experienced. But the champion learned from his defeat, and fought him a second time. The day was won by the quincies, but he could not overcome the Kenpachi, for his strength was insufficient."

"And the third time, sir painter?"

"The third time, on the eve of the final battle, where the great star-hosts were finally defeated, the knight-champion did battle a final time with Kumagoroshi, and although it nearly cost him his life, the knight-champion finally bested the Kenpachi, and drove his sword into the heart of the Gotei's champion. As he saw his enemy fall to the ground, dead, he wept, for he had never faced a nobler enemy. Kumagoroshi Kenpachi he had come to know as a man noble in spirit despite his common birth, a man who asked nothing of his men that he would not do himself; a man who spared the wounded and the weak, a man who offered quarter when it was asked. A man who lived for battle, yet never sought it for its own sake. That Kenpachi was as close to the knightly ideal as he had ever seen in any man, despite his rough manners. So, the king declared he be immortalized, that we may remember that no matter our differences, there may be nobility in our enemies, too."

"I… see," Uryu said, impressed. He felt moved. The painter had spoken with heartfelt sincerity, almost as if he had been there himself. Perhaps he had. He looked up, still in awe of the great collection of art.

"Is that the likeness of Yamamoto Shigekuni Genryuusai?" he said, looking above the painting of the long-dead Kenpachi, narrowing his eyes. The portrait showed a much younger man than the bald, white-haired, imposing old commander Uryu had seen. He had hair left, tied up in a topknot, although it was already balding. There was dark brown left in his hair, although it was already greying. His beard was short, and his cheeks were shaven, but it was unmistakably the same stern expression, the same judgmental eyes staring down on them. It had to have been painted hundreds of years ago to capture that ancient warrior so relatively young.

"I never thought the captain-commander would command such respect."

"He was the one who finally defeated the knight-champion of the first quincy wars and put an end to the battle. His skill and power is worthy of respect alone. Yes… I believe the king holds a particular kind of respect for him, even with the wars and what they did to the quincies."

"Your king must be quite generous in his affections," said Uryu. He felt odd, not entirely understanding of it. It was one thing to venerate a worthy enemy long dead, one he had never heard of before, but Yamamoto was head of the Gotei as it was now, and that was not very noble.

"You disapprove," said the painter with a smile.

"I mean no offense. I am sure your king has his reasons."

"You might be reassured to know this sentiment is shared by most of the knights in the order. Yamamoto is widely considered our greatest enemy, at least by those old enough to remember the wars. But the king… the king alone fought him on the battlefield. Presumably, he saw something of great worth in the old man."

"He must have," Uryu said thoughtfully. "I am due to meet His Majesty later tonight, for a formal introduction. I hope… I hope to ask him some questions about this order. Perhaps I will add this to the list."

"I am sure you will," the painter said with a nod. "The king is an open book to those ready to explore the order. Treat him with due respect, and I am sure he will answer."

"I hope so," said Uryu. "But, for now… sir painter, if you would guide me through the rest of the gallery? I have time left to spare, and my guide seems to have abandoned me."

"Certainly, aspirant," said the painter with a wry smile. "It would be my pleasure."

---

Soifon was going through another set of reports. Curiously, the operative she'd sent out last night hadn't reported back yet. This was not in itself too unusual; a thorough stake-out could take a long time, and she knew the woman she'd sent to be quite through, but Karakura was not exactly a high-risk environment… and she had been gone all day. Perhaps Soifon should send someone out to look for her.

She yawned. She was a little irritated with herself; her overzealous pursuit of her work had ruined her sleep schedule. She had slept until noon, which was annoying in itself. She reached for the pot of coffee she kept next to her. That was one small mercy; the substance was relatively rare in the soul society, but apparently quite plentiful in the world of the living.

As she rifled through the reports, she saw something in one of the security cameras they had installed. A young man in a shirt and suspenders, with dark brown hair, was approaching the store. Soifon closed her eyes, and sensed for his energy. He was indeed carrying a fair amount of reishi to him, although an unusual amount of people did so in this bizarre town.

She looked around, and remembered that Erza was out on patrol, and Byakuya was retired for the evening, spending his time in his hotel room with his sister. That left her in charge.

She reached for the comm. bead in her ear, and said, "Civilian on approach. Potentially empowered. Somebody, get rid of him."

"On it," responded Hinamori. "I'll be gentle."

Soifon rolled her eyes. She was much too soft.

---

Momo had slipped into her gigai to appear like a normal human, just as the young man opened the door to the store and walked in. She kept the tool to exit her body in her pocket, easily accessed, but she doubted she'd have to use it. He was completely unarmed, barely putting out any spiritual energy at all. Captain Soifon really was over-worrying.

"Hello," said the young man.

"Sir," said Momo, putting on her most business-like face, "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave. This is private property."

"Huh?" said the young man, casually walking closer. "Isn't this a candy store? It looked like it was open…"

"Unfortunately, that is not the case," said Momo. "We must have forgotten to put up the 'Closed' sign."

"Oh. Huh," said the young man. "Well… are you sure you can't make an exception for me?"

"I'm afraid not, sir," said Momo, and gave him a smile. "I'm under strict orders-"

Suddenly there was a sword in his hand. She hadn't seen him draw, hadn't seen him do anything. He just held up his hand, and then there was a blade, shooting out and hitting her in the gut. She reeled back, clutching her belly.

Something was weird. She blinked. She was standing up again. There was no sword in his hand at all. There was just the… young man… standing up.

She had seen a sword. It had hit her. Hadn't it? It had been… so clear…

She blinked again, several times. What… was going on? Everything felt so… strange.

"Don't you remember me?" said the young man, smiling. "Please don't play these games with me."

Momo stared at him wide-eyed. Something was wrong here. Her mind felt… clouded. Something was off.

"You need to get out, sir," those were the words she intended to speak, but somewhere in between her mind and mouth it turned into, "Of course I remember you, Shuukurou."

"I thought so," said Shuukurou. "So, who else is here right now?"

"Oh, there's Captain Soifon in her command central," said Momo, without thinking, without holding back. Why would she hold back? He was Shuukurou, the most wonderful person in her life. She could trust him. "Nemu and Isane are taking a nap in the other room," she said, pointing, "and Urahara and Nozomi are doing science in their lab. You know what they're like."

"Of course," Shuukurou said with a chuckle. "Can't tear themselves from their books, can they?"

"You know they mostly use computers, silly," Momo said with a happy smile. "You can be so goofy, Shuukurou!"

He laughed. "I'm silly, I know. Is there… anyone else in the house?"

"Only Yoruichi. There's Tessai and the kids, but they're out on some errand, I think."

"Excellent," said Shuukurou. "Could you show me where they are?"

"You know this place, don't you?" said Momo innocently. Of course he did. He'd been here with them so many times. He'd always helped them when they needed it.

"Sure, but here's the thing," said Shuukurou with a smirk, and leaned in, "I want to play a little prank on them. I need your help, okay?"

"We're not doing anything bad, right?"

"Just a harmless practical joke," said Shuukurou reassuringly. "I just need you to take me to them, and then distract them a little. When you do, I'll play a real funny joke on them. It'll be great."

"You're so goofy," Momo said with a giggle. "Sure, right this way."

She wasn't sure what he was up to, but he'd never do them any harm. It was Shuu, after all, the man she loved more than anyone.

---

Soifon, tired as she was, didn't notice at first. She saw Hinamori engage the civilian, and turned her eye away for a minute, expecting he'd be thrown out soon enough. These reports wouldn't read themselves…

Then, a minute later, she saw the camera was blank. Another camera in the house showed Hinamori leading him… inside.

She groaned. What the hell was the girl doing?

"Hinamori?" she growled into the bead. "I said get him out. You better have a damn good reason."

There was no response. Irritated, Soifon got to her feet, and walked out of the command central. She stepped out into the hall. She saw Hinamori, the stranger by her side, walking out of the room where Isane and Nemu had been sleeping. The door to the science central, where that wretched Urahara kept shop, was open. She narrowed her eyes. What was going on?

The stranger walked into view, followed by Urahara and Nozomi. Along with him, Isane and Nemu stepped into view from their room, glassy stares on their faces. Then, last of all, Yoruichi stepped out. Yes… she had been taking a nap in that room, too, hadn't she? That lazy mentor of hers…

"What the hell is going on?" Soifon demanded. "Hinamori, throw that man out now. I'll be having words with the commander about this, and I don't care what your relationships are- this is unacceptable conduct!"

"What's wrong?" said Hinamori innocently. "I don't get it. Shuu, why is she so cranky?"

"She just needs to hear me out, that's all," said the stranger- Shuu- and Soifon started to realize something was really wrong.

"Everyone, stand down," she demanded. "You are under arrest for trespassing-"

"What's her deal?" said Yoruichi, and the stare she gave Soifon broke the captain's heart. It was like she didn't even know her. "Is she always so serious?"

Soifon balled her fists.

"You," she said, her voice trembling. "What the hell have you done to them?"

"Better than you were about to do to us," said Shuu with a smirk.

"Shuu, what's this, huh?" Yoruichi said, draping her arm around the stranger. "Why is she so… weird?"

At that moment, Soifon could have broken a rock with her fists. Her eyes widened, and anger threatened to overwhelm her completely. But, a lifetime's worth of discipline and experience with keeping a level head in dire straits kicked in, and the rational part of her brain started to talk.

They're all compromised. Somehow, their memories have been altered. Mass hypnosis?

They were all potential hostiles. Headquarters had been overrun. Well, there were simple responses for that.

"Every operative, scatter!" Soifon barked into her comm-bead, and a she turned and ran. "We're compromised! Every remaining loyal operative, leave immediately. Red alert! Red alert! Regroup at rally point two!"

---

Tsukishima made a move to run forward when the captain disappeared, but he couldn't hope to match her superhuman speed, and his Book of the End fell well short of its mark.

"Why didn't you get her?" he snapped at the others.

"What for?" said the purple-haired woman confusedly. "Shuu, what's going on?"

Tsukishima cursed inwardly. His fullbring had a different effect on everyone, subtly, even if the end result was usually the same. The girl he'd met first had turned easily; she seemed to adore him. The others seemed less certain, even if every single one of them was sure he was an old friend. That was the thing- sure, they turned to his side, but that didn't mean they became automatically hostile to everyone else. They likely still thought of the runaway shinigami as an ally and a friend. He could change that, but his powers had limits. They inserted him into people's memories as a trusted friend, but the recipients didn't turn into mindless sheep who'd take any order. Right now, he had to create a narrative… well, they had to work quickly now.

"So, tell me," he said, "silly me, I think I'd forget my head if it wasn't screwed on- who's in charge of communications again?"

"We handle that," said a green-haired girl. "You know that, don't you?"

"Sorry," said Tsukishima with a smile. "I guess I spaced out. So, that's you?"

"And myself," said the blond man with the bucket hat, "for a modest fee, of course."

"Of course. You're both doing a great job," said Tsukishima with a nod. "Now, I'm sure you remember that you asked me to help out with your operation for a bit?"

"Of… course," said the green-haired girl. "Yes, sure."

The memory was being written into her mind as she spoke. He had that much control, at least.

"There's been a problem," said Tsukishima, "one that my friends and I need to deal with. You saw how confused your friend got, right?"

"Yeah, what was up with that?" said the purple-haired woman, frowning. "I mean… it's weird…"

She was confused, conflicting memories not yet settled, and that was something that had to be dealt with, lest his control slip.

"It might just be a test or something, right? I'm not sure exactly how shinigami operate, but doesn't she do that sometimes? She's Stealth Force, right?"

"Yeah, obviously," said Yoruichi. "Of course. I don't know why I didn't think of it myself. They do those kinds of… tests."

"Of course," said Tsukishima, "and if I understand correctly, we're part of that test as well. Now… for the time being, I'd like for you to close down all passage between the Gotei and here, city-wide. As part of the test, I think? That's what she said before, when she contacted us."

The lie could be as blatant as he wanted it to be, so long as it could conceivably fit into his fullbring's ability to manipulate them.

"Sure," said the green-haired girl. "We can do that, right?"

"It'll be easy," said the man with the hat, smiling cockily. "Shutting down travel for a while? I can do that. For you, I'll even make it subtle. They won't know it."

"I could always count on you," said Tsukishima warmly. "If anyone contacts us, just tell them everything is normal. If they ask about travel, tell them it's a temporary malfunction."

"Can do," said the blond man.

"Now," said Tsukishima, "I've got to go get my friends… and finish this whole exercise."

---

Soifon hadn't stopped running until she was halfway across the city, followed closely by three of her operatives. She had brought a team of four, and with one of them missing, she was left with few resources.

"Commander?" asked one of them as they huddled in an alley, keeping watch.

"Quiet!" Soifon snapped. She focused, trying to sense for pursuers. Nothing unusual seemed to be around, and she let out a breath of relief, although she kept herself tense, expecting an ambush at any moment.

"What the hell…" she muttered, the enormity of this new development still sinking in. Some… human, just walking in, had somehow brainwashed most of them with no resistance? What kind of horrifying ability was that? She remembered Yoruichi, the look on her face, and quickly forced herself to think of something else.

"Is this Aizen's doing?" said one of the operatives.

Soifon paused, and looked to the sky. Apart from the fact that she had lost their headquarters and most of their expedition, everything seemed normal.

"I… doubt it," she said. "If I were Aizen, I would not let this kind of opportunity slip by. If we were attacked right now, we would be done for."

Sharply, she turned to one of her operatives.

"Kishida, open a senkaimon. We must call for reinforcements immediately."

She watched with increasing horror as her operative drew his blade, put it into the air and twisted it, only for no gateway to manifest at all.

"Commander, I… I don't understand," said Kishida, bewildered.

"Urahara Kisuke," Soifon hissed. "It's got to be him. Who else could disrupt the signal?" She balled her fists, then stood upright, addressing all three of them sharply. "Change of plans. Kishiro, get a message to Commander Scarlet and Captain Kuchiki. Tell them to meet me at rendezvous point seven two hours from now. Toshiki, scout out the area I sent Kishida to investigate yesterday. If possible, find out what happened to her. Shinjirou, keep watch over the Urahara store from a distance. All of you, keep low, and don't let yourselves be found. Discard any and all comms. devices. Communicate only through kidou. Right now, we have to treat every part of this city as hostile territory. I'm going into hiding until it's time for the rendezvous. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" cried the three operatives, glad to have some direction.

"Then execute!" Soifon demanded, and the three of them dashed away.

Soifon watched them go, a great lump in her stomach. They had been lucky enough to have two captains out of HQ when this had hit. She could only hope this new threat, whatever it was, hadn't gotten to them yet.

---

Ginjou walked into the store uneasily, followed by his comrades. He found Shuu standing behind the counter, arm draped around a short, cute girl, smiling confidently. A few shinigami waved at them, as if recognizing old acquaintances.

"This feels wrong," Ginjou muttered, as he walked into the store. "We've never messed with this many people's heads before. It's one thing to get one or two people confused and get away, but this…?"

"Relax," Shuu said, running his fingers through the girl's hair. She smiled happily, leaning into him, "We've got nothing to worry about, old man."

"We have a lot to worry about," Ginjou snapped, "unless you can tell me you got every last one of them at once!"

Shuu's cheerily confident expression soured a little, and he said, "We got most of them. The rest… we'll deal with soon enough."

"Most of them?" Ginjou snarled. "You're telling me there's more out there? Do you know how dangerous they are?"

"Huh?" said the girl.

"Ginjou's just a bit excitable," said Shuu reassuringly. "He's always fussing about us, you know."

"He sounds like a great guy, even if he's a bit scary," said the girl, and smiled again. "It's nice to have somebody looking out for you no matter what."

"What the hell is with the girl, huh?" Ginjou spat, slamming a hand down the counter. "You're all over her. Is this what we're doing now, kid?"

"Momo," said Shuu calmly, "would you mind running along? My… dad and I, we're going to discuss some business, that's all."

"Of course," Momo said cheerily, and exited the room.

"Are we creeps now?" demanded Ginjou. "Do we brainwash people so we can take advantage of them, like some common rapist?"

"Relax," Shuu said, rolling his eyes. "I can't fully control how my powers work. Sometimes, they just insert me into their memories. Sometimes, I replace somebody else's role. She's in love. I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm her boyfriend. So, to maintain the illusion, I have to play the part a little. It's necessary, I assure you."

Ginjou gave him a long, scrutinizing look, then sighed. "If… if you say so, I guess."

"It'll be fine, old man," said Shuu. "I got them, like I said I would."

"This isn't what we agreed on," said Ginjou, shaking his head. "This isn't how it was supposed to go."

"No," said Shuu, his tone hardening, "this isn't what you wanted, Ginjou. Tough break. The die is cast already, so roll with it or get out."

Ginjou grit his teeth. "God damn it, Shuu…"

"Relax. Like I said, I got it under control."

"Do you really?" said Ginjou, "Sure, you got a few shinigami. But, since you decided to wear the big boy pants with your little coup, you're in charge. So, what's the next move, boss? What'll you do when the Gotei smells a rat and sends reinforcements? I mean, what's your plan? Where the hell does this end? Are you just going to line them all up and kill them until there's nobody left to kill?"

"Now, there's a suggestion," Shuu muttered sardonically.

"Shuu!" Ginjou snapped, "I raised you better than that!"

"Relax," Shuu repeated. "Like I said, I-"

"Got it under control. Sure. Answer the question. Where does it end?"

"We'll… figure that out later," Shuu said evasively, "one step at a time."

"So, what you're telling me," said Ginjou, his tone flat, "is that you've initiated hostile action against the largest contingent of shinigami this town has probably ever seen, and you don't actually have a plan."

Shuu's face hardened. "Listen here, old man," he said, "none of this would have happened if it wasn't for your stupidity, okay? This is on you, and you know it!"

"You couldn't let it be, could you? I could have fixed it!"

"It is what it is," said Shuu, shrugging, "right now, though, we need to focus on the practicalities. For example, how the only thing stopping these unbelievably powerful gods of death from cutting us to ribbons is my Book of the End. Or how I need to make sure they're all on the same page, or…"

"Or what? You said this was under control!"

"It is," Shuu said quickly, "but I need to make sure it stays this way. My powers… they've got limits, okay? Right now, they're all confused, and the longer they stay that way, the more likely they are to start asking questions. Like, where are all the family pictures with Shuukurou in them? And if they do, some of them might start to see through it. Right now, I need to squeeze as much info out of them as possible and build a narrative. They all need to believe the same story, and I need to build memories that fit it. Tsukishima, their longtime friend in the world of the living who's been helping them out, who they invited to fix this whole mess. The fullbringers, their friends. This control takes work, Ginjou, and it's not unbreakable."

"…Fine," Ginjou muttered. "It just… feels wrong, that's all. Wreaking havoc with people's heads, it rubs me wrong."

"If you'd rather do it by blood, broken bones, and all of us dead, by all means go ahead," said Shuu sarcastically. "Really, which one do you prefer? Which one is worse, old man?"

"I get it, I get it," Ginjou muttered.

"I didn't choose these powers," Shuu said with a shrug, "but they're awfully handy, aren't they?"

"Just… promise me not to take it too far. That's all I ask."

The pleading look in Ginjou's eyes seemed to give Shuu some pause.

"Don't worry, old man," he said, smiling confidently. "We'll settle this, get you out of their records, and then we'll go somewhere else. A new place to call home, for good this time. A real home, and a real future. Isn't that worth fighting for?"

"Do you swear?" said Ginjou. "Swear that's all we want. No unnecessary bloodshed. No keeping these people mentally chained forever."

"You got it," Shuu said with a nod.

Slowly, Ginjou nodded.

"Alright. I'm… on board, I guess. God damn it…"

---

It had been a rather normal evening, all things considered. Erza had been out on patrol with Rangiku, taking the opportunity to clear her mind, think things through, make sense of things, and look to the future. Then one of Soifon's operatives had caught up to her, needing almost a full minute to catch his breath, so exhausted had he been from his run. Erza had scarcely been able to believe what she had heard; the absurdity of it seemed like some kind of cruel joke. Her friends and colleagues, brainwashed and turned against them. Absolute emergency. Their HQ, compromised and lost. Some unknown group, probably unrelated to Aizen, having done all of this on their own.

As the operative hurried on to alert Byakuya and Rukia, Erza had immediately hurried to the meeting point Soifon had designated, keeping low on the streets as they went.

"What the hell is going on?" Rangiku hissed as they approached the meeting place, a quiet alley near the outside of Karakura town. She sounded agitated, almost angry, but Erza could tell there was the hint of fear in her voice.

"That's what we're here to find out," Erza muttered, as they walked into the alley. "Damn it, where is she?"

Soifon was nowhere to be seen. Was she late? That was unlike her-

"Commander."

Erza turned around quickly, hand going to the hilt of her blade. Soifon had dropped in behind them, soundlessly and with her reiatsu so far suppressed it was undetectable.

"Damn it, I hate it when you stealth corps guys do that!" Erza snapped. "What in the hell is going on?"

"I believe my agent told you everything," said Soifon. "I have nothing further to add. We're compromised, and most of the expedition and our allies are, at this time, lost to us and to be considered hostile."

"How?" Erza demanded. "Soifon, please tell me you have some way of making sense of this!"

"I've done some theory-crafting, but there's little to work with," Soifon said with a shrug. "Clearly, there has been a group of empowered humans hiding under our noses this whole time. I managed to get some intelligence from my agents. I sent out an operative to investigate a run-down building yesterday, and I can confirm she has been killed. Clearly, they are strong and able enough to sneak up on and kill an operative of mine. She was… really quite good."

"She'll have justice," Erza promised. "I understand how it must feel-"

"How it feels is irrelevant," Soifon said, perhaps a little too quickly. "Furthermore, I have a second piece of intelligence. From afar, another agent of mine observed this new threat interacting with one of the denizens of the store- Tessai. The enemy, seeming to be a young human male of some spiritual power, chatted with Tessai for a minute. Then, when the man turned his back, the threat pulled out a blade. He stabbed it in Tessai's back, but did no physical damage. Within a minute, Tessai's behaviour changed quickly, and he seemed to recognize the stranger as an ally. Whatever mind control he exudes seems to require direct contact with his weapon."

"That's useful," Erza said, nodding. "Look, we need to find our way back to the soul society, get a message through…"

"Impossible," Soifon said. "All communications and senkaimon are disabled, courtesy of Urahara Kisuke. The Gotei will eventually get suspicious, but by then it may be too late."

"Damn it…" Erza said, balling a fist. "Just like that, he… he got them all. He got… Momo?"

"All of them," Soifon said bitterly, "Lady Yoruichi, she… she looked at me like…" Soifon paused to take a breath. "She looked at me like she didn't even know who I was. Like I was a stranger on the street. Like I was no one."

She had remarkable self-control, Erza noted. She knew how much this had to have rattled the stealth corps commander, but Soifon nevertheless kept herself together admirably.

"Someone's coming," Erza said, sensing a reiatsu source on approach.

"Captain Kuchiki," Soifon said with some relief, her sensory skills being better than Erza's. Before a minute, the captain had come into view, Rukia in tow.

"I ask your forgiveness for my tardiness," said the captain as he landed, having arrived by shunpo.

"I was quite unprepared for an event so unusual as this."

It was odd, but for the first time, Erza felt appreciative of his calm, unemotional demeanour.

"You're here now," she said with a nod. "We need to figure out our next move."

"I've got a plan," said Soifon. "Terminate the intruder. Subdue our allies. Figure out a way to reverse this… horrible mind control later."

"We can't be hasty," Erza said sharply. "What if it can't be reversed without him alive?"

"Damn it," Soifon muttered. "Yes, you're right."

"Truly, this is an extraordinary situation," said Byakuya calmly. "We must find a way to resolve this quickly."

"Obviously," said Erza, "but… how?"

Byakuya sighed. "It… pains me to put up with this charade," he said, shaking his head. "Commander, there has been a terrible misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" Erza said, her eyes narrowing. "Captain Kuchiki, you should know better than to-"

"Oh no," Soifon said. "Commander, he's- they got to him too!"

"I was not 'gotten to,' and I resent the accusation," said Byakuya disdainfully. "I am merely here to settle the misunderstanding. Tsukishima Shuukurou is a longtime ally of ours, and it dishonours us to mistreat him in this manner. His help has been essential in aiding the war effort-"

Byakuya continued his diatribe, but Erza, Soifon, and the others were no longer listening. They looked around them instead, and from both ends of the alleys, two groups of people were approaching, surrounding them. Erza recognized them all; her friends, her colleagues, the people from the Urahara shop… and new people she didn't recognize at all. Leading one group, from the left, was an older man with a leather jacket and slicked-back hair, a grim expression on his face. The other group was led by a young man with shoulder-length dark hair, suspenders, and a cocky smile on his face.

"Shit!" said Erza.

"Brother…" said Rukia, shocked.

"He's been brainwashed, Rukia," Erza said quickly, drawing her blade. "It's not his fault. You lot, not one step closer, or I will blow you all away!"

Soifon had likewise drawn her blade, and Rukia and Rangiku had followed suit.

"Really, that's just rude," said the young man in suspenders, stepping forward. Beside him was Momo, and behind them were Yoruichi, Urahara, Nemu, Isane, and two of the new people.

"Tsukishima Shuukurou, I take it?" Erza spat. "Our 'longtime ally'?"

"Precisely," said the young man. "I was fortunate enough to find our good friend Kuchiki over there before your message came in. He was only too happy to give us your location. Isn't that right, captain?"

"Naturally," said Byakuya.

"You bastard," Erza growled. "What's your game? Who the hell are you?"

"That's just rude," said Tsukishima with a chuckle. "Why, I'm one of your oldest friends. Urahara, here? I was supportive of his science career from when he was young. Isane and Nemu? I helped get them away from Nemu's horrible, abusive father, and I supported them when they got together. Yoruichi? Why, she's been teaching me how to fight for ages; I'm her protégé. And Momo, here?" He put an arm around Momo, who leaned into him, smiling happily. "She's been in love with me since forever, and I was only happy to return her feelings recently."

As Erza saw Momo lean into him, shooting starry-eyed looks, a flash of white-hot anger surged in her chest. How dared he? How dared he take that from her? How could this brat have the audacity to just… take what belonged to her? Momo's love was hers, not his! How could he? Her hands trembled as the grip tightened around the hilt of her sword, but she still fared better than Soifon, who stared wide-eyed, naked hate displayed on her face.

"Listen," Erza said. "I need to know what you want. Why are you doing this?"

"Really, commander," Byakuya said, "this is quite unseemly. Have you taken leave of your senses?"

"It'll be fine," Nozomi said happily. "Whatever differences you have with Shuu, you can work it out. Just try."

"He's always been there for us," Nemu said flatly. "Please, Erza, tell us what's wrong."

"I'll help you," said Isane. "If you feel paranoid or manic, I can give you the treatment you need. We love you. We just want this settled."

Erza stared at the contented, smug smile on Tsukishima's face. How dared he just… stand there? Taking delight in this? This was maddening, and he was enjoying it! The sadist!

"Soifon," Erza said, keeping her voice low, "we're surrounded. We need to leave, now."

"I wouldn't do that," said Tsukishima. "We outnumber you. Just take it easy. Give in. It won't hurt a bit. And when I've got what I want… well, I might just let you go."

Trusting that smile, Erza thought to herself, would be like trusting a snake not to pounce.

Then suddenly, something like a small pebble cluttered across the street.

"Close your eyes, you guys! Now!" Soifon barked. Erza heeded the warning just in time, but the flash of light still burned bright enough even through her eyelids that she saw stars when she opened her eyes again. Everyone else seemed to fare even worse, blinded and fumbling about. Erza, barely keeping her bearings, looked to Rangiku, who was as blind as everyone else.

"Soifon!" she shouted. "Grab Rukia! We're getting out of here!"

Soifon hesitated, blade in hand.

"NOW!" Erza shouted loudly. "That's an order!"

At the command, Soifon snarled, sheathed her blade, and grabbed Rukia- who was as blinded as anyone else- and together, they jumped up, skipping from wall to wall at speed, Rangiku and Rukia in tow.

What was this? What the hell kind of nightmare was this?

---

They had run far this time, to the very outskirts of the city. Erza had kept looking over her shoulder, but nobody seemed to be in pursuit. Even so, they had gone miles away, and only stopped once they found a ruined building to huddle down in. On Erza's command, they had all suppressed their auras.

"Holy shit," Rangiku murmured, slumped down on a pile of rubble next to a fallen concrete pillar. "I mean… did you all see what I saw? They… they got in their heads somehow. I mean… what the fuck?"

"Brother…" Rukia said quietly, burying her face in her hands. "They're making him… they're making him turn against the Gotei. I can't believe it…"

"I saw it, alright," Erza said, her voice ice-cold. "Believe you me, I saw it."

Now that the immediate concern of running was no longer her immediate priority, the reality of the situation was hitting her full force, and the adrenaline surge wasn't helping. Momo. Her friends. All… turned by that absolute bastard Tsukishima. She balled her fists. The way Momo had looked at him…

"I will kill him for this."

It was Soifon who spoke up, and Erza realized that all things considered, she, herself, was still managing better than all of her three companions, Soifon included. However well she had held up before, she had clearly had enough by now. The short woman's nails had dug into her palms hard enough to draw blood, there was a tremor in her shoulders, and her voice shook as she spoke. Erza had not heard such fury for ages.

"I will peel off his skin, inch by inch, and make him eat it," Soifon snarled. "I'll take a knife, cut through his muscles and expose his naked bones, and take a hammer to them. I'll peel off every nail he has- no, I'll slide thick, rusty needles under them all, until there's no nail left to push!"

"Soifon," Erza said sharply. The stealth corps commander was not taking this well at all, and she was a friend- not to mention one of their best assets.

"I'll fry every part of his body with red-hot iron," Soifon continued furiously. "I'll get a knife and I'll, I'll get creative, mark my words! I'll cut off his fingers one joint at a time! I'll crush his knee joints along with every bone in his body!"

"Soifon!" Erza said, stepping toward the woman. Soifon was shaking now, and Erza could tell the tears were only held back by a vicious anger.

"I'll make him beg for death! I'll go through every last torture in the book, and when that's done, I'll invent new ones! A whole book of them! I'll cut out his tongue, crush his eyeballs, I'll find every last nervous centre and I'll make him squeal-"

A loud, sudden sound cut off her furious diatribe: the sound of skin against skin. Wide-eyed, Soifon stared at Erza, raising a hand to her left cheek, which was already starting to redden from the slap.

"Listen," said Erza urgently, placing a hand on Soifon's shoulder. "I get it. For once, I completely get what you're going though. And, believe me, I sympathize. But, right now, I don't need a hurt, emotionally broken little girl with abandonment issues, okay? I need the commander of the stealth corps, or we're all done for. Do you think I can make sure we're not found by the likes of Yoruichi or Urahara? I need you, right now, and you can't be breaking down on me, do you hear? So, do your duty, soldier!"

Soifon gave her a long, furious look, then straightened up and saluted.

"Awaiting orders, commander."

Erza sighed with relief.

"I'm sorry I had to-"

She started to apologize, but Soifon cut her off.

"Orders, commander. We need a plan, now."

"I- yes," Erza said with a sigh. "What… what would you do if you were suddenly caught in enemy territory with almost no resources, cut off from your home?"

"Attempt to re-establish contact with base as soon as possible," said Soifon. "Urahara Kisuke is good, but he can't jam all senkaimon everywhere on Earth. I would also attempt to locate my enemy and determine their strengths and numbers."

"How long before they will start asking questions from base?" said Erza.

"Urahara is a smooth talker," said Soifon thoughtfully, her gaze quite sharp, "but they've been on edge ever since that last invasion. A day at most. The senkaimon network being down would be a huge red flag. They would send people through from outside the jam radius within a day, to be sure."

"So… we could just run a bit further," Erza murmured. "Hole up somewhere. Hide and wait."

"That is an option, sure," said Soifon, "but it does allow this… Tsukishima person to run freely. Are you alright with him taking over the Kurosakis, for instance? Or, your daughter?"

"Oh, shit," Erza said, clamping a hand over her mouth. "God damn it, I hadn't thought of that!"

"Furthermore," continued Soifon, "we don't know what their objectives are. Allowing them to complete their objectives could potentially be disastrous. Not to mention that every hour this goes by is an hour we're naked and defenseless to an attack from Aizen's forces."

"Oh, hell…" Erza muttered, the nightmarish idea of losing not only Momo, but Orihime as well playing through her head.

"I recommend we attempt to engage," said Soifon neutrally, seeming to have fully regained her composure. "Our colleagues do not seem to view us with hostility, which is an advantage in itself. I did not sense any extraordinary power from the other humans, either."

"What if they possess abilities even worse than his?" said Erza.

"A risk we'll have to take."

"You… really want to get to him, don't you?"

"Badly," Soifon admitted, "but it's also tactically valid. Unless you'd rather sit here, waiting for your friends and family to suffer the same infection, that is."

"Damn it," Erza muttered. "Alright, fine. Soifon, I'll let you plan this out. I'm more of a direct action kind of woman, and right now we need to be… careful. Cautious."

Soifon nodded. "I'll think of something."

"You did well," Erza said encouragingly. "Good work with that flashbang."

"That… wasn't me," Soifon said thoughtfully. "I had actually forgotten about that…"

"Then who was it?"

"Maybe we have allies we're not aware of. It's not something I make a habit of counting on," said Soifon with a shrug, "but… with regards to our current situation, I think we have an ace in the hole or two. Not people I'd normally depend on, but beggars can't be choosers."

"Who?" said Erza eagerly.

"In a moment," said Soifon. "Yes… I think I'm starting to get an idea, actually. Rudimentary, but it will do."

---

When evening fell Uryu was escorted to meet the king for a formal introduction at his court. Meninas had mentioned it in passing on their tour, and he had all but forgotten about it until two paladins from the royal guard had come to fetch him. He had been given a new shirt to wear, a plain one-piece thing that ran all the way down to his feet, white except for the black cross on the chest and back.

He had been led to a large room lit by candles, which enhanced the sense of mystery and magic that surrounded the place. It was like something from a movie or a game, really- long rows of benches in a great hall with walls of stone, and a thick, red carpet leading to the very far end of the room. There, on a dais, stood an elaborate throne in majestic oaken wood, polished and bright, and lined with gold. Undoubtedly it was the king's seat.

Uryu had been escorted to the front, where he sat down next to Haschwalth. It seemed like an honour, because he had seen the acolytes and what he presumed to be initiates at the back, knights further toward the middle, and the silver and gold-lined capes of what had to be officers more toward the front. Here at the very edge, only the golden trim of the paladins could be seen. Beside Haschwalth sat Meninas, who gave him a smile and a reassuring wave, and Bambi, who gave a typical roll of the eyes. There were more women next to her, but Uryu didn't have time to get a look at them all.

As other people were already speaking, Uryu deduced that it would not be a breach of protocol to ask a question or two.

"Grand master?" he said.

"Aspirant?" said Haschwalth. There was a contented undertone in his voice, like he felt quite at ease.

"How… how long will it be until His Majesty comes?"

"The first rule of royalty," Haschwalth said with a smile, "is that others wait for you, but you wait for nobody. He will come when he comes. Not too long now, I suppose, but there's no set schedule as such."

"What is he like, the king?" said Uryu quizzically. "I have heard you speak with the utmost respect of him before, but I realize now I know nothing of him."

"I will not say too much," said Haschwalth after some deliberation, "but suffice it to say he is the greatest man I have ever met. His courtesy and kindness is flawless when he exercises it. His fury is a terrifying thing to behold, when he unleashes it. He is fair, but he can also be quite a hard man. No harder than he needs to be, but often, the burden of leadership means he needs to be strong. For our purpose…" He shook his head, and went quiet. "As I said, you will see soon enough."

"Purpose, grand master," said Uryu, thoughtfully. "That makes me think."

"Of what, aspirant?"

"I have seen the order, or parts of it, this day," Uryu said, "and it is clear to me this is more than just a clan of quincies. You have here a real army. So, what is its purpose? Why is this order of yours?"

"That is quite the generic question, aspirant. Almost philosophical."

"Then I shall narrow it down, grand master. Nobody raises an army without a foe to fight. So… what is this order's purpose? What, ultimately, is it that you want and seek? You do not gain this level of organization and strength without some goal to attain."

"Wise men say that those who wish for peace keep their blades sharpened."

"Is that the whole of the truth?" said Uryu, looking Haschwalth in the eye.

The grand master sighed, and smiled. "You ask the right questions, aspirant. Unfortunately, it is…"

"Privileged information, is it not? I might have guessed."

"The truth will be known to all who pledge themselves to our cause. Much more than that, I cannot say without violating the oath I made to our king."

Uryu shifted around a little, making sure to keep a straight face. The secrecy of this place was the one thing that sullied the awe and grandeur of this whole experience. What would such an order as the Wandenritter have to do that it could not reveal the truth, even to a fellow quincy? He made sure not to let his apprehension show; this day had been extraordinary in the best sense so far, and it was best to let this caution be just that: caution, nothing more and nothing less.

Before the conversation could continue, there was a deafening noise: a dozen trumpets calling out a fanfare in unison, their melody carrying over the chatter of the throne room.

"It is time!" said Haschwalth, a little excitably, and the whole room fell quiet. He stood up, and so did the entire room. Uryu quickly followed suit.

"Look forward," he added quickly, as Uryu turned to look. "It is customary. We are to lay eyes on the king as he takes a seat on the throne."

Uryu quickly looked forward, eyes set on the throne. From a quick glance to the side, he could see that everyone else was doing the same.

"The lord of the castle, master of the order, crusader for the just," declared the authoritative, melodic voice of a herald, his words carrying out clearly across the entire room, "defender of the great ideal and our liege lord, exemplar of chivalry, defender of Bohemia and saviour of the great war, our great hope: His Majesty, Sigismund Abaddon Ywach of Bohemia!"

"Long may he live! Long may he reign!" Cried every aspirant, every knight, every chevalier and paladin, and the words were so loud and deafening Uryu could barely even make out their meaning. He felt a little embarrassed not to take part in the ritual, but it would be even worse to say them late.

He could hear the slow step of one pair of feet on the rug, taking their time. The trumpets played all the way, one grand fanfare after another, and many of the knights whooped and hollered, cheering for their king. At last, Uryu saw the man pass him by. He was tall, and Uryu saw only a thick set of black locks, running down his shoulders over an exquisite, great white cape, lined with ermine fur. The cross was emblazoned on it, not unexpectedly, and Uryu caught a glance of armour under it. A crown adorned his head, a surprisingly simple band of gold with four spikes pointing upward. Aside from some etchings, it was as simple as that, without even a few jewels encrusted along its length.

The king finally turned around, and Uryu's jaw dropped. He indeed wore an elaborate set of black plate mail, the majesty of the Wandenritter, inscribed with complex etchings of what looked like past battles. He certainly looked every part the medieval king, with his well groomed black beard, stern face, and oddly curious eyes, standing tall above all of them. Even as he stepped onto the dais, it was clear he stood head-and-shoulders above most of them. But, it was not that which caused Uryu's jaw to drop, nor was it the magnificent greatsword strapped to his side.

It was not even the tremendous well of spiritual power quietly churning within his huge frame.

Uryu stared, both awed and shocked.

It was the painter. The man who had not given his name, with whom Uryu had conversed like an equal for hours about the art, the one he had pestered with questions about the most trivial things. He had to remind himself to close his mouth, so as to make sure he didn't seem even more foolish. A king! He had spoken to a king like a peer!

"My knights," said King Sigismund, his mature, warm baritone resonating across the room, the last of the cheers dying down as he extended his arm, "as your chosen liege lord, I stand before you once again, and it gladdens my heart tremendously to see so many of you gathered in one place. My brave sons and daughters, you are my greatest strength, as I am yours."

He smiled and nodded, and it seemed to be a cue, because the knights broke out into cheers once more. Uryu was too stunned to think of joining in, and simply stood there, nonplussed. The king let his knights have their moment, but after a minute, he gently gestured downward with his hands, and reluctantly, the deafening cheer died down. There had to be hundreds of people gathered here, Uryu thought; the chamber was wide and the seats were tightly packed. So many quincies at once…

"Join me, if you will," said the king, "in the invocation of our creed, to remind us of our place in the world, of our strengths and our limitations. Gesegnet ist unser Schicksal, denn die Zukunft liegt zum greifen nahe...

He began to chant in German, and all the members followed flawlessly. Uryu barely understood any of it, and kept his mouth shut to avoid making a fool of himself. As the invocation ended, King Sigismund nodded, pleased.

"Be seated, my subjects," he said, and as one, the knights sat down. Uryu scrambled to at least do that right. Seeing his subjects all sat down, King Sigismund sat down in turn, removing his greatsword from his hip, letting it rest between his legs as he sat comfortably leaned back in his throne. It seemed to barely contain him. It looked as if it might break at any time under his larger-than-life presence, as if he might burst from it at any time.

"Now that the formal greetings are finished," he said, "I am come here tonight to gladly hear everything you, my children, wish to bring before me. I will greet every new initiate personally, and I will bestow honours upon those who have earned them. I will settle disputes, if there are any. And tonight, when the order of business is settled, we shall feast!"

He thumped his fist down on the throne's armrest, and as one, the knights stamped their left feet down on the stone floor in what Uryu assumed was a gesture of approval. Everyone followed the same rituals, it seemed, even Haschwalth.

"Now," said King Sigismund as the noise died down, "the first order of business for tonight… well, I think you all know. We're all very excited to welcome a new aspirant, are we not?"

There was another loud cheer, and Uryu felt a little strange. There was much formality, ritual and courtesy in this order, but it was oddly punctuated by loud, exuberant cheer.

"Aspirant Uryu Ishida," King Sigismund shouted, his voice roaring over the cheers, "approach the throne!"

Haschwalth nudged him in the side, shooting him an encouraging smile, and Uryu realized he had almost kept the king waiting. He saw Meninas shoot him a thumbs up as he stood up, approaching the throne. Before the dais, he fell to one knee, his left arm folded over his chest, his right folded behind his back, a perfect execution of the bow Haschwalth had shown him earlier. He looked down onto the carpet, making sure not to look the king in the eye before he had been addressed.

"Aspirant Ishida Uryu," he said, loud and clear, "humbly accepting your hospitality, oh King Sigismund Abaddon Ywach."

"Aspirant Ishida," said the king sternly, although there was a playfulness in his voice that was apparent to everyone- except Uryu, "I believe we met once already?"

"I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness," Uryu said quickly. "Had I had any inkling as to Your Majesty's exalted nature, I would have shown proper respect. Please accept my most heartfelt apologies."

The king's laugh boomed across the throne room, and there were chuckles from the rows of knights as well.

"Truly," said the king, as his laughter subsided, "it is I who must ask forgiveness. I hope my little deceit has not inconvenienced you too much, Aspirant Ishida, but I was rather keen to see what kind of man you were. We see what our fellow human beings are made of not by how they treat their superiors, but how they treat their peers and their inferiors. You were quite courteous, I can assure you- although I must say, you got the bow wrong. It is a proper way of greeting a knight, but of course, I am no knight."

"Forgive me, Your Majesty," Uryu said quietly, relief pouring through him.

King Sigismund laughed again. "Rise, aspirant. Let me get a good look at you."

Uryu stood up, and hesitantly, he looked the king in the eye. It was the same face as before, but somehow it seemed like so much more, framed by the ermine cape and the throne, like he was more than the sum of his parts.

"Strong," King Sigismund said with an approving nod. "Strong and hardworking. I can sense Paladin McAllon's tutelage about you, but, ah… there is so much more of Souken in you, young squire. He was a good man."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The king nodded. "You have grown quite a bit of strength," he said, "but you have much strength yet to gain, and you are far from the completion of your path. Will you complete your training as one of us?"

"Your Majesty…" said Uryu, and stared the king down. It almost hurt to do so; his gaze was intense, radiating power and majesty. "…that is a question I have decided to answer tomorrow evening, when I have seen all you are willing to show me. I hope this will not offend Your Majesty, but I wish to learn as much as I can before I make such a momentous decision. At the very least, I have no intention to join you before I have completed my schooling in my homeland."

"Fair enough," said King Sigismund, waving his hand dismissively. "You are wise to value an informed choice, aspirant. Many young people lack that wisdom these days. Or, well, that is one thing that has not changed since the twelfth century…" He smiled, and there were another wave of chuckles from his audience of knights. "Your answer satisfies me for now, aspirant," said the king, and gave a gracious smile. "Come, let me at least introduce you to the greatest of our order."

"Certainly, Your Majesty," said Uryu courteously.

"Stand, if you would," said King Sigismund, gesturing with his hand. A handful of people stood up, including Haschwalth, Meninas, and Bambietta.

"You have already acquainted yourself with my grand master," said the king, gesturing at Haschwalth, who bowed courteously. "He is my designated heir, and like a son to me. This order has no one more chivalrous than he."

"Your Majesty is too kind," Haschwalth said humbly.

"Not at all," said the king dismissively. "And, the man opposite to him would be Lord Commander Subutai Baghatur, hailing from the plains of Mongolia. He is the foremost commander of my armed forces, and his tactical expertise is without equal."

Subutai did not bow, settling for a nod. He was sizing up Uryu; that much was clear.

"You already know paladins Sir McAllon and Sir Basterbine," said the king. To Uryu's surprise, both Meninas and Bambi bowed reverently. To see Bambietta pay real respect, without a hint of sarcasm of protest, was an entirely new experience.

"They are joined by the paladins Sir Giselle Gewelle, Liltotto Lamperde and Sir Candice Cazelle, of course, the five of them representing the strongest women of our order. Sir Basterbine is one of our most recent additions, relatively speaking, whereas Sir Cazelle has served with us for over a century. There is, of course, also Sir Liltotto Lamperde, one of our most valued soldiers. Do not let her slender build fool you; she has a strength any paladin would be proud to boast of."

"My pleasure," Uryu said solemnly, bowing to them all.

"Sir Cang Du, paladin," said another man, clearly Asian by the complexion of his skin and a very slight accent. He was of average height, and had a severe face, further emphasized by a scar running over the left side of his mouth.

"He was but a mercenary once," said the king, "but he found purpose with my order."

"So I did, sire," said Cang Du.

"Sir Gerhart Ragnarsson," said another knight, nearly as tall as the king himself. He was broad of shoulder, muscular, and bore a thick mane of long, straight, blond hair. "Although, my brethren have seen fit to call me Walküria. A little joke about my ancestry, you see."

"He was one of my earliest recruits," said King Sigismund. "Although the age of Vikings had passed by that time, he has their blood in his veins, and he does not mind reminding you that he does."

"It is the truth, sire," said Gerhart with a wry smile.

"Sir Basarde," said the king, "a paladin of renown-"

"We have met, sire, the aspirant and I."

"You rapscallion, what have I told you about interrupting your liege lord?" said King Sigismund irritably, a stern look on his face.

"I shall flagellate myself thoroughly later, sire," said Basarde with a cheeky grin.

"See that you do," said the king.

"It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance, aspirant," said Basarde, bowing, "although I shall remind you to call me Bazz, not Basarde."

"He is as stubborn as he is good-hearted," said the king. "Would you believe I first found him defending an orphanage from the predations of vile bandits?"

"I swear, sire," said Bazz exasperatedly, "it is as if Your Majesty and the grand master are in a conspiracy to constantly embarrass me."

"It is not a conspiracy if it's a well known truth," said Haschwalth with a smile.

The king chuckled. "Moving on, then. Sir Lille Barro?"

"Aspirant," said a serious-looking knight with dark skin. He bowed, and Uryu returned the gesture.

"Once a corsair of the Mediterranean, he is now an honourable man," said the king. "Sir Askine de Levarre?"

"At your service, sire," said the last knight to have stood up, a handsome gentleman with his hair combed back, executing a perfect bow. There was the hint of a French accent in his voice.

"I recruited him personally from the court of King Phillip IV of France," said King Sigismund, "but do not be fooled by his manners. He is as strange and devious at they come."

"Your Majesty praises me too highly," said de Varre with a smile.

"These are some of my best warriors and most virtuous servants," said the king. "There are more, but our order is often spread across Europe in the pursuit of hollows disrupting human life. I encourage you to speak to any and all of them at tonight's feast. Any question you have, aspirant, they will be glad to answer."

For a given value of 'any question', Uryu thought. Out loud, though, he said, "Your Majesty is most gracious. I look forward to tonight's feast."

"As do I," said the king. "Please, my children, be seated. The next order of business… ah yes, it was Sir de Lamperouge and Sir Kururugi seeking to settle a matter of honour with a duel, was it not?"

As Uryu sat down, the rest of the evening's business proceeded, and Uryu listened intently. Secrecy aside, it was utterly fascinating to see a full and healthy clan of quincies at play. This truly was business he could only have dreamed of before.

---

It was late; soon, Ichigo would go brush his teeth and go to bed. He was keeping a careful eye on the clock, to make sure he didn't miss his time. Between all the crazy stuff going on in his life, he barely had the time to catch up on his homework, and if it weren't for his mom nagging him about it, he was sure he'd have fallen far behind. He was deeply engrossed in his English textbook, so much so that when the first quick flare of spiritual energy struck out, he barely even noticed it. He only dimly became aware of it after the third time.

After the fourth, he slowly put his book down, frowning. What was going on?

A fifth pulse happened, and by now, Ichigo was paying attention. As the sixth flared up, he focused. It seemed to come from a couple blocks down, pulsating twice a minute. It felt like… Aunt Erza?

What was she doing? If she wanted something, she could come up to his door and knock. He had other things to do. He raised his textbook and continued to read, but the pulses did not stop. In fact, they sped up, occasionally increasing in strength as well, as if they were more urgent. As if they were… some sort of alert signal.

Ichigo sat up on his bed, thinking. Something was wrong. If Erza wanted something, she would walk up to the door and knock. So, something had to be wrong. He reached for his badge, deciding to investigate, and a few seconds later he jumped out the window, wearing the black shihakusho, sword carried on his back. The pulses stopped as he exited, everything going dead quiet, and Ichigo felt a growing sense of unease. When he found his aunt, she had some explaining to do.

He found her soon, standing on the roof of a regular house a few blocks down.

"What the hell is going on?" Ichigo said irritably as soon as he landed, and he realized the moment he saw her that something was wrong. She looked harrowed, the firmness on her usually staunch expression subdued. Something had rattled her. "Is it Aizen?" Ichigo said quickly, "Are- are we being attacked? Do I need to go tell Mom?"

"It's not Aizen," said Erza, shaking her head. "At this point, I wish it were. That way, I could at least make sense of things."

"Auntie, what the hell is going on?" said Ichigo, the uneasiness growing wildly now.

"Ichigo," said Erza sharply, something of her normal severity returning to her voice, "I am going to ask you one question. It's going to sound strange, but it's important that you answer it directly, straightaway, and to the best of your ability without questioning it. We're short on time."

"What-"

"The question," said Erza, ignoring him, "is as follows: How do you feel about a man named Tsukishima?"

Ichigo flinched. How did she know about him? Had she spied on him going to that place? For how long?

"Um…"

"Answer!" Erza insisted, anger in her voice. "There's no time to argue. Answer the question."

"I… I, uh, I know a guy named Tsukishima, sure," Ichigo said slowly, looking around as if expecting an ambush. "He… I guess he's alright, but he's pretty standoffish? Kind of a dick, but Gi- I mean, his guys say he's alright, so… I guess he has… a good side, somewhere?"

There was a light tap behind him, and Ichigo spun around, hand on his sword.

"Stand down, auxiliary," said the figure, and Ichigo realized it was Soifon. "Commander, it seems like he isn't infected. Everyone else so far seems to have displayed absolute loyalty to him."

"I concur," said Erza, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Will somebody tell me what the hell is going on?!" Ichigo demanded, spinning around to face Erza. "Is my family in danger? What the hell is Tsukishima's deal? How do you know about him?"

In a quick, business-like manner, Erza laid it all out, occasionally elaborated on by Soifon: the attack earlier that same day, all their friends lost… Ichigo's jaw steadily dropped as he heard it.

"Holy shit…" he murmured, "holy shit. They really had me going…"

"Ichigo," said Erza, "you know him already. I need you to tell me everything you know."

So he did, although not as quickly or as well, with a fair amount of stuttering. He retold the story of Ginjou and his gang, the fullbringers, of his past and his history with the Gotei, even though it made him feel like a traitor. Ginjou, Ichigo realized, had quickly become a friend. Had this been his plan all along? Had he led him on, using him like a puppet just to get to Erza? Or… was this Tsukishima's doing?

"An outlaw under our noses…" Erza said breathlessly, "all this time. And you just… hung out with them? It never occurred to you they might be dangerous?"

"Of course it did," Ichigo snapped. "I didn't go into this blindly trusting them, damn it!"

"All the worse!" Erza said angrily. "Then you knew better, and still fell for it! You've been used, and-"

"Calm down!" Soifon said sharply. "Arguing will help none of us right now."

"I… yes," Erza said with a nod. "It's… not your fault, Ichigo. I sometimes forget you're still young."

"No, it's on me," Ichigo muttered. "Hell, I feel like an idiot…"

"Focus," said Soifon. "Right now we need a commander, not a hurt little girl, right?"

"R-right," said Erza.

"The outlaw," said Soifon thoughtfully, "I'm familiar with his file. It's been a while, but there is a standing order for his capture with a considerable bounty to boot. He was nearly caught twice. Somehow, the operatives came back swearing they had no idea… I guess we know why, now."

"He only wants his people to be safe," said Ichigo.

"It sure as hell doesn't seem like it right now," said Erza sharply.

"I don't mean to defend him," said Ichigo, "but everything I saw was a guy who'd do anything to keep his family safe. Even if he was stringing me along, I don't think that was fake. What if… what if all this is Tsukishima's doing?"

"Don't fool yourself," said Soifon dismissively. "This Kuugo Ginjou is a murderer and an outlaw. Seeing the best in people is the easiest way to deceive yourself."

"Look, forget all… these arguments," said Ichigo exasperatedly. "Do you have a plan?"

"Working on it," said Erza wearily. "Right now, that means getting whatever allies we can. You included. We need to keep whoever we can safe."

"I'll tell Mom and Dad to get a hotel for a couple days," said Ichigo nodding.

"A good start," said Erza. "I'll see about getting in touch with Tatsuki and Chad. Like I said… anything counts."

"What about the Gotei?" said Ichigo.

"We're working on getting in touch with them," said Soifon, "but until the details are known, we may not even want reinforcements. Imagine all our captains overtaken and brainwashed…"

"Shit…" Ichigo muttered. "Look, if you do get through to them, get in contact with Ukitake. He was Ginjou's handler before it all went sour."

"Duly noted," said Soifon. "At any rate, we'll carefully reconnoitre after we've located our allies. It's all we can do right now."

"Look," said Ichigo, "what- what if I went to talk to them? Ginjou's in charge, and he still trusts me. I could try and make sense of all this. Maybe even get you some information."

"Absolutely not!"

Soifon and Erza spoke in unison, both seeming surprised to be in such complete agreement.

"There is no way," said Erza firmly, "that I'm letting you risk yourself like that. You don't know them. Clearly you don't know them well enough, or we wouldn't be in this mess. I've lost enough people already."

"It's a tremendous risk," said Soifon, "which could end with you dead, or worse, in their control. We already have to contend with at least one captain-class fighter."

"Fine, fine," Ichigo muttered, "I'll… I'll go warn Mom and Dad, okay?"

"Ichigo," said Erza severely, "promise me you won't."

"I promise," Ichigo muttered. "I swear, alright?"

"Good," said Erza. "Go warn your family, and then meet us… well, we'll find you, so go hide somewhere."

"Good call," said Soifon. "For now, let's go."

She was the one to lead, Ichigo noticed as Soifon took off, followed closely by Erza. They soon disappeared into the approaching night, leaving a confused, scared Ichigo.

Ginjou… were you really playing me all along?

---

It had taken considerable self-control, as well as Soifon's firmest grip, to keep Erza from breaking down the door when they had tracked Tsukishima to Erza's apartment. Everyone seemed to have followed him; it looked like he preferred to keep a close eye on his 'friends'.

"That's my home," Erza hissed, "Orihime is in there! That son of a bitch!"

"We can't take them," said Soifon coolly. "Patience. Now. Patience, or we'll lose you, too. What are you going to do, barge in there and kill your friends?"

"I'd never!"

"You might have to. They're absolutely loyal to this scumbag now. They'd do for him as they do for you. So, ask yourself if you're ready to do something you'll never be able to forgive yourself for. Are you?"

"Of- of course not!"

"Then stay down!"

Reluctantly, Erza stayed still. They were both keeping their distance, lying prone on a rooftop some one hundred yards from the apartment. Erza felt, amid the emotional turmoil, fairly impressed with Soifon. She had held herself together well- better than Erza, herself, right now.

"How many do you sense?" said Erza, taking long, deep breaths to calm herself down. She still ached to burst into action, still ached to barge in and wreak bloody murder on the psychopath that had taken a sledgehammer to her life in one fell stroke.

"Let me see…" Soifon muttered, concentrating. She was better at this than Erza, having been trained in this line of work as part of the stealth corps.

"Kotetsu, Kurotsuchi, Hinamori, Kuchiki," Soifon said under her breath. "They're all suppressing their energy. He must be keeping them on a leash. I… also sense Urahara in there, along with several weaker signatures- must be the other people with Tsukishima."

"Can you feel Orihime?" Erza said urgently.

"Hang on a second," said Soifon. From somewhere in her uniform, she produced a small pair of binoculars, and after adjusting them, she peered through the windows of Erza's apartment. After a minute, she lowered them. Erza gave her a strange look.

"What?" Soifon muttered. "It's basic technology."

"…Yeah," Erza said, shaking her head, speaking in a hushed tone. "Anyway, did you see Orihime?"

"I did," Soifon confirmed, her voice neutral, "seeming quite pleased to converse with the others. She greeted Tsukishima, and she looked friendly. At this point, it's best to assume she has been turned."

The words were like a stab to the chest, and Erza balled a fist.

"Careful. Remember what I said before," Soifon reminded her.

"Yes, yes, I know," Erza said, burning with anger. First Momo, and now Orihime? That… that monster, he would pay for this! Images flashed through her mind of Tsukishima, bloodied and broken, and she understood how Soifon had felt earlier. This was as intense a violation as anyone could imagine.

"What do we do next?" Erza hissed, her nails digging into her palms.

"We still need to figure out about the hypnosis somehow," Soifon muttered, once again looking into the binoculars. "If we can just get the basics down… if I could confirm it would cease to influence them upon his death, it would just be a matter of eliminating him."

Eliminate. To assassinate him. The idea seemed better and better the more Erza thought about it.

"But, how…" Erza murmured.

Their ponderings were interrupted as a single black hell butterfly fluttered up to them.

"What in the…" Erza muttered.

"Somebody knows we're here," Soifon said sharply.

Erza extended a hand. Whatever it was, she wanted to know. The hell butterfly spoke its recorded message, which sounded synthesized, artificial.

"You are found. Leave immediately. Regroup at rally point six."

"Son of a bitch!" Soifon said, standing up, battle ready. She pulled her blade out, looking around, and Erza quickly followed suit.

A second later, Yoruichi's lithe form jumped up onto the roof with the grace of a cat, confidently walking toward the two of them.

"You're quite good at stealth," she said to Soifon, amusedly, like the praise a parent might heap onto a toddler. "You, though," she said to Erza, "are not."

"Yoruichi, listen," said Erza, "you're being played. He's using you!"

"Tsukishima told me you would be coming for us, so I kept a lookout," said Yoruichi.

"What else did he tell you?" Erza said sharply, holding up her blade.

"That you lost your minds, somehow," Yoruichi said with a shrug. "Really, let's just settle this. Come with me, and we'll work it out. You'll get the help you need."

"I'm not the one who needs help!" Erza snarled.

"Incoming!" Soifon snapped. "Captain Kuchiki leading the charge along with the others. We'll be surrounded!"

"Like I said," said Yoruichi calmly, "you'll get the help you need. Even if we have to do it by force. So, please just come quietly, okay?"

"Over my dead body," said Erza, glancing around. She could sense Byakuya exiting the apartment, taking off in a shunpo. Within seconds he'd arrive, and then so would the others.

"Soifon," she said, "tell me you have an escape route."

"Please," said Yoruichi with a chuckle. "You did good sneaking this close, but you can't outrun me."

"I counted on that," said Soifon, her voice trembling. "You know what? Not long ago, you told me I am a better stealth corps commander than you ever were."

"I did?" Yoruichi said confusedly. "I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"I'm starting to think you're right. Commander, to me!"

Immediately, Erza stepped within a foot of Soifon. Seeing her pull something from her pocket, she closed her eyes, and averted her head. The flashbang went off, but as the light cleared, Erza saw Yoruichi had shielded her eyes with her arms, blinking.

"You think a trick that basic will work?" she said, sighing, "That'd buy you, what, a few hundred yards if you started running now, and you haven't even-"

Erza looked up, seeing Soifon's arm move, and she saw a coil of white cloth extend from it, spinning up around them, encasing them in a circle.

"I told you," said Soifon, bitterly triumphant, "I'm better at this than you were, just like you said. Sentan Hakuja!"

Erza felt a nauseating sensation as her entire being was pulled through time and space, the pre-prepared kido spell taking effect. The cityscape changed, replaced by trees. She blinked.

"Keep low!" said Soifon, "And, for god's sake, suppress your reiatsu!"

"Where are we?" Erza said confusedly.

"The park," Soifon muttered, "which just so happens to be where rally point six is…"

---

Tsukishima frowned, doing his best to contain his frustration.

"What do you mean, they got away?" he said. Yoruichi just shrugged.

"I think you got the point."

"Aren't you supposed to be the fastest thing alive?" he demanded.

"You can't outrun teleportation," Yoruichi said with a shrug. "To think she had that up her sleeve… who do you think trained her? It's exactly what I would do."

"It doesn't matter," said Tsukishima hastily. "We'll… get back to the others. Don't worry, we'll find a way to get to the bottom of this."

For a second, he held his breath, wondering if the spell had broken. It could be loosened under the right circumstances, and somebody like her… she seemed quite dangerous.

But then, to his relief, she smiled.

"Of course, Shuu. Come on, I'll go through the places where they might be hiding."

Tsukishima breathed a sigh of relief. So far, so good, then. Those accursed shinigami had evaded him a second time, but with communications down, they could get nothing done. It was only a matter of time. Once he had control of them, he'd make sure the Gotei was assured there was no problem, and then… well, from there on, who knew? The thought of his own kingdom of shinigami was fairly appealing.

---

Well now, I sure hope that put you all through the ringer. I don't think you expected us to pick things up so fast and suddnely, nor expect nearly half of the people to be cut! Momo is now head over heels for Tsukishima, Strong fighters like Byakuya, Yoruichi and Urahara are now enemies! Our heroes are outmatched and outnumbered! What course of action can they possibly take!?

And finally, we get another glance at the king of the vandenrich. All thanks go to Greatkingrat88 for the scenes he was in, they were entirely his idea and I cant thank him enough for it. I do hope you all enjoy how the castle journey is going so far.

But that's all I have for you all this time around. Expect things to come to a head in the next chapter. Please leave your thoughts on what you think of this chapter in a review. It would really mean a lot to us.