The Whole Hollow
"Uhhh," groaned Chad as he opened his eyes and looked around. He seemed to be lying on a cot in a decently furnished room, but there were bars on the window, and when he glanced at the door, he saw it had a clear barrier blocking it.
"Where am I?" he murmured as he got up from the cot.
"Ah I see you're awake," said a male voice casually, causing the Mexican teen to turn as an older man wearing a pink women's kimono and a straw hat over Shinigami robes and a Taicho's Haori walked in with a bespectacled girl, also wearing Shinigami robes, "when we found you, you were a bit banged up."
"What happened?" asked Chad as the Shinigami Taicho placed a tray containing some Onigiri and a cup of tea in front of him.
"What can you remember?" asked the Taicho kindly.
"I…was running," said Chad, "then some Shinigami cornered me and I fought them off. Next thing I knew, I woke up here."
"Well," said the Taicho with a chuckle, "those Shinigami were several of my Unseated Officers, so I intervened and knocked you out before bringing you here. You really should eat," he added as he gestured to the untouched food in front of Chad.
"Why are you so hospitable?" asked Chad as he picked up the cup of tea and took a sip. It was quite good.
"A friend of mine found that Hollow you came with and it explained the situation. My friend and I have decided to aid you in freeing Miss Kuchiki, as the sentence placed on her by Central 46 is wildly excessive," said the man, "My name is Shunsui Kyoraku, Taicho of the 8th Division, by the way."
"Yasutora Sado," said Chad, "but most people call me Chad."
"Well then Chad-kun," said Shunsui with a smile, "I'll have some spare robes brought here. You'll want to change into them to avoid…"
Before he could finish speaking, a black butterfly flew in and landed on the Taicho's fingers. Shunsui's eyes widened as he listened to the message that was being relayed and he quickly rose to his feet.
"Nanao," he said to the girl that had entered with him, "see that a uniform is brought for our guest. The Soutaicho has called an emergency meeting of the Shinigami Taicho."
"Hai," said the bespectacled Shinigami.
"Is something wrong?" asked Chad.
"Probably," said the Taicho of the 8th Division, "but I'm not sure what."
With that, the man vanished in a blur of Shunpo, leaving Sado alone with Nanao as the girl summoned another butterfly to call for a uniform to be sent in his size.
xXsceneXx
Soutaicho Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto banged his cane on the ground once the summoned Taicho had assembled, calling the emergency meeting to order.
"There has been a great crime committed against the Gotei 13 today," said the elder Shinigami in his gravely but stern voice, "Sosuke Aizen, Taicho of the 5th Squad, was found murdered this morning."
The gathered Taicho reacted in surprise, causing the Soutaicho to slam the base of his cane against the ground to regain order.
"Silence," ordered Yamamoto, "Unohana Taicho, what were your findings on the cause of Sosuke Aizen's death?"
A female Shinigami with long black hair tied in a braid that hung in front of her Shihakushō stepped forward with a clipboard in her hand. This was Retsu Unohana, Taicho and Head Medic of the 4th Division.
"From my examination of Aizen's corpse, I can determine that, while the body was found impaled on his Zanpakuto, the cause of death was from blunt trauma due to physical combat," said Unohana, "there were some unidentifiable irregularities found with the body, but it has been confirmed to be that of Sosuke Aizen."
"Soutaicho," said Suì-Fēng, a petite woman wearing a sleeveless Haori over her Shihakushō with her hair tied in a long braid, "these invading Ryoka must be responsible for this. I can have the Omnitsukido hunt them down at once."
"No," said Yamamoto, "I would like the Omnitsukido to focus on looking into the mysterious Hollow that Ichimaru Taicho encountered earlier. A Hollow that can match a Taicho of the Gotei 13 must not be overlooked."
"Perhaps it was this Hollow that attacked Aizen Taicho," suggested Kaname Tousen, the blind Taicho of the 9th Division, "it would make sense for one to attack a Shinigami."
Unohana shook her head at that theory, "I found no traces of Hollow Reiatsu on or within the cadaver. Whatever happened to him, was not caused by this Hollow."
"Heh," smirked Kenpachi Zaraki, a large man wearing an eyepatch and a Haori that had the sleeves torn off, "that Hollow must be pretty strong to beat Ichimaru. I wonder how I'd fare?"
"Charging in blindly is sure to get you killed," said Sajin Komamura, a large Shinigami with a muscular build and a bucket-like helmet covering his head.
"What would you suggest?" scoffed Kenpachi, "Negotiate with it?"
"ENOUGH!" bellowed Yamamoto as he smashed the base of his cane against the ground, "I have given my instructions. Suì-Fēng, have your men find this Hollow and see to his elimination. Everyone else, I want the Ryoka captured and brought for interrogation about Sosuke Aizen's death. DISSMISSED!"
As the gathered Taicho left the room via Shunpo, Ukitake and Kyoraku met up in a secluded part of the Seireitei to talk.
"Do you really think the Ryoka did this, Jushiro?" Kyoraku asked his old friend.
"I don't know," said Ukitake, "but for some reason, I feel I can trust this Hollow, despite his power, and he claims his friends are only here to rescue Rukia-san from an unjust fate."
"Indeed," said Kyoraku, "I met one of the Ryoka and he seems to be a peaceful person. From what I felt in my fight with him, he could have easily killed many of my Officers or at least badly injured them, but he settled for incapacitating blows that would deal minimal damage. I don't think they would have the mindset or the means to kill a captain."
"Then we should be sure to find them before the others do," said Ukitake, "they might need the help to rescue Rukia."
The two Taicho nodded and vanished in a blur of Shunpo, leaving their meeting place empty once more. Neither of them noticed a figure peek out from behind a wall, a strand of silver hair poking out of a black cloak that obscured his features, a fox like smile on his face.
xXsceneXx
As the sun set on the Soul Society, a figure wearing Shinigami robes crept out of an empty storage room in one of the Shinigami Divisions and began to make his way through the moonlit streets. On his right hand was a glove with blue designs on it, while his left was bare.
"Looks like everyone's gone," muttered Uryu as he adjusted his glasses, "it should be safe to move now."
The teenage Quincy moved through the alleys, he kept an eye out for any lingering Shinigami patrols. Suddenly, his senses screamed at him to dodge, and he dove to the side just as a figure slammed into the ground, creating a small crater where her fist met the pavement.
"What the…!?" exclaimed Uryu in surprise as he saw the strength displayed by the girl.
"Stupid girl spat a Shinigami wearing makeup that made him look like some sort of weird clown as he walked up behind Uryu, his body changing colors as it ceased to blend into their surroundings, "how could you miss him?"
"I am sorry, Kurotsuchi-taicho," said the girl in an expressionless voice.
"Nevertheless," said the Shinigami, who's name was Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Taicho of the 12th Division, as he drew a strange looking sword, "this one won't escape. I was hoping to find one of the others though. I've already experimented on enough Quincy."
"What did you say?" asked Uryu as his blood ran cold from the man's words.
"Why yes," said the Taicho, "I've done countless experiments on Quincy before. Nothing you can show me will surprise me. There was even that old man that I had abducted several years back. He kept calling out his grandson's name. Uru-something or another."
"Uryu Ishida," corrected Uryu with venom, "that is the name he called out. The man you speak of, was my grandfather."
"Was he now?" asked Mayuri idly, "Meh, he wasn't anything special. And neither are you."
Fueled by his rage a bow formed from the glove Uryu wore on his hand and he fired an arrow of pure Reishi at the mad scientist, but the Shinigami Taicho simply batted the arrow aside with his Zanpakuto.
"Foolish," said Mayuri, "Rip: Ashisogi Jizo!"
The sword in Mayuri's hand transformed to become something that resembled a cross between a dagger and a strange trident, and it was only Uryu's extensive training that kept him from being impaled through the heart, but the blade still tore through his side, leaving a painful, yet thankfully not fatal wound. Uryu tried to raise his bow to fire again, but was surprised when his body didn't respond and he slumped to the ground.
"Wh-what have you done?" he growled.
"Ah yes," said Mayuri, "you see, my Shikai, Ashisogi Jizo, severs the signals connecting your limbs to your brain. In essence, you can feel your arms and legs, but they are quite useless to you now."
Mayuri sighed as he walked up to the prone Quincy, "I suppose I should take you to the Soutaicho now…"
The Taicho was cut off as the Quincy lashed out, a thin blade of Reishi in his hand, forcing Mayuri to have to jump away to avoid getting gutted. The surprise at seeing the supposedly paralyzed Quincy move with ease, however, allowed Uryu to tear through his Shihakushō with the blade.
"How?" growled Mayuri.
"Something you probably didn't know about Quincy," said Uryu, "because our bodies are human, we are subject to the passage of time. Thus we have developed a technique to allow our frail older bodies to continue to fight, Ransōtengai. By weaving threads of Reishi around our bodies, we can control crippled limbs and bypass physical limitations."
"Fascinating," said Mayuri, "but you still will not win. I have seen what Quincy can do, so nothing you can do will surprise me."
"Then let me prove you wrong," said Uryu as he dispelled his bow and raised his gloved hand.
xXflashbackXx
"You wanted to see me, Urahara-san?" said Uryu as he walked into the training room under the Urahara Shoten.
"Ah, Ishida-kun," said Kisuke with a smile, "there's someone here that wishes to speak with you."
Uryu's eyes widened as he saw a familiar man wearing a white suit and glasses walk up calmly, "Father?"
"Hello Uryu," said Ryūken Ishida, Director of the Karakura Hospital.
"Why are you here father?" asked Uryu, "Are you going to try to persuade me to forsake my heritage as a Quincy again?"
"Uryu," said Ryūken, ignoring his son's outburst, "Kisuke has told me of your intent to protect the town alongside your friends."
"Yes," said Uryu, "I will use my powers to help keep the town free of Hollows."
"Uryu," said Kisuke seriously, "do you know why your father does not want you to be a Quincy? It's because for every Hollow you kill, you destroy the souls of countless innocent humans, forever."
"If there is no other way, then that is what I will do," said Uryu.
"What if there were?" asked Urahara, "Your father approached me around the time that Kurosaki-kun began patrolling in his Hollow form, and I have recently finished work on a solution to the issue of a Quincy's arrows."
Urahara pulled out a box and opened it to reveal a familiar glove.
"A Sanrei Glove?" asked Uryu.
"Not precisely," said Urahara, "I've studied the glove your father owns and, after months of work, I have developed this variant, using Reishi from a Shinigami's Zanpakuto. This glove will allow you to create a bow able to purify Hollows, instead of vanquishing them."
Uryu looked at the glove in surprise and noted that, indeed, it looked quite different from the glove his grandfather had left him, with the white fabric being colored gold instead.
"As a bonus, I also fixed that little issue about you removing your glove," said Urahara with a smile.
"Come," said Ryūken, "if your resolve holds true, then I will teach you to use this new tool, not to destroy Hollows, but to redeem them."
xXflashback endXx
"Awaken," said Uryu as Reishi gathered around his Sanrei Glove, "Quincy Wiedergeburt!"
To be continued…