Happy new years :) And since it's new year I decided to, maybe, you know, finish all the stories I started and never actually finished.

My life is a mess at the moment so it has been complicated to write anything really. But I am hopefully back. Good for my mental health, I think.

Anyway, thank you very much to all that actually tune in to read this as it has been more than a year that I disappeared. Now I just want this story done, so there might be horrible mistakes, character talking strangely, but I think most of us can agree that the ending is a little bit more important right now...

chapter 26: into the abyss we go

Deciding it was safe to leave their hiding spot, Hitsugaya and Ise started moving toward the 12th. If anyone had a remedy for this, it would be found there. Lieutenant Ise's idea was that if you managed to reroute the kido it could be possible to make the captains understand that what they were doing was wrong.

They decided to stick to the streets. Sure the roofs would be faster but it was also easier to be spotted, and being trailed by mindless fools wasn't exactly a good thing. Not to mention that Toshiro was currently one of the most wanted in the Seireitei. Any wrong move could make the entire force of captains against him, ending in is potential death.

The streets were calm, better yet, they were eering. No sound whatsoever. As if the world was holding its breath.

"Why do you think that is?" asked Nanoa as they passed the fifth.

"The word of an immediate threat must have spread."

Usually there would be some sort of commotion in the between the buildings and noise would spread through the streets with either the noise of officers running to where they were supposed to be or filled with happy soul reapers that were finished for the day and having the rest of the day off.

The energy was hard to miss. There was no denying that captains were nearby. So how about trapping one to see what they really was up against? The two officers tried to stay out of sight and repress their energy the best they could. As an orange dot passed by them, the lieutenant was fast enough to drag said captain into her newly made kido cage. A few seconds later, two other officers passed right by them. Luckily for them, Ise was one of the best in kido and hid their presence. When the place was calmed down they turned to their newly caught prey. He on the contrary wasn't exactly thrilled.

"What the? What exactly is this supposed to mean?" asked Ichigo.

"I think we caught the wrong one," stated the white haired with his arms crossed. "He doesn't seem to be affected."

The woman wasn't so sure but eventually had to come to the same conclusion. He didn't seem like he wanted to kill the captain of the tenth either.

"What exactly is going on?" raged the orange head. This earned him a lifted eyebrow and a scowl.

"I suppose you have information for us too," said Ise simply.

"What do you mean information?"

Explaining the situation yet a again, they didn't have to as he cut them with a simple "I know."

"What exactly is it you know, captain Kurosaki?"

"That they are searching for Ryuu." He sat down on the ground, finally managing to rest his legs.

"I was under the impression they were specifically told: kill Hitsugaya and Kurosaki," she imitated the voice of the man. Hitsugaya had to look at the woman and really see if it was indeed her that had spoken the words in such a fashion.

"Kurosaki, why me?"

Toshiro had a lump, not him. But rather the other kurosaki, the one related to Ryuu, the one that apparently had carried his child and never mentioned anything to him. Why else would he also be on that list? He had to shake his head. It could be that it was simply since they are the only ones that survived his experiment. He had finally come to destroy them too.

"Something you like to share?" The questioning look from the woman bore no malice, but he could only read it as a stabbing pain.

"I…" he couldn't finish as his throat went dry. What exactly was he supposed to say? Oh, yeah the guy wants me dead because I survived his stupid experiment? Ichigo came to his rescue.

"You don't think it's me either, do you?" The white haired only shook his head, unable to speak.

"I see, so the ones under the curse are targeting anyone that fits the description. Does that mean they will target anyone that resembles that description?"

The three looked at each other coming to the same conclusion probably as Ichigo's face turned from surprise to fear: "Rukia."

"Not to mention your child," sated Nanoa.

"I need to see to them and-" His movement was stopped by Toshiro as he held him back in place.

"She can take care of herself."

"That is easy for you to say, you have no one that shares your name." He probably didn't mean to hurt him, but the words stung so much. What if? As if Ryuu would want to share his name. As if Kurosaki would let him. He looked down to the floor letting the man pass.

"Captain Kurosaki," said Ise before he left the perimeter. "Make sure to keep an eye open for any problems that might arise." He nodded and prepared to leave before coming back with a strange look in his eyes.

"Exactly why and who is the central mixed up with this time?"

"Meaning?"

"Well, Renji was summoned to the central so I was just wondering if that was intentional or if the head captain had nothing to do with that."

As the silence reigned, the orange headed ran out the cage.

As they were the only two left, they were tempted to try again. By now the kids safety was better than his pride.

"Ryuu is a Kurosaki." Ise had to blink at him before saying:"What?"

"Kurosaki Ryuu. Ryuu could also be the one that Yin Yang was talking about." She studied his face before settling down with: "That does not surprise me." She continued as the man seem to expect more from her. "That would explain the utmost trust captain Kyroaku has in him. For how long have you known."

This wasn't the time to be beating around the bushes. "Since the beginning. Point is, Ryuu is in danger. He may be strong and have the aptitude to one day become a powerful soul reaper, but as of right now he is mentally unstable and need a solid ground."

"Does your fondness for the child has anything to do with his relation to Kurosaki Karin?"

"No," he said bluntly even in his mind he could wonder, did he? The simple idea that he might be related to Ryuu was disturbing him way too much. Even if he wanted to just put things aside, it was impossible. That same question came back and back again: what if?

He surprised himself by not flinching at her name. That was a start. He did however not want to dwell on how to tell, anyone really, why the mad man was really after Ryuu.

"I need to find ryuu."

"Does Ryuu know about your attraction towards his mother?" again, the malice was nowhere to be seen, just interest in the new development. She frowned. "Is it your child?"

He blinked once, twice. Hein? Did she just voice out his very concern?

What exactly are you still doing, roared a voice from the depth of his mind and he found himself dragged toward the back of his mind.

"Hyorinmaru," acknowledged the man when standing in front of the dragon. The times the dragon had screamed could be counted on the fingers of his hands.

What exactly are you doing? The man understood that he could actually get answers from this person but was cut.

I will not answer such nonsense questions. If you are not capable to tell if the boy shares your blood or not, are you really wordy to know?

The sadness was a sentiment he had grown used to. He blinked out of the place and answered the woman with a straight face.

"I have absolutely no idea." Which was the truth no matter how much it pains him. "Anyway, Matsumoto should be with Ryuu, so if we find her we find the brat." As his eyes crossed the woman's he could see pity. That put a scowl on his face. He ran in front of her, as if running from his problems could solve them.

…

As he left the cage thing that had been placed around, he came face to face with a rather pissed off Byakuya. The energy around the captain was intense. As on reflex Ichigo started running away. As the other captain didn't attack, the orange head stopped to look behind him were the man had once stood.

"I am here," said the man, making the younger one jump. "Relax."

"As if that would actually make me feel any better?" The disbelief was thickly wrapped around the mans words.

"You might not realize it as you never were good to pick up the small details, but I'm currently using my bankai." The stoic man didn't move a muscle but if Ichigo payed more attention, the man was right.

"That explains why you're suddenly so fast."
"Listen, I don't have much time." The serenity made Ichigo shut up. "I apologize for whatever I have done or will do under the control of the intruder. It appears that I am only capable of over writing his control when I am using bankai. Unfortunately it is not a permanent solution. I don't have much time, but despite our differences I do believe we both care immensely for Rukia. I will ask you to do all in your power to protect her. I will make sure everyone knows we are under attack."

"Of course." The man looked desperate and distressed in the same time and honestly Ichigo didn't even know how to react around the captain that seem to be on the verge of panic.

But as they were about to say their goodbyes the bells rang loudly and the thick walls fell down with a massive noise. The two men looked at each other.

"Did you do that?" Byakuya only looked at the strawberry with an equally intrigued face.

"That was not me."

"Then someone must have made it there in time."
"Someone yes, unless they want to keep us on the inside of the walls." Ichigo only raised his eyebrow in question.

"If someone wanted to kill a captain or someone that lives inside the walls would it not be easier to do so if said person doesn't have the luxury to run away?"

"But the walls are to keep people out, not the other way around."
"Are they? Last time I checked the protection works both ways. It's s. Arg!" Byakuya doubled over in pain. "Get away," nearly screamed the man on the ground. "Get away, it seems I'm not going to be able to keep this up for much longer."

Ichigo did as he was told.

"Remember Kurosaki, next time we meet I will be your enemy. Show no mercy," were the last words he heard before sprinting off before the man turned. He needed to find Rukia and Misaki. The faster the better.

…

"There is no way for you to get out," pointed the head captain out after watching in amusement the three youngsters trying to reach the window. "It was built that way. You feel like the window is closer than it is. There is no getting out other than by that door," he finished while pointing at the only door in the circular room, also placed on the other side of the bares.

"What is surprising me the most is how in the world did you end up here," said Renji to the man that was seated against a wall his usual straw hat hiding his eyes from others.

"Captain Abarai," winced Hinamori at the way he talked. "That is still the head captain," she whispered. As if you couldn't hear everything in that room. It wasn't that big.

"Am I really?" She could see his eyes as he looked at them. "Children. All of you children. And yet you have all gone through so many horrors. I wonder sometimes if when I was your age I would have been able to survive." The hat was pushed even further down the face. "I was never a good student," he said with glee. He put his hat back on top his head and turned to face them smiling. "I was never the good student that was Ukitake. Hehe, I was the women's boy and the only reason I am here today is raw talent. Or, you know." He paused before adding. "And a very sever teacher." His eyes loses their fire and looked past them.

"Sir," said Hanatarou calmly, "are you alright." His voice is only a whisper above the noise from the outside.

"Yes,yes. I just. I was wondering if I could have done things differently."
"You mean not getting caught."

"Renji," wined Hinamorie while holding on to his arm to make him understand.

"Oh no that was part of the plan." The wide smile the head captain gave them wasn't reassuring.

"What?"
"Ah well maybe you can help me sort my thoughts out. Sit, sit darling dears," said the man with his over sweet voice as if he was acting. The three sat down on the ground at his feet. He patted the seat beside him fro Hinamori but she was the first to sit on the ground at a respectable distance. That is until Renji pushed her closer.

"I suppose the first thing is, I suppose, if you didn't know, Ryuu is captain Kurosaki's nephew. But captain Abarai here knows all about that don't you." He didn't deny it but didn't add to it either. Well, that could also have to do with Hinamori putting some kind of kido in his lips. Probably so he wouldn't say anything inappropriate.

"What I suppose you also know is that it is captains Hitsugaya's boy. The resemblance is uncanny when you truly think about it."

He stopped and looked at the only female there who was opening and closing her mouth like a fish.

"How," she eventually managed to say.

"oh, I thought he would have told you. You do know that he and the youngest Kurosaki have a passionate love story, right?"

"Had" she corrected him on reflex without really processing what he told her.

"No, have. I hardly doubt putting them in each their world is going to change that." He smiled at her. The frown came slowly as the head captain turned to Renji, "unless he doesn't know either." The red head could only shake his head.

"Anyway, I knew something was up back in the days, I just didn't know what. Their attraction to one another was inevitable to be honest, they grew close and one things led to another. I didn't have a problem with that." He had to smile at Hinamori's face as it turned sour. "You can speak," he said. "In fact let's all agree that you can comment on my thoughts, I really would like a different input."

"Mhhhh," came noise from the red head that waved his arms.

"Yes, sorry, back on track, as I was saying, I don't see anything wrong with it. The youngest Kurosaki is practically dead already with the family she has."

"It's illegal," stated Hinamori.

"Yes but what harm could they really do? I suddenly got a very capable substitute shinigami and a perfect control of the town, it couldn't be better. Well it wouldn't really be worse either before all the mess started."

The head captain pointed to Renji before asking if he could speak, his input could be valuable.

"You mean apart ruining their lives," was the first he said.

"I wasn't planning on it derailing this way. But let's be clear on one thing, the more Kurosaki Karin came here, the closer she got to dying. Separating them like this was the best for them."

"Torturing your underlines is not a good plan."
"I understand your frustration Abarai, but let me ask you, do you know what happened to the two of them?"

"You mean the kidnapping?"
"What kidnapping," said Hianomi suddenly looking between them both.

"Yeah, Karin may have mentioned it indeed," continued Renji without taking into account the question.

"Captain Hitsugaya came to me after the first abduction, apologized a whole lot about his mistake and not being able to take down the man. He talked about a man with an odd fetish of opposites. It never struck me as odd and really I only send a few scouts to see what he was talking about. Off five, one returned." He sat back comfortably and pushed his hat over his eyes again. "What news he brought back was disturbing to say the least. Not to mention he was gone the better half of a year."

Renji frowned. "Karin didn't know of this."

"No one did. The one that came back barely made it back alive and died a week later of an unknown problem. He just fell and died. Not even Nanoa knows about this. So keep this a secret will you?" He looked at them but they were all dead in the eyes. Hanataro was half asleep as Hinamori looked like she would faint. Abarai was mad.

"The kid," he pressed.

"Ryuu, yes. I suppose you would be interested in that. I figured from Urahara that Karin was pregnant. After my in tell on a mad scientist experimenting to fuse souls together and on abnormal children being experimented on, there wasn't much of a puzzle."
"Why did Urahara say it to you?"

"I might have asked him if he knew anything about a mad scientist. You never know, they might hold annual conferences. His response was the pregnancy. What he want with Ryuu, I have my suspicions but not much more than that. I understand that you might think that I am selfish and stupid but there are things I don't think is for you to hear that entails both captain Hitsugaya and Kurosaki that would make you understand the most of it. If they want to tell you after, that is up to them, not me."

The only one not fighting personal complications was Hanatarou that simply asked: "Why was your plan to get captured?"

"Yes, I suppose that is where I started. They knocked me over when I was in my office. Well they put a sleeping drug in it. Not that it would do me much but I was interested in knowing where their headquarter where. Imagine my surprise when they brought me here. I suspected something fishy going on here again for some times but you can't really blame nobles just because you feel like it."

"So why are you still here? Can't you just go out?" asked Hinamori.

"I'm sorry to say that I can't. However I don't think us being here has anything to do with the plan. We aren't worth killing and we just stand in the way. I honestly am not sure why we are the only ones in this prison."

"The mission," said Renji barely audible.

"Excuse me?"
"The mission that captain Hitsugaya was on, the one before he disappeared. He was hunting yin yang wasn't he?" The head captain frowned before resting against the wall again.

"Maybe we should all just call him that. But yes. The mission wasn't exactly approved by the higher ups. It was supposed to be quick. Instead a lot of them died. From my understanding of it, they didn't all die at first, but they did eventually all succumb to the experiments. Only two survived it. And quite frankly after Ryuu came here I have been waiting for him to show up. Looks like he was here all the time. Oh well. That would explain why the execution on both Kurosaki Karin and captain Hitsugaya have been a lot of the topic."

"You don't seem the least bit worried," shouted Renji.

"Don't mistake my laziness for lack of concern. But I think the one out there are better suited in fighting this than us anyway. Down to it all it all depends on what he wants and if kurosaki is willing to risk her life for us."

~O~

Ryuu continued descending into the darkness. There was nothing there, yet he felt like someone was looking at his every actions. The thought pushed him further. He should turn around, he knows that. He also knows that he hears things that wasn't supposed to be there. He had felt warm this morning when leaving but know he was as cold as he was before leaving to the wold of the living.

He steadied himself on the wall when a growl was heard from the deep. What it was wasn't easy to say but it wasn't friendly.

Yet despite all the triggers, he continues. There is nothing more disturbing when the body don't want to listen to its brain. Someone was controlling him somehow. The darker, the colder and the headache grew.

He frowned at the lights deep down in the cave. To his surprise he wasn't alone there. Under the light, weapon drawn, stood a girl he knew very well. She might even be the only friend he had here, or more in the tenth.

"Sophie," he asked as he came closer. He raised his hands in defense when she turned around weapon drawn. "What are you doing here," he asked.

"Ryuu." It took some time before she registered he had asked her a question. "Same as you I suppose."

"Meaning?" He put the white and black blade back over his shoulder.

"I was called here. This voice in my head keeps telling me to come here. Wasn't that why you are here."

"And you're not the least bit worried about that?" But he never got to hear her answer as he covered his ears for that awful sound. So loud. The force hurt his brain and he had to crouch down in pain. He could see sophie's shoes and he wondered how she did not get affected one bit by the sound.

"What sound?" she asked.

"That skreaching. Sounded like a wounded dragon." She only laughed.

"Have you ever seen a dragon." Don't answer he told himself. There was no need for that.

"Let me ask you though, do you know where you zanpakuto is?" He looked up at her. He simply pointed at his back. The last he remember was a snicker. Sick twisted snicker.

And that's all I managed to write before I started my sabbatical. Because of course I forgot to post as well. Sorry about that...

Hope you enjoyed. And Thanks to all that follow this story, the new ones and old ones. And to every one that reads.

I wish you all good experiences in the year to come.