Shippoman: Well, we're coming to the end of the story, so I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have stuck with me for this long. Your thoughts and comments have helped me want to finish. Thank you all. On with the story!

Chapter 24:

The atmosphere was very tense as Shinji stepped out, and no one wanted to be the one to break it. Even Mashiro wasn't causing her usual ruckus and instead sat off to the side staring at nothing. Yukiko glanced around at all the tense expressions on everyone's face, trying her hardest to suppress the fear in herself. This was a near impossible feat, as the fluctuating energies from the fighting pressed in on her.

She shook herself and pulled up her sword, returning to her training. There was no telling how much longer she had before the main attack and she wanted to make sure she was ready. This meant trying to push all thoughts of the current battle to the back of her mind and continue to improve herself. However, after only a few minutes, she paused again. She'd felt Ichigo's energy drop while Shinji and Kisuke joined the battle. She ended up waiting until the enemy disappeared before she sighed and sat on the ground in exhaustion.

"You alright?" Kensei asked, noticing her movements.

"Yes. I'm just worried," she muttered. "They came so suddenly and left randomly. Why? The battle was just reaching the climax, yet they fled. I just feel like the battle was pointless."

"Just because the Arrancar fled like cowards doesn't mean the battle was meaningless," Kensei pointed out.

"No, I don't think they fled," she said. She noticed his look of confusion as he opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter the obvious question Shinji returned, carrying a battered Ichigo and followed by Rukia. "Woah, is Ichigo okay?"

"As expected, he got his butt handed to him, but he should be alright," Shinji answered, setting the teen on the ground. "See what you can do to fix him up, alright, Hachi."

"Very well." The large, pink haired man made his way over to the prone teen and sat down before constructing a barrier around him.

Meanwhile, Rukia was glancing around at everyone present in utter confusion before her eyes settled on Yukiko. "Ume, who are these people?" she asked slowly. "Can we really trust them?"

Yukiko smiled at this and nodded. "I understand your worry, but it's fine," she said easily. "They'll take care of Ichigo. As for who they are, I don't think I can really say at this time. Suffice it to say they have my full trust."

Rukia seemed surprised by this as she glanced around once more. "So then, these are the people you mentioned in your reports?" she asked curiously. "The ones you were making progress with?"

Yukiko found it amusing how surprised the young soul reaper seemed and couldn't help but wonder how the girl's older brother would react to seeing them. She started chuckling at the thought of seeing his eyes widen in surprise before being replaced by a frown and maybe that adorable tick that would appear on his forehead.

"What's so funny?" Rukia asked dubiously.

"Nothing. Just relax and wait until Hachi's done. Or you could join me for some training if you'd rather," Yukiko offered, gesturing toward the training ground.

Rukia looked over at Ichigo, then to the other Vizard who were all but ignoring her presence. Eventually she sighed and turned back to the ex-soul reaper. "Alright, let's spar for a bit," she agreed.

Yukiko smiled at this. "Don't worry, I promise I'll go easy on you." Rukia frowned at this and Yukiko just laughed before their sparring match began. It'd been a long time since she fought someone she felt had no way of winning against her.

When Hachigen finished his healing of Ichigo, the Vizard sent him off with Rukia, requesting she take care of him away from them. Yukiko also said her goodbyes, requesting that Rukia keep her meeting of the group a secret. The soul reaper reluctantly agreed and took off with the teen in tow. Once they were gone, Yukiko also left for her apartment, getting in a session of meditation and then sleeping.

Luckily, she was able to go through all the Vizard, Urahara, Youruichi and Tessai; although she did have to stop during the final memories for Kensei and Shinji. Then she made it through a few of the memories for the traitorous three before Soyokaze stopped it herself, making her go to bed.

She didn't sleep very well as thoughts of the fight Ichigo lost and the three that caused it permeated her mind. She still had not been able to work out who they were to her as of yet, but she felt she was getting closer. She just needed a little more time; a luxury she was quickly running out of.

When the next morning came, she set out, heading for Orihime's apartment in order to put in her report. She just hoped it'd be enough this time to convince the head captain she was alright. This thought went out the window the moment she reached the window she was about to climb through. Standing inside the room, she could clearly make out all the soul reapers that were there to defend against Aizen, and Ichigo. They were addressing the TV screen in the room, clearly conversing with one of the captains from Soul Society.

"I'm telling you, Orihime's alive!" Ichigo declared hotly. "Look at my hand. Yesterday it was severely damaged. But this morning, I woke up and it was completely healed!"

"Why would they think Orihime's dead?" Yukiko wondered to herself. She decided to sit and listen rather than make herself known.

"That is unfortunate." Yukiko blinked in confusion as she looked at the anger on the teen's face. What was going on? What did she miss now? "This means that Inoue Orihime went with the Arrancar of her own free will. She has betrayed you and the Soul Society."

"What?" Yukiko couldn't believe what she was hearing. Orihime was taken by the Arrancar? She betrayed her friends to join with Aizen? It didn't make sense and she could feel even her sword didn't believe it. "No, that was the point of the fight."

"What are you talking about, Yukiko?" Soyokaze asked.

"That fight, it happened for two reasons. The first was to distract the soul reapers and force Orihime to travel back," Yukiko explained. "The second was to force Orihime to willing join them. If she said no they would have ended everyone's life. That was the threat they gave her. They could have easily taken her by force, but by having her willing go with them, it looks like she's betrayed everyone. He's trying to either cause the Gotei to abandon her, or to draw as many people to Hueco Mundo as he can to save her. That'll split the forces, or at least get Ichigo out of the way."

"I see, that is a rather ingenious plan," Soyokaze acknowledged.

"Yes, and it seems to be working."

"All advance guard members are to return to the Soul Society for final preparations," the head captain declared. "As well as the ex-soul reaper Yukiko. Where is she?"

"Sir, will Yukiko be joining in the battle?" Renji spoke up suddenly. After watching her spar with Urahara and Youruichi, he realized she'd be a very powerful ally.

"She will not!"

"But, Head Captain..." Rukia started.

"That is enough. We cannot risk such a powerful force becoming a threat in the middle of this war. She will be placed in the Maggot's Nest until further notice."

Yukiko didn't stick around to hear the rest. Her head was spinning with the information she'd just gathered as she took off as fast as she could away from the apartment, not even caring where she was going. At this point it wouldn't matter where she went, they'd send someone to take her back. It was over.

"You did agree to this," Soyokaze reminded her. "You need to go back and face what was discussed."

"No. If I go back now they'll take you away from me," Yukiko argued. "Without you holding back the memories I haven't gone through, I'll end up regressing to that blubbering mass. I'll have to start over from scratch. I never want to be that way again."

"But, Yukiko, you agreed that if the Head Captain wasn't satisfied, that you'd allow yourself to be taken," Soyokaze said seriously. "By not adhering to this you're giving him every reason to doubt your intentions."

"But he's wrong! If I could tell him how far I've come with those eight, he'd realize I'm almost back to normal. But because of the way they're viewed, I can't."

"Yukiko, do you really want to risk turning on everyone if you face Aizen again?" Soyokaze asked.

Yukiko came to a halt, eyes closed in frustration. "Of course not...but I'd rather never see the light of day again than return to that miserable state!"

As she spoke, she glanced around at her surroundings and noticed where she was. The building before her appeared ominous, and yet, she couldn't help but see this as the source of her salvation. She took a shaky step toward the structure, then another.

"Yukiko, you can't really be thinking of that method," Soyokaze pleaded. "He warned you of the dangers. You can't do this to yourself."

"The war may start any day now," Yukiko muttered under her breath. "I don't want to be a threat...but I don't want to go to that place either. I have to do something...this is my only option."

She stepped through the large gate that surrounded the structure, heading slowly toward the front door. As she moved, the door opened and the man she was looking for stepped out. The striped hat and fan hid his features, but she didn't need to see them to understand that he'd already figured out her reason for being there. Her jaw tightened and her fingers curled into fists. She needed to be strong...this was her only shot and she was not going to take no for an answer from this man.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked when she stopped before him. "You know what the results might be."

Yukiko nodded. "Yes, I'm willing to deal with the consequences." He sighed and gestured for her to enter. As she stepped past him, she paused and looked past the fan to meet his gaze. "There is one other thing I'd like for you to do, if you could please."

Two hours. Two wasted hours and Byakuya was no closer to finding Yukiko than he was before. He'd been charged with locating her and returning her to the Soul Society. As much as he'd rather she not end up in that place of traitors, he also couldn't deny the logic behind the decision. As such, he was bent on following through on his orders. Which led him to standing at the front of this shop owned by the most annoying man he'd ever met in his existence.

He strolled across the open yard, ignoring the two children that were there and heading inside. Here he spotted one of his old instructors, the cat woman looking over at him curiously. "Byakuya boy," she greeted with a smile. "What brings you here? I thought you were still preparing in the Soul Society."

"I am," he answered, ignoring the old nickname. "I've come in search of Yukiko. I know this is one place she'd go for refuge. Where is she?"

Youruichi looked him over for a moment before shrugging and leading him to another room. This one was filled with massive tubes holding various liquids, computer screens and wires. It was clearly a room for Urahara. As he stepped farther into the room, he saw the man in question leaning over a table next to a rather bizarre looking machine. He glanced at the table and noticed what looked like human legs. Another gigai perhaps?

"So, what brings you here, 6th Squad Captain?" Byakuya's eyes were drawn back to the man, who'd now turned around to face him. He looked amused under that strange hat which irritated the squad captain. "Is it something I can help with?"

"Yukiko. I know you know where she is," Byakuya answered shortly. He was not in the mood to play with the ex-soul reapers.

"I see," Urahara said, his amusement growing. "Unfortunately you're a bit late. As of right now, she can no longer be safely moved."

This answer confused the captain as he glanced around the room again, expecting to see her in one of the tubes or something. Then his eyes settled on the table behind Urahara and he moved closer. To his surprise, the scientist stepped aside allowing a clear view of the redheaded soul reaper lying on it. Her eyes were closed, her mouth and nose covered by a breathing apparatus, tubes coming from her arms attached to bags of liquid, and wires running from her head to the machine.

"What have you done?" he asked, looking it all over. It certainly seemed as if moving her would be a bad idea.

"She requested it," Urahara sighed, brushing some hair out of her face. "Right now, she's been placed in a never ending loop of her memories, being forced to relive those hundred plus years over and over again."

"Why? What's the purpose of doing this to herself?" Byakuya asked. He couldn't deny a small part of him was severely worried about her. Would she never return to the woman he remembered as a teen?

"This is to ensure one of two things," Urahara answered. "Either she's able to come to terms with what those three did to her and find the strength to fight them, or never awaken."

"In other words, she will not rise from this state unless she's able to find that strength?" Byakuya clarified.

"Yes...and no," Urahara sighed. "There is one other outcome. This may finish what Aizen started. She may awaken as his ally instead."

Byakuya nodded and stepped closer to the bed, his hand coming to rest on her forehead. "No, there are only two outcomes," he thought, remembering the way she'd stood up to him all those years ago. "She'd never fall to a man such as Aizen."

After a few moments, he stepped away from the bed and turned to leave. "So, what are you going to tell your superiors?" Urahara asked curiously.

"The truth," Byakuya answered. "Yukiko is in such a state that she cannot be moved but will have no chance of being a threat during this war. We will simply have to wait until she awakens."

"Oh, you make it sound as if you're certain she will," Urahara murmured teasingly.

Without turning toward the scientist, Byakuya smiled privately to himself. "Perhaps I am," he said. Then without another word he flashed outside, where he opened a Senkaimon to head back. "Yukiko, I have no doubt you will follow your Captain into battle once more. No other captain's orders will ever come before his. Do not disgrace yourself or your squad by falling to a traitor." With that thought, he stepped through the gate knowing the war would begin without her.

Shippoman: Final preparations for the war are under way, Yukiko has made sure to remove herself from the fight, and all Soul Reapers have been called back to the Soul Society. In the next chapter, the Vizard are alerted to the current situation and secrets are revealed. So stay tuned and please remember to R&R. :p