"And what the hell happened here?" Renji asked as Rukia immediately went for Tatsuki to start healing her using kaidō. Rukia gingerly asked Ichigo to move so that she could take over and Ichigo agreed, letting go of Tatsuki gently and she moaned in pain. Out of all the things Renji was expecting, he was not expecting to be in a human strip club that was pretty much a wreck at this point, with three unconscious beings that had fragments of hollow masks and a grovelling human man handcuffed to the side of the room.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out!" Ichigo hissed at the man who sat there, shaking fearfully.

"All these people with hollow masks, are they human or not?" Kon asked from Ichigo's body.

"What are you talking about? Are these three not arrancar?" Renji asked

"No... at least that's what he said..." Tatsuki winced, gesturing to the handcuffed man. "He was... talking to Aizen... on the phone."

Everyone turned to look at the man. "Well, fuck! How am I supposed to say no to a fucking immortal man?"

"You said you didn't know where Chihiro was!" Ichigo snarled.

"Of fucking course I did! I had to!" The man hissed. "That Aizen boy of yours came and took over. Said that the people here were perfect for experimentation on."

"Experimentation?" Rukia echoed. "He's been hollowfying humans?"

"I don't fucking know what that means! If it means doing that to them then you're right." He said.

"Why hollowfy humans?" Rukia asked. "It's not sustainable. Comparatively, they aren't immortal."

"How are we sure he's telling the truth?" Renji asked. "Let's not lose our heads here." He turned to Kon. "Kon, can't you tell whether they are human or not?"

"Their reiatsu feels like that of an arrancar but... I didn't sense anything off coming into the club." Kon admitted. "Tatsuki did say something about this place smelling like Ichigo."

"The fuck are you trying to say about me?" Ichigo yelled at Kon.

"Calm down, Ichigo." Rukia said. "Some beings who are spiritually aware can sense others through scents associated with their reiatsu. If they are part hollow, part human, it only makes sense that you share a similar scent."

Ichigo now looked insecure before sniffing at himself. "Chill Deathberry, I can vouch for the fact that you take showers." Tatsuki joked and Ichigo glared at her.

"Renji, check their chains." Rukia ordered.

"Can't you do it?" Renji hated having to reach into them for that. It felt icky and invasive. Rukia gave him a look before pointing out that she was currently occupied. "When you're done..."

"Renji!" The red head sighed before kneeling in front of the man wearing a suit and reaching into their chest and pulling out the chain. It was still intact, spreading for until it disappeared in the wind.

"These are their bodies." Renji said. "Their souls aren't there."

"Wait a minute." Kon reached into the man and pulling out a red pill.

"A mod soul?" Renji asked

"Now I can sense his reiatsu more clearly. He'a human and hollow." Kon said.

"You can't sense other mod souls?" Rukia asked

"Normally I can but... this one was obviously altered to make sure we can't sense them all that easily." Kon said.

"Then how come Tatsuki could tell?" Ichigo asked.

"You've been around each other for a long time. If Tatsuki is spiritually aware and more sensitive to scent then it's possible. This mod soul is stopping shinigami and other mod souls from detecting them."

"This is all very educational but what the fuck does this have to do with me?" Ichigo looked at him with a glare and the man withered under his gaze.

"How long has this been going on?" Rukia asked

"The fuck if I know." He spat but he became visibly scared and gulped when Ichigo held Zangetsu in his face. "Look, it's been a long day and —"

"The truth, dumbass." Ichigo hissed

"Alright, alright! I knew this bloody thing wouldn't last anyways! The piece of shit and his goons just rolled up in my place and told me that I worked for him now and that all the people working in the club were his." Okamura spat. "Said he's fostering a new world and I'd get a cut. I didn't know there was more of... you."

"More of us?" Rukia questioned

"Shinigami." Renji clarified.

"You just said him and his goons?" Tatsuki asked.

"Yeah, always went around with some dude with black hair wearing a steel mask." Okamura said

"... That narrows it down to absolutely no one!" Ichigo spat angrily and Tatsuki tapped his leg with her foot. He turned to look at her and she shook her head. Ichigo huffed. "Fine, so he approaches you and offers you whatever. How do your workers enter the equation?"

"They were part of the deal." Okamura said. "And it worked like a charm. Their humanity for tenacity."

"So you sold your own workers?" Ichigo huffed in disbeli

"They sell themselves everyday on that stage. What difference does it make?"

"You just said you don't solicit sex work." Tatsuki said

"What does it matter? You aren't the fucking police." Okamura scoffed

"... Yes, I am. You just admitted to illegally soliciting sex to a law enforcement officer." Tatsuki scoffed as she stood up and Okamura looked fearful. "Before I take you in, where is Aizen?"

"The fuck if I know! He probably left after hearing the damn phone call." Okamura said

"... why would he leave a place we don't know?" Rukia asked

"For a criminal, you sure aren't bright." Tatsuki readjusted his handcuffs. "They switched locations recently. If Aizen fears being tracked then he's probably at their old address."

"Now that's ridiculous!" Okamura claimed and everyone looked at him with a furrowed brow. He looked sheepish, trying to shrug it off with a goody grin but Tatsuki hit the back of his neck, knocking him out. "Rukia, do you know one of those spells that erases someone's memory?"

"I'll get to it." Rukia said before performing kidō on the four unconscious people there.

"I'll get this place cleaned up and put everyone upstairs expect him." Tatsuki said. "Now go, if you want to find Aizen before the trail goes cold. Kon and I will fix everything here and get back."

"And what about them?" Renji pointed to them

"I think it's safe for now for them to be as is until we find their souls. If we threaten to arrest then we run the risk of making these three go wild." Tatsuki explained. "We know where they are for now I'll keep surveillance."

"You go with Renji." Rukia said. "I'll stay with Tatsuki-chan to make sure we get out undetected."

"Do we even know where we're going?" Renji asked

"Were you not following, you dumbass?" Ichigo said before grabbing Renji and flash stepping. Just after they left, Rukia was approached by a hell butterfly.

"Kuchiki-fukutaichō? Kuchiki-Fukutaichō, come in." A voice on the hell butterfly called out

"I'm a little busy right now. Can this wait, Rangiku?" Rukia asked.

"Where are you at the moment?" Matsumoto asked

"Tokyo. We found something big but we can't really give you information until we have all of it ourselves." She said

"And the twins?"

"They're in school." Rukia said. "Do you need something?"

"Hitsugaya-taichō discovered the possible mode of transition that could have likely triggered Angetsu's corruption." Matsumoto said and Tatsuki walked back over to listen in. "We just need to speak to Yuzu to confirm."

"Well, we're not near Yuzu right now." Tatsuki said. "But maybe I can help answer?"

"You know that Karin is... epileptic? That thing she does where she flops around like a fish?" Matsumoto asked

Tatsuki looked confused. "There's no epilepsy in Soul Society?"

"Not that we know of..." Rukia said and Tatsuki sighed

"Ah! I know. I've been around since she was a kid but it is less frequent now than when she was a kid." Tatsuki said. "The last one she had was pretty severe though. I heard she went unconscious and that normally doesn't happen."

"Do you know what triggers it?" Matsumoto asked

"When she was younger, she was very photosensitive. But she was prescribed contact lenses and they stopped being as frequent. It's been... what, like 8 years now?" Tatsuki said. "Now it's mostly stress and tiredness but it is pretty rare. She takes excellent care of herself."

"I see." Matsumoto said. "Well... I don't think that was what taichō was looking for."

"Well... there was this one incident back when she was 15." Tatsuki said

"Incident?" Matsumoto echoed

"Yeah but... you guys have to promise not to tell Ichigo." Tatsuki turned to Kon who let out a sheepish grin and drew an x over his heart.

"Sorry we have to continue our session like this." Aunt Gina told Karin as she drove her car out of Shizuoka to the outskirts of Tokyo. Karin didn't mind, in fact she offered because she was excited to meet her grandmother once more. Plus, she felt more comfortable trying to make sense of everything in Gina's presence.

"It's fine." Karin said from the back seat as she drew on her tablet. Karin was still learning how to draw using a technological medium. People always claimed digital artists to be lazy and talentless compared to canvas/paper artists and Karin never understood why. Something that was natural for her with a paintbrush in her hand was a mission with a stylus. It was hard understanding all the functions, brushes and everything one could do with just one brush.

"Are you more comfortable speaking Japanese today?" Gina reached for her phone in the holder and found the recorder. She started recording.

"We can continue in Spanish." Karin insisted

"Okay. So let's pick up where we left off; you and the boy, Tōshirō. You disliked him at first but eventually became friends?"

"Yes." Karin nodded

"What was the catalyst? Did you bond over something?"

"We bonded over books."

"Books?"

"Mhmm..." Karin nodded. "He had only studied philosophy while in school—the ones that they allowed in Soul Society of course, and I gave him some fictional suggestions. He tended to be bored when he didn't have work to do."

"What kind of books?"

"Allegories." She said

"Did you share the same views?" She asked

"... mostly." She said

"... mostly?"

"... if a person has ever been in a difficult position for a long time that they got used to and then they are out right told that they have been taken advantage of, then of course they tend to be defensive."

"Are you suggesting that he was exploited in someway?"

"I'm not suggesting it..."

"I'm hungry." Karin said as she trailed ahead, pulling out her phone and looking through Google maps. She had met him at the library again and he was planning on leaving when she had arrived so she offered to keep him company since she had nothing better to do. Hitsugaya tried to get her to leave him alone but he — as per usual — failed miserably.

"... and what does walking faster achieve?" Hitsugaya asked, trailing behind her as usual. Karin was laughing at the irony of the situation. When they were younger, she would always be the one to trail behind him as they walked but now, it was the complete opposite

"I know a place nearby... Sa-chan took me there a couple months back but I can't remember." She said as she looked on her GPS. "This way. I'm starving." She went back, took his hand and forced him to move faster, dragging him through a nearby alleyway.

They eventually found the place and Karin ordered for the both of them. "You eat a lot of meat." Hitsugaya said. "And you expand a lot of energy. I don't think that's sustainable."

"It's not... for the average person." Karin said as she ate her food.

"Average person?" Hitsugaya asked

"I'm epileptic." She said. "Too much carbs put me at a risk of a bad seizure." She paused. "You don't know what that is."

"At all..." He shook his head

"It's a medical condition. Have you ever seen a fish flop on the floor after you catch it?" Hitsugaya asked. "That's what happens to me. My brain becomes overstimulated sometimes and I lose control of my body and start flopping around like a fish out of water. Been that was since I was a child." She looked up at Hitsugaya. "You look unconvinced."

"I feel like you're messing with me..." He said

"... you're absolutely right. I'm just greedy." She said and Hitsugaya rolled his eyes at her. "Are there no illnesses in Soul Society?"

"Bacterial and viral, yes but they are cured effectively. The more complex ones where the body fails on its own is rare." He said. "I've only ever heard of two cases and I know one person. There are probably more but... that's it."

"Then how do... people die?" Karin asked. "You know, when they reincarnate?"

"Extreme old age, violent acts or they just... die in their sleep." He said.

"So... like the world of the living minus severe illnesses?" She asked. "I'm not sure how comfortable people are with the slow passage of time."

"We barely notice it sometimes." He admitted and Karin nodded

"So... have you found what you're looking for yet?"

"I don't want you getting involved." Hitsugaya said

"Trust me, I have no desire to." She scoffed. "I'm just asking in case Karakura Town is in for another rude awakening."

"... no." Hitsugaya tsked. "Sometimes I feel like I'm on a wild goose chase."

"Geese are cute." Karin teased and she smiled at the annoyance on Hitsugaya's face. "No need to get worked up. So you never discovered the strange reiatsu by the bay?"

"It disappeared." He claimed and Karin nodded before they continued to eat in silence. "You're a messy eater."

"Hmm?" Karin hummed and Hitsugaya sighed, shaking his head before reaching out with a napkin to wipe the wasabi off her chin.

"How do you even stand the taste of wasabi?"

"It's nice and spicy." She said

"More like bland and painful."

"Ooh! Food connoisseur trying to shame my taste." She teased and for the first time, she made him laugh. It was a nice laugh: deep and hearty, coming from the chest. "Explain to me, what's so funny?"

"The tongue can't even taste anything chilly or spicy." Hitsugaya said before reaching into his pocket for his cigarette box and lighter. That was one habit Karin would never get used to, she thought as she watched him open the tab of the brand new box. It was harder considering that she had asthma but most people here smoke. Even when they entered the shop, several people were smoking so she couldn't avoid it if she tried. "It's just your pain receptors reacting to the chemicals that cause the numbing effect." He said before putting a cigarette between his teeth.

"And what's that supposed to imply?" She asked

"That you're a masochist," He managed through his teeth as if he lit his cigarette.

"... we discover something new about ourselves everyday." She chuckled at his joke. "Like you being able to crack jokes... and laugh."

"Because there's very little that is actually funny." He said.

"Pretentious and insufferable as usual." She scoffed.

"Realistic and pragmatic."

"Boring with a stick so far up his ass that it has left him cross eyed."

"Now we have landed on insults."

"I have never implied to be the bigger person."

"And I have never expected that of you." He said and Karin shook her head at him.

"I have no words." Karin said. "You have left me speechless."

"Yet you still talk." He quipped and Karin narrowed her eyes at him.

"Soul Society really needs to bring their chibi old man back home." She complained

"I would personally love to go back but I have a mission." He claimed

"A mission with absolutely no clue what you're looking for and now you're just hanging out with a 15 year old." She said

"That follows me around mind you." He said and Karin looked unconvinced. "Look, not everything is straight forward all at once. That's why they sent me here."

"Are you in charge of intelligence or something?"

"Something like that."

"Makes sense I suppose." Karin said. "Doesn't make it any less frustrating in my opinion."

"It's not frustrating in any sense different from a regular job."

"And yet you've been chain smoking since I met you." He looked up at her, expectantly waiting for her to elaborate. "Habits like that don't just appear out of nowhere."

"Well, it's my business and none of yours." He said

"... for a smart guy, you sure play dumb 90% of the time." She said and he ignored her, continuing with his cigarette in peace. Karin frowned at him before tapping her fingers against the table. "You said you didn't like Lord of the Flies?"

"I have no interest in discussing this, especially with you."

"Me? What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing... just that your view on the world is too idealistic."

"I could say the same thing about you." She said and Hitsugaya shook his head. "We're more similar than you think."

"No, we aren't." He claimed.

"If you believe so." She scoffed before looking up. "You're wiser than me of course."

"I never claimed that."

"But you just said I'm too idealistic." She said.

"So they can't co-exist?"

"Realistically, no." She said. "Those who are wise know the world is flawed, those who are idealistic choose to ignore it." Hitsugaya fell silent. "Nothing to say?"

"You just proved that we're nothing alike." He stubbed his cigarette.

"How?"

"... I'll pay. I have to—" Hitsugaya reached into his pocket but Karin reached over and stopped him, latching onto his arm.

"Why do you always run away from me?"

"You want the truth?"

"Obviously."

"... because you make me think." He admitted and Karin looked confused.

"That makes no sense." She scoffed. "Aren't you supposed to be a genius?"

"I'm a prodigy, not a genius."

"What's the difference?"

"I wasn't allowed to develop my own thoughts... I was told what to think." Hitsugaya said. "Being around you makes me unlearn that, it always has."

"Always has?" She asked.

"... Four years ago, at Haru-bachan's, you tried to stop me from purifying Yosuke by reasoning with him." He said. "Back then, my first thought was 'she's a dumbass'... then Yosuke calmed down when Haru-bachan used her reiatsu to tame him. Do that in Soul Society... and you are dealt with with a swiftness. But you were never in the Shinō Academy. You have never seen the rigid regimen they assimilate us into. You see the humanity we were forced to forgo to do our job. I called you idealistic because you see emotion and humanity but... you're well aware of how unreliable it is, compared to me who claims to be the opposite while idealising an imperfect life because I know nothing else."

Karin looked at him after he ended his rant. "... I don't think you know nothing. I just think you've been deprived." She let go of his arm, realising she was still holding onto it. "And now you're finding ways to distract yourself from that."

Hitsugaya said nothing as he stood up to go pay for their food. But she knew she managed to break through a little bit because as they left the food joint, he tossed a box out of his pocket into a nearby trash can.

"So you convinced him to stop?" Aunt Gina asked

"It wasn't my intention." Karin admitted as she thought about it. "I don't even judge people like that."

"But it was the impact of what you said?"

"Yeah..." Karin admitted.

"What happened afterwards?"

"Withdrawals of course." Karin said. "He started to feel the urge to smoke more and more when he didn't and I feared it would get in the way of his mission but he refused to go back and said he would complete his mission without it."

"Did he?"

"It actually pushed him to be more productive." She said. "He got his first breakthrough two days after he quit. While I was concerned that he was focusing all his energy on working to compensate for it, he eventually got better. I brought him watermelons to make him feel a little bit better."

"People who experience withdrawals tend to show signs of violence and anger. Did he ever express that towards you?"

"No." She shook her head. "I mean, he was irritable and got angry pretty often during that period but he never took it out on me."

"You mentioned that he got violent at some point... or at least the person you thought was him. Are there any signs that convinced you he had a violent nature beforehand?"

"Other than being a shinigami, no. He got irritated with me sometimes but even then, he never swore at me directly." She said. "But even if he didn't have a violent streak on me, you can't really tell. There are women who had been married to men for years before they start showing an abusive side. That was my thought process for when I was trying to make sense of the incident afterwards to feel... less stupid."

"That is a valid reasoning." Aunt Gina stopped as her phone began to ring. "Give me a second." Karin sighed before going back to drawing. Digging the crevices of her mind for these memories was stressful considering how conflicted her feelings were... but the emotions associated with those memories just made her long for normalcy.

Karin continued trying to learn how all the fancy brushes but she was hit but a sudden headache as her back burned. She winced as something hot dripped from her nose. She reached behind her quickly and grabbed tissues from the tissue box behind her, covering her nose before her aunt noticed. "Karin, are you okay?"

"Yes, auntie." Karin sniffled. "It's just sniffling from flu season."