Lethal Hornet, Timid Healer

Disclaimer:

I don't own the rights to anything related to the anime Bleach

The rights to that anime belong to…other people…


Chapter 4: Everyone's a little Hollow

Soifon looked at Hanataro for a few seconds, examining him. She could tell he wasn't lying, that he was genuinely feeling fine, but there was something strange about him. His once low spiritual pressure had grown to a noticeable extent, but not so much that it would invite unwanted suspicion, and it slowly fluctuated.

"Captain Soifon?"

She blinked, snapping out of her small trance, and locked eyes with Hanataro. He didn't immediately shift his eyes to random objects in the room like he had a habit of doing, but instead looked at her with slight confusion and worry.

"I-is something wrong?"

She smiled slightly and shook her head, "No, I was just thinking about something. The real question is whether or not you're really okay."

"I feel fine, but I am a little tired," he nodded, letting out a small yawn. His eyes lowered a bit, reflecting guilt and sadness, "I'm sorry I was a burden to you and that you had to bring me here…It must've been troublesome for you…"

"Don't be foolish," she replied in a firm, but gentle, tone. Hanataro gave her a surprised look, blushing as he felt ashamed about assuming how she felt. A silence fell between them, awkward and long, before Soifon moved closer to his bedside. Hanataro felt his face turn a deeper shade of red as Soifon placed the back of her hand on his forhead, leaning close to him as she checked his temperature.

"You weren't a burden to me and I'm just glad that you're okay," she finally said, removing her hand from his forehead and returning it to her side. He nodded, receiving a nod from her before she turned to leave, "I'll leave you to rest now. Oh, and I want you to come to the 2nd Squad headquarters tomorrow."

"How come?"

"General Yamamoto wants both of us to give him a full report on what happened today," she replied with a soft sigh. She looked over her shoulder and stared at him for a second before making her way towards the door, "Don't forget to come to my headquarters first. You don't have to ask permission from Captain Unohana as I've already talked with her about the meeting."

"Okay, I won't forget," Hanataro nodded, watching as she left. A second hadn't passed when she gently closed the door before Hanataro suddenly, and arguably without any thought, called out to her. Soifon poked her head back into the room, a slightly worried look on her face as she wondered what was wrong, "…G-goodnight…"

Her lips parted slightly and her eyes widened a bit, showing that she was somewhat caught off-guard by what he said. "…Goodnight, Hanataro," she replied, smiling slightly, before she gently closing the door again.

Hanataro waited for a few moments before letting out a disappointed sigh, smacking his forehead. He felt like he could have done something more than just tell her "Goodnight".

Now, what that 'something' could be is a total mystery to him, but he should've done it.

"You'll have your chance tomorrow, remember?"

-Hisagomaru's World-

Hisagomaru was lazily rolling from side to side, only time stopping to let out a small yawn every now and then.

"He's going to sleep now…"

Hisagomaru simply nodded at the voice and continued his rolling. The moist grass brushing against him as he did so provided a relaxing feeling that caused him to sigh with a hint of joy. He ceased his rolling when he heard the footsteps of his new visitor approaching him on the soft grass.

With one final roll, Hisagomaru landed on his belly and looked up at the visitor.

Staring down at him was the mirror image of Hanataro, though a number of things were different about him: his Soul Reaper uniform's colors were inverted, his skin was as bone white as his hair, his sclera were black and his irises were a piercing yellow.

"This place is strange," the guest stated, looking around at his surroundings.

"Indeeeed," Hisagomaru replied, stretching his furry arms as he let out another yawn, "But it's very nice here once you get used to iiiit…"

The guest nodded at this and turned his sights to the crater, making his way towards it. He knelt down, gazing at his reflection in the crimson liquid; a sudden sharp pain caused him to clutch his head, irritated growls escaping him as various images flashed through his mind.

An unacceptable amount of them were…unpleasant, to say the least.

Angrily, he turned his attention to Hisagomaru and lowered his hands, tightly balling them, "Those people deserve to be punished…"

Hisagomaru didn't say anything; he only stared and nodded at the boy, "But that's not up to you or meeee…"

"I need…no…Hanataro needs to get stronger, right," the guest asked, receiving a slight nod from the sloth.

"Though, I don't think he likes to train with meeee," Hisagomaru sadly replied, rolling around again, "But then again, he was busy tending to Soifooon."

The guest's mood brightened a bit as an idea crossed his mind, "Then I'll train with you and punish those people myself…right?"

The sloth let out a yawn, "Are you sure you don't just want to relaaaaxx for a while? Roll in the grass, stare at the skkkyyy?"

"NoI need to get stronger, now! If I don't, those people-those bastards will keep using me, Hanataro, us as a door mat! Do you want that to happen, no, scratch that: do you want it to keep happening?"

Hisagomaru rolled onto his back, staring at the boy with a sympathetic glimmer in his eyes, "Nooooo, but you shouldn't go overboard with this. You may end up hurting yourself and Hanataroooo…"

The guest grew quiet, looking up at the gray sky above the empty village. He knew there would be consequences, good and bad, if he were to do what needed to be done. With a deep breath and heavy sigh, he glanced over at Hisagomaru, "He's the king of this world, right? A crownless king with a sloth as his horse and a woman as his knight…But…I'm his brother, a brother that only wants to help the king fulfill his goals, destroy his enemies, and live happily ever after. That's what brothers do, right? They help each other."

"He's never had a brother…I also don't believe he wants one like yooouu…"

"Then I guess that's too bad…Whether or not HanataBro wants my help, he's going to get it…right? It's only a matter of time before we bond, before the line between me and Hanataro dissolves and we become one…right?"

Hisagomaru didn't say anything, a small yawn escaping him as he curled into a ball.

-Soifon's room in the Fon estate-

Soifon stared at the waning moon from her room's balcony, leaning against the railing before closing her eyes. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea…bringing him to the Human World…" she thought, taking in the night air. A slight chill ran through her as the cold air slipped past the thin shield of warmth her dark blue gown provided, "He could've been hurt or killed…"

She opened her eyes and shook her head before going back inside, closing the sliding door behind her. It didn't do her much good, focusing on what could have happened, "Hanataro wasn't killed and he's perfectly fine…But that Arrancar and her friend won't be when I find them…"

She made her way over to her bed's nightstand and picked up the book lying on it. "Black Cat: Kimi's Desire…" she hummed to herself, reading the book's title over and over again in a curious manner before plopping down on her bed, "What do humans see in books like this?"

Flipping it over, she read the book's summary again. It seemed strange to her, humans writing about the love life of animals. She opened the book and read through the first chapter: "Tainted Hierarchy."

It introduced her to Kimi, a young black cat that is somewhat cold and cynical. A little into the chapter she is taking a quick nap, only to be woken up by someone trying to sneak up on her. She berates a cat by the name of Ogi, insulting him for his weight and pointing out that it was the reason he couldn't sneak up on her.

Soifon felt a strange bit of sympathy for the cat as the book revealed her status as the pet of a noble family. It showed how depressed and betrayed Kimi feels now that her owner, Kimiko, one of the family's four daughters, continues to neglect her. Kimi feels hatred and disgust towards the servants that basically do what Kimiko's supposed to, as she feels their caring nature towards her is only fueled by her family's money.

Soifon continues reading to the point where the boyfriend of Kimi's owner is officially introduced. The boyfriend, "Kobi," reminded Soifon of Urahara when she was getting to know him.

Kimi leaves the house in disgust when she sees Kobi, partly because of his 'wet dog fur' smell, and wanders into the nearby town.

A noise distracts her and draws her to a nearby alley where she finds a snow white dog rummaging through a dumpster. Kimi planted her paws firmly on the ground, eyes narrowing on the oblivious dog, and was prepared to start a fight in order to relieve the anger she was feeling at the moment.

"What do you think you're doing, mutt," Kimi asked, growling as ferociously as a kitty could growl. The dog stopped rummaging through the garbage and looked up at her, blinking a few times before letting out a terrified yelp as he fell flat on his back.

"I-I was just looking f-for food, ma'am," the dog replied, his blue eyes flashing with fear as he shook, "Please don't hurt me."

Kimi scoffed at this and berated the dog for being a coward. "I thought mutts were supposed to be 'brave' like that mutt Bolt, not sniveling little pups like you are."

"I-I'm brave," the dog replied, his timid nature being poorly masked by his outburst of confidence, "I once went outside by myself, at night, and walked around town just looking for trouble."

"Your backyard doesn't count as 'around town.'"

The dog stammered a bit and tried to come up with a rebuttal of sorts, only succeeding in letting out a large sneeze that hit the black cat. She lunged at the dog, her claws extended to swipe at his neck, though he clumsily avoided the attack and fled the scene.

The chapter ends with Kimi watching the 'mutt' disappear into a crowd of humans while she notes that his sickening dog scent seemed familiar.

Soifon closed the book and set it on her nightstand. She wondered what the appeal of books like that was to humans, though she found herself wanting to read a bit more before going to sleep.

She sighed and lied down on her bed, resting her head on one of its silk pillows. She shifted a bit before finding a comfortable sleeping position and pulled a dark blue blanket over herself.

-Earlier that day in Hueco Mundo-

Luppi was quietly humming to himself as he walked through Hueco Mundo's vast desert. He did a small twirl and skipped a bit, kicking up the bland colored sand, before abruptly stopping in his tracks. He felt a strange conflict of spiritual pressures (as in people fighting) that grew closer and closer to him.

He looked around for the sources, but found himself alone and somewhat confused, "Is this some kind of joke?" He heard a low humming sound, like something was charging, and turned around only to be blasted by an orange cero. He dodged the attack, just fast enough for it the char his left shoulder, and gazed at the Garganta portal that appeared before him.

"You bitch," he heard a familiar voice shout as two figures tumbled out of the portal. They landed on the sand and attempted to choke each other to death, with the red-haired Arrancar on top seemingly winning.

"April? Apache? What do you two think you're doing," Luppi cried, pointing at his shoulder in an irritated fashion, "Look what you did to my uniform!" The girls ignored him and continued their fight, with Apache firing a bala that forced April off of her. She quickly hopped to her feet and got into a glare-down with the red-haired Arrancar before they suddenly disappeared.

Luppi turned to hear a loud sound, as if a car collided with a hundred ton boulder, and saw that April had barely missed having her kick elbow-blocked by Apache. She smirked angrily and grabbed April's leg, doing a quick turn before throwing her into the desert below. An explosion of sand was produced when April hit the ground, followed by the explosive force of Apache's bala that supposedly doubled April's injury.

"I honestly don't know what your problem is, April…" Apache smirked, spitting at the cloud of sand that covered April, "Heh, I was just following Lord Aizen's orders, after all!"

A surprised gasp escaped Apache's mouth as the cloud of sand suddenly dispersed and April flew at her. She sidestepped a tad bit too late and was roughly grabbed by the collar of her shirt, followed by a sharp pain coursing through her stomach when April suddenly knee'd her. April kicked her away and began charging another Cero, something Apache quickly took notice of.

"Bitch," she growled as a ball of red light began to glow and grow at the tip of her horn. Luppi watched the display of orange and red, shielding his eyes when the attacks were unleashed upon each other and collided with a thunderous boom.

He slowly unshielded them and barely avoided being used as April's landing cushion when she was sent flying at him. Her zanpakuto was drawn and she charged Apache, clashing with the Arrancar's chakram zanpakuto and creating a brief stalemate as they attempted to overpower each other.

Apache smirked before suddenly removing one of her chakram from the stalemate and used it to swipe at April's throat. The attack was barely intercepted and held back by April's crimson tail, a small trail of blood crawling down her neck from where the chakram managed to pinch her. Her tail wrapped around and twisted Apache's wrist, causing her to drop the chakram and grunt in pain.

She glared at April as her other hand shook under the pressure of holding her other chakram against April's zanpakuto. Her eyes widened when eight tails popped up behind April, their tips pointing at her like daggers as small orange Ceros grew on them.

Despite April's tail's firm grip on it, Apace managed to twist her wrist and aim a Bala at April before she could fire off her attack. April quickly broke the waning stalemate, avoiding the attack, and charged another Cero using both her hands: One for a distracting Bala and the other for the actual Cero.

Apache barely avoided the Bala as she dived for her fallen chakram. April took advantage of her slow recover and nailed her with the Cero she was charging, sending Apache flying across the desert. She quickly regained her composure and came to a screeching halt against the sand, "Bitch, I don't know what the hell you're thinking but if you think I'll let you kill me, you've got another thing coming!"

She turned to spit, resulting in a small blood stained patch of sand, and twirled her chakram before taking an offensive stance. April paused for a moment and let out a condescending laugh before pointing her zanpakuto at Apache.

"I'm not going to kill you," she laughed, receiving a confused look from Apache. Her laughter died as her face hardened into a glare, "I'm going to teach you a lesson…I told you to stay away from Hanataro and yet you pulled that little stunt of yours."

Her zanpakuto began to let off a strange, orange glow and her blue eyes began to glow strangely as well. "I wonder how well a fox will do against a deer," she asked, placing her free hand on her chin as she feigned contemplation, "Let's find out."

She raised her zanpakuto and began to move her mouth, a gasp of surprise leaving it instead of her intended words. Slowly, she turned her head to look over her shoulder and saw Ulquiorra standing behind her, firmly grasping onto her raised wrist.

"Ulquiorra, what are you…"

"I must say, I'm disappointed in you, April," he sighed, releasing her wrist and returning his hand back to his pocket. April watched as he slowly moved in front of her and finally realized Harribel was there as well, apparently scolding Apache (judging by the Fracción's expression).

"After all the training you annoyed me into giving you, I expect that you would be able to deal with someone like Apache without releasing your zanpakuto."

"What did he say?"

April returned her attention to a now enraged Apache, pointing accusingly at Ulquiorra and April, "He honestly thinks she could take me down without releasing?"

"Mind your tongue, Apache," Harribel sternly warned her, causing her to grow silent. Apache and April locked eyes for a brief moment before Ulquiorra and Harribel stepped in their way.

"Well, it's about time someone stopped this madness," Luppi exclaimed, spitting out some of the sand that filled his mouth, "They could've hurt someone important, for example, me!"

"Luppi, if April or Apache could hurt you so easily then perhaps you don't deserve to be part of the Espada," Ulquiorra sighed. Luppi gasped at this, still spitting some of the sand out, and covered his mouth in his sleeve.

"That's not very nice, Ulquiorra," he whined.

Ignoring him, Ulquiorra sighed and began to walk towards Apache and Harribel, with April trailing behind him. "I don't know what you two were fighting about," Harribel sighed, folding her arms, "But you should report to Lord Aizen immediately."

"Yes, Ms. Harribel," April nodded, glancing at Apache as the group of four disappeared back to Las Noches, being followed by Luppi.

The former Captain smiled at his guests and rested his chin on his wrist as he sat on his plain white throne. "Ah, April and Apache," he coolly greeted them and motioned for them to come closer, "I trust that your mission was a success, am I right?"

"I suppose it was…" April mumbled while glaring at Apache as they both kneeled before Aizen. Apache returned a glare of her own, oblivious to Aizen's piqued interest in their antagonistic behavior.

"Is there something wrong, ladies," he politely asked, never dropping his smile.

"No, Lord Aizen," April lied, focusing her attention back on the man in front of her.

"That's good, now please inform me of how your mission went…"

"It was a success. Apache was able to…" April paused for a moment, and adjusted her anger filled tone to something calmer, "Apache was able to force a Soul Reaper into eating the apple you gave us."

"Force? You didn't ask nicely," Aizen asked the blue-haired Arrancar, though he did it somewhat playfully. She shook her head 'no' and he closed his eyes for a few seconds, "His name?"

The girls looked at each other in a confused manner. The fact that Aizen assumed that the Soul Reaper was male and that they knew his name was a tad bit unsettling. But it could just be a coincidence, right?

Maybe they were just reading too much into it.

Maybe

"What is the Soul Reaper's name?" The girls turned their sights towards Ulquiorra in slight shock. He cocked an eyebrow at their stares and motioned for them to pay attention to Aizen, "Aren't you going to answer the question, April?"

"Y-yes, I'm sorry, Lord Aizen…" April cleared her throat before continuing, "His name is Hanataro Yamada."

Aizen's eyes slowly opened at this and his smile seemed to widen ever so slightly. April noticed this and felt a tad bit uneasy, "Yamada, what a familiar name." He let out a sigh and leaned back cozily into his throne, "I have another task I want you, April, to carry out."

"I will gladly carry it out for you, my Lord…"

"I'm glad to hear that. Now, what I would like you to do is monitor Hanataro and report whatever changes you see in his personality, attributes, features, or abilities."

"But, Lord Aizen, how am I supposed to separate his usual personality from his changing personality? It's not like…" April stopped talking when Aizen slowly raised his hand. It began to glow, an eerie white aura gently engulfing it like a flame.

"It's not like you know him, right? But you do know him, or at least May does, doesn't she?"

Her muscles tensed and she felt the stares of the three Arrancar present burn into her back. She opened her mouth and tried to say something, but all that came out was an incoherent, jumbled mess of words.

"M-May?"

-Shinigami Cup: Golden (Urahara's Shop)-

"Liar," Renji scoffed, receiving a glare from Ichigo, "I just find it very unlikely that he'd be here with her. Hanataro being here with Captain Unohana would be more likely, hell even him being here with Captain Kuchiki is more likely!"

"Agh, I saw them with my own eyes, idiot," Ichigo groaned, shaking his head as he folded his arms, "They were at that book store downtown and-"

"Are you sure you weren't just dreaming it," Rukia asked, looking up from the manga Ichigo bought her, "You do have an overactive imagination, after all."

"I think you're confusing me with Orihime…Tch, why is this so hard to believe," Ichigo sighed in frustration, "I saw Hanataro and Captain Soifon together, not separately, together at a book store and I was not dreaming! The humiliation I felt when they saw me with that was very real!"

He pointed at the manga accusingly and Rukia protectively pulled it away from his sights, "Even if what you saw wasn't a dream, what would Hanataro and Soifon be here for?"

"Hanataro said he was being her Human World guide."

"But, Soifon has been to the Human World before," Yoruichi stated, rubbing her chin in a thoughtful manner, "I wonder what she really needed him for…"

"Hehe, maybe Soifon's got a thing for Taro and just wanted to spend time with him," Urahara smirked, waving his fan around. The room grew silent and Urahara looked at everyone around him. It dawned on him that they were actually considering his theory and he let out an uncomfortable chuckle, "You know, I was just throwing that out there for grins and giggles…"

"But you may be onto something, Kisuke," Yoruichi stated. Urahara seemed a little surprised by her statement and let out another uncomfortable laugh while scratching his head, "After all, nothing is impossible."

"Just unlikely," Renji blurted out, "Next you're gonna tell us that the girl Hanataro talked about having a crush on is-"

"Hey, Renji, shut up," Ichigo interrupted, slamming his hand on the table in front of him before getting in Renji's face, "Guys don't reveal that kind of stuff exchanged between guys when in the presence of girls!"

"What do you know about being a guy, Ichigo," Renji angrily smirked as he got into Ichigo's face. A glaring contest ensued between them and lasted for a few seconds before Rukia broke them up. They let out an annoyed "Hmph!" and refused to look at each other, folding their arms to show how irritated they were.

"Geez, it's always something with you two," Rukia sighed, "Now…Hanataro told you he had a crush on someone? How come you didn't tell me?" She received somewhat strange looks from everyone there and Ichigo let out an amused "Tch."

"Because you're a girl."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If Hanataro had a difficult time telling who he has a crush on to me, Renji, and Byakuya, all guys…Well, Renji is a bit borderline, but I'll count him anyways…" The red-haired lieutenant showed his 'appreciation' for Ichigo's humor by throwing an empty cup at him, though he missed and hit Kon, who had taken temporary residence in the Substitute Soul Reaper's body. "I don't think he'd want us telling a girl, whoever they may be, who he has a crush on. Besides, I already dealt with it."

"Oh really, how," Rukia asked, cocking an eyebrow at Ichigo's confident grin.

"By giving him advice on how to win the girl's heart, of course."

A long silence ensued before Rukia, along with everyone in the room, excluding Orihime and Chad, burst into a fit of laughter. Ichigo frowned at this.

"Wh-what's so funny?"

"What do you know about a woman's heart," Rukia asked between laughter, almost choking.

"Tch, I know enough! Tell her Orihime!"

"Uh, w-well…"

Thankfully, she was interrupted by the opening of a door that revealed a somewhat tired Uryu. His hair was messy and he appeared to be sweating, almost as if he had running from something or someone, while he gently clenched Kon's lion body in his shaking hands.

"Oh, Uryu, w-what are you doing here," Orihime asked, relieved to see him.

"I came to give this back to Ichigo and-"

"Hey, Uryu, don't I know a bunch of stuff about women and how to…" he paused for a moment and snapped his finger when he remembered what he was going to say, "And how to win their hearts?"

Uryu immediately, but casually, exited through the still open door and closed it, hearing Ichigo groan in frustration.

"Forget Uryu," Ichigo sighed, turning his attention back to everyone else, especially Rukia, "The truth remains the same: I handled it with some help from Renji and Byakuya."

"Wait a second, you told my big brother but you didn't tell me?"

"The Captain was actually eavesdropping on Ichigo and Hanataro's conversation," Renji admitted.

"Hey, you were both eavesdropping," Ichigo reminded him, receiving a glare from the lieutenant, "And I already explained why I didn't tell you!"

"Hey guys," Urahara chimed in, waving his fan around, "Shouldn't we be focusing on something more important? Like the Arrancar?"

"This is important," Rukia replied, focusing more on Ichigo than Urahara, "So, who does he like? Is it me? I always thought he liked me like that, considering how he always stares at me when he thinks I don't notice."

"He was probably staring because he couldn't believe that midgets actually existed, that is until you showed up," Renji snickered, receiving a glare from the purple eyed girl.

"No, it's not you he has a crush on," Ichigo replied, pausing for a moment before rubbing his chin, "…But that's really up for debate…"

"Oh, then who does he have a crush on? Is she in my Squad? Is she Kiyone? Do I know her?"

"Well you should, she is a Captain after…" Renji paused when he realized all eyes were on him. Ichigo shot him a glare and he covered his mouth, "M-maybe I've said too much?"

"Yeah, maybe you did," Ichigo replied, feeling a tad bit irritated. Rukia's eyes widened upon hearing this information and she gave a large smile as her mind decided, of the two female Captains, which one Hanataro had a crush on.

"He likes Captain Unohana, right?" Ichigo and Renji exchanged glances before turning their attention back to her even larger smile, "I'm right, right? He's got a crush on Captain Unohana, right? I knew it!"

"No, he doesn't have a crush on Captain Unohana," Ichigo sighed, causing Rukia's smile to fall. "When me and big mouth over there asked if the girl he liked was in his Squad he said she wasn't."

"Oh…" Rukia replied, somewhat disappointed. She tilted her head and made a small sound, like an exclamation of sorts, "But that leaves…Captain Soifon? He likes Captain Soifon?"

"Well, Hanataro never actually told us who he likes, but, by process of elimination, I guess you would be right…" Ichigo nodded. "Also he did kinda confirm it when I talked to him yesterday…"

"Maybe I should start my own funeral home," Urahara joked, "Hanataro would make an excellent first customer!"

"But I guess ya gotta give the kid credit for trying to put the moves on someone like Captain Soifon," Renji thought out loud, nodding to himself. "The kid's got guts."

"I hope she goes easy on him," Rukia stated, worried, "But maybe she will like him, right?"

"I don't know," Yoruichi shrugged before letting out a long yawn, "Soifon isn't exactly open with her feelings, except when it comes to rage and annoyance, and she'd more likely go after a man who could keep up with her, somewhat, ability wise."

"And Hanataro isn't exactly a fighter…" Ichigo sighed.

"But he is brave, like when he tried to buy me and Ganju time to escape from Byakuya when you guys were trying to rescue me," Rukia chimed in, "Doesn't that count for anything?"

"That's insane! He actually tried to do that," Renji exclaimed, obviously surprised, "I thought Captain Byakuya was just joking about that…"

"I guess it might," Yoruichi replied, a smile stretching across her face, "Maybe I should go check up on her tomorrow."