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 5: A little bit about May

A bat-like creature was quietly sitting in the desert of Hueco Mundo. His black wings were gently wrapped around his body and he seemed to be in deep thought, judging by the way his head rested on his fist. The only movement he produced came from the shifting of his eyes from the sand to Hueco Mundo's moon. The piercing green beads that were his eyes slowly scanned the area 180 degrees before him, though he never turned to face the threat behind him.

"That's good, I didn't sense you until you were 30 feet away from me. You've improved, April." He heard a disappointed whine and felt two paws press against his back, "Get off before I make good on my promise to consume you…"

"You're so cold, Ulquiorra," April whined before plopping down on the sand in front of the bat man, "You tricked me into thinking you didn't sense me at all, until I got within five feet of you. That's unusually cruel for you to do."

"If an enemy lets you believe that you have the element of surprise when in fact you do not, they could easily dispose of you in a surprise maneuver," he flatly stated, his wings slowly unwrapping.

"I suppose you're right, but that was still cruel," April smiled, gently waving her tail as she started walking circles around the bat-like creature. Ulquiorra paid no mind to this, focusing on the moon hanging in Hueco Mundo's sky.

"You reek of blood, familiar blood, April," he stated. This caused the fox to stop her walking and plop down in from of him, "You enjoyed killing that weakling, didn't you?" He lowered his eyes to look at her and saw a slight smirk on her lips, "Was he a satisfying meal?"

"He made those damn headaches go away, if that's what you mean," she replied, nodding slightly, "How about you, Lord Ulquiorra? Did you stuff that furry face of yours silly with delectable souls?"

Ulquiorra nodded, feeling somewhat embarrassed that she called him "Lord" again. He was partly to blame for it, considering how he had told her his goal was to become a Vasto Lorde. "Well, Lord Ulquiorra," she playfully said, "Looks like we have something in common!"

From that day, April followed him around and trained with him to hone her abilities as well as to help hone his. She occasionally disappeared to do her own thing, but she always managed to find him again. Not that he minded being alone.

"My, my, my! You two Hollows will do nicely, won't 'cha?" The Hollows quickly turned to see a silver haired Soul Reaper wearing a white haori smiling creepily at them.

"What's a Soul Reaper doing here," April asked, taking an offensive stance next to Ulquiorra. The Soul Reaper tilted his head, placed a hand on his chin, and examined the two as he walked closer to them, "Answer the question!"

"Would it be safe to assume that you're Lord Aizen?" April's eyes widened at Ulquiorra's question and the strange Soul Reaper stopped his approach. She had heard rumors of a man by that name, though she was skeptical to believe that a Soul Reaper, captain or not, would really be dumb enough to come to Hueco Mundo for any reason.

"Me? Nah, Aizen and I are pals," the Soul Reaper replied, nodding. "The name's Gin, nice to meet 'cha."

April couldn't see it from where she stood, but Ulquiorra's eyes widened as a spike in spiritual pressure occurred. She noticed it after a few seconds and felt her body become heavy, causing her to collapse to the sand. She struggled to lift her head and saw a brown-haired, handsome Soul Reaper standing next to the silver-haired one.

"This guy's Lord Aizen," Gin stated, watching as Ulquiorra struggled to remain standing. Aizen smiled and suppressed his spiritual pressure, allowing April to stand again. She wobbled and stumbled, something Gin seemed concerned about, "You're a real show off, ya know that, Aizen? You hurt that poor girl."

"What do you want," Ulquiorra asked. His voice was, under his usual reserved tone, shaky and unnerved.

"An army," Aizen replied, confusing the two Hollows, "You two Hollows posses a high level of spiritual pressure that I desire in an army I am amassing. Most Hollows would hardly be able to breathe, let alone stand or even be able to lift their head, under the amount of spiritual pressure I just suppressed a moment ago."

"Y-you want us to join you," April asked, still feeling a tad bit off balanced. Aizen simply nodded and she let out a low growl, "Why should we? What can you offer us that would make joining you worthwhile?"

Aizen produced a small orb-like item and showed it to the Hollows, "I can give you power beyond your wildest imaginations."

The rest of their conversation was a blur, but it ended with Ulquiorra and April following Aizen back to Las Noches. Its immense size was intimidating at first, but the fox quickly got over it when she saw that Ulquiorra showed no signs of being intimidated. Gin disappeared from the group somewhere between the fifth and seventh long, white hallway they travelled.

"Ah, here we are," Aizen stated as they entered his throne room. He turned to face the two Hollows and smiled, "Which of you would like to go first?"

Ulquiorra stepped forward, but April moved in front of him. "Let me try it first, just to be sure he won't pull something funny," she whispered to the green-eyed bat. He felt the need to protest her protective attitude but remained silent and nodded as she stepped forward.

She felt her body become heavy again and collapsed to her knees as the orb was released from its casing. It produced several appendages that dug into Aizen's right hand and crawled up his skin as it began to glow eerily. He placed his left hand on her head and let his spiritual pressure rise.

"Don't worry, it'll be over in just a few seconds…"

She blacked-out after that and awoke in a small bedroom. A beam of sunlight entered her room, something that greatly shocked her. It was always night in Hueco Mundo, always. She slowly lifted her somewhat aching body and stared at the pale, white blanket covering her lower half.

The door to her room opened suddenly, startling her. She watched as a young man walked in, wearing a uniform as pale as his skin with white clothing wrapped around his right arm. He looked at April with stoic green eyes, a green tear line extending from each one, and tossed the clothing on her bed, "You're finally awake, April."

"U-Ulquiorra? What happened to you?"

"The same thing that happened to you: My power was vastly increased." She blinked a few times before bringing her hands into view. They were milky white and humanoid, something that frightened her.

"I'm not a Hollow anymore? Am I a Soul Reaper or, worse, a human?"

"Technically we are still Hollows, April. Lord Aizen, however, labels Hollows like us as 'Arrancar:' Hollows who have obtained the powers of Soul Reapers."

"Arrancar? Powers of Soul Reapers," April repeated with astonishment, "But how?"

"Ask Lord Aizen when you are dressed." April paused for a moment and quickly pulled the blanket to cover her exposed upper body. Ulquiorra closed his eyes and chuckled slightly, "We Hollows don't wear clothes, yet you're embarrassed now that-"

He was interrupted by a pillow smacking him in the face, followed by April chastising him for being a "Pervert!" He sighed and walked out of the room after reminding April to go see Aizen when she got the chance.

She slipped into the clothes Ulquiorra had left and went into her bathroom, staring into its mirror to examine her new appearance.

Her figure resembled that of a 16 to 18 year old human girl with above average height, who was between a size B and C. Her once yellow eyes were now a light blue and she had long crimson hair.

She wore a white, form-fitting vest with a black zipper that ended at the base of her neck. After upturning its collar, she looked at its sleeves. They extended about 7 inches past the shoulder and were a lot wider than Ulquiorra's. She wore white, fingerless gloves that opened an inch past her wrist.

Around her waist was a red sash, at least that's what she thought at first. It turned out to be her tail, though she wasn't very surprised to see it. She moved it around for awhile, making sure she still had control over it, and unwound it from around her waist to reveal her black sash. Her lower half consisted of white pants, white slip-on shoes, and black socks.

After finishing up, she went to find Aizen and ended up running into Grimmjow. "Outta the way newbie," he smirked, pushing past her before disappearing down a hallway. She mumbled something and quickly followed after him, only to find herself lost.

She found it difficult to become 'un-lost' and find Aizen, as she was getting used to her new body's way of tracking spiritual pressure. It didn't matter anyways because he found her instead, smiling as he handed her a zanpakuto, "You left this by accident."

She removed the katana from its sapphire blue sheath, revealing its shining silver blade. A dark red gauge ran along each side of the blade. Its guard was golden and 'V' shaped. Its grip was dark blue with a red, vertical dash on the left and right sides.

She felt an instant attachment to the zanpakuto and thanked Aizen, receiving another one of his smiles. Afterwards, she began training more often with a less than willing Ulquiorra after she learned about 'Resurrección.' Eventually her skills improved to the point where she felt confident enough to go search for that "Hanataro guy."

-Soul Society-

"This is where all Soul Reapers reside, why do you ask?"

"No reason, Lord Aizen," April smiled as she stepped out of a Garganta portal, "I was just curious."

She landed in a forest and used her Pesquisa to scout the area out. No one was nearby, at least not for 20 miles or so. A smile crept across her face and she closed her eyes, imagining the female Soul Reaper Rukia's uniform. Her hair lengthened a bit and changed from a crimson red to a golden yellow color; two blue-band tied pigtails hung to her cheeks.

Though her Arrancar uniform now resembled a Soul Reaper's her tail remained as her sash, albeit white. She dashed through the forest, eventually reaching the Rukon District. The people were all dressed in garbs that suggested they were poor and the buildings that lined the area she was in were rundown, but functional. She hurried out of the area and leapt to a nearby rooftop, activating her Pesquisa. She frowned as various low-level spirits were picked up by her scanner with none of them being remotely close to the boy she was looking for.

"Where is that brat," she sighed with frustration before leaping to another rooftop. She stopped and looked off into the distance to see what she assumed was the Seireitei: the home of all Soul Reapers. Lord Aizen had told her about it and the Soul Society, though he didn't reveal very much about either one.

Even with Sonido it took her awhile to arrive within thirty feet of the Seireitei. A gate keeper stood in her path, but opened the gate he was guarding without incident. Once inside, April leapt to the nearest building and began to scan the area for Hanataro's Spiritual Pressure. She waited there for a few minutes before moving further into the Seireitei and trying again, this time receiving an almost immediate hit.

"Found ya," she exclaimed with a smirk as she ran along the rooftops of the Seireitei.

She arrived at a large building with "4th Squad Headquarters" conveniently printed on it for all to see. Casually, April entered the building and blended into the crowd of 4th Squad members circulating around her in a hectic storm of frenzy, "I wonder what's got these guys so wound up…"

"Hey, don't just stand around," a voice shouted.

April turned to its source: a woman of average height with short gray-hair that reached a little past her ear lobes, wearing blue rimmed glasses, "What are you doing just standing around during a situation like this?"

"I was just…I don't even know what's going on!"

The woman cocked an eyebrow at this exclamation and shook her head. "Ugh, a newbie at a time like this," she sighed, folding her arms as she examined April. Her facial expression changed from one of slight annoyance to suspicion as she leaned in closer to examine April, "I thought academy students graduated next month."

"They let me graduate early because I excelled in…" April paused, quickly trying to remember what that thing Soul Reapers do is called, though the fact that it began with a 'K' was all she could remember.

"Healing Kido, right?"

"Y-yeah, I mean, I messed up a few times when I started out, but my instructor said my progress in it was excellent and, well, here I am now," April smiled, feeling confident about her lie. She let out a nervous laugh and scratched her head when a few seconds of silence, at least between them, ensued.

Did the woman believe her?

If she didn't, what should she do?

"Well, that's good, considering how we need all the help we can get. Those idiots from the 11th Squad were out Hollow hunting again," the woman sighed, shaking her head as she closed her eyes.

April tried to suppress the enormous surprise and pride towards she felt towards fooling an experienced Soul Reaper, but a somewhat smug smile managed to manifest on her lips. Luckily, a blonde man wearing sunglasses hurried past them before Yukiko noticed April's smile, "Yukiko! Find Yamada and tell him to go tend to Ikkaku Madarame in room 67W, ASAP."

Yukiko's shoulders slouched a bit and her expression changed to one of annoyance as she briefly glanced at Iemura's fleeting form. She had enough things to do already and didn't really feel like looking for Hanataro at the moment, but she decided it was best to comply, "…Alright, newbie…Wait, what is your name?"

"Apr-May…May Cifer."

She knew that, somewhere in Hueco Mundo, Ulquiorra was cringing.

"Alright, May, come with me. Since you're new you can start earning your wings by working the shift with our resident pity case, Hanataro."

May's eyes lit up when she heard this and she subconsciously smirked. The fact that the Soul Reaper she had developed such a curious interest in was now practically being handed over to her after a somewhat tiring search gave her a feeling of smug joy.

Yukiko cocked an eyebrow at this strange response to her previous statement, "What's with the smirk? You're not on any medication are you?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, no, I was just…I'm just happy to be an official part of the Gotei 13."

"That's good to hear, so don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise," the woman smiled proudly, "We here in the 4th Squad do our damned best to keep idiots like the members of Squad 11 alive, along with any other Soul Reapers and souls living in our humble Society."

A 4th Squad member quickly brushed past them, and Yukiko smacked her hand against her forehead, as if she had forgotten something. "I guess I better take you to Yamada now. He should still be sweeping the eastern hallways. Flash Step will get us there in no time," Yukiko turned to leave but stopped and looked back at May, "You do know Flash Step, right? I ask because its, unfortunately, a little common for members in our Squad, like Yamada, to have little to no grasp on how to perform Flash Step."

"O-of course." Sonido was close enough, right?

"Well, that makes one of you," Yukiko sighed before leading the girl to her prize's destination.

-1-

"Yamada," Yukiko called out as they spotted a broom wielding Soul Reaper in the distance, apparently startling him as he quickly began to resume his sweeping duties, "I caught you slacking off again, didn't I?"

"I-I was just taking a small break," the boy timidly answered, slowing his sweeping pace as he brushed back the stray strands of black hair in his face, revealing more of his light blue eyes. May tilted her head at this, her mouth slightly open as her eyes held a captivated glow, and briefly locked eyes with him before he bashfully stared at the floor.

"Well your 'break' is over," Yukiko sternly replied, adjusting her glasses. "Now, I want you to head over to room 67W, ASAP. Once there, I want you to tend to Madarame and show her the ropes while you're at it," she pointed back at May.

"Y-yes, I'll get on it right away," the boy timidly bowed. Yukiko folded her arms at this and let out a small sigh before turning to leave, patting May on her shoulder with a hint of pity.

Hanataro lifted his head to look at the girl in front of him and shivered as he took full notice of her strange spiritual pressure, which felt like that of an average Soul Reaper, but it was darker. In fact it felt sinister, like there was some sort of demon dwelling inside her…but Captain Zaraki also gave him that same feeling.

Then again, Captain Zaraki was part of the most vicious Squad in the Gotei 13.

Her smirk did nothing but make him shiver more and her light blue eyes seemed to darken with malicious intent.

"U-uh, we should probably head go tend to Mr. Madarame now, before someone comes and yells at me," he nervously stated, scratching the back of his head. May nodded and followed Hanataro through the various hallways in 4th Squad's Headquarters before they finally arrived at a door with "67W" printed on it.

Hanataro slowly opened the door and poked his head inside, "H-hi, I'm here to heal you." May heard a grunt, followed by the squeaking of a mattress and followed Hanataro as he went into the room.

"Hurry up and get this over with so I can get back to training," Ikkaku grumbled, briefly glancing at the entering Soul Reapers. May stared at the bald man with an unimpressed look. His body was covered in cuts, most of which were bleeding steadily with the rest having apparently been tended to with some kind of blood-clotting ointment, "What the hell are you starin' at?"

"Nothing appealing, I can tell you that much," May smirked. Ikkaku growled at this, but directed his attention, and anger, towards Hanataro.

"Your friend's pretty spunky, kid."

Hanataro nervously nodded and stared down at his zanpakuto. May looked at him, noticing that he seemed to be deciding whether or not he should unsheathe it, and cocked an eyebrow when he drew it. It wasn't that same old butter knife she had seen when she first 'met' him; it was in the shape of a hollow, but otherwise normal, katana.

She silently wondered whether or not this was a different weapon altogether or if his zanpakuto took this form because it had gotten stronger.

"Alright, Hisagomaru," Hanataro thought as he gently pressed the blade against one of Ikkaku's serious wounds, "But don't go overboard."

May's eyes widened a bit as she watched the hollow gauge of the katana begin to fill up with a red light. As it did so, the once large gash on the bald man's chest disappeared and May's eyes widened a bit more. The young healer moved the blade from wound to wound until the gauge was full.

That's when the katana turned into the 'butter knife' she had seen before.

Hanataro set it down on a nearby nightstand and rubbed his hands together before letting them hover over one of Ikkaku's remaining wounds. A gentle green light began to glow around them and the wounds slowly began to close.

"There, you're all better n-OW," Hanataro was interrupted by his yelp of pain when Ikkaku punched him in the arm. He rubbed the impact point tenderly and gave Ikkaku a questioning look. The bald Soul Reaper merely smirked and laughed before slipping back into his shirt and out of the room.

"What was that all about," May asked once Ikkaku was out of earshot.

"Oh, that's just Mr. Madarame's way of saying thank you," Hanataro smiled, still rubbing his bruised arm.

"Damn, I wasted my time coming to make sure you were doing your job, Yamada." The two souls looked at the blonde-haired, sunglasses wearing man who had entered the room. "Or maybe I didn't?"

"Oh, Mr. Iemura," Hanataro bowed, "I took care of Mr. Madarame and-"

"Yes, yes, that's fine and dandy, but now I…" the blonde man paused when he finally took notice of the girl casually leaning against the wall next to him, "Who is she?"

"May Cifer," the girl answered.

"Sh-she's a new recruit and Ms. Seta told me to show her the ropes."

"Well, you can show her the sewers 'cause your on cleaning duty today. So get to it!"

Hanataro attempted to protest, but Iemura left immediately after his last command. With a sigh, Hanataro smiled nervously at May and motioned for her to follow him as he left the room. In a few minutes, they were outside of the 4th Squad HQ, something Hanataro seemed to openly enjoy.

While he loved and respected his Squad, he didn't like being trapped inside 90% of the time. It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't usually get stuck with sweeping the halls or any other sort of cleaning duties, but unfortunately that's what happened most of the time.

He nervously made small talk with the disguised Arrancar, mostly through relaying information about the 4th Squad.

"We have keys to just about anything in the Seireitei," Hanataro explained as he fumbled through his medical pouch, "See?" He showed May a golden key as to prove his point and she nodded, not knowing what else to do.

She watched as he knelt down and stuck the key into a tile. With a loud "click!" the tile popped open and Hanataro moved it to the side. "This is how we enter the sewers," he stated before grasping onto the ladder leading into the opened hole, "Oh, could you pull the tile back on when you're coming down?"

"Gladly," May smirked as she descended the ladder, sealing the entrance off.

This was the chance she'd been waiting for. No witnesses, no one to come and rescue him, no 'Ichigo,' no 'Rukia,' no anything! He was a lame duck helplessly sitting in a fox infested pond.

"It's kinda strange how that's the only sewer entrance that requires a key to use, but that's beside the point. Now, since we're in the western part of the sewer, we should head down that path. It'll lead us to the-"

Something hard jabbed against Hanataro's back and he slowly glanced over his shoulder to see that it was May's sheathed zanpakuto.

"W-what are you doing? That kinda hurts, ya know."

She jabbed him harder, causing him to fall forward. He rolled onto his back and looked at her, shaking as she slowly unsheathed her zanpakuto. "I've been waiting for this for awhile," she smirked, pointing the aforementioned object at him.

"Wha? Why? What did I ever do to you?"

He yelped and held his arms out in front of him in a defensive manner when May swiped at him. He held them there for awhile, slowly lowering them as he grew dizzy from May's rising spiritual pressure. She stared at him in a condescending matter, laughing as he looked up at her with those baby blue eyes of his.

"I guess I just don't like you, that's all, Hanataro," she shrugged, smiling as Hanataro shook with fear.

She folded her arms and gently tapped her zanpakuto against her leg as she went into deep thought. Hanataro, after watching her do this for a few seconds, realized now was the perfect time to run away and quickly scrambled to his feet. A yelp escaped him when his feet suddenly came out from under him before he promptly fell to the ground, which nearly caused him to roll into the sewage stream.

Before he had a chance to react, he screamed in pain as May firmly placed her foot against his back. "That's not nice, Hanataro, trying to leave me all by myself like that," she whispered into his ear as she knelt down. She twisted her foot and smiled when she heard him make another pained sound, "But it would be a waste for me to kill someone as cute as you too quickly. So, I'll have some fun with you for awhile."

She removed her foot and kicked Hanataro so that he would roll onto his back. "F-fun," he asked, shaking. The 'Soul Reaper' nodded and leaned on a nearby wall.

"We're gonna play a game called 'Hunt,'" she said as she approached and sat down next to him, "The rules are that there can be at least two players. But one of them has to be the Fox and that role will be taken by me. The other role is that of the sheep, which will be played by you. I hunt you as you try to run away and if I win…"

She didn't finish the sentence, but her smirk finished it for her. Hanataro trembled and watched as she stood up and brushed herself off. Was she serious?

"I'll give you a 1 minute head start." Maybe she was.

"P-please, we have work to do and I…"

"55 seconds," she sternly interrupted. Her smirk had disappeared and her zanpakuto was now once again fixated on him. He started stammering, "43 seconds!"

That got him; he scrambled to his feet and nearly tripped over himself as he ran away. May waited for a few seconds and smiled as she walked after him. No matter where he went, or how far he travelled, she would catch him and pluck the life from those gentle blue eyes of his.

"You'll be my first Soul Reaper kill," she giggled.

"Oh god," Hanataro panted, clutching his chest as he rounded another corner. His feet began to slip and he crashed to the ground, scraping his knee. He scrambled back to his feet and quickly glanced at his injury, vowing to deal with it later before continuing his mad dash through the sewers.

His usual sewer navigation skills seemed to fail him as the thought of surviving filled his head. He had been chased by 11th Squad members throughout his Soul Reaper career and bullied ever since he was a kid, but always came out of it in one piece; even if his bones usually didn't.

This time he really felt like he was going to die.

He eventually arrived at a fork in the 'road' and paused. A lump popped into his throat and sweat trickled down his neck as May's spiritual pressure grew closer. He reflexively turned to see the girl's light blue eyes glowing in the dim light of the sewers.

"Maybe you should keep running, Hanataroooo," Hisagomaru yawned, relatively unconcerned about his wielder's predicament. Hanataro nervously nodded and decided to take the right path as it didn't require him to leap across the relatively wide sewage stream.

He looked desperately for another sewer entrance and was filled with joy when he saw one. His pace slowed and his eyes filled with fear when he saw May casually leaning against the ladder leading to his, currently only, means of escape. She smirked at him and made her approach, sending him running in the opposite direction.

He eventually lost her after another 30 minutes of running and collapsed to the ground. A faint humming sound caught his attention and he lifted his head to see a beam of orange light flying over him. May wasn't too far behind and he began to run again, suddenly limping and nearly falling when a sharp pain hit his knee.

Lifting his left pants' leg Hanataro found that his scrape from before was slowly bleeding now, prompting him to let out a small curse before running again. It wasn't until he reached a door located within the southern section of the sewers that he slowed down.

He didn't know where it led to, but quickly opened it anyways.

The lights unexpectedly flickering on temporarily blinded him, but he quickly regained his sight and immediately secured the door.

The room looked like a storage room of sorts and appeared to have been abandoned for quite some time. He looked around and saw several things that looked like they belonged in Captain Kurotsuchi's lab more than anywhere else. The items were indescribable and the only other things there were food supplies probably older than the General himself judging by the dust and mold they had gathered.

"Then again the General is pretty dusty," Hanataro laughed before remembering his current predicament and panicking. To his surprise and eternal relief, he spotted an escape ladder and thanked whatever god that decided to finally help him. His celebration was somewhat short-lived as a knock brought his attention to the locked door behind him.

"Hana, are you in there," a cheery voice rang, causing Hanataro to break out in a cold sweat. May jiggled the handle a bit, but the door remained closed, "Come out and play! It's no fun if you're cooped up in here for the rest of the game!"

"G-go away."

There was a brief silence, "Ahhhhh, so you are in there! Don't worry, I can easily break this door down and when I get inside I'm going to make you regret talking to me like that." Her tone was chilling and sent Hanataro into a mad panic as he scrambled to the ladder.

A crashing sound was heard and Hanataro glanced down from his ascension to see that May had punched through the door. He didn't wait around to watch her complete her entrance and quickly closed the exit on his way out.

He was somewhat puzzled when he realized that, not only was he in a forest, the sun was setting, which meant that he had been running from May for at least five hours! Another thing he thought was strange was the fact that the sewers extended this far outside of the Seireitei. Hanataro turned when he heard a quiet giggle, freezing when he saw May's glowing blue eyes staring at him as she ominously rose from the sewer.

He bolted through the forest, but immediately tripped over a topside tree root and fell to the ground. Rolling over, he saw May standing only a few inches away from him, still smiling her malicious smile, and watched as she unsheathed her zanpakuto again.

Against reality, he hoped that maybe she'd get tired of beating him and leave like most of his harassers did. Then again, most of his harassers, at least from the 4th Squad, never went this far.

Sure he was beaten and chased, but never like this.

"There's still the chaaance that she might kill youuuu…" Hisagomaru yawned, using his natural talent for brightening any and every life threatening situation Hanataro was in.

"Looks like I win," May smirked as she dragged her zanpakuto along the ground while ominously approaching Hanataro, "Next, I'll probably go after that orange-haired bastard…"

She let out a surprised gasp when she felt a strange spiritual pressure emanate from Hanataro. Upon closer examination, she realized it was coming from behind him and saw dark red claws tearing through a black portal similar to a Garganta.

Hanataro felt the presence as well and reluctantly turned to see a dark red Hollow with giant claws, a long tail, and a mask that had three horns looming over him.

"SOuL ReApEr," the creature boomed, its voice echoing through the forest, "DIE!" It raised one of its claws and swiped at Hanataro. The young healer closed his eyes, winced, and screamed as he waited for his life to end. Instead, the Hollow merely growled and the hit never connected, at least not with him.

He slowly opened his eyes to see May standing over him, her zanpakuto holding the Hollow's attack back. "Bastard, this is my kill not yours," she mumbled under her breath. "Run, you idiot! I'll deal with this gu-ah!"

She felt a sharp pain in her stomach and slowly glanced down to look at it. The Hollow's tail had impaled her, burning though her body as it melted into stinging acid. She paused for a moment and let out a small cough when she realized that dripping redness was her own blood. The grip she had on her sword began to falter, her body began to shake, and her vision began to alternate from being crystal clear to blurry.

The Hollow pulled its claw away from the stalemate it was in and watched May absentmindedly take a step back. "ReAPer," it growled, raising its hand, "No gOoD, MOVE!"

"May," Hanataro squealed as he watched her get smacked into a tree. He heard a sickening sound as her head snapped back and then snapped forward when she hit the tree. She stood for a few seconds before slowly sliding down and slumping over, with Hanataro watching as blood dripped from where she had been stabbed and slashed.

Hanataro attempted to rush over to her but was abruptly grabbed by the Hollow's tail and lifted off the ground. He stared into the Hollow's bright yellow eyes, shaking with fear, and struggled to break free from its hold. The Hollow only tightened its grip, "RiGhT SoUl ReAper…SwEEt sPirTuaL PreSsUre…NoW yOu DIE!"

Hanataro closed his eyes when the Hollow raised its hands, and waited for his life to end, again. He felt a brief release of immense captain-level spiritual pressure and opened his eyes to see that blood now poured from where the Hollow's right hand was. The creature let out a feral roar and then let out another when its tail was suddenly severed.

Hanataro, still gripped by the Hollow's tail, fell to the ground with a soft 'thud'.

"P-Perry?"

The man before him had long gray hair that had a single brown streak running down the middle of it. His clothing consisted of the standard Soul Reaper uniform, save for the blue samurai-esque shoulder pad on his left shoulder that extended to his elbow. The same thing was on his right shoulder except that it was red along with the gauntlet that covered his right hand and arm.

'Hado' was written in blue on the red one while 'Bakudo' was written in red on the blue one. In his hands were two zanpakuto: one had a red grip while the other had a blue, though both had golden circular guards.

"You okay, Hanataro," the man asked, glancing over his shoulder at the healer with his chocolate colored eyes. Hanataro nodded and finally managed to free himself from the Hollow's severed tail. Immediately, he rushed to May's side. Perry looked at the injured girl with Byakuya-like reserve and pointed both of his zanpakuto at the Hollow.

"Hanataro, tend to your friend there while I finish this bastard off."

May groggily watched as he skillfully flash stepped out of the way of an incoming swipe and perched himself on the Hollow's head as Hanataro nervously reached for his zanpakuto. She looked at him and reflexively smiled before passing out.

When she woke up, May found herself in a hospital room that reminded her of the one she'd woken up in at Las Noches. Her vision was still a blur and she only finally noticed a sleeping Hanataro, slumped in a chair at her bedside, when he began to mutter something before silently snoring again.

She looked at him curiously and wondered what he was doing there.

When she finally remembered what had happened before she passed out she became confused. After all she did, attempting (and failing) to kill him as she chased him through the sewers, he still found it in his timid heart to help her. If she was in his position she would have just killed her and left her to rot in the forest for some poor hiker or small children to find.

"Hey, wake up," she whispered, nudging him slightly as she sat up. He didn't respond so she nudged him harder only to receive more mumbling. She frowned and folded her arms before 'gently' pushing him hard enough that he fell back with his chair.

"Owww…" he groaned as he rolled onto his belly. He rubbed his pained head and slowly got off the ground, "What happened…M-May! You're finally awake!"

He timidly smiled at the girl and walked over to her bedside, "Captain Unohana said you'd be okay, but I just wanted to make sure. I-I mean it's not that I doubt her or a-anything like that!"

"Why?" Her blunt question caused his smile to disappear and a confused look took its place. "Why'd you bother saving me, huh? I tried to kill you! It doesn't make sense to heal your tormenter: They'll just keep coming back to torment you…"

A long silence fell between the two of them and Hanataro nervously scratched his head. "I-I know…But, my dad…" he paused for a moment and locked eyes with her, "My job is to help people, not leave them to die." May shot him a surprised look and was taken aback by his somewhat stern tone.

"And b-besides, it's not like you were really going to kill me, r-right?"

May shifted her eyes around the room before returning them to him and nodding.

"But still…"

"I'm used to that kind of stuff anyways."

May's eyes softened, "What do you mean by you're used to it?"

"Well, I am the most bullied person in all of Soul Society," he smiled jokingly at her, "So I usually deal with being tricked, pranked, bullied, and harassed on a daily basis."

May didn't buy his jokey tone.

"By who," she quietly growled, blushing when she realized her tone had startled Hanataro, "…I mean, who bullies you? Aren't Soul Reapers supposed to stick together or something like that?"

"That's what they tell us but some people can't seem to resist pranking me, especially on my birthday which, unfortunately, happens to be the 1st of April."

May's stomach briefly tightened with nervousness when he said her real name, though she calmed down when she quickly realized he was referring to the month and nodded. She didn't exactly know what was significant about the 1st of April, but she decided to play along.

"Who exactly bullies you, anyone specific?"

"Most of the time its members of the 11th Squad that give me the most grief…"

"Most of the time," May asked him while folding her arms as she cocked an eyebrow, "Who else?"

"W-well…"

"The list is too long but, in general, just about everyone gives Hanataro grief."

The two souls shot their attention towards the gray haired man leaning against the doorway leading into the room, "Sometimes you can't even trust members of your own Squad." He pushed off of the doorframe and casually walked over to Hanataro.

The healer's eyes immediately shifted to the floor and saddened.

"Who are you," May asked, breaking the awkward silence in the room.

"I'm the 3rd Seat of Squad 6: Perry C. Vertaine. I'm also the guy who helped keep you two alive." Perry suddenly patted Hanataro on the back, causing the healer to nearly jump out of his chair, and smiled. "However, you should really thank this guy for saving your life. I've never seen him work that hard before and he even stayed here all night to make sure you were okay."

Perry pulled his hand away and thoughtfully placed it on his chin, "Though, that's kind of creepy, ya' know? I mean, constantly staring at you like some Peeping Tom while you're sleeping. It's kind of weird, right?"

"P-Perry, please," Hanataro blushed and Perry laughed, letting the healer know that he was just kidding. Though the man had adopted much of Byakuya's personality, he still found time for jokes and carefree attitudes.

May looked at the two of them curiously, as it seemed strange to her that Perry treated Hanataro with such respect and friendliness. Well, at least when she considered what Hanataro had told her about himself.

"B-besides, Captain Unohana was the one who actually saved her. I-I just did what I could…"

May smiled at this statement. She liked his modesty. It reminded her of Ulquiorra in some unknown way, though he never did openly or modestly boast about his abilities. Well, as far as she knew.

"And the way you sliced that Hollow's hand off before I showed up! I never knew you had that much fighting skill!" Perry paused for a moment and smacked himself on the head before quickly making his way to the doorway, "I forgot, I had to deliver something to Captain Soifon! Top secret stuff, you know. Anyways, get well soon, newbie, and make sure Hanataro doesn't get into any trouble."

"Perry, w-wait, I didn't c-cut that Hollow's hand off…"

Perry paused for a moment, frowning slightly before dismissing Hanataro's denial. "The most modest person I've ever meet, this guy is," he smirked before leaving. Hanataro wanted to call out for him, but brushed the idea away. May cleared her throat and pulled her covers off, revealing her bandaged chest.

"It's safe to assume that you didn't do this, right?"

"I…I bandaged some of it when we were still in the forest, b-but Captain Unohana did the rest…"

"Did you like what you saw?"

May smirked at Hanataro's facial expression. His eyes were wide open, his cheeks were a deep red, and his mouth moved too slow for his rapid stammering, "I'll take that as a 'yes."

"I-no, well-yes, maybe, I really don't, uh…"

"Speaking of the forest," May interrupted, silencing the healer with her raised hand, "What did you tell them, about the whole 'me chasing you through the sewers' thing?"

"I told them that we were just doing our job: Cleaning the sewers. Ms. Seta wasn't happy that I nearly got a new recruit killed," Hanataro replied, smiling slightly.

"That was my fault, not yours," May sternly replied, "If I hadn't had done what I did we wouldn't have been attacked by that Hollow, so don't let her blame you for that. In fact, the next time she disrespects you, like she did yesterday, tell her to go and-"

Hanataro's mouth dropped and he quickly stopped April from finishing her sentence. She smirked when he finally removed his hand from her mouth, noting out loud how aggressive he was just then. He blushed and laughed nervously before Iemura entered the room, practically kicking the door open.

"There you are! Yamada, head down to the cafeteria for breakfast clean up and take Cifer with you, since Captain Unohana cleared her 4 hours ago she could use the exercise. Try not to get her killed this time," the blonde shook his head before leaving as quickly, and suddenly, as he arrived.

Hanataro frowned at this and looked over at May, "I'll go clean up, you just get some re…st?"

He briefly watched as May pulled the covers completely off of herself and hopped out of her bed. He turned away and covered his eyes, blushing again, to give her some privacy. "Those clothes on the hanger there are for me, right," she 'innocently' asked him, receiving a nod.

"You can open your eyes now, it's not like I was naked or anything."

Hanataro complied and blushed again when he saw May's face only a few inches away from his, "You're definitely not a pervert like he is."

"Like who," he stammered, putting a good distance between their faces as he accidentally fell out of his seat.

May giggled at this and helped him up, "I was just thinking about a friend of mine. Anyways, are you ready to go clean some cafeterias?"

"But you're injured still, you should rest and-"

"Don't worry about me, I feel fine," she smiled, blushing slightly as she walked past him and out the door. He watched her for a few seconds before she paused and looked back at him, "Uhhh…which way's the cafeteria?"

-Present Day-

She smiled faintly as she recalled the days she spent working with Hanataro and how difficult it was for her to maintain a healer persona, especially when considering her difficulty performing Kido of any kind.

Aizen lowered his hand and the glow faded, "That was a manifestation of my reiatsu. Now, the funny thing about reiatsu is that you can see, sense, touch, and smell it upon others, though it's more common to be able to only sense it. Right now you're body has traces of reiatsu from the Soul Society, a place that I am very familiar with, as you all know by now."

April felt embarrassed by this, being called out in front of Ulquiorra, Harribel, and even Apache. "Don't worry, I'm not angry with you, April. In fact, I'm impressed that you managed to keep your treks to the Soul Society secret for so long. However, if Ulquiorra found out about them just a day ago, how long ago do you think I found out about them?"

April glanced over her shoulder at Ulquiorra. His face was as stoic as it usually was, but she could tell that he was surprised.

"I'm sorry for going there without your permission, Lord Aizen."

"Sorry? There's no need for that as, like I said before, I'm impressed with you. It's not like there was any harm done, April. Nothing you did interfered with my plans, although right now I'm interested in hearing about the details of your mission." Aizen turned his attention to Apache and motioned for her to speak.

"Wha-what would you like to know, Lord Aizen?"

"Hmmm, how about we start with what you encountered. Was there anyone with Hanataro?"

"Yeah, some female Soul Reaper," Apache nodded, "At first there was one of her and then there were two of her…I think she was using one of those gigai Souls or something…"

"Hmmm…what did this woman look like? Does she have a name?"

"I don't know, but I think April-"

"Soifon, that's her name," April interrupted Apache, her gaze fixated on the floor as if she were ashamed about something.

Aizen cocked an eyebrow at this interruption and smiled, "Captain Soifon, I wonder how she's been doing…Do you know why they were in Karakura Town, or why Soifon was with Hanataro?"

"No, but it didn't look like they were doing anything too important," Apache shrugged, "They were sightseeing and stuff like that, kinda like a date or something…"

April frowned at this, something Aizen took note of, "Oh really?" He was obviously amused and curious about the scenario Apache suggested. The thought of Soifon going out with Seinosuke's son was something strange indeed. In fact, Soifon dating any man was strange to him.

He always thought she was playing for a different team, but even he can be wrong sometimes.

"Thank you for your report. Now April, tomorrow will you go and monitor Hanataro for me? Or would you prefer if I sent Apache instead?"

"I'll do it," April blurted out. She quickly covered her mouth when she realized how angry she sounded and blushed, "I-I'm sorry, Lord Aizen…I don't mind going to monitor Hanataro…"

Aizen smiled at this and nodded, "Very well then, you're all free to go now."

"What about Grimmjow," April mumbled loud enough for everyone to hear and glanced over to where Grimmjow was 'hiding.' The blue-haired Arrancar grunted and casually left the room, though not before glaring at April.

Aizen motioned for them to leave as well and leaned comfortably back into his throne, closing his eyes. He took in a deep breath before letting out a long sigh, wondering how well his little experiment would work. The last time he performed it was over a hundred years ago and the results were a tad bit disappointing.

His mind was drawn away from his current thoughts and to the man who had silently approached him, "Maybe I should've asked you to monitor him. You know him very well, but then again April's feelings for him may prove valuable in the future. So it would do some good to have her spend time around the boy."

"She is quite fond of him, especially since he saved her life from…what was that Hollow you whipped up called?"

"Gin called it 'Crimson Horn' because he likes naming experiments," Aizen replied, "Speaking of which, I am disappointed in how easily defeated it was. I thought it would last at least three minutes with someone like Vertaine's son, but it lasted half that."

"To an extent I may be to blame for that, remember?"

"Yes, but in the end it wasn't important. Crimson Horn was yours to do with as you pleased, though I'm still surprised that you suggested him for my experiment."

"Is there a problem with using Hanataro?"

"No, in fact it may work out perfectly. When you consider his bullied history, his strange spiritual pressure, and everything else about him, he is the perfect test subject."

The man before Aizen smiled and nodded before turning to leave, "That's good to hear, Aizen. Now, let me just get out of your hair."

"Where are you running off to now?"

"Me? I'm just going to check up on Hanataro, make sure he's doing alright…"