I do not own Bleach or Soul Eater, nor do I intend to garner any revenues from the use of their characters and universes.

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Shinigami Chronicles

Act 1: Hollow Eater

Chapter 8: Observational Exposition

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"Fascinating."

This must have been the hundredth time that he'd uttered this word and other variations of it in the course of what had probably been a day or two. He couldn't be certain, as he'd lost track of the hours in the darkness of his basement lab, lit only by the various measuring instruments and computers that resided there. Sitting in his well worn rolling chair amid the faded glow of monitors and soul irradiated measuring tools, Stein found himself marveling once again at the intricacies of the dynamics of the soul, and just how varied they were. Even now after years of study and exposure to their many different forms, years of observing and cataloguing their interactions, there still existed secrets about them that remained locked away from those that studied them. Waiting to be discovered. Waiting to be unveiled and examined. Waiting to be dissected.

No. Not dissected. This soul was one of a kind. To tear it apart at the seams would be a travesty to the scientific community. And really, what would that show him? It wasn't like souls had organs, although he was somewhat curious as to the inner structuring of the grey soul's shell layers…

Stein frowned at the turn of his own thoughts. No. No dissection. Not even one imaginary incision. He had to avoid such acts if only to keep himself sane enough to make clear and effective observations.

He couldn't help but be a little elated, however. He had discovered why the soul's wavelength was so erratic. It was because it wasn't technically one wavelength that he'd been observing. Rather there were several inside it, manifesting at random. Sometimes weakly, other times strongly, but almost never alone. And never in concert.

It was a well known fact that souls in general only had one wavelength within them, whether they were of the closed or open subtype. Even open souls, with their erratic and varying energy levels had a singular wavelength that they would always eventually return to.

"But you." Stein murmured with a slight smile as he breathed the fumes of his cigarette out of his nose. "You're having a hard time doing that, aren't you?" He took a long drag on his cigarette, the soul hanging mutely within its observation capsule, giving nary an answer to the screw headed scientist. The smoke of Stein's cigarette came out on a languid breath, the scientist chuckling to himself amidst the fumes. "Not for lack of trying though." Stein said as he turned his gaze to one of the glowing monitors where representations of the different frequencies and wavelengths that were appearing in the subject were on display. The number of differing wavelengths had hit a maximum amount only hours before now, and was, at present, slowly but surely decreasing one wavelength at a time. Each one that disappeared would have a spike in activity before disappearing, as though it were giving one final death cry before giving up the ghost.

An odd notion, but one that seemed fitting nonetheless. Of course, such a notion created a veritable avalanche of related questions. If only he could understand how this soul had become so heavy with wavelengths of such varying frequencies in the first place.

"What are you?" he murmured grasping and cranking the screw in his head "And what are you becoming?"

"It's not going to answer, you know."

Stein halted the idle cranking of the metal protrusion in his head, his intrigued smile devolving into a dark frown. It was with some trepidation that he acknowledged the fact that he recognized that wily feminine voice.

"But there is one way," The voice continued, "to answer all of those questions of yours."

The same trepidation that followed his recognition of whom the voice belonged to, accompanied his implicit understanding of the fact that the Lady of Gorgon was not really there. His frown deepened as he silently removed the cigarette from his mouth.

The witch's voice spoke on, a seductive timbre filtering into her tone. "Get a good look at its insides."

Slowly he brought the cigarette back to his lips, taking another drag on it before focusing his gaze on the frequency and wavelength monitor. His hands found their way to a notebook and a pen as he attempted to busy himself, jotting down the numbers associated with the data that was on display before him. The woman in his head paid no heed to his actions.

"Pull it apart. Cut it." She intoned, her voice withering into a desirous whisper, "Dissect it."

In that moment, a cold invasive touch alighted upon his shoulder. The hand of one he so desired. One he wished he could refuse yet yearned to indulge. One he would as soon destroy as embrace. He felt himself tensing and unraveling at once, as the woman's cruel caress snaked its way about his neck, the cool sensation of her touch draining what warmth remained in him. An unbidden, perverse smile tugged at the edge of his lips as Stein allowed the fumes of his cigarette to escape on a breathless sigh.

He could not ignore her.

Stein sat back in his chair, averting his eyes from the view of his monitor for a moment, realizing that what had started as the feel of a hand about his neck had developed into an entire arm draped across his shoulders.

"Such a rare specimen deserves a full examination." Stein murmured attempting to ignore the second arm he felt wrapping around his chest. "There are more tests to be run, Medusa."

"You've run all of the tests you can." Medusa replied "At least, all of the ones that don't involve more… invasive methods."

Stein shook his head "It's a one of a kind soul. It needs to be preserved."

"Really?" queried the witch, her hand moving to caress her scientist's chin. "With your knowledge, it wouldn't be hard to make another." Stein could feel her hair brushing against the side of his cheek as her voice moved in closer to his ear. "Perish the thought of if you were to combine it with mine."

Stein began to shiver with anticipation, the perverse smile he'd been withholding manifesting itself. "We could do that." He whispered, a whetted desire burbling beneath his words. "Couldn't we?"

"And much more," the witch concurred, a she lay her head upon his shoulder. "so much more."

Stein found himself relishing the feeling, lounging in the darkness of his basement facility, adrift in the possibilities. Adrift in the mysteries of another. His other.

And suddenly in a blinding flash of light, it was over. Gone was the weight of the witch on his shoulder, the cool sensation of her touch remaining only in memory.

"Stein? Are you down here?" The name was spoken with a kind unassuming warmth that he was certain Medusa could never truly intone. It was a timbre of speech that Stein immediately recognized. The soul scientist blinked his eyes blearily, unconsciously dousing his cigarette on the armrest of his chair as he swiveled it in the direction of the woman's voice.

A relatively tall and blond haired woman stood at the threshold of his facility, her golden locks falling across her shoulders intrepidly with the querying tilt of her head. The good-natured curiosity of her expression was hardly diluted at all by the lightning emblazoned patch that covered her right eye. There were very few women who could manage to project such honest warmth. Especially in the circles that Stein frequented.

"Marie." Stein managed, realizing with some unease just how easily he'd allowed himself to be whisked away by the apparitions of his own mind. "I didn't hear you come in."

"You look a little harried." Marie said with a worried look in her eyes. "Have you been getting enough sleep?"

Stein frowned. It made him uncomfortable to have others worry about him. Marie tended to be quite open about such things, which oft times caught him off guard. "I can't really say." Stein replied giving his head screw a crank. "Lost track of time." The edge of his lips turned up in a half smile. "Occupational hazard I guess."

"Honestly, Stein" Marie said with a shake of her head "It's no wonder you need glasses, spending so much time researching in the dark." Marie sighed, "You should turn on the lights every once in awhile."

"I'll take it under consideration" Stein replied. There was a part of him that wanted to deserve the warm natured smile she gave him for his reply, but he knew himself to be a creature of habit. Even if he was certain that he should turn the lights on to help stave off the imaginings of his own mind, he knew that he probably wouldn't in the end. He leaned to the side in his chair as he returned to his usual laissez-faire composure. "So what brings you here?"

Marie crossed her arms, her visage taking on a more serious expression "Shinigami-sama wanted me to tell you that he's called a meeting for the Scythes and upper alumni of Shibusen. It sounded urgent."

"Huh." Stein murmured as he stood from his chair "That's hardly ever a good sign."

[-]

In her time at Shibusen, Maka had found that there were a certain few things that she was hard pressed tolerate. Amongst these were shallow men, lack of effort, lack of self-control, and her father. At the moment however, she would've accepted the presence of any of these marginally intolerable things and ideas, save for the last one, if that meant gaining the ability to move again.

Thankfully, it wasn't due to weakness within her own body that she couldn't move. No, the contraption to which she was fastened had somehow replenished her soul to the point that she was fully aware of her surroundings once again. Unfortunately, the large metallic clamps that held her arms and legs made any notions of movement impossible.

It didn't help that some form of complicated apparatus which bristled with tubes, wires and metallic protrusions was also firmly ensconced about her torso, forcing her to remain still upon the cold medical mattress to which it was attached.

To her left, Ichigo, the supposed hollow specialist, sat upon a small metal stool, his contemplative form framed in the stark white glow of the myriad fluorescent lights that hung from the ceiling of what Maka assumed was a quarantine facility. The old swordsman had been grilling Maka on what she remembered about what had apparently been two days worth of her wandering aimlessly through both Death City and Death Valley. Unfortunately that wasn't much.

"And that's all you remember" Ichigo asked with a frown, "Nothing else?"

"Yeah." Maka said with a nod of her head. "I woke up from a strange dream, then I was scouring my room for something, then I was barefoot in Shibusen during the middle of the night, then the desert, then I'm smashing Soul's face in."

"Oh sure, that's the part you remember." Soul muttered from his stool on the right side of Maka's bed. He massaged a red mark on his forehead with his right hand "Figures a violent girl like you would focus on that."

"Don't make me come over there Soul." Maka retorted with a look of annoyance.

"I'd like to see you try." Soul replied with a smug smile. "Those metal clamps on your arms and legs don't look like they're going anywhere."

"I'll find a way." Maka replied with a dangerous glare. She opened her mouth to say something else but was interrupted by Ichigo as he flicked her forehead with his index finger.

"Eyes on me, kid." Ichigo said, crossing his arms. "You've gotta tell me everything if I'm gonna help you. That's not gonna happen if you keep getting distracted." He gave Soul a warning look as he said this.

Soul's expression sobered a bit. "Couldn't resist."

"Try." Ichigo said simply, locking his eyes with Soul's.

Soul sighed, a somewhat resigned expression forming on his visage as he returned Ichigo's gaze. "Alright." He muttered, crossing his arms.

Ichigo showed his approval in a nod before he returned his gaze to Maka.

"So Maka." Ichigo said with narrowed eyes. "You said that you had a strange dream before this started. Can you remember anything from it?"

"It was a recurring dream." Maka began, a thoughtful frown forming upon her visage. "At least, it started out like the ones that I'd had before…"

She went on to explain the dream in as much detail as she could. From the faceless moon, to the dance of the sundry leaves, to the final glimmer in the darkness, she found that the details of the dream were far clearer to her than the details of her wanderings for past two days. As she transitioned from the dream of the leafless forest to her seemingly hunger born hallucinations of the spiral vine etched hatchet and the reflection that was not her own, she grew more and more unsettled by the relative clarity of these illusory moments when compared to those that erred closer to what she accepted as reality. She found that even her recent conversation with what had appeared to be a twisted version of herself felt more real than it should have.

"No matter what was happening I was always extremely tired." Maka frowned. "And hungry. Like I hadn't drank or eaten anything for days. Maybe that's why I was started hallucinating. I had gone for at least two days without food or water in the desert."

Maka didn't really believe this, but there was a part of her that wanted it to be true. That hoped that this was merely a case of intense hunger and thirst. If only to prove that she wasn't losing her grip.

She reviled the mere thought of it. Losing the ability to distinguish the real and unreal. Losing control of her perception of reality. Such a loss would make her worse than Spirit, whose lack of self control was at least related to something tangible. Not that that justified his consistently irrepressible womanizing ways.

Maka began to stew silently about her father's uncontrollable compunctions, a rather annoyed pout forming upon her visage as she listed the red haired death scythe's many flaws in her head. Her focus elsewhere at the moment, Maka almost didn't notice as Ichigo shook his head with a thoughtful scowl.

"It has to be hollowification." Ichigo murmured under his breath, his eyes narrowing darkly. "The symptoms line up, but still something's different about this." Ichigo frowned crossing his arms in inquisitive irritation.

He opened his mouth to say something aloud but was interrupted by a high pitched funeral march blaring merrily from his pants pocket. An incredulous expression surfaced on Ichigo's countenance as he dug a cell phone out from it.

"That's the default ringtone?" Ichigo murmured under his breath as he held the phone in his hands.

"Yeah," Soul said with a smug little smile. "A real show stopper, huh?"

"Yeah." Ichigo replied blandly as he brought the phone to his ear. He paused for a brief moment, his frown deepening. "I'd better take this." He said as he moved to leave the area. "Can you hold the fort while I'm gone?"

"Sure, I guess." Soul answered. "Not much to watch here."

Maka, who had since ended her ruminations on the faults of her father, turned her head sharply at this remark. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Soul paused for a moment giving Maka an exaggerated once over before making his response. "No curves and no mountains. Not really much to look at if you ask me."

"You'll regret that when I finally get out of here." Maka growled. "Just you wait."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure of that." Soul replied smugly. "But right now, I'm gonna enjoy every second that you don't have access to 'Maka Chop' ammo."

[-]

Ichigo frowned as he made his way through the stone wrought halls of the containment facility, cellphone in hand at his side. There was definitely something different about Maka's condition. He recognized the early symptoms easily enough. The metaphorical dreams Maka had seemed to have all the earmarks of hollowification dreams. If her last vision of a twisted version of herself was true, then she was just now entering the second phase.

Back when Ichigo had first manifested his shinigami powers, Urahara had forced him to the second phase by severing his soul's connection with his body, thus causing his soul to sheer. It was while that was happening that Ichigo met his other white bodied self. He had never learned the yellow eyed apparition's name, although to be fair, he hadn't really tried. He was too busy doing what he could to keep his other self from taking full control to ask. And even if he had, he doubted he would've gotten a straight answer.

That Maka's other self was asking her to guess its name had him a little confused and slightly on edge. Zangetsu, when he'd first appeared, had done the same. Although both he and the white other had on multiple occasions, come close to killing him, Zangetsu was a separate entity from the other. Zangetsu usually appeared when Ichigo needed to draw on his power to protect himself or his friends. The white other would strike whenever Ichigo reached the edge of his ability to control that power. It was in those times that Ichigo's actions were no longer his own, as he was forced to play audience to the white other's ignominious deeds until he could wrest control back from the yellow eyed apparition.

That Maka's white other was behaving like Zangetsu did, yet stealing control of her body from her at the same time, was something Ichigo couldn't quite explain. At the very least, he wasn't familiar enough with the intricacies of soul dynamics to make a solid assumption.

Ichigo continued to mull over the subject of Maka's condition, moving forward through the facility's main hallway, silently passing steel wrought awnings and doorways as he walked. Were it not for the fact that Sid had greeted him with a wave and a "Hey, Ichigo" he might not have noticed the black ops zombie leaning on one of the hallway's stone ramparts.

"Hey Sid." Ichigo said "What's this about?"

"Just wanted to catch you up on current events" Sid answered, "There were some interesting developments on the mission that you, Maka and Soul were supposed to undertake."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed, "Interesting how?"

"Some old faces decided to show themselves." Sid gestured for the ex-reaper to take up a perch beside him on the wall. "How much do you remember about Arachne?"

Ichigo frowned, processing the name as he crossed his arms and let his back fall upon the wall. "Arachne. She was a witch right? Lead a cult?"

"Yeah" Sid replied with a nod "Although, it turned out that there was a lot more than just the one cult under her control."

"Is that right?" Ichigo asked with a questioning arch of the eyebrow, "I didn't hear much about her outside of the fact that she had a bone to pick with the reapers of Soul Society. I'd already been discharged from their ranks by then. Only information I got about matters of the world's souls at that time were in the form of rumors and whispers from the few reapers and sensitive souls that I still had contact with. I was dealing with a lot of… personal issues at the time so I didn't pay as much attention as I should have to all of it."

"All things considered, I'm surprised you even know her name." Sid noted. "The records from Death's archives say she didn't really become active until a good while after you sealed yourself away." Sid shifted his perch slightly "She was always very clandestine when it came to the movements of her organization."

Ichigo shrugged. "Guess I knew the right people." He frowned. "I wonder how many of them would've considered me to be the 'right person' to know back then?"

"Enough to make the statement true, I'd wager." Sid gave Ichigo a reassuring smile. "That's why you ended up here instead of dead, right?"

"Something like that." Ichigo replied, holding the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Anyway," Sid continued, "that spider witch is back in business, so you're gonna have to lay low here for awhile. Don't want her catching wind of you or Maka. Could make for a lot of trouble if she found out there was still a shinigami alive, even if he lost his official title a long time ago."

"I don't like hiding, but Maka would've needed to stay here a while longer anyway." Ichigo said as he left the wall for a standing position. "We've got the stuff we need to keep her stable here, and the means to keep her from getting out if she loses control again." The old swordsman nodded his head resolutely. "This is probably the best place to keep her for now."

"Glad to hear it." Sid said as he also left his spot on the wall. "Speaking of Maka, what's her current state?"

"Better." Ichigo answered as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I've got her soul semi-stabilized now. Once I'm sure she's stable enough to take the strain, I'll start her on the shinigami training regimen. With any luck, that should help her minimize the effects of the hollowification process."

"Then, you're making progress" Sid replied with a grin "Good."

"What about the other kid?" Ichigo asked, "That Chrona you were telling me about the other day."

"It's being handled." Sid said simply.

An incredulous scowl manifested within Ichigo's features "'Handled'?" Ichigo's eyes narrowed dangerously, "What do you mean 'handled'?"

Sid chuckled at Ichigo earnestness "I don't mean anything like that." The zombie smiled, "As much as we black ops types are prepared to carry them out, more… permanent solutions are still a last resort when dealing with Shibusen alumni and their allies."

Ichigo arched his eyebrow in a more than mildly baffled expression. "Then, what do you mean handled? You told me I was the last guy left with any knowledge about hollowification. If Chrona is going through the same thing that Maka is, you can't just put anyone on the job of working him through it."

"Believe me I know that. It's delicate business." Sid shook his head "Honestly, I was just as surprised as you were when I heard there was someone else. I gotta say, it was a lucky break. Although, I think Death knew all along."

Ichigo stood silent for a long moment, his eyes staring blankly towards some unknown focus. Someone else. There was someone else who knew about hollowification. It could've just been someone who studied the past, but if he was to believe what Sid had been telling him for the last few days, that information was hard to come by. The only other way for someone to know would be…

Ichigo's stare remained fixed on an unknown point in space as he half-murmured "Is this someone I know? I mean," He swallowed "Someone I knew?"

"Dunno." Sid replied frankly, "Death didn't say much beyond the fact that the guy exists and that he would put him to work." He sighed "Besides that, all I can say is that Death knows he'll help us of his own volition." Sid's expression became quite sober, "I hate to be callous, but who he is and whether you know him or not isn't something you should be concerned with right now. Maka needs your full attention."

"Right." Ichigo took a deep breath closing his eyes for a moment before letting it out. "I guess I was just hoping for a friend who remembered me."

"Aw Ichigo I'm hurt." Sid feigned being shot in chest. "Don't I count?"

Ichigo raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Hey, I didn't say you didn't." Ichigo chuckled "Although, it's kind of odd thinking of an undead man as a friend."

"Heh," The zombie operative said with a smirk "You're one to talk."

"Hey I'm not undead. I just have a gigai instead of a natural body. And besides, I'm not sickly and blue." Ichigo retorted, "It's a wonder you have any friends at all."

"I was never one to be deterred by things like appearances, or death." Sid returned with a grin, "That's the kind of man I was." With this the zombie clasped the old swordsman's shoulder with his hand. "Don't worry Ichigo, I'm sure you'll get to meet the guy, and I'm sure he'll remember you well."

"Thanks" Ichigo said with the small smile on the edge of his lips. "Well I guess I'd better get back, before Maka figures out a way to get at Soul through her restraints." His smile broadened, "It doesn't seem likely, but the determined glare she got whenever he insulted her makes me think she could probably find a way."

"She's a resourceful girl, that's for sure." Sid said with a nod. "I'll see you later then." He turned to leave, throwing a farewell wave over his shoulder. "Be sure to say hello to those two for me."

"Will do." Ichigo said as he went on his way back to the research facility.

[-]

The black amorphous figure known as Death stood at the center of is sanctum, surrounded by some of the most trusted members of the Shibusen alumni. They were, for the most part, students of his at one point or another, discovering and refining their own latent talents with his vigilant guidance. In some, like Azusa, he found elegance and precision. In others, like Marie, he found warmth and understanding. Be it the meticulous curiosity of those like Stein, or the adaptable fervor of others who took more after Spirit, there was a potential to be found and refined in every one of his students. That these Scythes who'd weathered the inception of Shibusen still stood before him today, well attired, well-trained and ready to do whatever they could for this world's souls warmed the masked being's heart.

It was because of them that he held on to the hope that this world would find equilibrium again.

He'd just finished briefing his not so young charges on the matter of Arachne's reappearance, Sakkon retelling the events that lead to Arachne's release, before Death began divvying out assignments to each of them with regards to reconnaissance of the witch's activities. As Death gave his closing remarks and dismissed them, Sakkon remained at Death's request.

Sakkon, having returned to his preferred human body, was clothed in a loose fitting diamond patterned T-shirt, whose blue and green color scheme did little to offset the faded green black jack visor he wore. He looked a bit young in stature and build, appearing to be in his early twenties, but the worried, yet ultimately accepting "what next" look in his eyes spoke to a personal experience that went far beyond his body's age.

"Look, if this is about the whole Arachne thing, I didn't know she was in that golem." Sakkon said. "Honest."

Death shook his head. "This isn't about that. I have a new assignment for you."

"A new assignment?" Sakkon cocked his head questioningly "Must be serious if you're giving it to me all by my lonesome."

"Yes." Death replied "It's dealing with old business. Hollow business."

Sakkon frowned. "You know, I'm not the best guy for that kind of stuff." He swallowed. "I mean, I'm not exactly what you'd call a combat specialist. Couldn't you get Sid to do it?"

"Sid is going to be very busy in the coming months." Death replied, "Counter-intelligence against an organization like Arachne's is no small order of business. Not to mention the fact that he's Ichigo's only contact to the outside world right now."

"Ichigo?" Sakkon blinked "Grim faced, irritable, 'do it on my own' Ichigo?"

"That's the one." Death replied with an amused chuckle. "He's been convinced to return to active duty for at least a short while."

"It's been ages since I last saw the guy in person." Sakkon murmured, a nostalgic smile on his lips. "I doubt he'd recognize me without my original sexy body."

"A side effect of being the only mod soul capable of forced soul reallocation." Death replied, "In any case, your assignment won't be with Ichigo. He's currently working with one of my foremost students."

"Really? Ichigo's doing student mentoring?" Sakkon asked with a curiously raised eyebrow. "Who's the lucky victim?"

"Maka Albarn." Death replied simply "She's going through hollowification, and Ichigo is making sure the correct measures are taken."

"Hollowification?" Sakkon asked incredulously. "Someone's becoming a hollow? Even after the soul transformation project? There shouldn't be any souls left with the capacity to sheer after leaving the body."

"This is true." Death answered, his ocular sockets narrowing thoughtfully. His mask had a comically menacing look to it as he raised one of his enormous hands to pull at the chin of his mask. "I have reason to believe that she's been exposed to something that causes soul sheering artificially."

"Well that's not good." Sakkon noted.

"However, she's Ichigo's concern not yours. " Death said continuing to pull at the chin of his mask. "You will be dealing with another hollowification patient. Her name is Chrona."

"There's another one?" Sakkon asked incredulously

"Yes" Death replied simply. "Chrona's soul has a very odd composition and unpredictable nature to it, but her symptoms in large part point towards some form of soul sheering.

"Which means she's on her way at least." Sakkon frowned "Still, I'm not sure if I'm the best one for this."

Death raised a finger in an annotative gesture. "You are the mod soul that Urahara chose to use as his data repository before he disappeared. Your knowledge of the hollowification process, and the tools needed for its prevention is second to none." If Death's mask had the capacity to register one, it would've had a smirk on it at this moment. "I think you're perfect for the job."

"Well, when you put it that way…" He paused a moment before speaking once more. "I'll do it." Sakkon raised a cautioning finger. "But only on one condition."

If Death had eyebrows one of them would've been raised in curiousity. "And that is?"

"I want my sexy body back."

[-][-][-][-]

Notes From Days Long Past

Research Proposal

[-][-][-][-]

November 26th, 2008

Let me begin by expressing the sincere elation of my bretheren and I at your illustrious return to our realm. Though some of us grew restless awaiting your arrival, I can assure you that I adhered to my duties as head researcher in your absence. It is because of this adherance that a discovery was made during your time away. It deals with one of the long held theories that pertain to soul coalescence.

As I'm certain you're aware, it was hypothesized by one Jacob Arber during his interim in the soul societies that when a soul first coalesces within the beginnings of a new body, it is in the form of the closed soul. However, when the body reaches a fetal stage, the soul then begins attaching itself to its body, using the energies it draws in from its womb, and the environs surrounding said womb to create the many tethers that secure it. It is in this way that the form that we are most familiar with, the "open soul" as Arber called it, comes into being.

It was based on this theory that Urahara's famous mod souls were created. Using artificial birthing units, rudimentry souls were coalesced, having their tethers severed before being removed from the birthing unit. The result of this procedure was a (in most cases) docile soul, which could be manually placed into whatever empty body the mod soul's owner desired.

Slightly altering the basic methodology Urahara used to create mod souls to allow for the use of live subjects as birthing units, I have managed to birth full grown versions of Arber's theoretical closed soul. After running a gamut of tests on these souls, I know that there is much that we can learn from their continued study.

That is the reasoning behind this formal request. I wish to investigate the properties of these souls more closely. Research into the closed soul's energy structure alone has already yielded data that could be used to enhance the resilience of an arrancar's released form. With some more study into specific portions of the closed soul's structural make up and behavior, we may be able to evolve the arrancar into an even higher form.

If you allow me the permission to allow my fraccion to gather the needed materials for the furthering of this research, I guarantee you that that there will be favorable and useful results.

Honor and Glory to you,

Szayel Apollo Grantz

[-][-][-][-]

More to come...

Was it enjoyable?

or perhaps not?

Either way, let me know.

ciao for now.