Title: Kyrie Eleison

Chapter: Old Men Ramble!

Disclaimer: I do not own bleach nor do I claim to. Actually, I said long ago that bleach governs over me, lol

Listening to: Take me Back, Story of the Year

This chapter opens a little…differently than the others. But we're finally getting somewhere!

She ran, her breath labored and eyes trembling with fear. Blood seeped through the white cloth of her school uniform on her left shoulder. The trees moaned and creaked, furthering her desire to escape from the dark nightmare.

A root seemed to spring from the ground out of nowhere and the girl tripped. As she struggled to get up her knee began to sting, and she stared at the crimson fluids trickling down her leg.

Step.

"No…" she cried and tried crawling backwards. "Leave me alone…please!"

Step..

Step…

"I'm begging you…" her arms slipped and she fell again. The shadows came closer as she screamed. "NO!"

Karakura Tribune –

(xx/xx/xx)

Mysterious Murders, Psychopath on the loose?

Written by: Yamada Kaoru (Editor)

Three high school students and two adults have gone missing this past week. Most of these disappearances occur within the hours of 9:59P.M to 1:00 A.M. Of those five persons, two of them have been found murdered in a brutal fashion. The bodies of the two teens were found in the forest near Karakura High School. The victims names have not yet been revealed by the police or investigation team, who is led by Shirogane Naoi. Reasons for the string of murders are unknown, seeing as the victims had no connections at all with the exception of the students who attended the same school.

Police are trying to figure out the reason for the brutal methods of killing, seeing as the victims had no real 'enemies' or bad relations. Could this be a terrorist attack?

We are on high alert and advise citizens not to roam the streets late until the culprit is caught. If need be, go with a trusted relative or neighbor/friend.

If you have any information, please call at 0**-****-****.

Ichigo woke from a cold sweat, panting from the sheer realism from his dream. He sat up and stared at the palm of his hand to find it trembling. The clock betrayed his hope to fall back asleep by reading 1:13 A.M. His hand went to draw the curtains, expecting the eventual clouds of rain. In its place, however, was the thin crescent moon hovering over the town.

"Stop it…please…!"

The voices were so real in his dream…or nightmare to be more exact.

"No…No!"

The screams that followed the vision made him grimace despite what he had just been through recently. He was a Shinigami, a Death God. He was supposed to be used to death. He was supposed to be used to the shedding of blood.

But not to that extent

Ichigo's soul badge suddenly flashed, signaling a hollow was near. The teen nearly sighed in relief. At the very least, it would help him forget those…images in his mind. A good night's hollow whacking would surely do the trick…right?

Taking the skull badge he pressed it to his chest and opened the window. The hollow was fairly close, most likely the playground by the way the badge was reacting.

The wind flew past him as he flashed stepped towards the area, landing on the sand silently. The carrot-top looked around with his hand on the hilt of his sword in search of the hollow. However…

The park was empty

"What the hell is this? Did I break it or something?" Ichigo stared at his blinking soul badge.

"No you're not mistaken, Kurosaki-san!" A male voice came from the shadows and Ichigo turned around towards the forest.

"Who's there?" he demanded, drawing Zangetsu with practiced ease. It was familiar, but the slight edge to it threw him off. "Show yourself!"

"Oh my, there's no need to be so violent, Kurosaki." A figure moved from behind a tree and stepped out into the faint moonlight. The man stepped out, garbed in his simple shopkeepers robes and wooden clogs. However the comical hat he always had on was nowhere to be seen. In its place… Ichigo's eyes widened at the male in disbelief.

Lines of crimson flowed down from his head and blood caked most of his clothes. It was hard to tell if it was his or something else's.

But what shocked him the most was the sword in his hand—or what was left of it. Benihime had shattered.

"Urahara…san?"

The shopkeeper smiled at him before passing out

"Ryuuji-kun!" Yumi ran over to the red-head and grinned. "Miss me?"

"Where were you last night, Yumiko-san?" he asked, returning the gesture as he watered the squad six gardens. "I went to your room last night and you weren't there!"

She laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head. "Yeah… I kinda snuck out."

"'Kinda'? You do know how much trouble you could have been in if you got caught!" Ryuuji frowned and put the watering can down. "You could have gotten a worse sentence than simple house arrest, Yumiko-san."

"Well…I did get caught," Yumi said, "Luckily by my Taicho—"

"Your captain? Wasn't he the one that made you sad? Wasn't he the one that—"Ryuuji seemed to catch himself as his face flushed red. His hand smacked against his face in an effort to both shut himself up and to hide his reddening face.

Yumi tilted her head curiously but then smiled easily at him. "It's alright, Ryuuji-kun. I know that I was the irrational one. Hitsugaya-kun was only doing what was best." Her hand grasped the sleeve of her uniform. "So don't worry, okay?"

"But—"

"So you're Minami Ryuuji." The white-haired captain in question suddenly appeared with his hands in his sleeves.

"H-Hitsugaya-Taicho!" the seated officer bowed quickly and backed away from the brunette. "Good day, sir!"

"Aa," he simply said but then turned his teal gaze to his subordinate. "Miyamoto."

"Nani?"

"C'mon. We're going home." He turned around and began to walk away. "Matsumoto picked your things up from the sixth division."

"What? My sentence got lifted?" she questioned and then followed him like a puppy. She completely forgot about the red-head she left behind.

"Yumi-chan!" the strawberry blonde lunged towards the unknowing girl.

The brunette's fate was sealed

"GAH!" she gasped as she felt herself being crushed beneath inhuman mountains called breasts. "Can't…breathe Rangiku-chan!"

"Oh how I missed you Yu-chan!"

"…Ran…"

"Matsumoto, you'll kill her if you keep that up you know." Hitsugaya raised a brow but couldn't help but allow the corners of his lips to curve upwards.

"Eh?" she blinked before looking at the deathly blue-faced girl in her arms. "Yu-chan what happened to you!"

"…sweet life…I knew thee well…!" the violet eyed girl spoke dramatically and fainted.

Both captain and vice looked at each other while blinking slowly.

"Well Taicho, I'll leave her to you!" she said and shoved the 'unconscious' girl into his arms.

"M-Matsumoto hold on!" but she was gone with a flash-step.

Yumi recovered from her initial shock and looked around. "Rangiku-chan left? No! Don't leave me with the moody captain!"

He twitched. "Moody?"

"Yeah, moody," Yumi pouted and crossed her arms. She went over to the couch and plopped down on the cushion. "So, care to tell me what changed your mind about me coming back?" The mood seemed to go from easy to serious and she began to regret bringing the subject up. But he sighed and sat down next to her.

"...There have been a few...incidents relating to the situation." He began to explain. "Their reiatsu signatures, the ones from the break in and at Karakura are different but only slightly. Apparently, there are other Daemons on the loose. It's hard to fully compare the signatures of Daemons and that's why the Soutaicho decided to place you in the sixth division."

"Soutaicho? It wasn't you who ordered me to be moved?" She questioned and he turned away from her.

"Why the hell would I do that?" he answered without thinking and nearly jumped at his rash answer.

"Oh?" Yumi smiled slyly and playfully bumped shoulders with him. "I knew you missed me, Hitsugaya-kun!"

Recovering, he scoffed and crossed his arms, "Who else would do the rest of the paperwork Matsumoto misses?"

Feigning hurt she gasped and placed a hand on her chest. "You're so cruel to such a cute girl like me, Taicho!"

"Cute?" he smirked at her while quirking his brow. "What part is?"

"Why, my devilishly good looks and good-mannered personality of course!" she leaned into him teasingly and smirked herself when his face began to get flustered instead of self-confident. "Don't you agree, Hitsugaya-Taicho?"

"You're too full of yourself…" he murmured and then frowned. Seeing this, Yumi tilted her head curiously.

"What?"

"…nothing." He shook his head and got up from the couch. Hitsugaya simply stood there for a while as if in thought and without turning to her he spoke. "Hey…"

"Hm?"

"I left some paperwork on your desk... Can you do it?" he asked casually but the key words in his sentence were, 'can you do it.' Normally it was, 'Miyamoto, do this.' Or 'Miyamoto, I leave this to you. Get it done by the time I get back!'

Even from behind, Yumi could see his ears beginning to turn red as she giggled behind her hand.

"Oi, what's so funny!"

"Nothing, Taicho," she laughed and got up herself. "I'll get right on it. But once I'm done I demand payment this time! I've been working for you for free the whole time so this time I'm putting it on your tab!"

"Tch," the white-haired captain crossed his arms indignantly. "I'm already providing you my patience for dealing with you. Isn't that enough?"

"It's okay. My first fee isn't much," she said and smiled at him once she got to the door. "Call me by my name next time!"

"Wh—"He began but Yumi bolted out of there before she could allow him to hear her laughing.

His expression was just priceless.

As he watched her fleeting back run farther away, Hitsugaya let out a sigh of relief and nearly collapsed back onto the less than comfy couch. It would be uncharacteristic of him to whine and complain about his problems so he had to expel it the best way he could without Hyourinmaru: take a nap.

It wasn't that he disliked her company. It was quite the opposite, actually. There were moments when he couldn't remember how it was without the brunette. Sure, Hinamori would always visit every now and then but all it was about was a friendly chat or two between childhood friends. If not talking about the past, Hinamori would go on and on about 'Aizen-taicho this' and 'Aizen-Taicho that!' The first few times were alright, but as time went on it just pained him to listen.

When the order came from Kuchiki Byakuya and the Soutaicho, a small part of him felt relieved for the change of pace. He didn't expect the person he would protect to end up being a complete annoyance that had no regard for the rules. Nor did he expect himself to actually accept that part of her. Even if she could be stubborn, loud, and completely undisciplined, there were times where she could truly be reliable.

Hitsugaya recalled the brief meeting that the Soutaicho had called him for prior to fetching Yumi at the sixth division.

"Soutaicho, you wished to see me?" The white-haired captain bowed his head. The captain of the first division called for him to arrive at the gardens to 'talk'.

"Ah, Hitsugaya-Taicho." His elderly voice began. "Please, no need to bow your head now. Just a few questions I would like you ask you." He gestured to a seat near a low table which was set with tea. Hitsugaya sat and watched as the maids poured them both hot cups of fresh tea. He slowly took a few sips, still trying to guess as to what the head commander wanted. "I'm going to ask you in the simplest form possible, Hitsugaya-Taicho. Just give me your honest answer."

Honest answer? What was this? Surely he was trusted enough to give that kind of reply without hesitation, right?

"I assure you, Soutaicho," Hitsugaya spoke, "If you wish for me to give you a straight answer to a question, you don't need to ask."

"I suppose," Yamamoto's eyes glinted almost amusingly, but the captain took it as a figment of his imagination. "Now… Do you have any feelings for Miyamoto Yumiko?"

The question, so blatantly asked, nearly caused him to fall over. Still the same, he felt the air knocked out of his lungs and found himself breathless. Feelings? He hardly knew her for long! How long was it…? She had arrived like the coming of spring and already summer had arrived. Had it really only been a few months since their meeting? Hitsugaya looked back on what had happened so far and what he had seen these past few months.

The fear from the forest on that rainy night.

The feeling of betrayal when she left without telling him above anyone else

The pain he felt when her found her in the human world, broken and bleeding

The relief he felt when she was safe and sound

"I don't...dislike her." He answered slowly, attempting to manage his thoughts. It felt like he was walking on a thin thread and any sudden movement would cause it to break. "She is my subordinate after all, sir."

Yamamoto nodded and put his hand to his chin. "I suppose she is a charming young lady, isn't she Hitsugaya-Taicho? Then again, I have asked you this question once before. [1 (Chapter 11 of WYLM)]"

The situation had once again been similar as the young captain cursed to himself. Why was it that whenever anyone asked him so bluntly about his relationship with her he would freeze? Considering he was the wielder of the strongest ice zanpakto, it was a bit daunting to say the least… The young captain could only nod slowly in silent agreement.

"If you do agree, then there is something I must warn you of, Hitsugaya-Taicho…" Yamamoto finally had the tone of all seriousness in his voice. "If you are to cultivate this relationship further, then the Soul Society may have to interfere. Is that clear?" Hitsugaya's brows furrowed in confusion. Interfere? Even if there was the slim chance, there was no reason to possibly think a relationship between two Shinigami a threat to the Soul Society.

"Yes Soutaicho… But…"

"Miyamoto Yumiko is an interesting child," Yamamoto interrupted cryptically and took a sip of tea. "Would you like to hear a secret?"

"…" the captain remained quiet as the elder took it as a sign to continue.

"Miyamoto Yumiko never graduated from the acadamy." Hitsugaya's eyes widened. "Well… That wouldn't be accurate at all I suppose. Indeed, she did attend for a short period of time. In the reports I gave you, it said her reiryuuku was unable to form any form of kido. Any other information was left out." True, he recalled looking at her information file and couldn't find a thing. Nothing was recorded in the libraries and there was no evidence that she attended the academy other than her recruitment into his squad. "After further analysis from data collected when Miyamoto Yumiko went to the real world, Kurotsuchi-Taicho made a hypothesis… Fukutaicho of the sixth division was wounded by a reiatsu-based weapon. However, the damage was equivilant to that of a sword wound. No such demon art known has been able to make such an injury."

Hitsugaya frowned. "So what you're saying is that Miyamoto Yumiko's initiation into my squad was more than just a protection order?"

A maid came in, holding a manila package and placed it on the table. The tea was taken away so that all was left was the simple item. "Hitsugaya-Taicho. Enclosed is all the information we have recovered from Miyamoto Yumiko. If you take this, you will understand what measures we must take." Yamamoto gestured for him to take it and as his hand touched the paper he continued, "However if you do indeed look at the contents, you will be separated from her indefinitely."

The tanned hand twitched

Yamamoto raised a brow. "So…which will you choose? Knowledge over need? Or are you content with simply protecting something you know nothing about?"

The young captain clenched his fist and stood up abruptly. "Soutaicho, I thank you for the opportunity but I decline. I do not have the need nor wish to even consider removing my subordinate from my care. If you'll excuse me." He bowed quickly and was escorted out of the first division.

At the memory, his face contorted into something akinned to disbelief. Had he really acted that way! For his behavior he could have been demoted! Or worse, he could have been removed from his squad entirely!

Was this girl seriously worth it?

"This girl is going to be the death of me," he sighed and closed his eyes. A rueful smirk crept onto his face regardless. What else is new?

Matsumoto blinked uncomprehendingly at the scene unfolding before her eyes. Through all her years of being a part of the Gotei 13, she never saw something so horrible or grotesque. It defied everything she had learned throughout her lifetime as a Shinigami.

Miyamoto Yumiko was humming happily while doing paperwork

"Ne, Yu-chan!" Matsumoto whined and began her attempt to pull her away from her desk. "What are you doing?"

"Paperwork, can't you tell?" she grinned, not taking her eyes off the white parchment. The caligraphy pen danced as the work was quickly signed and read through. The wordless tune still escaped her lips, fueling her happy-go-lucky mood.

The strawberry blonde frowned and began flipping through the finished papers. She wouldn't say it, but she wasn't surprised when she saw her like this. Ever since her captain almost begged the soutaicho to return her to the tenth division, both of their moods have lifted. It was a nice change to the dark, gloomy, and boring day-to-day basis of all work and no play!

A hell butterfly fluttered through the open window and landed on Yumi's nose, causing her to make a face and drop her pen onto the wood desk. "Gah, stupid bugs always land on my face!"

Matsumoto giggled, "They probably think you're cute!" the vice captain held her finger out as the butterfly landed on the tip softly. As the message was relayed, Matsumoto acted as a speaker.

"Message to Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro, Vice-captain Matsumoto Rangiku, and Miyamoto Yumiko. You have a new assignment..." she paused as her icy blue eyes widened. "You are to investigate the human world under circumstances that Hollow activity has become unusual. Please report to the thirteenth division when ready."

The black butterfly quickly went out the window as the two girls had only one thing in mind.

"VACATION!"

Blooper scene:

"Where were you last night, Yumiko-san?" he asked, returning the gesture as he watered the squad six gardens. "I went to your room last night and you weren't there!"

Yumi narrowed her eyes skeptically and crossed her arms. "Stalker much?"

I'm so sorry guys! I haven't been updating like I should be! Anyway, summer started up again so i'll hopefully get a few more chapters out before it ends once again. The next few chapters I hate to say...will be fillers. But if you review, i'll get the fillers more interesting to get the plot rolling! C'mon, at least three? That's an easy number, right? If I get three or more, the next chapter will come out quick. If I get at least three and it's not out within three days, then may the gods of ramen smite me! XD

Questions:

Ichigo felt something going wrong and then found Urahara near beaten to a bloody pulp! What could have beaten him so?

Soutaicho once again asked Hitsugaya about his relationship with Yumi. What could this foretell?

Apparently, Yumi never graduated from the academy. But to get your zanpakto and be a part of the gotei 13, it's mandantory that you pass. How is this possible?

Feel free to answer one, some, or even all the questions posted! Trust me, it makes all the difference!

And just to give a little hint...this isn't exactly how the chapter might sound...but it's rough:

"Oi, did you really think you were going to leave without us?"

"I bet when he picked you up in the human world, you probably thought, 'He's so sweet! It's so unlike him to pick me up bridal style!' ...or something like that!"

"If you remember, I said Aeon was making their move."

"How does it feel to be loved so much?"