He sat on the floor in his dark damp cell, the cell had been designed to strike fear into the hearts of its prisoner, but not him. He was too strong for that, had seen too much, had become so much. All he felt was regret, at the things he had done. He still stood by them, he had done them for the greater good yet he wished things could have been different. Or the responsibility of the future rested on another's decision, but that wasn't the case. It was he that had to bear the burden, live with what he had done, the decisions he had made. It was better this way, he mused to himself and a smile graced his lips. However in his weaker moments the past would haunt him, closing his eyes he recollected on the fateful moments in his history, that had lead them to this point.
Flashback
Before him stood Grand Fisher, the hollow that had been feeding on the spiritual energy of Shinigami for 40 years or so. He had the skill and talent to easily dispose of this beast, yet he needed its special powers. If the hollow did the deed no-one would ever possibly suspect him of having any involvement whatsoever, he had to make the future possible, it was for the greater good. Grand Fisher was obviously looking for an escape route; his opponent had easily bested him. "Give up hollow and I may yet let you live," despise himself the hollow hoped against hope, to live. "Why would you, a captain Class Shinigami let me live? This is a trick!"
"Well I have a task for you, complete it and I will let you live, fail me and I will make you wish for death when I'm done with you"
"What task?" His resolve was tested for s second, if he refused to kill this hollow now it would go on to kill many more innocent Shinagami and souls. No, he was doing the right thing, those lives had to be forsaken for the greater good. It was for that sole purpose he had tracked down this hollow, he couldnt lose faith in himself or the plan. Sighing Urahara Kisuke settled down to tell the hollow of his plans.
"Listen here Mayuri, tell us everything you know and make it quick!" Zaraki always seemed to have next to no patience for the 12th division captain. "To tell everything that I know to one of such low intellect would take lifetimes. For now I think it will suffice to tell you I have asked you on numerous occasions to address me as Kurotsuchi!" Zaraki smiled, and made a violent step towards Mayuri, it was obvious he was going to use brute force to obtain the information he believed Mayuri withheld. It was only when Byakuya flash stepped amongst the pair did Zaraki stop his approach. "This is pointless, however I tell you this Captain Kurotsuchi that if I find out you have withheld information upon the matter of Urahara's disappearance I shall deal with you myself, you will be tried for treason and intentionally withholding information in an active investigation. Until then consider yourself under careful observation and scrutiny." Bowing Byakuya flash stepped away before Mayuri could retort, a laughing Zaraki following the sixth division captain leaving a completely bemused Hitsugaya behind. The anger Mayuri seemed t have been feeling left him when his eyes fell upon the tenth squads captain, he had always been fascinated. "So have you thought about the offer I made you? You let me run some tests on you to derive where all your amazing power comes from? In return I will unlock the dormant abilities within you, allowing you to become stronger. That is what you desire, correct?" Hitsugaya looked into the grinning mask of Mayuri and was hard found to disguise his distrust in the man; his moral compass was virtually non existent. However after some research Hitsugaya had found out his origin, he was a prisoner of the Maggots nest and was derived to be a dangerous individual, locked detained before committing any crime. Urahara had gotten him released, how much had this mysterious man had in the outcome of an individual whom Hitsugaya believed to be completely insane? Musing on this Hitsugaya flash stepped back to his quarters, leaving a disgruntled Mayuri behind.
Rukia got gingerly to her feet, the wounds she had received in Hueco Mundo weren't healing as fast as she wanted. Captain Unohana had been overseeing her rehabilitation; it was going well according to the serene captain of squad four. Rukia however was not convinced it was fast enough, she had heard the news of Urahara's disappearance. Growing in unease with every passing hour, she knew someone must have been incredibly smart and strong to take down someone at the level of Captain. Urahara had been secretive about his past, never revealing anything to the world, letting Ichigo and his friends find out the truth from other sources, was this going to be one of them times yet again? She lost her track of thought as she felt the familiar spiritual pressure of Byakuya. A couple of months ago she wouldn't have dared to make for him, waiting patiently until beckoned. However now a bond was there neither of them could deny, and Rukia was grateful for it. Her adoptive brother, no matter how cold he acted, had risked everything to go save her from Hueco Mundo, cutting his limbs yet not letting a single hair on her body be harmed under his protection. "Nii-Sama, any news on Urahara Kisuke?" Byakuya turned his blues eyes on her, the familiar impassive faced stared at Rukia. "None as of yet, how is your healing process?" His deadpan voice didn't convey any discernable concern yet she knew better, yet couldn't help but feel slightly disheartened. She wanted things to be different, for him to act as if he cared, even though she knew he did but never showed it. "It is going fine, captain Unohana says I will be completely recovered in a few more days. I guess you are busy?"
"I wanted to ask if you would like to come to the real world with me, and Renji. We need to follow up on our investigation and I am sure you would like the opportunity to stretch your legs a little bit outside of soul society." Rukia blushed; she knew her brother was taking her along since he surmised she missed Ichigo and his friends. "That would be excellent, thank you Nii-sama," she bowed before him. She got up and looked in his face, it looked just for a moment like he was about to say something, but the moment passed as soon as he flash stepped away. Smiling to herself she made her way to the pasture near the training grounds, she wanted to sit back and observe the clouds for a bit, an act which always eased her restlessness.