This one came in really late. I'm so sorry, since I had to accomplish a lot of forms that I needed.

XVI. Awakening from Shattered Dreams

Matsumoto spent her time at the fourth's ward as silent as a grave. Her mind was still filled with horrible thoughts of the day her captain had nearly slaughtered her. Every bit of feeling, every wince of pain, every scream of agony, all of the horrors of that moment flashed in her brain. Sure she was drowning in terror, but what really bothered her was the thought of her captain siding with their greatest enemy. Fear was struck down with doubt and confusion, as all of the memories swirled in a turbulent whirlpool spinning in her mind. All the thoughts of that day were clashing with the thoughts of him as being her taichou. She clenched her head as the swirl became more violent with each moment that passed. Thoughts of her taichou's alleged "betrayal" were augmented with bits of memories of Ichimaru Gin's defection from Soul Society. Bits and flashes of various images whirled about in the vastness of her thought fabric.

"Umm… Matsumoto-fukutaichou, are you alright? You don't seem very well," the voice of the fourth division attendant came from across the room. She opened her eyes and instinctively set her eyes from the voice's owner. The thoughts stopped haunting her that moment and still clutching her head, she replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. This is nothing."

"If you ever need anything, I'll be right at the entrance."

"Thanks."

The shinigami-medic left her without another word, and the thoughts soon came back to plague her once more. The image of the fox-faced former captain reformed in her head, and the memories of that fateful day disturbed her.

"I really wouldn't have minded being bound for a little while longer…" he turned to her, his smile taken not in a mischievous nature, but in a different light. "Sorry, Rangiku..."

"Gin…" she whispered to herself.

"Feeding stage has been initiated. Several units have already been assigned to the cages. We have already injected them with spiritual pressure serum samples we have reproduced. Sensors indicate large fluctuations in reiatsu levels from both cages. No other activity has been detected as of yet."

The octava Espada read the symbols written on the sheets of paper that he held. Though he seemed indifferent about the matter, it could be seen in the glint in his eyes that he was delving deeper in the matter at hand. He interpreted the readings blankly, not minding Aizen's possible reaction towards the matter. It was not that bad, however, as the arrancar leader did not mind the Espada manners at the moment. He was much more concerned with their current experiment. He quickly took his glance from the cages in front of them and turned his head towards the apparatus beside Szayel Aporro Grantz. The arrancar quickly went over the said device and interpreted the lights and sounds it made.

"Test subject has mobilized. It has started feeding."

"My, my, is that what I think it is, Aizen-sama?"

"This is the next phase, Gin. There has been a slight change of plans due to the drastic results we have collected for the past few days."

"Oh, I see. Well, ya makin' somethin' new from those guys out there?"

They moved closer to inspect the glass-like cage. They observed the peculiar creature from the beyond the transparent barrier. Golden irises flashed from the dark portion that the creature moved about. There were also several menos lined up along the wall inside the barrier, chained and unable to break free. Loud screeches and wails echoed through the hall as each of these embodiments of thousands of hollows were devoured alive by the single creature that Aizen considered to be his test subject. It devoured those other creatures hungrily, like a predator that has eaten his meal after days of starving. Their blood and guts spilled out as it dug its claws through their exposed torsos, protected by reiatsu that stood no match for the test subject's own blazing spiritual pressure. Terror would have stricken any ordinary mortal dead, but the current audience was unfazed.

"Oh… what a hungry little mendicant that menos is. Sure is quite bloody, too. I guess ya haven't taught that guy table manners, eh?" Gin chuckled lightly before continuing. "So ya figured out feedin' him with those vasto lorde would make 'em stronger than any member of the Espada, huh?"

"I'm just taking into consideration the process of menos evolution. It is very rare that a menos could make it to become a vasto lorde, and the only way to do so is to continue devouring other hollows and maintain a consciousness. If ever a part of him gets eaten, then evolution stops. This is the very reason why I manipulated everything so that its evolution proceeds at the greatest level. I've made sure that I could feed it with Espada-equivalent vasto lorde menos I've made using that boy's konpaku-related ability, and I've also injected it with the serum I processed from the same source to make sure that he could maintain his conscience as not to revert to being an upgraded Gillian. If it couldn't maintain its conscience, then it'd just have the brain of all those normal Gillians but would have reiatsu as high as a vasto lorde. That would have been a waste."

"Well, when do ya plan on makin' 'em an arrancar?"

"After the feeding stage is complete, we shall move on to the next phase." He turned his back on Gin before he spoke again. "Soul Society shall see a plague that they have never seen before, and every soul in this world will bow down to me for I have created the reflection of perfection."

A familiar yet not-so-well-known silhouette of a person moved into the small containment that held Hinamori captive. She had been hugging her knees and resting her head upon them when she heard footsteps coming toward her. A drop of sweat trickled down her forehead. She felt her heart beat faster the moment she heard that single force step upon familiar ground. She feared that it might be the same arrancar that would be visiting her, and those memories of her being at the brink of utmost disgrace flashed in her mind. She set her gaze upon melancholic-looking eyes, yet she could tell that it was not that emotion that welled in those dull slit green eyes, rather, it was plain indifference that stayed there. She shifted her view from the person's eyes to the whole image, and she recognized the very familiar white hakama that he wore. A zanpakuto hung from his black sash, and a portion of a hollow's mask the shape of a broken helmet rested on top of his head.

"I have been ordered by Aizen-sama to take care of you in place of Grimmjow due to the recent incidents that have happened. I brought in your usual tray of food, and it will just be picked up after an hour. Eat, or I will have to force it down your throat if you don't."

"Ahh…" she was only able to mumble senselessness. Relief had come upon her more than what she bargained for, but a new terror was also making its way to her the same time. His aura was quite threatening to some extent that she did not understand.

The arrancar immediately left without another word, and Hinamori's fears were quelled. She looked down at the tray that the unidentified arrancar left, and pondered for some time before another silhouette moved in.

"Hinamori?"

She looked up towards the very familiar person. "Shiro-chan?"

"I just stopped by to check up on you… and it's Hitsugaya-taichou to you!"

She let out a mild laugh at his reaction. He sat down beside her, and afterwards shifted his mood from his initial light-headed entrance to something more serious. "Is there anything bothering you, Hinamori?"

"Eh? Uhhmm… nothing really, Shiro-chan – "

"… I know that you feel afraid that Grimmjow's gonna come back…" her eyes widened with that statement. "… but I assure you that there's nothing to worry about. I'm here to protect you, Hinamori. I'll rip his head off if he ever does anything – "

She cut him off by embracing him, and she took that silence as an opportunity to speak. "Arigatou, Shiro-chan. Thank you… for everything."

After days of being confined at the fourth division's ward, Matsumoto was finally allowed to step outside once again. For once, she was able to take a short break from all the stress drawn by those ogling thoughts and plainly enjoy just being outside after that period of temporary seclusion.

She wasted no more time and walked towards the top of Soukyoku hill where they have prepared the gate leading to the human world. With everything she needed in check, she followed the Hell butterfly as it briefed her about her upcoming mission.

"Tenth Division vice-captain Matsumoto Rangiku, you are assigned for a mission in the human world along with 3rd seat Madarame Ikkaku, 5th seat Ayasegawa Yumichika, vice-captain Abarai Renji and 2nd squad captain Soifon. You will rendezvous at the Senkai gate with the rest of your unit to guard the real world from any arrancar attacks."

She finally reached her supposed destination. She stopped in her tracks and wiped the sweat trickling down her forehead. Her days spent resting at the healer's ward took its toll, and she noticed too, that she was no longer as fit as she had been before. That short run easily drained her, and she knew that she needed to train to get back to her top shape, but her heart was ready. Her mind made the path already clear: she would push through.

"Looks like spending a lot of time bedridden got you out of shape, Matsumoto."

She turned her attention to the powerful bald 3rd seat of the 11th. Standing beside him was the narcissistic 5th seat of the same division. She snickered.

"I kind of lacked exercise while I was there. I had nothing to do but lie in bed all day and gloat about not being able to drink the whole time." She looked around before continuing. "Where's Soifon-taichou? I thought she was included in this mission."

"She had to attend to some investigation before going to this mission. I heard she'll be following us after she's through with what she's doing."

The large sliding door in front of them opened, revealing a pathway to the other world they are to go to. They proceeded towards the door without another word, the silence eerily creeping over a situation that does not call for it.

The visions of tomorrow were hazy, because the memories of yesterday still haunted her.