"Hold it, hold it, hold it! You're saying that we have how many spots?" Captain Shunsui Kyoraku demanded

"Including the death of Vice Captain Matsumoto? We are now missing four Vice Captains and two Captians, not including the fact that the Thirteenth Division and the Twelfth Division cannot be allowed to continue as they are," Nanao stated pushing up the glasses on the bridge of her nose, "even if Captain Kurotsuchi was experimenting on Hollows his behavior has been nothing short of disgraceful, both to his experiments and his subordinates."

"Yes but how do you—"

"Vice Captain Nemu Kurotsuchi has agreed to speak to this," he raised an eyebrow, "I believe that the recent events with other so called 'failed creations' has affected her in a positive way."

"And what about the Thirteenth Division?" he asked, his voice quieter.

"The Thirteenth Division cannot function without a Vice Captain who is at least close to Captain level. Vice Captain Shiba was well suited to the task but Captain Ukitake needs to stop waiting and choose a Vice Captain suited to the task."

"I was under the impression he already had," Shunsui said lightly.

"He cannot continue to wait for Rukia Kuchiki's brother to allow her to become a seated officer!" Nanao burst out, "someone needs to speak to him or to Captain Ukitake. We have a shortage as it is and now is not the time to give in to our indulgences and if that hand comes one more inch closer to my hip I will break it off."

"You're so mean," Shunsui pouted unhappily withdrawing the offending appendage. Nanao huffed and pushed her glasses up higher, "so have you been to see her yet?"

"I have no idea what you—"

"Nanao," Shunsui looked at her, "it might help."

"No," she said pushing up her glasses un-necessarily, "no I don't think it would Captain," she stopped "damn it," she hissed angrily pulling off her glasses at the slip up.

Shunsui ressisted the urge to look smug. The only time that Nanao called him Captain anymore was when she was particularly glass-removing-upset. Apparently this was one of those times. He reached out and put an arm around her shoulders. She didn't shrug him off, which was good, but she didn't look at him either, which was bad. He felt saddened for her. The death of Matsumoto couldn't have come at a worse time considering that Lisa Yadomaru was back. He and Ukitake had wondered what would happen when, not if, the Vizards returned and saw their little protege's all grown up. He for one hadn't expected them to be back so soon. But he also hadn't expected Aizen to try and kill everyone so he wasn't that good at predicting things. Nanao leaned against him unexpectedly, her too hot forehead brushing against the exposed skin of his chest.

"Nanao!" he said sharply, all laziness gone from his voice, "your sick."

"I'm fine," she snapped pushing against him but he held firm, "there's too much to—put me down!" she cried as he scooped her up, "Shunsui!"

"I'm not letting any harm come to my little Nanao," he said with a grin as he headed to the Fourth Division, "Unohana's looking at you," he replied.

She grumbled but didn't really protest. She knew she was being silly not wanting to go to the Fourth Division since Lisa was on lockdown and not going to get near her anytime soon. Still, there was just so much to do and it seemed unfair that she was alive and not working as hard as she could in order to make up the difference. Apparently Shunsui didn't really share her opinion. She knew that Matsumoto's death had hit them all in different ways. In Shunsui's it seemed to have manifested itself in him being even more overprotective than he usually was of her.

"Unohana's busy," she said, "ooo gonna sneeze—"

"Bless you," Shunsui replied, "Unoha—what the hell happened here? Was there an attack we didn't hear about?"

"Attack?! Shunsui I told you to put me down!"

The hallway was full of 11th Division members in various states of injury and divided into four distinct groups. One looked like it had been beaten with a kind of staff. The second looked like it belonged to injuries given with a short, wide blade. The third was full of men with cuts grouped together in threes while the fourth group was full of men with gashes all over them who were smiling rather plesantly as if nothing had happened. Shunsui grammed one of the healers.

"What the hell happened?" he demanded.

"The former Espada seem to be inclined to learn their release states a good deal faster when fighting!" he snapped before running off, "sir! Sir please don't touch that limb, sir!"

Nanao sneezed again and Shunsui was off.

"When I said that combat would help them accelerate their release forms," Urahara hissed, his voice seething with anger, "I did not mean you should drop them in the 11th Division and let them have at it!" he slammed his hands into the desk, "are you all out of your minds?! These aren't acadamy students, these are highly trained killing machines, chosen by Aizen himself for their power!"

"I'm not a machine," Nel pouted unhappily.

Urahara ressisted the urge to smack his forehead in sheer frustration. The assembled Shinigami went back to muttering while Kenpachi seemed amused at the whole thing, despite the fact that it was mostly his division that got their asses kicked. Behind Urahara the four Shinigami seemed rather confused with the whole situation. It wasn't as though they had really done anything wrong. Soifon had brought them to the 11th Divsion as per her orders and, also as per her orders, let them fight whoever they wanted. Urahara realized he should have probably been a bit more specific and Soifon probably shouldn't have let the 11th Division keep coming. That was the last time he ever let a Flash Step Master do anything, including Yoruichi. By the time he had gotten there the three of them (four including Nel) had already achieved their initial release states and, for lack of a better word, ploughed through the 11th Division.

Neliel sat cross legged on the floor, her hair held back by one of Renji's headbands. Unsuprisingly she'd managed to find and befriend Yachiru and the two were happily working their way through an oversized bag of candy. Gamuza had returned to its sealed form which Nel had tied to her waist. Grimmjow's Pantera divided and became a pair of three pronged claws that fit in between his fingers. He had been rather upset until he discovered the claws could extend, retract and worked well with his fighting style. Halibel's blade was short and wide and only looked useless. Ulquiorra's blade on the other hand was nothing short of a work of art, the metal of the thin weapon glinting cyan in the light. He was the first to display one of his releases, causing half the men to forget who they were fighting and why.

"Why's he so quiet?" Nel asked looking at Ulquiorra.

"He's an idiot," Grimmjow chuckled, despite the fact that he still wore the black eye that Ulqiorra had given him, "his little girlfriend won't talk to him now."

"Orihime?" she frowned, 'where'd she go?" she looked around.

"What do you mean?" Ulquiorra frowned.

"Well she's not here," Nel said with a shrug, "everyone else is."

She was right, he realized. Everyone was there, at least, everyone who usually was there, everyone except for her. Ulquiorra felt his frown deepen. Was it what he said to her? Had something else happened? A feeling of protectiveness swept over him. He saw Grimmjow snicker and realized that his Spiritual Pressure was spiking. Gritting his teeth in sheer frustration he reigned it in before all of Soul Society could feel him. He saw Ichigo glaring at him but couldn't be bothered to care as he tried to seek her out. Despite spending so much time n her company he was not used to having her somewhere he was unable to immediately locate. His stomach clenched, he did not like the feelings coursing through him. He told himself, incorrectly, that he was being possessive, that he was used to having her at his fingertips and that he did not like anything different. He would not, he could not admit to himself that he was worried. That the thought of her getting into some kind of trouble was very, well, troubling to him.

"So you two gonna at least wait 'til we get our own rooms before you fuck?" Grimmjow asked raising an eyebrow.

"Grimmy!" Nel cried in horror.

"Grimmjow," Halibel glared at him, causing him to turn several shades whiter as her hand dropped to the hilt of her Zanpakto.

"I'm just asking!" he shot back hotly, "he's creepy enough with his cloths on, I don't wanna see 'em off!"

"I don't think anyone wants to," Halibel muttered dryly, "except maybe Orihime."

"Bel-Bel!" Nel gasped.

"Oh shut up, like you didn't think about how far down Renji's tattoos go," Grimmjow snapped, causing Nel to turn several shades of red and mutter that she had not.

"Not that this isn't a facinating insight into your minds," Urahara hissed, "but would the four of you keep this PG while I try to convince everyone not to lock you all up for the rest of your considerably shorter lives?"

"How about PG-13?" Grimmjow challenged, earning a throat clear from Soifon, "shit," he swore hanging his head.

"Don't look so sad," Halibel said dryly, "maybe if your lucky she'll decide she wants animal bedsheets instead."

"Shut up! At least all my parts were covered," he snapped

"At least I had parts worth showi—what the hell was that?!" she shrieked indignantly as all four of them recieved marks on their cheek like they had been whacked with a fan.

"You are so dead when we get back home," Benihime hissed at Urahara as she watched them, "me, Benihime, one of the only Zanpakto capable of this and I am babysitting a bunch of idiots," she looked over shoulder hotly at the four Zanpakto spirits waiting.

"I have—" Gamuza raised a hand.

"Don't you start," Benihime ordered threateningly, tapping her fan against her hand.

Urahara turned back to the assorted gathered Shinigami Captains, his anger still high.

"The Balance is unstable right now and our prioriety needs to be assembling a team to go to Las Noches," he looked at them, "and making sure that the two very powerful, very upset people close to the late Vice Captain Matsumoto are under some kind of control."

"Yes, Captain Hinamori has taken control of the situation with Captain Hitsugaya."

"And former Captain Ichimaru?" he questioned, "well? Oh are you serious?! Like it or not he is almost as powerful as Captain Hitsugaya! He needs to be tended too!"

"The situation is under control," the commander General rumbled.

"Oh like you had the 'situation' with Aizen Sosuke under control?!" he shouted furiously.

"That is enough, President Urahara," Commander General said.

"You couldn't be more right," Urahara muttered.

"Can we kill them?" Benihime asked perking up considerably.

"No," he snapped.

"I'll let you go Bankai," she offered.

"Well in that case," he glared, "hell no."

"You're no fun!" she pouted.

"Behihime," he said warningly.

"Yes, yes I know," she snapped haughtily, "but since I have a feeling your going to be otherwise occupied tonight I don't think you'll be too angry."

"Otherwise—" he frowned and followed her view to where Yoruichi had just walked in, looking rather furious, and he could see what looked like two badly bruised elders limping away, "oh," he said softly.

"Oh yes," Benihime all but purred, "very very occupied," she smirked, "Kisuke are you blushing?" she snickered.

"Shut up," he muttered, looking far more like a school boy than a grown man.

"Very well, President Urahara, you have made your point. Seeing as the former Espada have achieved their initial release states, Captain Soifon has been kind enough to volunteer a certain number of her division to further their training. Our prioriety now goes to assembling a team to go to Las Noches and locate the notes that might provide us with some kind of insight into how the process of Hollowification may be reversed in a long term patient," Commander General rumbled, "you may all leave."

Ichigo staggered to his feet with the intention of telling Ulquiorra not to even think about Orihime much less spend time with her when the edges of a pale green scarf came into his view.

"I believe we need to have a talk," Byakuya said cooly, "about your intentions with my sister."

Break

"Don't even think about it," Halibel stated.

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

They were being escorted to their new lodgings in the 2nd Division because apparently the general consensus was that the 11th Division wouldn't rest until they were beaten. Since that did not appear to be happening anytime soon, they were being moved to the 2nd Division. Unfortunately Benihime had broken the cardinal rule of a peaceful existance and infuriated Halibel. It was a rare and terrifying thing to infuriate Halibel and the consequences were usually not plesant.

"Only your left eye grows back," she snapped at Ulquiorra who paled.

"Whats the matter Ulqui?" Grimmjow laughed.

"Shut up carpet," he snapped icily causing Grimmjow to glared angrily ahead.

Nel was the only one who seemed any sort of content, walking along happily finishing off the candy that Yachiru had gotten her. The delegation leading them didn't seem to care that much. Ulquiorra kept his eyes ahead as he tried to search out any sort of indication as to where Orihime was. He found nothing and cursed himself for not paying closer attention to her Spiritual Pressure. He could probably find Grimmjow in the middle of a crowd of Soul Reapers but he couldn't find one girl he had spent far too much time in the company of.

He made her cry.

He knew it wasn't a big deal and that he had probably done it dozens of times before but still, the unfamiliar guilt that twisted in his stomach was not plesant at all. Maybe because before he could just say he had been following orders. Now it was not as if someone had ordered him to make her cry, he just did it all on his own. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as they passed the Fifth Division, Aizen's home. Standing on the balcony looked down at them was the young woman who had ended it all. He wondered if she had not summoned the courage, if she had not stabbed him and blown him to hell, would they have won the war? Even after doing what she had done, she seemed too small to have saved the world, too wide eyed although innocent was clearly not a term that described her anymore. Instantly she was gone from her perch and down to the main group of them.

"Captain Hinamori!" they all bowed in greeting.

"Its alright," she said, her voice soft as she looked at them, "how are you doing?"

It took them a moment to realize that she was talking to the four of them. Aizen's killer, the person who had freed them, was asking how they were. She was not pretending they weren't Espada and she wasn't acting like there was nothing wrong. But it was still strange. For a moment none of them knew what to do, they just kind of stood there awkwardly like teenagers on a first date. Of course it was Nel who knew what to do, or rather, what not to do and did it anyway.

"We're in trouble," she said around the mouthful of candy, "want some candy?" she thrust the bag under Hinamori's nose, "I'm Nel," she added after a moment, "that's Bel-Bel, Ulqui and Grimmy," she said pointing to the three of them in sucession, "and we're in trouble because we followed orders."

"Yes," Hinamori said, an amused smile playing on her lips, "it's funny how that works out sometimes huh?"

"Yeah but its okay now," she grinned, "becau—Renji!" she waved happily up at the Vice Captain who was standing up on Hinamori's balcony along with Kira and Hisagi, "come have candy with us!"

"Wow," Hisagi looked down, "when you said—" he shook his head, "you didn't mention—"

'That she happens to be a six year old stuck in a very not six-year old body?" Renji snapped, his patience wearing thin, "she acts old enough sometimes and then she goes and does that," he smacked his forehead, "I'm loosing my mind."

"You lost that a long time ago," Hisagi smirked

"Shut up!" Renji shouted.

"You really do have the oddest taste in women," Kira agreed lightly, "first Rukia, now this Nel," he looked over at him, "how come you never went after Hinamori?"

"Hey I like Hinamori just fine," he argued glancing up at the sky, "but as a friend only!"

"He can't hear you," Hisagi pointed out.

"Don't underestimate hi—oof!"

"Renji!" Nel slammed into him, "I'm in trouble," she pouted, "they say I've been very bad."

"Oh, oh wow," Hisagi shook his head, "poor Renji."

Back across Soul Society Orihime sat on the roof of a building, her knees pulled up tight to her chest. Her sobs had diminished into tears as she sat there looking out at Soul Society. Even though they won, even after everything, it was still hard to die. She had always thought that when she died she'd get to see Sora again but that was before she knewher brother had become a Hollow. Ishida, the rest of Ichigo's family, they had all survived. She hoped they were doing well. The rest of them had not been so lucky. She hadn't minded the idea of living in Soul Society, after all that had happened she imagined that she would just spend the rest of her life waiting to go there.

She hadn't meant to snap at Ulquiorra and then run off. She also really hadn't meant to cry but she thought he had known they were dead. It was still just upsetting to talk about it. No-one else did. But, she reasoned, Ulquiorra had never—and probably would never—be like anyone else she knew. The thought was enough to make her more miserable as tears leaked down her face even quicker than before. She reached up and took the offered hanky, wiping her eyes before she froze and turned to see Urahara sitting next to her.

"Urahara—" she began, "I didn't mean to worry everyone."

"You needed time," he shrugged, "dying's hard, remembering's a good deal harder. You are very unlucky with that."

Orihime nodded. That was the one thing about dying that scared her, not remembering all her friends. Now that she did she wondered if it wouldn't have been better to forget everyone and start all over. After all then she supposed her heart wouldn't ache when she saw Ichigo and Rukia together or how all her friends had gone and found people to settle down with but her. She immediately felt worse for thinking such horrible things about her friends and an unhappy sigh came from her lips.

"It won't always hurt you know," he said after a moment, "but if you keep pretending everything's alright it'll take a lot longer to get better."

"Does everyone know I'm pretending?" she asked.

"No one," he said.

"Someone did," she whispered hugging her knees a little tighter.

"Must be someone special," Urahara said.

Orihime felt like her stomach was gone as she buried her face in her knees, this time to hide the smile on her lips instead of her tears.