A Black Heart

And back again. This was an annoying chapter to write as I wanted to set the stage for the coming chapters, but at the same time I couldn't find a reasonable match up for some people concerned. Anyway, read on and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

"Normal speech"

'Inner speech/thoughts'

"Kido/Zanpakuto Attacks/Quincy Techniques"

"Zanpakuto speech/Inner Power"

"Hollow speech"

XXX

Chapter 18:

"Man this sucks," Ikkaku Madarame, a bald soul reaper with an athletic build, muttered with a yawn, as he leaned lazily against a wall, his face half illuminated by the moon shining down on them. Despite the fact that night had fallen on the Seireitei, the Captains of the various squads had decided to keep their forces on alert and patrolling their respective areas. "Hey Yumichika, when does our relief get here?"

Glancing at his companion, Yumichika Ayasegawa, a vain narcissistic soul reaper with black hair and two different coloured feathers attached to his eyebrows, sighed and returned his gaze to the night sky. "It's been five minutes since you asked Ikkaku. They won't be here for another hour or so."

"Damn," Ikkaku muttered, kneeling down and resting his sheathed zanpakuto against his shoulder. "Those ryoka landed on the border of the Sixth and Seventh Divisions grounds, I don't see why we're stuck here looking for them."

Humming softly in agreement, Yumichika perked up a bit when he noticed an unseated soul reaper running towards them, panting heavily.

"Fifth Seat Ayasegawa, Third Seat Madarame," he muttered with a bow, his chest still heaving from exertion.

"What is it?" Ikkaku asked, standing to his full height to glare down at the man.

"We've discovered…the bodies of…several of our men…all hidden throughout the area," the unnamed soul reaper answered, flinching slightly at the angry looks on both senior soul reapers' faces.

"Where? Take us there immediately," Ikkaku shouted at him, getting a frightened squeak out of the man, before he set off at a sprint in the direction he'd come.

Stepping into the storeroom minutes later, Ikkaku and Yumichika's eyes widened as they took in the gruesome scene in front of them. Numerous supply boxes had been pushed against the wall, leaving the centre clear for two chairs and their occupants.

While Goteitaishi's death was similar to the others that had been found, Seizo's almost untouched corpse puzzled them for a moment. As they took a closer look though, they grimaced at the blackened skin around his temples.

While Yumichika wasn't particularly moved by either of their deaths, he glanced to Ikkaku, knowing his friend's feelings towards the soul reaper that had saved him from a nasty run in with a spirit-energy draining hollow.

"The Captain needs to be informed," Ikkaku muttered, turning to face his friend.

"I'll report to him," Yumichika murmured, hurrying away. If someone was killing their members, the last thing they wanted to do was delay in giving the news to their Captain.

"The rest of you, spread and search! The intruder might still be in the area for all we know! And I want a team from the Twelfth Division here immediately to gather a sample for analysis. Get moving!"

XXX

Far away from the panic he had created, Ichigo sat atop a stack of boxes, in yet another storeroom, with his back against the wall, as the moonlight shone in from the window next to him, illuminating a piece of paper in his hand.

Knowing the basics of where Rukia would be held, he merely needed to find an individual that would be willing to point him in the direction of Ichimaru and Kira. He was so successful with his task that he'd even managed to get one of his victims to draw him a basic map of the Seireitei with all the Divisions marked out on it.

Using his finger, he traced a line from the West Entrance, across the areas marked Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen and Two, before finally landing on the area marked Three.

"I've cut through the Eleventh and Twelfth Divisions already, so that puts me somewhere in the Thirteenth Division's jurisdiction. I'll need to be careful going through the Second Division's grounds since they're the ones most likely to notice that I'm an intruder."

Folding up the piece of paper, he reached down for the meagre rations he'd been able to find and quickly devoured them. They were barely palatable, but so long as they kept him going, he didn't care much. After this was all over, he could always head back to that restaurant and buy something nice for himself. 'That's assuming I live through this,' he thought, before drifting off into an uneasy slumber.

XXX

The following morning found the Seireitei a veritable hive of activity, as news of the losses suffered by the Eleventh Division had made its rounds to every Division, placing them now on an even higher alert. A fact that made Uryu, Chad and Ganju uneasy as they now walked amongst the soul reapers disguised like them.

'Figures that Ichigo would make our job harder by killing some of these soul reapers,' the Quincy cursed, leaning back against a wall as a horde ran past him. When they were finalising the details of their disguises last night, Yoruichi had commented that he would fit right in with the stereotypical image that most soul reapers had of members of the Fourth Division, much to his chagrin. He had to grudgingly agree with her, as most paid him no mind as he continued on his way with a few boxes in his hands and a satchel thrown over his back.

Thinking back on his mission, he was supposed to infiltrate the Ninth Division's barracks and do what he could to disrupt them. Whether that involved falsifying their orders, or leading them on a wild goose chase, he was free to decide. Looking up the path that he was walking down, he was relieved to see the entrance to the barracks ahead of him, guarded by two unseated soul reapers. As he neared them, they barely paid him any mind, other than a brief nod, before allowing him through.

As he walked up the steps of the Division though, he heard a muted yell, before the boxes and their contents went tumbling down onto the person he'd bumped into.

"I'm so sorry I didn't see you there," he hastily apologised, hurriedly trying to pick up the pieces and toss them back into the boxes.

"Ah it's no worries really," a timid voice answered, belonging to a meek looking soul reaper with chin-length black hair and a perpetually downcast expression.

"What happened here?" a stern voice asked, causing Uryu to flinch as the situation continued to worsen. Looking up, he hid his dread at seeing a well-built soul reaper with spiky black hair and the number 69 tattooed on his cheek, staring down at the mess with a grim expression on his face. Recognising the other soul reaper, he sighed and asked, "Hanatarou, what did you do now?"

"Ah it's nothing Lieutenant Hisagi sir," the now named Hanatarou replied, rushing to help Uryu clean up the mess before they were both reprimanded. "I just finished the cleaning of the Ninth Division's Detention area before I collided with…uh…what was your name again?"

"Uryu Ishida, member of the Fourth Division," Uryu quickly rattled off, stacking the now filled boxes one on top of the other. "Sorry but I need to get going," he muttered, quickly picking up the boxes and trying to head into the barracks.

"Uryu Ishida? Are you new to the Fourth Division? I don't remember seeing your name on the duties list today?" Hanatarou asked, causing Uryu to curse inwardly. It was just his luck that he had to bump into someone that could positively identify him as not being part of said Division.

"I just came in with the new transfers. It's possible that they don't have me on the roster yet."

As he tried to walk past the Lieutenant though, he found his path blocked by their forearm. "Just a quick question, who's your commanding officer? I want to have a word with them about making sure that they actually get the lists updated timeously," he asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

'Shit,' Uryu thought, turning his gaze to meet the no-nonsense look that Hisagi was giving him. "Seventh seat…uh I can't quite remember his name, but I was given my orders by the Seventh Seat."

"Interesting…you say you report to the Seventh Seat of the Fourth Division. How curious that you don't remember his name since you just bumped into him."

'Double shit…' Uryu thought, watching as the Lieutenant placed his hand on his blade and pulled it an inch out of his sheath.

"I'll ask you this just once…who are you?"

Tossing the boxes at the Lieutenant, Uryu leapt back with the help of his Hirenkyaku aiding him and summoned his bow. "I guess it was only a matter of time before I was found out, but I didn't think it'd be so soon. My name is Uryu Ishida and I am a Quincy," he answered, just as Hisagi sliced through the boxes thrown at him.

"A Quincy? Our histories declared your race as extinct. No matter then, what is your purpose here? Are you responsible for the deaths of the Eleventh Division members?" Hisagi asked, slowly shuffling to the side as he circled Uryu.

"That was not my doing, nor do I know how they happened. I cannot say more than that."

"Then what is your purpose here?" he asked again, catching Hanatarou sneaking away.

"I cannot answer that either."

"You're not making this easy are you. I guess you're going to force me to arrest you in order to get any answers."

"I'm afraid that I have no intention of coming quietly soul reaper."

"I didn't say you would," Hisagi muttered, moments before he charged with his blade drawn.

XXX

Far away from the Quincy cursing his name, Ichigo knelt on an orange slatted rooftop overlooking the Third Division's quad. From his vantage point, he could just make out Kira's blond hair as the Lieutenant barked out orders at his squad members, no doubt on the vigilance necessary to capture him. 'It'll be interesting to see whether they actually practice what they preach,' he thought, a small grin on his masked face as he watched the division members hurry off to fulfil their orders, leaving their Lieutenant very much alone. Once the last soul reaper had vanished and Kira began to head back into the barracks proper, Ichigo leapt down from his perch, landing with a soft thud at the entrance to the area.

Stopping at the sound, Kira turned to the entrance and was surprised to see a member of the Onmitsukido walking towards him. Somewhere in his mind, he found it strange that it was a member of the Executive Militia approaching him and not the Inner Court Troop, but it was brushed off considering that there was simply no time to delay in delivering vital information at such a serious time as this.

"What do you have to report?" he asked the soldier when he was within a few feet, only to be met with silence as they continued to approach him. As he was about to ask again, his eyes widened as they disappeared without a trace, before he cried out as a crippling sensation ripped through his being as he was cut from shoulder to hip in a single searing strike. Flash-stepping away from the follow-up strike, he drew his blade in the same instant and spun on his heel to face his attacker. "Who the hell are you?" he ground out through gritted teeth, as his blood flowed down his back and legs to pool at his feet.

Still the strange soul reaper refused to answer, instead charging at him again with his short sword drawn. As they were about to collide, the stranger vanished from his sight once again. Knowing what was coming though, Kira reflexively brought his blade to parry the strike at his neck, the two blades clashing in a shower of sparks. Grunting as pain from his injury flared across his nerves, he yelled and slashed out at his attacker, his blade ghosting across the black uniform as they leapt away from one another.

"So that's how you've been able to move around so easily and kill with impunity. No one would even think to question why a member of the Onmitsukido was running around when we're on alert," Kira muttered as he and the stranger stared at one another. "You've made a mistake in coming here though. On the honour of the Third Division, I cannot allow you to leave this area alive. Raise your head, Wabisuke!" he commanded, causing his blade to writhe and twist into its hook-like form. The action only seemed to pique the curiosity of his opponent, as they cocked their head to the side, staring curiously at his blade.

XXX

'Hehe…this is easier than I thought,' Ganju thought evilly, piling a few fireworks one atop of the other, before leading a fuse towards the door of the room he was in. For hours now he'd been sneaking around the Seireitei and leaving several infernos in his wake as he did. He was careful to only start them somewhere deserted though, for it wouldn't do for him to be caught in the act now. Lighting the fuse, he quickly scarpered away watching with some satisfaction as he heard a blast, followed by a plume of black smoke rising into the air. Chuckling, he decided to head back towards Sokyoku Hill since he was running low on fireworks. He was stopped though by a whip-like sword slamming into the ground in front of him.

"Oi what the hell was that?!" he screamed out loud, his eyes following the blade back to its wielder.

"You seem pretty smug about all the shit you're causing," a gruff voice answered. Staring down at him with a glare on his face, was a soul reaper with blood red hair, done up in a high bob, with several tattoos just barely visible on his body. "Don't bother trying to talk your way out of this, I'm pissed off enough as it is and you're clearly a ryoka. I'll give you one chance to come quietly; otherwise I can't guarantee you'll survive."

"Hah! That's sounds like a pretty fine offer soul reaper…but there's no way I could accept it. If I did, how the hell can I look at my sister and cousins knowing that I gave up. That's just not something Shiba men do!"

"A Shiba? What are you doing here? Hasn't your clan suffered enough without you causing them anymore grief?" Renji muttered, narrowing his eyes in anger at Ganju.

"Shut up! What would you know about how they feel?"

"Tch, it doesn't really matter what I think anyway," he mumbled, leaping down to stand across from him. "Renji Abarai, Lieutenant of the Sixth Division."

"Ganju Shiba, The Number One Hater of Soul Reapers."

"That's a pretty pathetic title if you ask me, but it won't matter much after this," he said, before snapping his blade forward, the whip-like weapon screaming through the air.

XXX

So I've set up the three battles to take place in the coming chapters and well, I can't say that the results will be surprising for some of them (*Cough* Ganju *Cough*). Anyway till next time, bye-bye.