Greed: You guys make me so happy! Four reviews not even two hours after I update! And, can I just say, wow! They made me so inspired to write. So, hopefully this update makes you all happy lil' fuckers!

Vanity: So, thank you Hollow Ichigo-Ichigo, MaeKat, deidrasha the fallen angel, and Lil Mexican, for your quick reviews that just made us smile! Thanks to you, this update is early! Everybody, thank these lovely people.

Greed: Yeah, yeah, now on with the story! *Kicks the air and plays guitar*

Vanity: This is a story, not a concert; they cannot see what you're doing.

Greed: Do you always have to bring me down?

Vanity: Yes, yes I do.

…

Chapter 7… Surprise

Red hair on a head wrapped in a bandana flashed into an alley.

"Did you see anything?" a petite woman asked the pineapple haired man.

"I couldn't really see much, but I think there are about nine people in that warehouse. The windows are all boarded up, so it was hard to tell from the cracks in between the wood. I think one of them was Ichigo," Renji explained.

Rukia looked excited. "What were they doing?"

"I couldn't tell. All I know is that they were all together, probably talking about something or other. I couldn't—" He stopped and drew his sword. Something was around them. And it wasn't friendly.

"What's wrong?" Rukia asked her friend in a whisper. The red headed lieutenant didn't answer. His eyes just surveyed the area around them. The alley way was clear, so were the roofs above them. Nothing made a sound in the cool air of the night. The full moon cast no strange shadows. "Renji?"

…

Shinji watched two shinigami talk in the alley. He had come out for surveillance before everyone left. Ichigo wasn't far behind, and Rose and Kensei were taking the other side of the warehouse. They had to make absolutely sure that they could get away without attracting the attention of too many soul reapers.

And yet, here were two of Soul Society's lieutenants. God, this was just too fucking lucky. Why did he have to be the one to find these two? And Ichigo wasn't here yet.

"Renji?" he heard the girl ask.

"Shut up, Kuchiki," the man growled quietly.

Kuchiki? That little pipsqueak? There was no way that girl was part of the Kuchiki family. It almost made the blond laugh. Instead of laugh, though, he attacked. Mr. Pineapple was expecting it, so why not make his day?

Shinji sword came unsheathed, making a beautifully deadly sound. The one named Renji turned his head at the sound. However, as the Vizard came at him, he wasn't going to be able to lift his sword in time to block the blond's attack. It was coming too swiftly for his eyes to even register. Rukia could just make out a blur of motion, and then everything stopped.

Two blades had crashed together. Black and silver collided. Gold, determined eyes met with confused brown ones. Gold. That wasn't right. Weren't they brown earlier? Shinji caught himself thinking. But then his confusion turned to outrage. What was this kid doing? Protecting shinigami? Had he led them here? Was Ichigo part of some intricate plot to smoke out the hidden Vizards? "What the hell are you doing, Ichigo?" the ex-captain finally spoke. Anger was clear in his voice.

"I should ask you that, Hirako," the strawberry head hissed. "We were supposed to be avoiding confrontations, and here you are picking a fight."

"With shinigami! Just why the hell do you care? They betrayed you. I'm surprised you didn't go after them yourself." The blond was snarling at the teen.

Before Ichigo could speak again, he coughed. Blood came out, several drops landing on Shinji's cheek, some dripping down Ichigo's chin. "Ichigo!" the black haired girl screamed, ignoring the cringe her companion made at the loud exclamation. She ran to her friend's side as he fell to his knee. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, bastard just made me reopen my wound."

Rukia had her arms under Ichigo's shoulders, as if to support him. He didn't mind. He had missed her so much, even if it hadn't actually been that long since their last encounter. It felt like it had been decades. The girl's arms tightened. She could feel ribs were there used to be lean muscle. Her friend's face was sallow, devoid of healthy color. His eyes, once a chocolate color, were now a dull, almost lifeless brown. What had happened to this teen in such a short time?

Shinji watched the woman hold up the teenager. Worry was apparent in her eyes and tone. His eyes slid to the other shinigami. The redhead watched the duo with concern in his eyes, also. What the hell was going on? "Kurosaki, you need to explain what's going on before I decide to take it the wrong way."

Brown eyes looked up. Yellow crept into the irises. It was creepy, even if he had seen it so many times. But, this kid, he wasn't doing it on purpose like the others did. Oh no. he wasn't even conscious of his hollow slipping out in small doses. Hayori was right to be wary of Ichigo.

"They're my… friends," Ichigo gasped. "They would not be part of such a thing like hunting me down."

"That's right! We wouldn't do such an awful thing!" Rukia cried. "What the 1st captain is doing isn't right! Even my brother thinks it isn't condonable."

"You're brother?" Shinji asked. "That stuck up bastard? For some reason I doubt he would go against Old Man Yamamoto just for the sake of some kid. Byakuya is someone to go against orders from what I hear. Or did he really try his best to save you when you were sentenced to death at the hands of your precious Soul Society?"

Rukia was stricken by the words the blond Vizard hurled at her.

"Hey, bastard! Don't talk to her like that," Renji yelled. "That was just a misunderstanding."

"Yeah, well it still would have left her d-" before Shinji could finish the word, a massive energy stopped him. Ichigo was standing up without Rukia's help. His eyes were rimmed in black.

"Just shut up, Shinji! You know nothing about what has happened in Soul Society other than what you've been told by that arrogant bastard Urahara. I'm sick of everything being either black or white to you guys. If they are a shinigami, they're bad, if they are a Vizard, they are good. Well, these two are the ones I trust, not you! So stop trying to pick a fight where one is not needed!" Ichigo started coughing again. His spirit pressure weakened.

Shinji grabbed his cellphone out of his pocket and hit a number for speed dial. It rang once. All he said was one word into the speaker. "Scatter."

…

"Scatter."

Love heard that one word from the other side of the phone he had answered. He raised his hand and gave a signal. Hachi, Hayori, Lisa, and Mashiro all disappeared not even a half a second later. They had all felt Ichigo's spirit pressure. This location was even more risky than it had previously been. And it had everyone wondering just what had happened to make the kid do something like that.

Rose and Kensei were met by Hachi and Lisa and told the situation. Mashiro and Hayori went off to Shinji and Ichigo. Love followed.

…

"He needs help now!"

"He'll be fine for a while. I'll just carry him. Now, you to go away before I kill you," Shinji told the girl.

Tears were in her eyes but they refused to fall. "No way! I'm going with Ichigo! I didn't leave Soul Society just to catch a glimpse of him!" Renji nodded his agreement to her statement.

"Che, are you guys idiots? If you come with us, we will not trust you. You will also be labeled as traitors. And more people make it harder to hide! It's basically guaranteeing that we'll be hunted even more easily!" Shinji almost shouted. He picked up the hurting teen who struggled weakly. "You two need to leave now, before deciding on this insane act. You kids today are just too energetic."

"No," Renji spoke up. "We will not leave Ichigo to those he does not trust."

Shinji about argued, but stopped. He felt faint spirit energy not too far from them. Damn. They had to move. And quickly. "Fine! Just keep up, or I'll leave you behind." He abruptly turned at sprinted off, not taking to the roofs least they be spotted more easily. It wasn't long before Love, Mashiro, and Hayori caught up with them.

The three new comers tensed at the sight of the shinigami, but calmed slightly when Shinji told them about their little situation. However, eyes stayed upon the black clad companions of Ichigo.

"Is Berry-tan okay, Shinji?" Mashiro yelled at the blond Vizard.

Hayori cringed. "You idiot! Can't you keep quiet for once? We're running for our lives here, and you go and make enough noise to raise the dead."

"Hayori, you're not being any better," Love reprimanded. She turned away and went back to staring at the petite shinigami and her monkey of a partner. God, this was going to be fun.

…

Mayuri watched his cameras that surrounded the Okayama area. Nothing. There wasn't a single damned… wait.

A flash of red. Some blond. Oh! Two blonds! This was interesting. And there was the Kurosaki child. Ha! This was going to be fun! Ah. And wasn't that the Kuchiki girl and Kuchiki's subordinate, Abarai? They seemed to be—helping?—going along with the Vizards. Now, this was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.

"Nemu, it seems we have an… experiment to proceed with. I trust you'll be of help this time, you useless thing."

"Of course, Mayuri-sama."

…

Small doses. That's all it needed. The cuff would get used to his reiatsu. It was about like bacteria getting used to things that killed them. He'd introduce himself to the thing supposed to suppress him, let it get used to him, and then, and then….

Ahaha! Oh, this would be wonderful! Those idiots wouldn't suspect a thing! Not even his king knew what he was doing. The horse would rise and throw off his rider. And then, and then….

…

Ichigo watched as Hachi once again patched up his stomach.

"It's going to take longer to heal if you keep being careless, Ichigo-kun."

"It isn't as if I mean for this shit to happen. If I hadn't cut in, Shinji would have killed Rukia and Renji. I can't just watch as those idiots get cut down." There was a muffled hey from Rukia in the corner. "I saved your ass, don't give me that shit," Ichigo laughed. Then he clutched his stomach. Really smart.

"Nice going, king," came a whisper from his inner world. The teenager ignored it.

Hachigen chuckled at the fiery boy. "Just try to settle down a bit. We haven't gotten supplies for this place yet. And who knows when we'll have to move again. Try to rest for now. Everything should be calm for at least a few days."

Ichigo nodded. A few days would be perfect to heal up, actually eat, and bath properly! Ah, what he wouldn't do for a suitable shower! Running for two weeks was not good for the body at all. And when he had gotten to the Vizards, well, there hadn't been time for luxuries like a long shower. It had been a get in, get out juggle. Especially with his wound. Hell, Hachi had suggested giving him a sponge bath! The horror! Shiro laughed at his thoughts.

"King, ya really are pathetic sometimes."

"Shut up," the ginger growled under his breath.

…

The captain of squad 12 pinpointed his subjects' whereabouts. They hadn't been able to move too far out of the area with an injured member of their party. And that just helped the crazed scientist all the more. It was time to retrieve long overdue data from that substitute shinigami and those run away Vizards.

Maybe that old man would let him keep one or two of them so that he could continually experiment on them.

Oh the possibilities that would present!

…

Vanity: I hope you have enjoyed this chapter as much as I have enjoyed writing it, my lovelies.

Greed: Shut up, Van, and get to the point.

Vanity: *sigh* Alright you vulgar excuse for a writer. Please review, favorite, or follow! Hell, do all three! We would greatly appreciate it!

Greed: What she said!