The song is Angel by Within Temptation
I do not own Bleach, characters or locations.
~5th squad barracks~
"To think this would get serious enough for squad zero to show up. You think it's because of Renji and Rini's parentage?" Hirako was lying down on the roof of the 5th squad's main building. He didn't want to deal with the paperwork on his desk.
Urahara was just passing by when Shinji had asked him. He stopped and looked at the relaxing Taichou. "Was that directed at me?"
Shinji rolled his eyes. "No dummy. I'm asking the invisible person on the other side of Soul Society. Of course I'm asking you." He honestly wondered how the guy became a Taichou back when he was still part of the Gotei 13.
"I honestly don't know for sure, but I would imagine that is the answer. " Urahara had been walking around thinking about what had happened in the meeting. He had given the book to Kurotsuchi to see if the Taichou could find out anything in the book about reversing the ritual's effects.
"Guess all we can do for now is wait." He looked out over the roof tops around him. A fast moving figure caught his eyes. The figure was heading towards them, blond pigtails trailing behind her.
"Finally found you baldy." Hiyori landed beside Urahara. "Time to tell your Fukutaichou whe the new Taichou of 5th squad." Shinji looked at her as if he didn't know what she was talking about. "Get moving idiot!" She flash stepped beside him and kicked him off the roof. To her disappointment, Shinji landed on his feet.
"It's not nice to kick people, idiot." Shinji wasn't in the mood to play around with Hiyori.
"Don't call people an idiot, idi-" Hiyori looked out into the distance.
"What are you looking at?" Kisuke asked, but no reply came from the Visored. He turned to Hirako and saw him looking around frantically. "What are you doing?"
"Looking for the source of that sound. It's got to be close for it to be that loud." He hopped up next to the short blond.
"Sound? I don't hear anything." Urahara cleaned his ear out with his pinky. "You sure your both not just hearing things?"
"It sounds, like a lullaby." Hiyori whispered with a bit of sadness in her voice. "It's so sad-"
Both Visoreds fell over. Kisuke rushed beside them, only to find them both sound asleep. "What just happened?" He said to himself while scratching his head.
"Urahara-san. Have you seen Hirako-Taichou? We're suppose to go to a meeting." Hinamori was standing were he had been a moment ago.
"Why don't you give me a hand? Then you can head off to your meeting." Hinamori looked at him then shrugged and jumped onto the roof. "Taichou!"
"Five more minutes." Mumbled the sleeping Taichou. He then rolled over onto his stomach and opened one eye after relishing he wasn't in his bed. "Hmm. The music stopped."
"Music?" Hinamori looked at her Taichou then looked at Urahara who shrugged at her.
A hell butterfly flew down towards them. It flew to Hinamori and she caught it on her finger. "All Taichous, Fukutaichous, and Visoreds report to 1st squad barracks for an emergency meeting. Also to attend is Awazaki Ayame if possible and Urahara Kisuke." The sound of Nanao's voice came from the butterfly.
"I wonder if something happened to Ayame-chan." Hinamori sounded worried to her Taichou.
"Well whatever happened, I'm sure we're going to find out." Shinji picked up Hiyori and headed of to the meeting with his Fukutaichou and Kisuke.
~forest in the Rukongai~
"He didn't show." Blood was hoping her brother she had been told about would come when he heard her voice.
"You must be to far away. But I'm sure he knows you're out here." Aizen had hoped to cause a bit of trouble but so far all that happened was a few Hollows nearby had fallen asleep. "Why don't you try a different song?" He handed a handkerchief to the crying Espada. She wiped away her tears mixed with blood.
"Ok." Blood didn't know why she was doing what the man asked. He knew about her brother and about her, but she couldn't remember anything. She had woken up in what looked like a lake of blood not knowing where she was or who she was. This man had just been there to help her.
She turned back towards the clearing she had been singing in before. A gentle breeze caused the tall grass to look like it had waves. Blood couldn't put her finger on it, but the clearing seemed familiar. She didn't know how. The only things near the clearing was a small stream and what looked like the remains of a house that had long been abandoned.
She took a deep breath and searched her mind for a song to sing. It took her almost an hour before She smiled after founding one she liked. She started to hum the tune for some time before she started to sing.
"Sparkling Angel,
I believe,
You are my saviour,
In my time of need,
Blinded by faith,
I couldn't hear,
All the whispers,
The warning's so clear,
I see the angels,
I'll lead them to your door,
There is no escape now,
Now mercy no more,
No remorse 'cause I still remember,
The smile when you tore me apart,
You took my heart,
Deceived me right from the start,
You showed me dreams,
I wished they'd turn to real,
You broke the promise,
And made me realise,
It was all just a lie,
Sparkling angel,
Couldn't see,
Your dark intentions,
Your feelings for me,
Fallen angel,
Tell me why?,
What is the reason?,
The thorn in your eye,
I see the angels,
I'll lead them to your door,
There is no escape now,
No mercy no more,
No remorse 'cause I still remember,
The smile when you tore me apart,
You took my heart,
Deceived me right from the start,
You showed me dreams,
I wished they'd turn to real,
You broke the promise,
And made me realise,
It was all just a lie,
Could have been forever,
Now we have reached the end,
This world may have failed you,
It doesn't give the reason why,
You could have chosen,
A different path of life,
The smile when you tore me apart,
You took my heart,
Deceived me right from the start,
You showed me dreams,
I wished they'd turn in to real,
You broke a promise,
And made me realise,
It was all just a lie,
Could have been forever,
Now we have reached the end,"
Tears of blood were streaming down her face. Hollows surrounded the edge of the clearing. They stood there with out moving or making a sound, as if they were waited patiently for her to start another song.
"Hiyori! Stop!" A shinigami with a Hollow mask broke through the circle of Hollows. Another shinigami, wearing what looked like a white kimono over his black uniform, landed on top of the first. "Listen when people yell at you, idiot!" The man with blond hair held down the other, smaller, blond shinigami.
~with the shinigami during Blood's singing~
"Can any of you explain what just happened?" All of the Visoreds were lined up in front of Kyoraku with Ichigo and Ayame in the line as well. He looked up and down the line, but no one seemed to have an answer for him.
"I may be able to help." Urahara stepped out of the line of Taichous he had been standing in and faced the Soutaichou. "I do not believe that it is a coincidence that those with abilities of Hollows are the only ones that were affected. I think it is safe to assume that Rini is now part of Aizen's army and that she is using her Hollow controlling ability."
The Soutaichou frowned. He had hoped that Aizen wouldn't have gained Rini's power for some time. "Seems luck is not on our side." He whispered to himself low enough for no one else to hear. "Do you know any way to stop them from being affected?" He looked at the current and former Taichous of 12th squad.
"By my understanding, she is just using sound waves to control them. So simply blocking out the sound should be enough." Kurotsuchi explained unamused.
"So we run around with our fingers in our ears. That's not going to cause problems." Hiyori said under her breath.
"I agree." Hikifune startled Hiyori with her comment. She hadn't realized her former Taichou was beside her. "True blocking sound would help, but then they won't hear anything. Perhaps you should develop something that will block only her voice."
"If we have time, but I do not believe we have that time." Urahara had already been thinking up ideas since the incident this morning. He needed to get to a lab to start working on a prototype.
"Start working on one. Dismissed. Hirako-Taichou and Hinamori-Fukutaichou, stay behind as well as those that were previously asked to." Kyoraku had been putting off releasing Shinji as 5th squad Taichou due to the problems they were having with Aizen, but he knew the change needed to be made.
The moment the doors unsealed themselves a strong Hollow presence appeared in the room. Ayame fell to the floor trying to get air into her lungs while the Visoreds tried to stop themselves from Hollowfying.
'This feels like when Aizen forced us to Hollowfy the first time.' Shinji's eyes widen at his realization to the song playing in his head. "Seal the door!" But a lone figure was already leaving the scene with a full Hollow mask. "Hiyori!"
Suddenly the music stopped playing and he regained control of his powers. He felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked over to see Urahara's face with a questioning look on it. He saw his lips move but heard nothing. 'Must have used earplugs or something.' He then said "I'm fine" aloud, but wasn't sure if that answer Kisuke's question but the man smiled and moved on to see how the others were doing.
"We're going to have to go after her." Kensei said. Surprisingly his voice wasn't louder than it normally was, despite the fact that he couldn't hear himself.
"Yes we should. She might lead us to Rini, and quite possibly Aizen." Urahara was somewhat glad another inside not had happened.
"Taichous and Fukutaichous from squads 2, 5, 6, 7, 10, and 11 will pursue Sarugski Hiyori. If Aizen is found, he is to be killed on sight. The same goes for Tosen Kaname. Abarai Rini is to be taken back alive, if possible." Kyoraku added the last two words in case the worst happened. Meaning if the seal from the ritual was gone and Rini couldn't be reverted back to herself. "Urahara-san and Kurotsuchi-Taichou, get to work on a blocking device immediately. Inoue-Taichou, heal Awazaki-san as best you can, then send her, Kurosaki-Taichou and Hisagi-Fukutaichou to meet up with the pursuit team. Dismissed!"
The Taichous that were assigned to chase after the Hollowfied Hiyori left as fast as they could. Orihime left for the 4th squad barracks with Hisagi and Ichigo behind her. Kisuke and Mayuri shared a glance as if saying, "bet I can do it faster than you." They both raced off towards their labs to begin working.
"Hopefully we will end this today." Kyoraku was tired of chasing after Aizen. He felt his wife put her hand on his cheek.
"Don't worry. It will end." Nanao's voice was soft in the silence of the room.
"I'm going with them." He kissed her on the cheek. "Make sure everything runs smoothly while I'm gone." He was about to leave when he saw the look on his wife's face. "I need you to stay here. That way I know you're safe, you're both safe."
"I'll be fine. I'm already past the first trimester." Nanao didn't want to see her husband go off alone, no matter how powerful she knew he was.
"Please stay. Please." Shunsui spoke it in a voice he knew his wife would listen to. It was the same voice he used to convince her that he truly loved her and wasn't just being his regular flirtatious self. He looked at her with worry for both her and their unborn child.
"Okay. I'll stay here. But at least take some one else with you." Nanao knew he only used his sincere voice when he really wanted something. So she obliged him this time. He was gone almost as soon as she agreed to his terms, but not before giving her a kiss and saying he would take Ukitake with him. "I'll keep the three of us safe." She said to herself while wrapping her arms around her stomach.
~4th squad hospital~
"I said I'm fine." Ayame was sitting up on the bed she was given facing Orihime. "Why do I have to wear these?" Urahara had put earplugs in her ears after she had collapsed. They felt uncomfortable to her. Especially the silence that they brought.
"Because if you don't wear them you'll get suffocated again. Can you really understand what I'm saying?" Orihime had been speaking to the pink haired girl as if she didn't have earplugs in. She noticed that if she wasn't facing the girl she wouldn't get a response.
"Yeah. My obaa-chan was deaf. So I had to learn sign language, but she also knew how to read lips. So she taught me when ever I went to visit. We had fun making everyone think she could hear again." Ayame had loved visiting obaa-chan. She had been the only person there when she had died holding her hand and smiling. Ayame shook away the tears. "She always said it would come in handy."
"How is she?" Ichigo walked in with Hisagi close behind him. He stood behind his wife and kissed the top if her head.
Inoue blushed at her husband's display of affection. "She should be just fine. There was a bit of damage to her lungs, but that was easy to fix." She stood up and handed Ayame's zanpakutou back to her. She had taken it to keep the energetic girl from just rushing off. "Be safe." She smiled at Ayame as she headed out the door.
"I'll be back soon. Hopefully this will all be done when I get back." He kissed Orihime then headed to the door. He stopped in The doorway and turned halfway around. "You said earlier you wanted to talk to me about something."
The orange haired girl smiled and waved her hand at him. "It can wait till you get back."
Ichigo left to follow after his Fukutaichou and his Fukutaichou's pink haired girlfriend, passing Kotetsu-Fukutaichou. Isane walked into the patient room her Taichou was in still looking in the direction Kurosaki-Taichou had gone. "Taichou? Have you told him yet?"
"No. We can wait a little while." Orihime was looking out the window at the setting sun with a hand on her lower abdomen.
~pursuit team~
There wasn't much said in the group while following the Hollowfied blond in front of them. Only once Shinji saw her starting to look around instead of just running did he start yelling at her. "Hiyori! Hiyori! Stop!" He had caught up to her and tackled her to the ground. He didn't notice all of the Hollows or the red haired Espada a few feet away from them. "Listen when people yell at you, idiot!"
"Who are you calling an idiot! Idiot! Now get off me!" Shinji got off Hiyori knowing that she was in control of herself again. She made her mask disappear and stared at the group of Taichous and Fukutaichous that appeared behind the blond man in front of her. "How did we end up in a forest?" Hiyori had no memory of what happened after the doors unsealed themselves. She just remembered pain, skull splitting pain.
"You Hollowfied then ran off. Most likely following her voice." He looked at the startled Espada with blood running down from her eyes. Drops of it could be seen on her white uniform. "I imagine you're not alone."
"That would be correct, Hirako-Taichou." A figure in a white suit walked out of the shadow of a tree with an Espada beside him.
"Aizen. So good of you to show yourself." Everyone turned to look at Kyoraku as he entered the clearing with the Taichou and Fukutaichou of 13th squad. "I was hoping to finish this today." Kyoraku drew his zanpakutou and readied for a fight.
"That would be nice, but sadly that doesn't fit with my plan." Aizen wouldn't actually have minded to end it today, but he really wanted to use his plan. He wanted to humiliate the Soul King by destroying Soul Society and overthrowing him with someone from his own family.
"Shall I take care of them, Aizen-sama?" The Espada asked him.
The largest shinigami looked at the Espada in disbelief. "Tosen!"
"Komamura Sajin. You look well." The Espada laughed at his own remarks.
"How are you still alive?" The Taichou growled at his traitorous old friend.
"I am part Espada. I do not die as easily as others. If Ichimaru survived, why is it so hard to believe that I did as well. And I no longer Tosen Kaname. It's Moth now." He spoke the last two sentences as Ichigo, Ayame and Hisagi entered the clearing. He spotted his old Fukutaichou and smiled. 'I'll greet him later'.
"Rini!" Rinji yelled when he saw the red hair on the Espada. She turned and looked at him, blood still on her face. "Are you alright!"
Blood just stared at the red haired shinigami. 'Is this my brother? Why doesn't he know my name? Or is my name Rini?' Blood felt a warm presence in her mind. 'What is this familiar feeling?' The warm feeling was replaced by a stabbing pain in the back of her neck. "Kya!"
"Rini!" She didn't see who yelled, but she heard metal scraping metal nearby.
"Come. It's time to leave."Aizen was standing in front of her holding out his hand. She took it and he helped her up. Aizen could see that she wouldn't be able to hold herself up, so he picked her up and walked back towards the tree he was standing under earlier.
"You're not leaving are you?" Kyoraku stood infront of Aizen while Uktake stood behind him. The other Taichous filled in the gap between the two Taichous. They had Aizen surrounded.
"Moth. Take Blood back to Los Noches for me." The Espada took the confused red head from Aizen. "It looks like I need to take care of some pests."
Blood knew Aizen meant to kill the shingami that were surrounding them. To her surprise she felt worried by this. She knew why the moment she looked at the Taichou with waist length white hair. She felt something tighten, like a knot was tied. "Don't hurt them." Blood whispered without looking at anyone.
"Blood dear. Your mistaken. I'm not going to hurt them." Blood looked at him with surprise. "I'm going to slaughter them." Aizen put a sincere smile on his face and turned away from the two Espada while drawing his newly reformed zanpakutou.
"No!" Moth held the girl in his arms. Not letting her interfere or cause trouble. "Get! Your! Hands! Off! Me!" Blood held her hand in front of Moth's face. On the end of each finger was a small Cero. She didn't wait for the confused Espada to let go, she just shot off all five at his face.
They didn't cause a lot of damage but enough for his grip on Blood to loosen. She knock him over after escaping his grasp. She some how managed to avoid Aizen's hand as he reached over to recapture her. She looked at the Taichou holding her. It was the same one that changed her mind about who's side she was on. The one she felt connected to somehow.
"You've lost Aizen. Accept it." Ukitake was relieved that Rini was safe and in his arms. He wasn't sure if his heart rate increase was caused by the one or the other, or even both. But he wasn't going to let her go anytime soon.
"You win this fight, but I have won the war. Moth." A black circle began to envelope the two former Taichous. "Take care of my precious Blood for me." The two were swallowed by the black mass.
"Retreat!" Everyone obeyed the Soutaichou's orders and got away from the growing blackness. When it retreated both Aizen and Moth were gone. "They got away." Kyoraku was glad they managed to retrieve Rini, but disappointed that, that was all they had accomplished. "Let's head back. There's nothing more to do here."
~Los Noches~
"Please forgive me Aizen-sama." Moth knelt down in front of Aizen waiting for his punishment.
"There is nothing to be forgiven of. They can't reverse what is done. Nor will they get rid of her. She will be safe with them, till I require her services once again." Aizen smiled at his subordinate. 'Just you wait Soul Society. Your days are numbered.'
"What has been done?" Moth still knelt behind Aizen.
"She's been tainted. Even if the curse mark is lifted, she will still poses the powers of a Hollow. And now the perfect decoy is in their hands, and a ticking bomb." Aizen could hardly wait to see the chaos that would soon follow.
Another cliffhanger. I tend to write a lot of them. Please give feedback.