It did not take long to dispatch the Hollow. He had after all fought ones far stronger than this... The fight had carried him a little ways away from the fallen girl. In efforts to keep the beast from finishing what it had attempted he had of course led it away. Carefully, he made his way back... If she was the reason for the strange readings in the area, he chose to err on the side of caution. There had been far too many betrayals of late to react in any other way.

It was as he got within about 7 feet of her that he noticed something. A shift in the energy of the area. Then, he blinked and blinked again... That blurry shadow had returned only it was blurred no longer. There, between him and the girl was what appeared to be a panther made of shadow. He looked at him... He felt the weight of the creature's gaze. It lifted its head as if to scent the air... Byakuya took a purposeful step forward.

The creature narrowed its eyes at him and lowered its head a barely perceptible fraction as if granting permission or approval. At that, the image flickered out... yet he still felt eyes upon him. He bent to the girl's side... The back of the silk shirt she'd been wearing was nearly shredded to ribbons. Her skin was a pale and creamy shade of cafe au lait. The claw marks were not fatally deep but nor were they mere scratches.

With a gentle hand he moved the tattered fabric aside to better assess the injuries the Hollow had bestowed to the young woman... It was then that he saw something strange... strangely familiar. Between her shoulder blades was that marking from the dreams. Surely this was coincidence and nothing more? But there it was exactly. Sakura blossoms and some strange pattern that wasn't quite kanji but it was... almost like a seal of some sort...

He forced himself to focus, the girl was wounded after all. Using some minor healing kido he healed her wounds just enough to ensure that she was stable enough for transport. Out here in the middle of the street was no place for this. He quickly transported her to Uruhara's shop.

"And what have you brought there?" Uruhara asks in that annoyingly curious tone of his.

"The girl was attacked by the Hollow and wounded. Before it attacked her, there were some suspicious occurrences that have led me to believe that she may be the anomaly we have been sensing. It would not have been wise to leave her wounded in the middle of the street." Byakuya replies in that nearly clinically cold tone of his.

Tessai went into action immediately. The large man was surprisingly gentle and he carefully took the girl from Byakuya and went to a side room laying her face down on a futon to assess the injuries. "Your field healing is quite good." The tall man comments.

"It seemed unwise to move her without first making certain she was stable enough to be moved." The nobleman replies simply. Tessai nodded and went to work.. There would be scars, but it seemed the girl already bore some... but there would be time for that later.

"So tell me, Kuchiki-san what has led you to believe that that mere slip of a girl is responsible for the anomaly." Uruhara says as he sits and pours some tea.

"After receiving the information of a Hollow in the area, I of course made my way to the location. As I arrived, I saw that girl running from the Hollow. She could see it to be certain... and she was running from it. This is not entirely surprising considering Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends. It is more what happened after I dispatched the Hollow." He begins.

Uruhara looked at him expectantly. "Well, what happened?"

"Before the girl fell to the claws of the Hollow, there was a blurred shadow of something. It knocked into her and she began to fall before the claws had reached her. Whatever it had been had saved her. While she may be wounded, had she not fallen the strike would have been fatal. After the Hollow was dealt with, I approached to assess her condition. Before I got to her, the shadow appeared once again, but no longer blurred." He pauses.

Uruhara was listening intently. Of course the scientist in him was nearly going mad with anticipation wondering what it could be. "Continue, Kuchiki-san - please."

"It appeared to be a panther made of shadows... It placed itself between the girl and myself. It studied me for a few moments, raising its head as though it were scenting the air... I stepped toward it and its eyes focused on me it lowered its head as if granting me permission to approach her. Even though it faded from view, I felt the weight of its dark eyes on me the whole way here. Even now, I feel like it is nearby, watching." Byakuya explains.

Anyone else telling this story might have made it sound worlds more interesting, but with Byakuya's clinical dissertation of it, it was like he was reading a boring report. Still Uruhara was curious. "What do you think that shadow panther was?" He asks.

"It was not unlike the essence of a zanpakuto...But why would it wake in the spirit of a living woman?"

"Why indeed. If that is what it is, why would it stir to wakefulness? Had she died and reached soul society it would not be strange for it to waken... and yet here she is... Of course it might not be a zanpakuto. We will of course have to see for ourselves what is going on with the girl." Uruhara mused and of course he sounded excited. He was keeping it contained but there was the sense of a kid at Christmas about him now. A scientist with a new subject....

Tessai emerged. "She is healed, though the scars from the Hollows claws will not fade... She is resting now. I am sure come morning the girl will have many questions."

"Inform me when the girl is awake." Byakuya says in that Captain's tone of his. Tessai merely nods. It was a curious thing indeed... And why was that symbol from his dream upon her back? "I am going to return to the scene and see if there is any information that can be gathered." He announces dispassionately as he rises and slips out the door once again.