One Moment
Chapter 14: Her Dirty Paws, Part 2

Characters/Pairings: The Eleventh Division, Grimmjow, Starrk, Muramasa, Rukia, Renji, Lilynette, and Yoruichi. Developing Grimmjow/Zaraki/Neliel and Lilynette/Rukia. Yes, you read both right.
Rating: PG-13. This chapter is partly from the POVs of people who shame sailors with their swearing.
Words: ~6500
Chapter Summary: Zaraki receives a proposition. Rukia starts figuring out something. Starrk makes an unwise offer that he's going to stick to anyway.
Warning: See the pairing list. Then trust me. I will make you ship them. Again, this is the second half of one chapter. Sorry for making you wait a week for it.

Zaraki burst out in a roaring, war-like cackle the very moment he stepped out of the battle, landing on some rooftop. Immediately, he started slashing, the little girl on his shoulder perfectly secure while she giggled something like a "welcome home, Ken-chan".

Grimmjow's eyes followed him, lips quirking involuntarily into a smirk. Zaraki lived for the fight, and nothing else but the fact; his bloodthirst was even stronger than his, and that was saying something, since he knew that he had more than earned the epithet of the Espada of Destruction.

They came back to Soul Society just to deposit Yachiru, and landed here because Grimmjow had no idea how to navigate the maze that called itself Seireitei and so homed in to Madarame and Ayasegawa, the two signatures he did know. He figured that they were at the Eleventh, which meant that they could drop Yachiru off and get back to the business of fucking on the sands now that Neliel and Zaraki had come to a draw on their fight.

But apparently not.

Cocking an eyebrow at his mate, Grimmjow grinned out of the corner of his mouth. "Looks like the Shinigami is dealing an invasion of some sort," he stated the obvious. "Should we help?"

"It might serve to better diplomatic relations," Neliel began, sounding thoughtful. "Harribel is constantly afraid that the Shinigami might turn on us, so if we do something now, they might feel that they can trust us more. Then again, if we show them our skills, then we're damaging the element of surprise we might have if they invaded."

Grimmjow didn't say a word. He knew now that when Neliel get that particular upward tilt to the side of her mouth that she was teasing him.

After a moment, she laughed, drawing her sword. "Go on then," she jerked her head, grinning. "It might be a good way to waste some time until Zaraki-taichou is finished."

He knew that his smile was ridiculously wide, and he shook his head as he drew his own sword. Scanning the scenery from their vantage point in mid-air, he looked for Shinigami who were fighting the weird bastards who were their enemies this time. But first…

"Neliel?"

"Mm?"

Turning towards her, he looked her straight in the eye. "Every single damned moment I spent courting you and waiting for you, it's worth it. Even if I had to wait ten times as long, I would've. You're fucking perfect."

Before she could reply, Grimmjow was already leaping towards Ayasegawa. He didn't need her acknowledgment; he could already feel her pleasure at his words through the mating bond. She didn't really need his words either, but he liked saying them, simply because she had been taken from him once, and he'd really rather it not happen again.

Besides… those words were true: she was perfect for him. Grimmjow wasn't human, wasn't a Shinigami, so he didn't bother with stupid words like love. What he had with Neliel was something far simpler: she was the calm centre of his constant sandstorm, anchoring and driving him at the same time; she didn't like fighting, but she was willing to do so if she had reason and, more importantly, she never tried to stop him.

If some bastard tried to say that this wasn't perfection, then Grimmjow would introduce him to his damned claws.

He landed on the rooftop where Ayasegawa was fighting with some half-naked thing with… was that feathers? Grimmjow blinked. He had seen some freaky things in his life – Szayel came to mind – but while this thing couldn't quite match that particular bastard, he did… come very close.

"Oy, you have a name?" he said, grinning at the thing.

"Grimmjow, don't you dare interfere!" Ayasegawa shouted, his voice half-strangled.

Sparing half a glance behind him, Grimmjow snorted at the sight of Ayasegawa tangled in some weird gleaming tentacles. "People who are trussed up like a damned turkey don't get to have an opinion," he stated flatly, snorting. "I'm being polite here, asking your opponent for his damned name so I know who it is I'm beating to the ground."

"Ruri'iro Kujaku," Feathers-Guy said.

"Fuji Kujaku," Ayasegawa said at the same time.

Grimmjow blinked. He might not be the sharpest crayon in the box, and he might not have a great memory, but he knew that name. The knowledge was on the tip of his tongue… but eh, it didn't matter.

"Well, some-colour-or-another Kujaku," he said. "I'm Grimmjow Jaegarjaquez, and I'm going to destroy you."

Ayasegawa was making some kind of choking noise that sounded strangely like laughter, but Grimmjow ignored him. He sliced through the tentacles holding Ayasegawa with one swift stroke of his sword, feeling it give way beneath his restrained power. It was obviously made of some kind of reiatsu, but he wasn't going to bother figuring out what it was. And he was immediately leaping at the Kujaku guy, snarling in anticipation for a good fight.

Then the tentacles snapped around his body. They felt strangely cold… and were making him colder. Grimmjow knew what it was immediately, and he growled, rage tinging the corner of his eyes. Aizen's room had felt exactly the same, and he despised anything that reminded him of that fucker the Shinigami didn't kill.

There was only one way to get out of reiatsu-sucking things like this. Grimmjow pulled hard at his hand, fingers curling like a claw on top of his unsheathed blade.

"GRIMMJOW, YOU FUCKING IDIOT, DON'T YOU DARE TO RELEASE!"

That was… Lilynette's voice? Where the hell was that annoying little kid? No matter. He wasn't going to listen.

"Grind, Pantera!"

He waited for the burst of power that would overload these stupid things, but… there wasn't anything. Instead, there was only smoke exploding from his sword, slowly drifting away from him. It was slowly coalescing, forming into a shape... Grimmjow narrowed his eyes. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to like what was going to appear, and it wasn't just because of the sheer aura of sheer hatred that felt so much like the taste of his own reiatsu.

The wind cleared. What was standing there looked like an Adjuchas, a white tiger with dark stripes all over its body, with a mask with two horns curving up from above its eyes and a mouth full of sharp fangs. Its hair was as white as the armour covering its body, streaming down its back, half-covering the stripes. And, like most feline-type Adjuchas, it had a tail too, long and thin and covered in more white armour, swishing constantly behind him.

GRIMMJOW, it said, the voice echoing and somehow familiar. I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS A LONG TIME.

It leapt towards him, its claws extended. Grimmjow growled, straining at the tentacles still holding him back, but the creature tore through them for him, freeing him. Then claws dug into Grimmjow's white jacket, pinning him down fully on the ground.

DON'T YOU RECOGNISE ME? I GAVE YOU THE HARDEST FIGHT YOU'VE EVER HAD BEFORE YOU MET THESE SHINIGAMI.

Like the damned cliché of a lightbulb appearing in his head, Grimmjow remembered. There was once, a long time ago, a tiger-like Adjuchas. He was stronger than Grimmjow was at the time, but Grimmjow had fought him nonetheless, and nearly died in the fight. But he had killed him first. Killed and eaten him… and it had all happened decades ago, so this bastard should've been digested by now.

He snarled, throwing himself forward, smashing his forehead against the striped mask. The Hollow roared with anger and pain, falling back. And Grimmjow was moving by instinct, grabbing his still-sealed sword, gripping it tight and snarling at the creature that had came out of the blade.

"What the hell are you?!" he demanded. "You should be dead by now, broken down into nothing but reishi!"

The Hollow threw its head back and laughed, the cackling echoing in the space around them.

YOU CAN'T GET RID OF ME SO EASILY, the thing mocked. DO YOU KNOW WHAT AN ARRANCAR'S ZANPAKTOU IS?

"Our power in a sealed form," Grimmjow replied impatiently. "What's that got to do with anything?"

YOUR POWER COMES FROM THE SOULS YOU EAT, HOLLOW,the tiger mocked, starting to circle Grimmjow, a predator prowling around its prey. YOUR ZANPAKTOU IS THE SEALED FORM OF ALL OF THE SOULS YOU HAVE EATEN. AND IN YOUR ZANPAKTOU, THE STRONGEST, THE MOST DOMINANT SOUL… BECOMES YOUR SWORD SPIRIT.

Grimmjow stared at the sword in his hand. The pieces were clicking together. The tiger in front of him… this damned thing that was looking at him like he was prey when Grimmjow had killed him once already… this was Pantera. This was his sword, given form into some bastard of a Hollow that should have been dead and gone decades ago.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Grimmjow saw Ayasegawa clashing with the Kujaku guy. So was that freaky thing with the feathers and the tentacles Ayasegawa's sword? … Whatever, Grimmjow had bigger fish to fry now.

I'LL KILL YOU, GRIMMJOW, the thing was saying, sounding far too gleeful and assured. I'LL KILL YOU, AND TAKE OVER AS A DOMINANT SOUL. THEN YOU WILL BE TRAPPED IN THE SWORD.

Slowly, Grimmjow started to smile. He fucking loved it when the people he was fighting told him precisely just what they were looking for with him. It made things so much clearer.

Raising a hand, he beckoned his fingers. "Come on then, Pantera," he drawled, smirking when he saw the tiger's eyes narrow from beneath its mask. "See if you can back up that boast."

The thing growled, and charged at him. Grimmjow laughed, dodging extremely familiar blue blades before he fired a Cero. So the thing now had his powers in his released form, huh?

Well, Grimmjow always wanted to know who would win if he fought against himself. No time like the present to find out.

LIlynette landed beside her again with a small thump.

"That stupid bastard Grimmjow!" she yelled, lips already drawn back into a snarl. "Why the hell is it that he only has one thing to fight from his sword? Why is it that only Starrk and I have this fucking hoard of wolves? Does the universe hate us or something? Did we do something wrong while we were alive? We didn't do any fucking thing wrong, fucking universe! If you want to give someone a hoard, give it to Grimmjow! He's the one who would enjoy it, the fucking bastard!"

Rukia reached forward and clamped her hand over Lilynette's mouth. If only, she winced, to stop the flood of swears that were tumbling out. The girl swore more than the entire Eleventh Division and Inuzuri put together.

She determinedly ignored Renji's soft snickers.

Lilynette stared at her, still growling beneath the hand, but Rukia merely looked at her. "What happened?"

"Grimmjow released his sword," a second voice answered. Rukia turned. "And instead of going into his released form, an Adjuchas appeared, calling itself his sword spirit."

Given the high-pitched voice, she was expecting a young child, or a teenaged girl, but a tall, statuesque woman with long green hair met her eyes. There was a half-skull seated on top of her head like a helmet, and she was stunningly beautiful.

"What do you mean, a hoard?" the stranger asked.

Lilynette's eyes flashed, and Rukia knew that she was going to start swearing again, so she answered hurriedly: "Lilynette – and Starrk's – swords released hundreds of Hollow wolves." She paused, then decided to offer a little more information. "They didn't seem particularly intelligent."

Finally Lilynette seemed to get tired of being forcibly muted. She yanked Rukia's hand down, and Rukia let her. "Well, Neliel, do you think the universe hates me and Starrk?"

Neliel looked at her for a moment before she snorted, shaking her head. "No, but I think I have an explanation that will make more sense," she said quietly. "Grimmjow told me of your powers, about how Starrk could call upon hoards of wolves that were split from his own soul. I don't think he was right; I don't think it was his soul – or yours, for the matter."

"Then what is it?"

"It's all the Hollows you have… accidentally assimilated," Neliel said, exerting a physical effort to put things delicately. "Because the two of you didn't actually hunt them down, kill them, and eat them as most Hollows do, I believe those Hollows remained almost entirely whole inside you."

Her explanation was cut short when Yachiru bounded in, grinning. "You should take cover," she informed them cheerfully. "Ken-chan is going have fun!"

Then she left just as abruptly. Rukia supposed that she should be thankful that the tiny Vice-Captain had the courtesy to warn them, but she had no idea what she meant.

Apparently Lilynette did, because Rukia found herself being shoved backwards. She blinked, and Lilynette was glaring at Neliel, barking, "Get behind me!"

There was no time for Rukia to protest the rough treatment, because at the time, Captain Zaraki's reiatsu simply exploded… though she only knew that from watching buildings being blown away, from Captain Soi Fon being blown backwards… from behind the huge blue dome of reiatsu that Lilynette had thrown upwards. Rukia couldn't even feel the weight of Captain Zaraki's reiatsu; instead, she felt Lilynette's, and it was warm and protective, nothing like a Hollow's at all.

Distantly, she wondered how the hell the Shinigami had won the war against the Espada if the weaker half of the Primera was capable of matching the monstrous power of Zaraki Kenpachi.

The four of them – and Yachiru – were the only ones left unburied by the rubble caused by Captain Zaraki's single strike. Rukia stared at the ruins around her and checked her own breathing: it was as steady as ever. She didn't even feel breathless. She exchanged a glance with Renji, and the shock he saw in his eyes matched her own.

"Lilynette…" she started. "Was that… when I taught you how to shape your reiatsu, did you learn how to do that?"

"Kind of," Lilynette answered, her voice rather flat. "I never got a chance to try it out until now, though."

"As I was saying," Neliel continued, sounding incredibly amused. "Lilynette and Starrk must be incredibly powerful souls by themselves to be able to control so many souls without having to dominate them through the usual methods."

"I'd really rather not talk about that anymore," Lilynette said in the same flat voice. "And I'd rather no one tell anyone else about what you just saw. About the full extent of my power."

"Why?" Renji asked, speaking up for the first time ever since Lilynette dropped back down from where she went to check on Grimmjow.

Lilynette turned to look at all of them. Her smile was soft and her eyes so incredibly old. "I don't want to be used as a tool anymore," she said. "I don't want Starrk to be used as a tool either."

Rukia opened her mouth, trying to reassure her that she wouldn't be, but she stopped herself. Could she actually assure Lilynette of that? She came to Seireitei voluntarily, and she held no illusions about the place. Every single person had their place, had their purpose: they were all soldiers within the Gotei Thirteen, and what was a soldier aside from a tool, a cog in the giant war machine constantly turned towards the Hollows?

She swallowed, and couldn't find any words to say.

But Lilynette didn't seem to be finished.

"Neliel," she said, looking at the woman. "I know you won't keep a secret from your mate for someone you barely know, so just… tell Grimmjow this: I'm not going to fight him."

"Why?" Neliel asked.

"I fight only to protect people," Lilynette said. Her smile grew crooked, a hint of feralness at the edges. "If Grimmjow decides to threaten the ones I care about to goad me to a fight, he will get one."

She took a deep breath. "And I'll kill him."

Neliel's eyes widened. Rukia could understand the reaction: she was shocked too. Was this really the girl who nearly trembled in front of her and Renji when they told her that they didn't see her as a monster?

"Can you really do it?" Neliel asked, a definite challenge in her voice.

"Starrk can't," Lilynette said, and her crooked smile widened. "But I'm more of a Hollow than he is, than he is ever capable of being, and I will do anything to protect my pack."

There was a long moment when the two Arrancar simply stared at each other. Then Neliel nodded sharply. "I'll make sure that he doesn't bother with you and Starrk then," she said softly.

… No, Rukia realised. No, this was the same girl. She had no idea of Lilynette's past, had never thought to ask, and she regretted it now. Because Lilynette was like the wolf she resembled right now: a lone wolf who had finally found a pack, and who was so desperate to keep it with her that she would do anything

"Though, if you want to be absolutely sure he wouldn't," Neliel continued. "You should join the alliance that Harribel proposed."

"Starrk and I are still thinking about that," Lilynette waved a hand, turning away.

Neliel nodded. "Alright." Then she jumped, vanishing up to the rooftops.

Dismissing Neliel from her mind and ignoring Renji's presence, Rukia went with her instincts. She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around Lilynette's thin shoulders, hugging her tightly from the back. She felt the girl tense beneath her arms, but she held on despite knowing that it could be dangerous.

"I'll grow stronger," she whispered into one of Lilynette's cutely-furred ears. "And Renji is strong too. All those you care about… we're all strong. So don't kill just for our sakes." She held on even tighter as she felt Lilynette start to relax in her arms. "It'll hurt you, and I don't think I'd like seeing you hurt."

"Kuchiki…" Lilynette started, half-turning around.

Rukia grinned, placing her hand over the girl's mouth. "Rukia," she corrected.

"What?" Lilynette blinked.

"Call me Rukia," she said. "In Soul Society, our friends and important people have permission to call us by our given names. So call me Rukia, alright?"

Lilynette stared at her, single eye wide, before she smiled. It was a much sweeter expression this time, tinged with shyness, and Rukia felt herself smiling as well.

"Rukia," Lilynette murmured, as if tasting the name. "I like it."

Finally, Rukia pulled away from her.

"I'll…" Lilynette started. "I'll go make sure that people aren't still buried under rubble." She made to turn, then stopped, flashing Rukia a grin and a thumbs up. "Don't worry, I'll keep you in my sight. I have to bring you back to the hospital, after all."

Rukia found herself laughing, turning slowly towards her brother and his battle with Captain Zaraki. Her heart still hurt from her brother's betrayal, from his broken promise. Her hands still felt cold where they were wrapped around Sode no Shirayuki's broken form. But somehow… it wasn't so bad now that Lilynette could still make her laugh.

Renji's hand slammed down on her shoulder the moment Lilynette was out of earshot, digging through the rubble.

"You know," he started, his tone conversational in a way that had Rukia's guard up immediately. "I always thought that I'm getting out of the brotherly shovel talk duties because you were mourning Shiba-fukutaichou. And recently, I was starting to think that I wasn't going to get away from it, because there's Ichigo, you see. I was preparing a speech and everything."

"Renji," Rukia said very slowly. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Let me finish," Renji said, unperturbed, which just irritated Rukia more. "So you see, I thought it's because of Shiba-fukutaichou. I didn't realise that it's because you like girls."

"What."

Renji was giving her his wide, idiotic grin when he knew he had something to hold over her head. "In Soul Society, our friends and important people have permission to call us by our given names," he imitated in a high voice that sounded nothing like her at all. "That's a really lacklustre love confession right there. What happened to classics like 'I love you and I want you to stay with me forever, Lilynette-chan~'?"

Rukia punched him straight in the jaw.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?!"

She grabbed him by the collar and dragged him down until he was eye-level to her. "Look," she hissed, eyes darting to where Lilynette was, confirming that she didn't hear the entire ridiculous conversation. "I don't know where you got that stupid idea from, but I don't like her that way."

Renji only rolled his eyes at her, still grinning. "Rukia," he said, sounding patronising. "I knew you since you are smaller than you are now. Which, I admit, is pretty damned hard to do. But I've known you for forever."

His smile suddenly softened, and his eyes grew serious. "If you don't like her right now, then you're pretty close to it, aren't you?"

"This is a really bad place for something like this!" Rukia said, barely managing to keep her voice down.

"I know, I know," he said, patting her hands gently. "But think about what I said, alright?

"Give me a reason why I should," she demanded.

Renji looked at a moment before he shrugged. "You get yourself into, like, a crapton of trouble for a midget," he teased. "And I think she'll be able to get you out of it, if she can't stop you from barrelling into them."

Rukia froze.

Because Renji was right. She was just thinking about how Lilynette was always there for her whenever she got into trouble ever since the very first time they met. Even on the Sokyouku Hill, surrounded by so many people, Lilynette had come to her immediately. It was… immensely irritating, to think that she had a girl who looked and (sometimes) acted younger than she did as a bodyguard.

But at the same time, it was reassuring. It was even more reassuring to know that a lot of Lilynette's control over her power and a little of how she used her sword, she had learned from Rukia herself.

Looking at Renji in front of her, she thought of Lilynette, and of Ichigo. It was ironic, really, that the people who had first depended on her for her knowledge and guidance were now the ones stronger than she was, who now constantly protected her. Rukia was almost to the point of throwing her hands up and giving in to fate, that she would never be as strong as they were.

More to the point, though, she had never acted with Renji and Ichigo like how she just acted with Lilynette. She saw the two men – boys, really – as her younger brothers: beloved, but incredibly stupid, and definitely not candidates for any form of attraction. It felt as wrong as being attracted to her actual brother.

She dragged her hand through her hair. Her head hurt.

"I'll think about it," she said gruffly, turning away. "Now pay attention to Nii-sama, fukutaichou-san."

She jabbed Renji in the ribs for emphasis.

"Ow!"

Good, she thought viciously. Renji deserved the pain for giving her such a damned headache by running his mouth off.

The moonlight caught strands of Ukitake's white hair, shimmering over the strands until they resembled a still lake. Shunsui let his gaze rest on the beautiful sight, urging his mind to appreciate it… but it wasn't working.

He swallowed back a sigh, leaning back on his hands as he tipped his head up to stare at the half-moon in the sky. He had always been good at waiting, at being patient, but now he found himself practically trembling with anxiety. He could still practically feel the warmth and weight of Starrk's body in his arms. The salt of his skin lingered on his tongue. The scent of him, of Shunsui's own soap overlaid with hot sands, had settled into his lungs and tattooed itself on the insides.

This entire crisis was becoming a troublesome bother that he wanted over with entirely. If this was over, then he could have Starrk back where he belonged; then they could spend days together like they had the bare hour, and Shunsui would be able to learn every inch of Starrk's skin, every single type of sound that he could make.

He swallowed an explosive sigh, dragging his hand through his hair almost hard enough to dislodge the hairpins.

Honestly, he was getting dangerously close to prioritising sentiment over practicality. Shouldn't he have learned that lesson long ago?

"You're practically making the air vibrate," Ukitake said, his tone dry and amused. "It's hard for me to meditate when you're doing that."

"It's hard for me to concentrate when your pretty hair is distracting me," Shunsui retorted.

"You have the peace of mind to look at my hair?" Ukitake teased. "Such a pleasant surprise."

Shunsui chuckled, but before he could think up of a counter, another voice rang out between them.

"Kyouraku-taichou."

He turned, automatically half-grinning and half-leering at the woman standing at the door.

"Ah, my darling Nanao-chan~" he singsonged, already standing up. "Are you here to help save two old men from our dreadful boredom?"

Nanao-chan rolled her eyes, but the tension in her form melted away almost immediately – exactly as Shunsui had planned. She strode into the room, nodding to Ukitake, before setting down her clipboard. It looked particularly heavily-laden with notes, and Shunsui grinned from beneath his hat.

"You asked me to look for the name 'Muramasa' amongst our records, taichou," Nanao-chan said briskly. "And while I couldn't find any sword with the name, I did find something interesting."

Shunsui cocked his head slightly to the side. "Oh? What is it?"

Chewing on the corner of her lip, Nanao-chan started to flip through her clipboard. "As you said, I looked through the records of the seated officers of every Division," she began. "At first, I could find nothing at all, but… something seemed odd. It's less what I found than what I didn't find, and I suspect that there had been some sort of cover-up involved with the incident regarding the zanpaktou Muramasa and his master."

She pushed the clipboard towards him. "During Kuchiki Ginrei's time as the Captain of the Sixth Division, he had a Third Seat whose name seemed to have been entirely erased from the records."

Suddenly, all of the pieces fell into place. He exchanged a glance with Ukitake, seeing in those widened brown eyes that his old friend had came to the same conclusion as he had. The incident hadn't been particularly significant – just another arrogant Shinigami with too much power than he knew how to deal with – and Shunsui had simply forgotten about it as the years had gone by.

"Say no more, Nanao-chan," he said quietly, reaching out to place his hand on top of hers on the clipboard. "We know what it is that Muramasa wants now."

"Muramasa lied to us, I believe," Ukitake said, contemplatively. "He didn't trap Genryuusai-sensei."

"No," Shunsui said grimly. "The situation is probably the other way around."

Nanao-chan blinked. "Taichou?" she asked, looking at him with wide, confused eyes.

Shunsui gave her a small, reassuring smile. "This happened more than two hundred years ago, so it's before your time, Nanao-chan," he said, giving her a small smile. "Ukitake and I will take care of this, so you don't have to worry."

Ukitake gave Nanao-chan a fleeting smile before he turned back to him. "This explains why Byakuya is siding with the zanpaktou as well, Kyouraku," he said. "We'll have to tell the others."

"There is a big battle going on at the Second Division," Nanao-chan offered. She looked uncertain for a moment, as if she was going to insist on coming along, and Shunsui spoke quickly before she could form the words.

"I need you to figure out more information about that specific incident, Nanao-chan," he said quietly. "What has happened to Muramasa's master afterwards? What is his punishment?"

Actually, Shunsui already knew – he had been the one who suggested the seal to Yamamoto himself. If a man like Kuchiki Kouga was thrown into the Maggot's Nest, he would have started a rebellion eventually; it had been a much better idea to simply keep him in the Living World, away from Soul Society. Especially since Karakura Town had been such an isolated little place a hundred years ago. People used to be so much more suspicious back then.

But this would be a good way of keeping Nanao-chan out of danger and to help her feel useful at the same time.

Ukitake was giving him a wry look, and Shunsui knew what he was thinking – his overprotectiveness towards the people important to him was annoying. Still, he couldn't help himself: every time he tried to convince himself that it would be good for Nanao-chan to have some combat experience, he remembered the devastation he felt when Lisa-chan just didn't come back one day.

Briefly, he wondered if his attraction to Starrk had something to do with how powerful the Arrancar was; Shunsui would never really need to worry about his physical safety.

Nanao-chan stared at him for a moment before she nodded, looking a little resigned. "Yes, taichou."

"I'm depending on you, Nanao-chan," Shunsui said lightly. He picked up his straw hat from the ground before yanking it onto his head.

"Let's go, Ukitake."

When they arrived at the Second Division, they were met by a complete mess. Shunsui looked at the sheer destruction around them, whistling lightly under his breath. He looked around him, noticing that almost everyone was here: even Retsu-senpai was standing there, directing members of her Division to cart away members of the wounded.

He saw Lilynette-chan first. She was standing with Rukia-chan, hunched over Abarai, who was lying prone at their feet. Before either Ukitake or Shunsui could call out to her, she spotted them, coming over.

"The two of you are late," she groused almost immediately. Shunsui's lips quirked up at her version of a greeting.

"Sorry about that," he said. "We were waiting looking for information."

"Well, I suppose you're both too old to help with the fighting," she huffed in reply. "So did you find anything?"

"We did," Ukitake answered this time. "But I'd rather only say this once, so would you gather everyone here who is still in fighting form?"

Lilynette looked at them for a moment before she nodded. After a moment, she came back, bringing Rukia-chan in tow… and only Rukia-chan.

"I don't know where Kenpachi and Yachiru got to," she started before either Captain could ask. "Grimmjow is still fighting his sword, and I think Neliel's more interested in watching him than to help us, so they're both lost causes. Everyone else's down for the count."

"I sent Renji off to be healed," Rukia-chan volunteered. "He inhaled more of the poison than I had."

"Poison?" Ukitake burst out immediately.

"From Kurotsuchi-taichou's zanpaktou," the petite girl clarified. "It attacked us just a few minutes ago, Ukitake-taichou."

"I didn't get to the red pineapple in time to shield him," Lilynette cut in, interrupting Ukitake before he could fuss over his subordinate even more. "But I managed to make sure that it didn't touch Rukia, so she can still fight."

Shunsui barely managed to stop himself from raising an eyebrow. What had just happened that changed 'Kuchiki' into 'Rukia', and why wasn't Rukia-chan herself protesting the name? He would have expected her to, given her stickler for Kuchiki-esque formality. And there was that fact that Lilynette seemed to be sticking very closely to the other girl… Shunsui hid his smile beneath his hat.

This was an interesting development.

"So why is this information you had that made you two old men so late, huh?" Lilynette asked.

"Actually, I'm interested in that too," a familiar voice interrupted. "And I have some information of my own to share in exchange."

"Yoruichi," Ukitake greeted the woman as she approached them. Shunsui merely gave her a small smile. He was getting impatient with all the delays; who knew what Muramasa had been up to while everyone else had been distracted with battling the zanpaktou he had supposedly liberated?

He opened his mouth, but Lilynette reached out and grabbed him. "Wait," she said, her eye narrowing.

Shunsui blinked. But the reason for Lilynette's sudden interruption was clear: Starrk was suddenly there, right next to her.

"Now you can start," Lilynette said, grinning with a certain satisfaction as she let go. Shunsui barely heard her, busy taking in the appearance of the man who had been occupying his thoughts. The new clothes that Shunsui had lent him were stained with blood again, but he wasn't drenched with it like he had before. The fur that had reached his wrists the last time now reached his elbows, and the weight of his reiatsu was heavy as it was whenever they trained without the restraints on.

"Shunsui," Starrk said, and Shunsui couldn't help the widening of his smile at the sound of his name from Starrk's lips. In that moment, he wanted more than anything to touch Starrk, to feel beneath his own hands that he was truly alright. And… to simply soak in his warmth and his presence.

But now wasn't the time.

He concentrated instead on telling the rest what he knew about Kuchiki Kouga, taking note of their reactions. The moment he said the name, Yoruichi's eyes widened in recognition, and Rukia-chan was blinking as if everything just made sense all at once. Shunsui didn't need to read minds to know what was going through her head.

"So Muramasa's final goal is likely to free his master," Ukitake concluded their joint speech. "Given what we currently know, it seems more likely that Genryuusai-sensei had in fact barricaded himself to stop Muramasa from getting knowledge of the seal's location and how to break it."

There was a long moment of silence.

"Well, I came here to tell you that I found out Yamamoto-soutaichou is," Yoruichi said, sounding thoughtful. "I thought that we might have to break him out, but given this, that would be a terrible idea."

Shunsui nodded. This was their dilemma: they might know what Muramasa's goal was, but how were they to stop him from reaching it while stopping the crisis that was going on?

"Can we give him what he wants so badly?" Starrk asked suddenly.

All five pairs of eyes turned to him. Starrk blinked, and he shoved his hands into the pockets of his hakama, instantly hunching his shoulders at the attention.

"Something must have happened for them to be separated, because a zanpaktou shouldn't be wandering around without his master, right?" he said, clearly choosing his words carefully. "If we let them be reunited, then…"

"Starrk-san," Ukitake began.

Starrk shook his head. "I know that Kuchiki Kouga is dangerous," he said quietly. "I'm not saying that he should be freed entirely. But… just temporarily, for Muramasa to be reunited to him, before we seal them again, but this time together?"

Ukitake blinked.

Shunsui cocked his head to the side. "What gave you the idea that something like this would work, Starrk-san?"

Starrk looked at him for a moment before he gave him a small, sheepish smile. "I met him," he said simply. "I could see it in his eyes that he's hurting a great deal from his separation from his master. And… I don't think he deserves to keep suffering like that."

This man… Hollow or not, Starrk had the softest heart Shunsui had ever known, and his best friend was Ukitake. That, coupled with the way he was looking at all of them from underneath his eyelids, was almost enough to break Shunsui's control. He wanted to kiss him.

Instead, he placed a hand on Ukitake's arm, stilling the protest he knew was coming. "Well, we have been talking about how it's unnatural for our zanpaktou to be away from us," he said thoughtfully. "I think that it will be hypocritical for us to keep Muramasa away from his Shinigami master."

He smiled widely. "I'll see if I can convince Yama-jii to open the seal just long enough to make sure that the two of them are sealed together properly. Starrk-san here will have to convince Muramasa to withdraw his control over our zanpaktou and to go along with this plan."

The smile Starrk gave him was bright and hopeful, and Shunsui dug his toes into the ground to stop himself from lunging towards him like some kind of wild animal. He smiled at him instead.

Lilynette had been watching the byplay between the two of them with a narrow, suspicious look. "You have no standards whatsoever, Starrk," she declared, shaking her head and crossing her arms on her chest. Shunsui had a distinct feeling that she wasn't just talking about Muramasa. "But fine. If you can't convince him by talking, I'll kick him in the head a few times. That might work."

Ukitake snorted. "I hope that we won't have to resort to such violence, Lilynette-chan."

That was probably as much verbal agreement that Shunsui would get from Ukitake right now, so he took advantage of him. "Well, now that we have figured out what we're going to do, let's go find Yama-jii."

He turned to look at Yoruichi. "Will you lead the way?"

"I will, once I figure out something else," Yoruichi said, sounding distracted as her eyes scanned their surroundings.

"Where's Ichigo?"

All of them started, looking around and at each other.

"Why are you looking for him?" Ukitake asked.

"It's all very well and good that we're planning to talk to Muramasa, but I know Ichigo – he sees a problem, and his immediate reaction is to cut it down," Yoruichi said crisply. "And Ichigo is likely the only person who is capable of breaking a barrier Yamamoto-soutaichou has set up."

Shunsui's eyes widened. He understood her worry immediately. Currently, their trump card to make Muramasa listen to them was the location of the seal and the way to unlock it, but if Muramasa had managed to manipulate Ichigo into breaking Yama-jii's barrier, then all this talking had been completely useless.

"I haven't seen him since my battle with Sode no Shirayuki," Rukia-chan volunteered, sounding troubled.

"We better look for him first," Yoruichi said briskly.

"Lilynette-chan?" Ukitake turned towards the girl. "Can you locate him?"

Before Lilynette could reply, a sudden wave of extremely familiar reiatsu washed over them. The air trembled and screamed, and the temperature rose several degrees immediately.

Ryuujin Jyakka had been released.

"Uh," Lilynette said, her voice filled with dry irony. She pointed towards the direction of the wave.

"I think he's over there."

Notes: So… did I make you ship Zaraki/Grimmjow/Neliel and Lilynette/Rukia?

There might be porn for both in the future… I think. I'm not sure yet. I don't even know how my Starrk-centric fic turned out to have such an ensemble cast.

Also, the changes I made to the plot of the zanpaktou arc comes from my sheer annoyance at the fact that Shunsui and Ukitake didn't know what is going on during that arc, and they had to wait until Yamamoto got out of the barrier to get information. That just doesn't make any sense, given how intelligent they are shown to be in canon and that they were probably there when Kouga started doing his rubbish. It's like they've been handed an Idiot Ball just so that things can lead to Ichigo having the confrontation with Muramasa and to keep everyone in the dark about the reasons behind Byakuya's betrayal.

It's less dramatic this way, but don't worry, I will earn the 'drama' genre of this fic next chapter.