Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Karin rode on Zangentsu in the afternoon sky. She has become braver in these last two days since she first rode him.

'I bet the height won't bother me anymore', she thought looking at the ground several hundred feet below the flying dragon. Karin squeaked clinging to his black, scaly neck even tighter . . . 'then again, maybe not.'

"Are you still scared, child?" Zangetsu's voice vibrated through Karin with a hint of amusement.

"Yes, but you would be too if you weren't able to fly." Karin answered him and gripped closer to his scales. It was then she noticed an odd sensation: his scales didn't feel smooth or as flat as she remembered them. Now, his scales were roughed and seemed to cling to her skin. She tried to slide her hand along his neck but found this motion difficult through his scales. She moved her legs and felt the cloth of her pants move freely without clinging to Zangetsu. Karin tried again when she moved her hand to rest along his neck directly in front of her and, again, she felt his scales seem to mold around her hand. She stared down at her hand as she pondered this new revelation. Her hand didn't slide and neither did it lift off very easily. This gripping effect of Zangetsu's scales eased Karin's fears slightly at least she didn't think she would fall off so easily anymore.

"You should know by now that I will not let you fall." Zangetsu explained as he followed behind Hyourinmaru and Toushiro. Her eyes drifted to the pair before her then she turned toward his right wing. The joint she injured the other day had not improved, if anything it had gotten worse.

'Should he be flying with that wing?' Karin thought. "Zangetsu, are you okay?" She asked the black dragon. He turned his massive head back to see her.

"Yes, I am well." His simple answer did nothing to allay her fears.

"But your wing", she got a good look at his most critical asset when he fell into a glide. "It's growing very red I can see your injury from here. Do you need to rest?"

"I shall be fine Karin. I feel no pain and so it must not be so serious." Zangetsu explained. She focused on his wing and she worried for him. He felt no pain, so it must be numb. That is worse than screaming pain because one could never tell when a body part might give out.

"You should rest," she tried to persuade him, but she learned he was a very stubborn dragon.

"I will be fine."

"But -" Zangetsu cut her off before she could finish.

"I have had far more serious injuries than this and so I am aware of my limitations. Once you have been returned to your village, then I shall be free to rest."

"Will we be back in the village before night?"

"No, Karin," Hyourinmaru pulled up alongside the black dragon. "We will not reach Karakura until tomorrow evening."

"We're so close?" Karin asked. The night before it felt like they had flown for hours before the sun rose in the sky. How could they have only been a couple of mountain ranges away from the dragon's nest?

"Yes," Hyourinmaru nodded his head.

"I wonder if anyone has noticed our absence." Karin stated as the two dragons quietly flew through the early afternoon.

"I asked Rangiku to tell Yuzu that you were staying at my cabin, and I'm sure she gave another explanation about our being absence for the entire day." Toushiro explained to Karin. She smiled over to him. Yuzu hadn't been worried which was a very good thing. Karin hated to make Yuzu worry and she hated to see the worry in her eyes. Yuzu had taken on so much since their mother died. There were times when Yuzu worked herself into a cold. Karin had ordered her sister to rest but she hadn't listened. Everyone in the family, Isshin and Ichigo, did their best to lighten the load on Yuzu's shoulders, but it was hard sometimes. And now, Karin had run off into the woods to take revenge for Ichigo and Kaien without even a thought toward Yuzu.

"I am so stupid." Karin whispered. Zangetsu heard her whisper even over the gusts of wind.

"I don't believe you are stupid." Zangetsu replied to her.

"But, I am. I came out here and didn't even think of how my sister would feel about my disappearing. I could make her even more worried than she usually is, and I can't believe that I was so stupid." Karin felt tears well up in her eyes at her thoughtless actions of yesterday.

"Karin, don't say that. You're not stupid." Toushiro chastised his lifetime friend. "You are stubborn, tough, passionate, and even a little crazy sometimes but you're not stupid." Karin smiled over to him even through her tears.

"Besides even if she knew you had disappeared, Yuzu would be put at ease knowing that I would bring you back to Karakura kicking and screaming if need be. But, Yuzu would rest assure that you would return without a scratch on you." Toushiro answered causing Karin to stare back at him. Every word he said was very true: he would come for her no matter what.

"Yeah, but you wouldn't be out here if you hadn't come after me." Karin exclaimed, continuing to blame herself.

"That's true," Karin blinked at Toushiro's blunt response. "I wouldn't be out here, and we never would have met the dragons. We never would have known about the gargoyles, and we never would have found a way to battle them. So in a way, it's a good thing you came out." Karin smiled over him. Toushiro always knew how to brighten her day.

"However if you pull a stunt like you did yesterday, then I won't hesitate to make sure you'll be grounded for the rest of your life. Do you understand?" Toushiro stated in a cold voice that made even Karin shrink away in fear.

"Yeah sure thing Toushiro, I won't ever pull a stunt like this ever again." Karin answered in some fear because she knew he would fulfill his promise. She turned her head back to the front and her smile fell away to be replaced by a deep frown. Something didn't feel right about this area. Suddenly a sharp cry pierced the air freezing the blood in her veins. She slammed her hand along Zangetsu's neck causing him to stop from a sharp pain. He hovered in one spot shaking his head to relieve the pressure of her hand. Hyourinmaru joined him hovering beside him as both he and Toushiro looked on in surprise at Karin and Zangetsu.

"What happened?" Hyourinmaru asked his fellow dragon.

"I don't know, Karin slammed her hand along my neck, but I'm alright." Zangetsu explained then he looked back to Karin on his back. She looked off into the distance as her eyes widened in fear when the sound reached her ears once again.

"Toushiro," Karin whispered and he scowled in the same direction as the sound reached him.

"What's wrong?" Hyourinmaru asked the pair of humans as he looked along the horizon where their focus appeared to be centered.

"I can hear them," Karin whispered to the two dragons.

"Hear who, Karin?" Zangetsu quietly asked. A chorus of screams cut through the air shocking the humans into silence.

"GARGOYLES!" Toushiro cried looking into the distance he was able to make out a black cloud. However as the cloud moved closer, he was able to make out spots of white masks scattered in the mass.

"I see them," Zangetsu growled and hissed a menacing snarl at the swarm.

"How can those things fly?" Karin asked in surprise. She counted the group and guessed there to be more than twenty easily.

"They must have gained enough energy to take to the skies." Hyourinmaru answered as a growl erupted from deep in his throat.

"It looks like they're headed toward the Ryo Manako." Karin exclaimed looking behind her where the valley lay too far away for her to make out from this height.

"Then we cannot let them pass." Toushiro answered as he looked around on Hyourinmaru's back for anything he could use to attack the monstrosities.

Karin looked around and spotted her bow and arrows just under Zangetsu's wing as he hovered in the air. She removed her shoes and placed a foot on his back, as she suspected – her feet clung to the scales and she slowly stood up. It was funny that she had no fear of the height especially since she was terrified just sitting at his neck. Carefully, Karin walked down his back and knelt down to the wing as it fell into a gliding motion she snatched her bow and quiver from the little pocket and calmly walked back to the base of his neck. Toushiro stared at her calmly walking along his back. He feared that she might fall, but she never even swayed and her bare feet didn't slide along his back.

"Karin, sit back down." Toushiro ordered as he watched her pull the quiver over her shoulder and notch an arrow in the bow. She gently sat back down but she felt uncomfortable with the pants leg sliding along the scales.

"We have to stop them, Toushiro." Karin stated aiming the arrow toward the swarm of gargoyles advancing at surprising speed.

"We will," Zangetsu growled low in his throat.

"Zangetsu, you need to find a place to hide and take Karin with you." Toushiro ordered but Karin would hear none of it.

"NO WAY!" She glared over at her friend momentarily ignoring the swarm of gargoyles moving closer to their position. "I am NOT leaving you here to take these gargoyles out by yourselves. There are too many of them." Karin motioned to the black mass. Toushiro squinted at the group and had to admit that Karin did make a good point.

"Zangetsu, don't you dare let her fall." Toushiro demanded as he gathered a ball of kido into his right hand while his left hand clung to the mane at the base of Hyourinmaru's neck.

"You better be more worried about falling from Hyourinmaru." Zangetsu warned the white haired boy. Toushiro nodded at the warning. The first of the gargoyles came within fifty feet of the dragons when Karin made the first attack.

"HADO 33: SOKATSUI!" Karin gathered the blue energy around the arrow and, aiming two feet to the left of the nearest creature, she let the arrow fly piercing the mask of the gargoyle and disintegrating it into dust.

"Only three arrows left." Karin whispered feeling the ends of the arrows with her left hand.

Hyourinmaru darted into the cluster of gargoyles freezing gargoyles one by one as Toushiro destroyed them with hado spells. Zangetsu darted around a second swarm of gargoyles but the sudden motion unsettled Karin. She felt her legs sliding from his back as he made a sharp turn to avoid a lunge from a griffin-like gargoyle. Karin kept her seat with her left hand gripped to his scales. After he settled into flying straight toward a pair of gargoyles, Karin let two arrows fly with Shakkaho spells destroying the beasts of stone with each successful strike. Karin looked around and smiled since there were only ten gargoyles left after only minutes into the sky battle. Zangetsu made another sharp turn to curl around to face the gargoyles giving Karin her final shot. This gargoyle flew above Zangetsu preventing Karin from firing her arrow. She growled low in her throat that she hadn't destroyed this gargoyle, as well as the unsettling feel of sliding along Zangetsu's scales.

"Zangetsu, fly straight," Karin requested as she slowly stood up on his back. Just as before, she felt more stable with her feet apart to better maintain her balance. She raised her arrow and gathered the energy for a final attack on this particularly annoying flying gargoyle.

"HADO 31: SHAKKAHO!" Karin gathered a rather large sphere of energy around the arrow head and let the arrow fly shattering the gargoyle into dust. Karin pumped her fist into the air when she heard a single scream and blast of flaming energy graze her upper right arm. The pain and the blood flowing from her arm caused her to drop the bow as it bounced down Zangetsu's side. Gasping for air through the pain, she felt her legs give way and her body falling through air barely hearing a deep voice scream her name. She blinked her eyes as her vision grew blurrier so she only saw a blob of black against a haze of blue just as she passed out.

"KARIN!" Zangetsu screamed toward the girl. Toushiro looked back to the black dragon and his heart stopped as Karin stumbled and fall off Zangetsu.

"No, no, no. NOOOOOO!" Toushiro screamed as if his words would stop her descent. Hyourinmaru darted toward the falling girl but knew he would not be able to reach her in time.

Zangetsu glanced at his wing just before he folded his wings and fell into a dive with Karin in his sights. He curled his wings around in order to make his long body more stream lined and catch up to the falling girl with more speed. He quietly hissed as his wing protested the pressure he was applying but he ignored the pain. He reached out and grasped Karin in his claws clutching her to his chest and proceeded to open his wings and pull out of the dive. However when he opened his wings the injured joint finally gave way, and the wing broke with a scream of pain.

"HYOURINMARU!" Toushiro screamed as he watched in horror when Zangetsu's wing failed and he plummeted to the ground with Karin in his claws.

Hyourinmaru dived toward the earth and angled just beneath the black dragon. Hyourinmaru jerked to a stop and blasted a wave of ice in the form of a ramp that Zangetsu crashed into sliding down to the ground. His wing dragged the ground when he stood up, but at least he was alive and relatively unharmed except for a very few scrapes and bruises from the ice slide. Zangetsu looked up to the sky where the resulting nine gargoyles aimed for the black dragon. He quickly placed the injured Karin on his back and he travelled across the rocky terrain alongside a mountain pass. More than once, he stumbled as his right wing dragged the ground. Zangetsu quickly found a cave and ran inside pulling Karin from his back with his front claws as he rolled onto his right side resting the injured wing on the ground while his left wing shielded the dragon and girl from the mouth of the cave. He heard a massive creature scratching the rocky ground as it neared the mouth of the cave. Zangetsu raised his good wing so it touched the ceiling and he shielded his eyes dimming the yellow. The gargoyle stepped into the mouth of the cave and looked around, but Zangetsu had melded into the shadows so the gargoyle wasn't able to see the dragon. The gargoyle was suddenly frozen with ice just before the mouth of the cave was sealed with another blast of ice.

Hyourinmaru dashed along the wall freezing the gargoyle at the mouth of the cave that Zangetsu was hiding in. As he passed the cave, Hyourinmaru slammed his tail against the body of the gargoyle shattering it into a million pieces. Toushiro was furious.

"There are only eight gargoyles left." Toushiro growled up at the group of flying black statues. He looked around the mountain and spotted a wide ravine that looked big enough for Hyourinmaru to pass through.

"Hyourinmaru, head into that ravine." Toushiro pointed up ahead and the snow dragon complied dipping between the walls of rock. Toushiro watched the walls of rock and spotted an overhang that would support his weight.

"Come back for me in five minutes," Toushiro ordered as he stood on the dragon's back and ran the length so he could jump onto the ledge of rock. Hyourinmaru roared with a glance behind him to see that Toushiro had landed safely before he rose above the cliffs and out of the ravine. Toushiro formed a large ball of red reiatsu and directed it to the center of the ravine. He heard the screams of the gargoyles as each one flew into the ravine. All eight gathered at the ball of energy ignoring Toushiro and giving him time to trap each and every one.

"FUSHIBI!" Toushiro sent orange webbing across the ravine to anchor at each cliff with each gargoyle immobilized by the net. Toushiro coldly glared at the gargoyles with the picture of Karin falling from Zangetsu playing through his mind. He raised his hand drawing lightning around his hand before he struck the web with the lightning. Releasing the net, Toushiro watched the lightning run the web and electrocute every gargoyle. In painful screams, the gargoyles shattered into dust drifting through the air as Toushiro dispersed the kido net. Hyourinmaru called out entering the ravine to allow Toushiro to jump on his back once again.

"Well done, you continue to surprise me Toushiro," Hyourinmaru exclaimed as he turned out of the ravine.

"Let's go see Karin and Zangetsu." Toushiro requested and Hyourinmaru complied as he landed in front of the sealed cave. Hyourinmaru roared shattering the ice to clear the cave. Toushiro ran inside looking up to Zangetsu as he rolled from his right side to his left. He hissed at the pain this motion caused to erupt from his broken wing. Zangetsu gently held Karin within his claws and gently lay her down beside him. Toushiro ran up to her and looked over her, the only injury she had was the gash where that gargoyle had blasted her with some type of attack.

"Where are the packs?" Toushiro demanded of the dragons. Zangetsu used his flexible tail and pulled both packs from his back to rest before Toushiro. He quickly opened the packs and laid out the items he might need: a roll of guaze, a rag, and a blanket. Toushiro laid the blanket out and gently moved Karin off the dirt ground. He gasped at her condition: she was burning up with a fever and she remained unconscious. Hyourinmaru dug a small pit alongside Toushiro with one of his massive claws and blasted a ring of ice making a small bowl. He then blew water into the makeshift bowl and Zangetsu leaned over the two humans and breathed a scorching breath on the water. After a few moments of the dragon's breath, the water began to boil and Zangetsu settled back down away from Toushiro so he could help Karin.

"Thank you, this should help." Toushiro thanked the dragons who nodded their heads. Toushiro dipped the rag into the steaming water and gently washed her arm cleaning away the dirt and scraped skin. Karin winced in her sleep from the sting of the water. He dipped the rag into the water again and compressed the rag onto her arm to try to stop the bleeding. In the meantime, Zangetsu bit off a small, rectangular piece of his scales and dipped it into the water. He blew steaming breath to boil the sheet of scales and let it simmer in the water. Toushiro ignored this act as he sponged off the most of the water and wrapped her arm in the gauze. Her arm was no longer bleeding, and the gauze would make sure it wouldn't start bleeding again. However, the simple gauze could not keep dirt out of the wound. It was then Toushiro cursed his lack of knowledge. If only he knew healing kido, then he could help Karin more than this. Under the circumstances, this was all he could do and he made a promise to bring Karin back to Karakura safe and sound, and he would do just that.

"Toushiro," Zangetsu rested his tail against his back to gain his attention. The dragon indicated the layer of dragon scales in the pool of boiling water. "Use this layer of scales to seal her wound. This will ensure no dirt will enter and cause an infection." Toushiro gently picked the thick layer of scales from the water and carefully wrapped the layer around Karin's arm two times. He pressed an edge into the scales and blinked at the permanent seal made along her arm. Toushiro tried to pry the scales off her skin and found he could not get his fingers underneath further proof that the wound was closed for good. He leaned back on his heels and allowed a small sigh to escape his lips. Karin was no longer bleeding, but she was in desperate need of a doctor.

"She needs a doctor." Toushiro declared to the dragons.

"I will find one, but for now I must tend to Zangetsu's wing." Hyourinmaru stepped toward the black dragon and inspected the broken appendage. Zangetsu had really done a number on the wing: it bent at an unusual angle and lay limp on the floor of the cave. Hyourinmaru took the wing in both of his claws and gently moved the wing in the correct position. He then washed the joint with several blasts of water. When he was satisfied the wound was clean, Hyourinmaru froze the joint in the proper position and slowly lowered the wing against Zangetsu's body to allow the joint to heal.

"I am not familiar with the surrounding terrain, but I will find a kingdom with a doctor, Toushiro. I promise," Hyourinmaru walked up to the mouth of the cave and looked back to the small group. "I will seal this cave so you will not be disturbed. I will return as soon as I am able." Hyourinmaru stepped out of the cave and with a blast of ice sealed the cave in a sheet of ice 2 feet thick.

Toushiro silently prayed that Hyourinmaru would return before it was too late. He felt Karin's forehead and frowned at her growing temperature. Toushiro dipped the rag into the, now cool, water and lay the compress on her forehead to try and bring her temperature down.

"Please be okay, Karin." Toushiro quietly begged as he pulled his knees under his chin and waited.

…

The sun was preparing to set when Captain Kuchiki returned to Karakura with the scouting party. Before the party dispersed, Byakuya ordered every man to their home and demanded no one spoke a word regarding their search. If any word escaped their lips, then that man or woman would be sent back to Seretei for a court martial. Every member of the search team solemnly nodded and went their separate ways.

"I must investigate this occurrence," Byakuya whispered as he passed his horse to a stable hand and sped toward his home. He barely heard Renji ask where Winter Storm was to be bedded for the night.

"Let Winter Storm stay in my stables for the night, we will continue the search in the morning." Byakuya called out before he sped into his home. He needed to find information on dragons. Everything they had learned in the army was that every dragon was a killer and would rip a human to pieces without hesitation. So then, why were there two dragons in that clearing and why did the humans leave with the dragons? Captain Kuchiki walked into his library and pulled out every book with even the slightest hint of dragon information.

"Knock, knock," Captain Kyoraku announced with a small tapping on the door to Captain Kuchiki's study several hours later. However, Byakuya was so wrapped up in the book he was reading that he had not heard Shunsui enter the room. Byakuya glared as a shadow passed over the page he was reading as the person blocked the candle light he had been using.

"Shunsui, what are you doing here?" Byakuya questioned motioning for the other captain to move out of his light. Shunsui stepped aside in the odd behavior of his fellow captain.

"I came to find out how the search ended." Shunsui stated the purpose for his visit.

"We uncovered some unusual signs." Byakuya vaguely answered ignoring the curiosity lighting up the other captain's eyes.

"What unusual signs?" Shunsui asked. Captain Kuchiki looked up to the captain and closed his book with a sigh. He would never get any work done unless he satisfied Captain Kyoraku's curiosity therefore it was much easier to be forthright with the man.

"We located a clearing where Captain Hitsugaya and Karin Kurosaki spent the night however we did not find them. What we found were dragon prints alongside the human prints, and the prints appear to read the humans had left with the dragons willingly." Byakuya summed up their find to a stunned Shunsui.

"I'm surprised Captain Kyoraku, I've never known you to be speechless." Byakuya exclaimed. Shunsui shook his head and removed his straw hat to try and wrap his head around the news. Twirling the hat in his hands, Shunsui pondered this briefing and saw no reasoning behind it.

"It's not possible for the humans to be taking off with the dragons. The dragons must have hunted the humans in the clearing and dragged them off to be eaten." Kyoraku sadly stated in an attempt to make sense of the situation.

"I must disagree, Captain Kyoraku," Byakuya shook his head in disagreement. "The prints we found do not indicate any sense of urgency and there was a distinct lack of blood. Besides all that, there was a small scuffle between one of the dragons and, I suspect, Captain Toushiro Hitsugaya. There appeared to be no winner or loser, the fight simply ended, and, again, there was no trace of blood in the entire clearing. So I cannot believe, given the evidence, that Karin and Toushiro were killed by dragons." Byakuya looked up at Shunsui then he returned to the book he was reading.

"You can't know that for sure." Shunsui tried to reason with his fellow captain who continued to ignore him. "When has a dragon not killed a human?"

"Captain Kyoraku, I asked these very same questions on the way back to the village. For the moment I have no answer, but as I looked into the history of dragons and humans I am unable to find a confirmed report of a dragon killing a human. All the incidents were recorded from other people who heard from other people. I don't believe this to be a very reliable method of recording accurate attacks." Byakuya paused retrieving another book from the corner of his desk.

"There is something else . . ."

"What more could there possibly be?" Shunsui asked the sitting captain.

"It is recorded that dragons once protected kingdoms and villages."

"Impossible!" Kyoraku gasped in disbelief, "that must be a lie!"

"My thoughts exactly, however I have the proof in this book here. In the year 1415, there was an invasion destroying every kingdom in the country until one kingdom remained standing: the Kingdom Hakota. Just as the armies were at this kingdom's doorsteps, a wizard of the Ishida clan suggested the dragon's aid in this kingdom's protection. The king reluctantly agreed and the dragons saved the kingdom and all of the humans lying within. It is recorded that for several years dragons kept watch over the villages of this kingdom until the villagers demanded they leave. The history is fuzzy around this period however it is after the ban of dragons that these attacks began. Yet as I said before, there was never a clear attack on a human. It has all been hearsay." Captain Kuchiki completed his explanation and handed the history book over to Captain Kyoraku.

"I plan to request more history books from Sereitei surrounding that century in order to clarify my findings." Captain Kuchiki explained. He remained seated as Shunsui thought long and hard over Byakuya's words.

"Wait," Shunsui blinked as his mind started working again. "You said the Ishida clan introduced the dragons to the King of Hakota, right." Byakuya silently nodded to his friend.

"I wander if Uryu Ishida is related to this clan somehow? And maybe the clan member kept a diary recording the exact events surrounding that time period." Shunsui thought aloud and Byakuya nodded his head in agreement.

"I agree with this plan. However it is far too late to call Uryu at this late hour. I will continue my research in the morning after I have rested." Byakuya closed his books, blew the candle out and ushered Shunsui out of his cabin.

"Byakuya, let me help with your research. Two heads are better than one." Shunsui nodded to his friend. Byakuya replaced his hat on the head. He paused at the porch, then turned toward Byakuya with a serious look in his eye.

"If what you're saying about the dragons is true, then we've got a bigger problem on our hands and Sereitei will need to be contacted immediately." Shunsui slowly explained and Byakuya sorrowfully nodded his head.

"You are correct, Shunsui. That is why it is so critical that we uncover this mystery as soon as possible." Byakuya bowed to Shunsui as he left the yard.

"Hey, send someone if you ever plan on burning the midnight oil, because I would be glad to help." Shunsui called back as he turned down the dusty street back toward his cabin.

A/N: Here is another chapter in this story. I just realized something: I've gone 14 chapters and have only covered two days! All the characters have been very busy in this story, and they're going to get an ever bigger workout in the chapters to come. Fight scenes are not my strongest suit so I apologize if some parts don't make sense. Send me a pm on the parts I could change and I'll gladly make the changes.

I'm still looking for any ideas if you want to add a dragon to the cast.

Let me know what you think of this chapter and I'll try to get the next one out sooner. But, I can't promise anything.

This story was inspired by Dreamworsk "How to train your dragon."

Happy New Year.