Welp. More things happened. Finished a bunch of testing, and much more coming up. I've had a lot going on, but summer in a few weeks! (…And June is hectic and likely without much updating on anything… sorry about that in advance.) So yeah… sorry for the really long delay. ^^' I warned you though, to be fair. But yes, I do hope you still read this, and at long last here is an update.

Oh, and as a reminder, bold lettering is Japanese. ^^

*Last Time*

From amidst the black inky darkness outside, staring at them… was a pair of large yellow eyes.

Brianne shrieked, jumping back in surprise as a gray hand appeared next to the eyes. "Wh-wh-what in the hell is that?!" She asked, watching it carefully. Hitsugaya, Ichigo, Matsumoto, and Rukia all materialized their zanpaktou as the window slid open slowly, as if in a horror movie.

The shinigami, poised to attack, rushed forward. "StOp!" A small, squeaky voice screeched. "ShInIgAmI-sAmA…" It started, in a raspy sort of way. They stopped, almost confused, but the creature didn't seem to exude a sense of danger. The window fully opened, the thing collapsed into a heap on the floor as it crawled in.

It wore a black muddled cloak, hiding any distinguishing features. The creature looked up abruptly, the hood falling back to reveal a grotesquely marred face. It must have been human once, or something resembling human, but the scars riddling its features was so large in number that the creature was indistinguishable from a monster in a child's book. Long stringy black hair hung from its head, drooping over its lifeless yellow eyes.

Matsumoto shrieked at the sight of it. "What is that?!" She jabbed a finger at it, backing away.

"I aM mOrOaK…" It rasped, and the sight of it pained them to watch. "GuArDiAn Of ThE dArK mAgIcKs… AlOnGsIdE mY mAsTeR…"

"Are you a follower of Voldemort and Aizen?" Shouta replied, much calmer than the lieutenant that continued backing away from the creature. It shook his head.

"My MaStEr Is FaR oLdEr ThAn ThE dArK lOrDs…" It—Moroak—answered in return. "My MaStEr Is Of ThE sAmE cAlIbEr As ThE gOdS…" The others shared a glance, wondering just who was this 'master'? The zanpaktou disappeared from sight, morphing back into rings.

"Who is your master?" Rukia then supplied, voicing their question.

"My MaStEr HaS nO nAmE… mY mAsTeR iS sImPlY tHe GuArDiAn Of ThE dArK mAgIcKs…" Knowing they wouldn't get any more out of it, Hitsugaya asked another question, silencing Ichigo before he had a chance to go in depth on the name.

"What do you want from us? Or rather, what does your master want?" He snapped, giving the ginger beside him a glare.

"ThE tHiRd TaSk… ThE dArK lOrDs MuSt Be StOpPeD… bEfOrE aNoThEr TrAgEdY oCcUrS… bEfOrE tHe WaR dEsTrOyS aLl OuR dImEnSiOnS…" The Captain opened his mouth to ask what exactly that meant, when the door smashed open for a third time.

Harry stood there again, this time followed by Ron and Hermione. His face, previously contorted with something akin to anger, twisted into confusion and then to horror at the sight of Moroak.

"Wh-What is that?!" Ron stuttered, jabbing a finger at the creature groveling on the ground.

"I mUsT lEaVe NoW… sHiNiGaMi-SaMa…" Before anyone could stop him, Moroak vanished in a whirlwind of shadows and light.

"What the bloody hell was that?!" Ron, now recovering from his earlier shock, barged into the room and searched the area where the creature had been earlier. "A demon?" He looked up at the still somewhat stunned group expectantly as the rest of the Golden Trio came into the room.

"…We don't really know either…" Shouta muttered, eyes still searching the area where Ron now stood. He tugged the scarf around his neck farther up.

"Wha… What do you mean you don't know?" Hermione questioned. "You were talking to it just now, weren't you?!"

"It was talking to us." Bri retorted. "Wait, that's not the point. What the hell was that thing talking about?"

"She's right. It mentioned a war and the dark lord," Shouta glanced at the Golden Trio warily, who were listening intently. "And then there's its master…"

"The Guardian of Dark Magicks," Hitsugaya clarified, arms crossed.

"Isn't that just a legend?" The group turned to Hermione, who colored from her outburst. "I-I mean, it's in the library under the Myths and Legends section. I haven't actually read it yet, but I don't think it'd be real if there's a book on it placed there."

"Well, I'm going to head out then." The brunette grinned, shouldering the duffel bag over her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder at the entrance. "Actually, I might stop by that nearby town for some goodies first."

"Hurry up and leave already." Shouta grumbled hands stuffed in his pockets.

Bri laughed, ruffling his hair, much to the younger's discontent. "Take care of yourself then, kid. Oh, and here's that thing you wanted." She handed him a manila folder, thick with whatever was inside it.

"Thanks." He muttered, tucking it under his arm.

"Well then, princess, I'll be going now. Keep in touch, will ya?" Shouta cursed at her as she ran, laughing as she went.

He continued to grumble to himself as he retreated towards the castle, stomping up the path carelessly. He paused slightly, looking up in surprise to see Kurosaki speaking with Harry up ahead.

"Looking for… stolen heir… thief at…" Glimpses of their conversation could be heard, and Shouta continued on closer, so as to pick up more.

"Sh-Shouta? What're you doing here?" Kurosaki looked up as the brunette approached, mildly surprised. Harry seemed much more jarred than the orange-haired teen.

"I was just seeing Bri off." He replied, eyeing the boy-who-lived curiously. "She said it was about time for her to leave. Anyways, what're you guys talking about?"

"I, uh… was just explaining why we were here. He's been asking for the truth for awhile now, hasn't he?" Ichigo muttered, and Shouta raised an eyebrow, nodding.

"How much did you tell him?"

"Not anything that's get us into trouble. Just the basics, like about the stolen heirloom and the basic situation with the dark lord and such." The brunette continued to look at the substitute skeptically, but shrugged none the less.

"Well, take it up with Hitsugaya. He's the one that's been the stickler about keeping secrets." Shouta replied nonchalantly, absentmindedly noticing the presence of the aforementioned captain nearby.

Harry, peeved that they were now ignoring him, opened his mouth to say something, only to be interrupted.

"What's that you got?" Ichigo gestured to the manila folder under the other's arm. Shouta, seeming to have completely forgotten about it, held the folder up to eye-level.

"I'm not sure yet. It's something Bri handed to me right before she left. I'm planning to look through it later tonight."

"TAICHOOOOUUUUU!" An all too familiar voice shrieked with delight. "There's a trip coming up to that old village! We have to go!" A yelp was heard, and Matsumoto tumbled down the path towards them, Hitsugaya watching her cautiously.

"Is that…"

"Taaiiichooouuu…" Matsumoto groaned, picking herself up from the ground and dusting off the imaginary dirt. "You're so mean…" Hitsugaya scoffed, looking up at the three standing nearby.

"What are you three doing?" He asked skeptically. Shouta shrugged, escaping back into the castle without another word. Hitsugaya turned to Kurosaki, who gulped at the slowly lowering temperature.