Liquid fire raced through his veins, an icy burn seeming to cover his skin. His mind was scrambled, making his skull throb painfully if he tried to think. Beyond the darkness, a distant white shone upon his eyelids, and he struggled to open them.

Frantic, confused voices assaulted his ears as his mind began slowly putting itself back in order, the mishmash of colors sorting themselves out. He could make out vaguely familiar faces, all arguing with each other. Another, who couldn't have been anyone other than Madame Pomfrey, shouted above them all, managing to quiet things down. He became increasingly confused, flinching as his body ached in protest when he sat up.

The people around him, though still somewhat blurry, haven't noticed him yet. He attempted to ask them what exactly happened, but a burning scratching in the back of his throat transformed it into coughing. It was then that the group turned, realizing he was awake. Madame Pomfrey picked up a glass filled with water that had been sitting nearby on a side table. He drank greedily, and the scratchy feeling disappeared.

"What the hell happened?" He finally got out, though his voice still came out somewhat raspy.

"You collapsed." A voice—Hitsugaya's—replied curtly. The shinigami, along with the Golden Trio, stood around the bed in which he lay, various emotions on their faces.

"Are you alright, Shouta?" Hermione asked. Not wanting to risk talking anymore than needed, the brunette nodded.

"How long have I been out?"

"Almost a week. It's Thursday now." The bushy-haired girl replied.

"The Third Task is in a week." Harry added. Shouta nodded slowly in understanding, his mind working to fill in the missing parts.

"What happened to you?" Kurosaki cut in, upset. Shouta couldn't tell whether if it was anger or worry or something else. "You've been acting weird before this as well."

Shouta frowned, the memories still blurry. "I-I'm sorry… I haven't been feeling very well lately."

"Yeah," Ichigo scoffed, "We've noticed." Shouta winced at the biting tone in his voice.

"I'm fine now, just needed some sleep." He muttered, finding the white sheets much more interesting than hard brown eyes.

"Fine? My gut says there's more to this than just some cold. You're not fine." The substitute retorted. With a look from the other, the shinigami forced the trio to leave, Madame Pomfrey busying herself elsewhere and out of hearing range. When they did, the remaining turned back to him.

"So?" Hitsugaya asked, raising an eyebrow coldly. Shouta's mouth formed a thin line, and was silent for a long moment before he sighed heavily.

"I'm not going to get around this, am I?" He asked, receiving looks from several of the shinigami, confirming his statement. "I… I've got a problem, and it's been getting worse." He started, glancing at the others quickly before his eyes darted down again. "He's only started bothering me recently, but this is the first time he's done so in years, and… and I don't know what to do." Shouta drew his knees up to his chest, still refusing to look up. Now that he had admitted it, he realized he was scared. Scared that he might go too far again.

Understanding bloomed in their eyes as the shinigami realized what he was talking about. Ichigo, however, scowled in confusion. "What are you guys talking about? How come I'm the only one who has no idea what's going on?" He asked, looking between all of them.

"Of course you wouldn't know, Kurosaki. I died several years before you met Kuchiki after all." Shouta muttered, smiling bitterly. Kurosaki still remained thoroughly confused.

"Izukai has a… situation that caused a problem in Soul Society several years back. Though I suppose it should be expected that it will resurface every few years or so." Hitsugaya explained.

"So what's this problem or situation or whatever it is that he's got?"

"…Insanity." Shouta muttered, his voice barely audible to another's ears.

"Oh," Kurosaki looked at his shoes, scuffing the floor.

"Think about it like your hollow, Ichigo." Rukia cut in, seeing the look on his face. "The only difference is this isn't controllable or capable of being contained. It's hardly even considered living."

That little—

Shouta winced. "He doesn't like it when you refer to him like that." He murmured, finally looking up at them.

"Sorry."

"So what about the Third Task? Will you still be able to do that?" Matsumoto asked, changing the subject as she'd had enough of listening to their conversation. Shouta shrugged.

"I don't want to risk it." She nodded in understanding, and they looked up as the door to the infirmary opened. Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape walked in, heading straight for them.

"Ah, Mr. Watanabe. I see you're awake." McGonagall greeted as they got within hearing range. The brunette nodded to her in return. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, thanks," He replied quietly, rubbing the empty glass still in his hands, as if it provided him some comfort. Madame Pomfrey returned at that moment, refilling the glass with more water. He sipped at it as Snape and the other adults turned to the nurse.

"What was the cause?" Snape asked snippily, indicating his temper was short.

"Exhaustion, as well as lack of sleep and food. He will need to take it easy for the next several days." She explained curtly. "There was also a small ulcer in his stomach. It wasn't anything too serious, but what worries me is what caused it."

"And what would that be, Poppy?" Dumbledore asked, though he had a knowing look in his eyes.

"That's just it. I don't know." McGonagall frowned deeply at that, before noticing the small throng of students before her.

"All of you, out," She ordered, ushering them towards the door. "Mr. Watanabe needs to rest."

Nothing eventful happened for the next several days, other than preparation for the Third Task, and Shouta being let out of the infirmary three days beforehand.

It was at dusk that Thursday, near the end of June, when the noise level amongst the students rose again. They all filed out of the school excitedly after dinner, following the crowd towards the site where the Third Task was to take place.

The crowd roared, thumping their feet and waving banners giddily as the band played a tune befitting the mood. The cheering grew magnanimously as the Champions walked out onto the small grassy field along with the headmasters of the three schools.

The crowd was silenced, sitting down as Dumbledore began to speak. From the stands, Rukia, Matsumoto and Shouta studied the large hedges just behind the clearing, entrances snaking their way through. The Third Task had been described as a maze, with various challenges attempting to stop the Champions from finding the Trophy hidden inside.

Matsumoto, having checked the general area earlier, had been astounded by the sheer size of the maze, not even counting the magic that would undoubtedly affect which paths each wizard/witch chose. However, that also made it even easier for Voldemort or Aizen to strike an attack on an unsuspecting victim.

With Shouta out of the game, they had made a plan with Kurosaki and Hitsugaya on how to keep an eye on all four students simultaneously. Hitsugaya would follow Harry, Kurosaki would tail Cedric, and tracking devices that Shouta and Matsumoto had stashed away earlier would give them the locations of Krum and Fleur. The two shinigami would be ready to spring into action at any time, effectively alerting Hitsugaya and Kurosaki as well without alerting any of the civilians. At least one of them would always stay with the crowd, however, to keep an eye out for any possible diversions.

They had warned Dumbledore ahead of time, who had agreed to create a distraction if it became necessary.

And at last, the Champions stood ready at one of the six entrances to the maze. On Dumbledore's count, cannon fire went off from the stands. The Third Task had begun.