Hi all! I told you it would be a little while lol. Anyways, things are going good here, been pretty busy blah blah blah story this story that. Lol. Not gonna give you my excuses, you already know what they are (if you don't remember look at chapter 19 lol) Anyways, finally reached Chapter 20 and I couldn't have done it without you... literally. Looking at your reviews is what finally gets me up off my butt in the little free time I have anymore. Anyways, Onward!

Chapter 20...Prepare

Soi Fon leaned against her desk warily. It had been about 2 weeks since the start of the freak illness that put the Seireitei in an uproar. She'd been doing regular checks of her division members. So far the number of infected they'd found and put down was 35. And it just kept rising. Unohana had yet to figure out the way it spread, and it wasn't like she could question the victims. The minute they quit killing their brains melted. It was disgusting.

The door to her office slid open and in walked Grimmjow. Soi Fon barely met his eyes. They'd had yet to discuss what had happened in this very office, and he looked like he was just going to ignore it. And so should she. She had more things to worry about than men and kissing. But she still hadn't been able to get it off of her mind. At least she was able to refrain from blushing. She sits down in her office chair, turning to the wall. She winced as she spotting the missing items from her shelves. They were the only thing that personalized her portion of the office... the only thing that personalized the office in all actuality. She made a mental note to replace them the next time she was in the physical world. She turns back around only to come face to face with the blue haired pest who now haunted her thoughts.

"What do you want," she said with a glare. She scooted her chair back a few inches and leaned back. Anything to add distance between them. His eyes trail up the wall to the blank spots. Then drift back down to her. A smug look starts to form on his face, and Soi Fon braced herself for him to begin teasing her. But it never came. In fact, the smug look turned into a frown as he again looked at the missing items. Sighing, he leans away from her and crosses his arms.

"I'll get you new stuff. Or give you money for new stuff. Since it's my fault they broke," he said. What was he saying? He wanted to kick himself. Every time he went to tease and ridicule the woman he ended up saying sappy stuff, or things that just weren't what he wanted to say. He turned away before he could make himself look like any more of a wimp. He didn't want to see the look on her face. That smug look that said she thought she was winning the battle between them. Only Grimmjow was beginning to think that they'd both lost sight of just what that battle was anymore. Had it always been about making each other feel? Or had it started off just as two violent people letting loose. He couldn't remember. Deciding to leave completely, he steps to the door.

"Wait..." Soi Fon called. He turned, leaning against the wall by the door. He could see her struggling to come up with the words she wanted to say. He knew before she even started what it was about. That damn kiss. He couldn't erase the feel of her lips from his mind. He scoffed mentally. He was becoming such a puss. "That...that can't happen again. It's not a good time," she said. He was shocked by the ache that started in his chest. Ugh. How could he feel. He was a Hollow. But the more time he spent with these damn Shinigami, the more he felt like one. And they had hearts. They could feel. And so could he. And he hated it. Hated what was going on in his head at the moment. Hating the fact that he could tell she was too. The ache increased as he replied.

"Hadn't ever thought it would," something senseless, something cruel. He had to reply like Grimmjow would. He was Grimmjow after all, but some senseless pussy version it seemed. He couldn't have that woman make him soft, as he was in danger of doing. He saw the hurt in her eyes for just a second. His rejection a clear denial of the feelings they shared. But she was right. It wasn't a good time. And Arrancar/Shinigami dating was definitely the last thing the Seireitei needed. Grimmjow left the room, before his body reacted to the instinct to comfort her.

It was for the best really, she told herself as she watched him flee the room. So much had passed between them in that moment. They'd read each others souls it seemed. And she hated him for seeing her weak. And that was exactly what feeling for him was. A weakness. One neither of them could afford with what was going on. Still, his cold rejection hurt. Instead of saying 'I know', he'd said what she needed him to say. That he didn't feel the same even when she knew he did. Because she was used to feeling the ache that was blossoming in her chest now. It made her strong.

She stood, preparing for the meeting with Yamamoto. It would be the first, and the last dealing with the illness issue. She knew what the meeting would entail. It would be a lock down of the divisions. None of the Shinigami in the physical world would be able to return until this illness passed. None of the Shinigami here would be able to leave. Containment was the best strategy. 1St, 2nd, 12th, and 13th were still unaffected. It was best to keep it that way.

She walked in the door to the 1st division to hear a discussion that was working its way to being heated. The meeting hadn't started yet, that was clear. Yamamoto wasn't even in the room. But there was a word battle between some of the division captains, and Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Mayuri just stood there with that slightly insane expression on his face as the other captains made accusations. "I simply do not see how the continued spread of this disease is MY fault," he said. "Should you not be pointing fingers at the MEDICAL unit, in place of the scientific?" Soi Fon narrowed her eyes.

"Silence!" she exclaimed. Everyone's eyes fell to her. "The argument is pointless. Everyone just shut up and be silent until Captain-Commander arrives. It doesn't matter who's fault the spread is, what matters is that it ends." she finishes. She takes her place and the Captains who'd refrained from the argument glanced her way. Ichimaru had been pointing fingers like he always did. He was a shit stirrer. Unohana had been defending herself. Mayuri seemed to be enjoying the subject of the disease, in the same sick way he seemed to enjoy any oddity. Komamura's attempts to control the situation had only made it escalate. Hitsuguya was pointing fingers at 12. And honestly, Soi Fon agreed with him. It was Mayuri's division's responsibility to make the medicines that cured the things healing kido didn't. Besides what 4th was able to do anyways. His group was Research and \Development after all.

Yamamoto finally walks in. He always seemed to wait until the rest of the Captains had discussed things among themselves first. Maybe he actually did. It didn't matter. He called the meeting and said exactly what everyone had known he would say. The divisions left. Preparations were to be made, and at 1400 hours, the divisions were to have no more contact with each other, except through hell butterfly. And Butterfly usage was limited to Captain and Lieutenants. All vendors from the Rukon were escorted out, and the military rations were the only thing being served in the kitchens of the divisions. There were enough of these in each division to last for weeks. They all hoped it wouldn't last that long.

At 1400 hours, Soi Fon's entire division met in the training grounds. They stood in neat, organized lines. Soi Fon broke down the situation, and explained the resolution. There would be daily meetings like this, and everyone would have an inspection done by the member of 4th that had been assigned to the division. Everyone would have limited rations. Only three meals a day, which was a given. No extra trips. Names would be signed off every time a squad member came into the mess halls.

Soi Fon dropped into her chair after she'd finished explaining everything and finally took a second to relax. It was going to be a long few weeks till this virus or whatever it was ran its course. The good news was that it should be contained. There was no reason it should spread beyond what it already had. Now it was just a waiting game.

'You're better than him,' says the voice of his zanpakuto. 'You could end this silly standoff right now. All you have to do is kill him.' He frowns at his zanpakuto. It was lusting for violence more than usual today. He stepped out of the division office and called for a butterfly to send a message. It would be the only message he sent to her for the entire containment. The black and pink butterfly lands on his finger. He gives the butterfly the message. As it prepares to leave, something curious happens. Without his permission, he ran his finger along the edge of the partially unsheathed blade at his side. He smeared the blood on the wing of the butterfly. It flew away. 'You are better than her too. Kill her.' The man glared at his zanpakuto. "Shut up Zabimaru." His zanpakuto pushed more, and finally ceased. In return, Renji received a headache. But after a while, that too subsided. He felt no other signs of illness. He decided not to report the headache or Zabi's strange insistance on violence.

The butterfly landed on the Kuchiki girl's finger. It relayed its message, and Rukia scoffed. 'We'll discuss our situation when the containment is over. Until then, I think it best that we not contact each other so we can think.' Stupid really. She knew he had just wanted to say something to her. But she also knew that he understood the situation just as well as she did.

The butterfly in her hand refused to take off. She examined the little critter and found something red on the wing. It was strange, and she gently brushed her finger over it. Removing her finger, she found it to be blood. Frowning, she took the butterfly with her to her room in the barracks, and gently took a paper towel to the wing. When its wing was dry it would fly again, she was sure of it. She set the butterfly on the stand by her bed. Then she opened the window just a crack, and left. She had a lot of work to do, as the captain was sick again, and she needed to catch his paperwork up again.

Ok, so not too long of a chapter and another huge wait. Sorry. At least its up though!

Squalo king: I know you didn't leave an actual review but I did want to answer your questions. Yes I read your story, forgot to review though. So i'll do it now. I think that it is well written and that you have a good idea going. It's a unique pairing (HanaxMenoly) and I think it works. And as for your other question, I hadn't originally planned to pair hanatarou with anyone, but if you would like me to (since I do requests that don't conflict with my original pairings) I can see if I can squeeze something in. That being said, I'd like to work in the pairing from your story. Like I said, it works with their personalities. So, just shoot me a review or a pm with your permission since it is your idea for a pairing :)

Albinos: I know it took forever and so did this one. I hate being so busy, but I'm so much happier than I used to be and hopefully its going to start reflecting soon. Unfortunately this chapter was more angst than romance but the romance will start back up again once I get a few more people infected and whatnot. And more of the plot unfolds. And yes more victims...many more lol and thank you for congratulating me. I appreciate it :)