A/N: And now we're on the beginning of the second half of the story. I honestly think it gets much more interesting from here, judging by my notes. And just so you know, if I'd been the one writing the Espada battles for Tite, at least half the captains would have died. I don't do bad-guy one-sided losses; that's just dull. If you've read any of my other stuff, you'd know.

This arc is a bit of a breather from the serious nature of the last one. But not too much fluff, I hope.

To all of my reviewers: You guys are great, I get so much awesome feedback. I'm dedicating this chapter to GhibliGirl91, because she always makes me laugh with her comments. And because I know she'll enjoy this chapter.

New Arc name: Countdown to Crowning

x

The Heir Apparent
Chapter 19: Black Sun Rising

'So, Kurosaki-taicho, the sentence was carried out?' said Yamamoto gravely.

'Yeah,' he said, looking down. He could still hear the man's screams in his mind.

'He looks a bit pale,' said Kensei, who was half covered in bandages.

'That's pretty common for first time damners,' said Shinji. Yamamoto glared at them, cutting off further conversation.

The debriefing captain's meeting had come so quickly he'd barely stepped out of the portal before he'd been summoned by a hell butterfly. He'd been the last one there, but he could hardly have arrived sooner. All the other captains were present, except Byakuya who was being operated on in the fourth division, and Unohana who was doing the operating.

'So this Grimmjow,' said Yamamoto, twisting his mouth over the word as though it were something distasteful. 'You told him that we were allies.'

'And Nel,' Ichigo added defiantly, 'And their followers.'

He could tell that Yamamoto wasn't pleased by this development, and some of the other captains were definitely shifting uneasily. It was a difficult idea to get used to, being allied to their natural enemies.

'You presume much,' he growled.

Ichigo met his baleful gaze. 'You know about my hollow forms. Shinji and Kensei also have the mask. We're shinigami with hollow powers, while the Arrancar are hollow with shinigami powers. The difference isn't that great. And there is always going to be some strong hollow sitting on the throne of Hueco Mundo. It's gotta be better if we know who it is, and have links with them.'

Kyoraku nodded, 'He's got a point.' Other captains started giving their asset and voicing their approval.

Yamamoto looked like he'd swallowed a particularly bad-tasting pill. 'This is unprecedented. In the two thousand years I've been in Gotei thirteen shinigami have never allied with hollow.' He took a deep breath. 'If anything goes wrong, if any of them betray us, I'm holding you personally responsible.'

'Fine,' said Ichigo. 'Then can we get out of here?'

'Eager to finish?' said Kyoraku.

'I'm just sick of sand and broken buildings and air that smells like it belongs in a mineshaft. I want to relax, and have a bath.'

They had moved through Soul Society and the real world a little during the hunt while tracking Tousen, but that had amounted to little over two hours total. Two hours in nineteen days! All that had done was make it even more difficult to bear the time in Hueco Mundo.

'No place like home eh?'

That caught him off guard. Was he really considering Soul Society his home now? It hadn't been that long that he'd been here, in fact he'd spent just as much time in Hueco Mundo. Should he be feeling homesick for the real world? The fact was, despite missing his friends and family a bit (very little in the case of his father) there wasn't anything else.

On earth, he was just Ichigo. A high school teen with brightly coloured hair. Normal, average, boring. Everything was routine, school; homework; infrequent outings; meals; sleep; get up and start the whole cycle all over again. It didn't mean anything, he didn't have any power to do anything of value.

Here… here it was different.

Yamamoto coughed. 'Besides that, well done on the successful completion of the mission. That it was completed with only one seriously injured speaks volumes of about your leadership skill.'

'Hardly,' said Ichigo, 'they all fought on their own, I wasn't there.'

'Your tactics were sound for the situation.'

'But they weren't even mine!'

'A good leader knows when to take advice from those below, especially when they have more experience. Most are too proud to do that,' said Kyoraku, putting a hand on his shoulder. 'Trust us, Ichigo, you did a good job.'

'What about Byakuya?'

'Unohana-taicho expects him to make a full recovery,' said Yamamoto. 'Enough of this. How did Shiba Ganju perform?'

Suddenly both Yoruichi and Kukaku were looking at him intently. He started to sweat slightly, thinking of what to say. 'Um, well, I think.'

'What do you mean by that?' said Kukaku.

'I mean he did what was expected of him during the hunt, and he did hold off Tousen for a while. What else can I say?'

'Is that an endorsement,' said Yoruichi.

'I guess.'

'Great,' she flashed a pearly white grin. 'I'll go tell him myself.'

Yamamoto tapped his staff. 'There is one more matter that must be attended to, that of those who wish to exchange lieutenants. All captains not involved in the exchange may leave.'

Finally, he could go. He started out, noticing that only Kyoraku, Kenpachi, Kensei, Hitsugaya, Yoruichi and Urahara were leaving besides him. Were all the others involved in the exchange? That was a lot of changes.

'Kurosaki, I must thank you for what you did for Hinamori,' Hitsugaya acknowledged.

'No sweat, Toshiro,' he said, 'But I think I'll still be watching my back for a while.'

'It's Hitsugaya-taicho. She'll come around, I'm sure of it. Now that she has regained her focus.'

Never mind that her focus was now getting strong enough to kill him.

'Well done, Ichigo-kun, for standing up to Yama-jii,' said Kyoraku, walking to his side, 'Not often that happens.'

'That's just normal,' he shrugged, 'Standing up for those who help you, that is.'

Kyoraku smiled. 'Maybe it is, but all the same, well done. And for beating Tousen Kaname.'

x

Rukia had just finished washing and wrapped herself in a clean white gown. She was tired, both physically and mentally. She stepped out the bathroom and into the passageway just in time to see Ichigo arrive.

'Ichigo,' she gasped, taking in his appearance. His clothing was ripped, his body covered with bandages and dried blood. He must have had a hard battle against the traitor.

'Rukia,' he said in response, and in two steps covered the distance between them. He looked down at her for a moment, then hugged her tightly. 'I missed you.'

'Of course you did, you fool,' she said fondly, returning his embrace. She could smell his stale sweat mixed with blood and what she recognised as the scent of Hueco Mundo.

He carried on holding her for far longer than she thought was appropriate, standing as still as a statue. Only when she started wiggling impatiently did he let go. He looked even more exhausted than she felt, his eyes drooping with sorrow and his mouth in a tight line.

'What's with the pathetic expression?' she said, furrowing her eyebrows. 'If it's because my brother got hurt, it's misplaced. Did you really think I would be angry at you for that? His wounds were his own fault, and besides he's going to be fine.'

'No,' he said, turning his head away, 'I mean, I feel bad for him, but I don't…'

Rukia put a hand on his cheek, gently pushing his face back in line with hers. 'Tousen deserved his fate, Ichigo.'

'I know, but even still, there could have been another way.'

'Ichigo, you're a captain now. You have to uphold the laws of Soul Society. And the penalty for treason is damnation. In all our long history there has never been a more serious act of sedition than what those three did. Tousen made his choices, and that was the consequence for his actions.'

He rounded on her. 'Stop rationalising dammit, I know all that stuff. I just…' he trailed off again.

He was sometimes just too caring for his own good. Apathy wasn't a good thing, but it was often necessary when dealing with enemies. She gripped his elbows in her hands firmly. 'You're taking all the responsibility for sending him there onto yourself. That's too much, Ichigo, even for you. It's done now, you have to let go and move on.'

'I suppose,' he said half-heartedly, and hugged her again.

'You trying to even the score today?' she joked while snuggling into his embrace.

'What are you talking about?' he muttered.

'You know, the whole interest on hugs. You were gone nineteen days, so that's nineteen you owe me.'

He gave a low chuckle. 'You said it was a hundred percent interest a day, right?'

'Right.'

'That means that every day the number doubles.'

She broke away from him. 'How much is that?' she said suspiciously.

'Well, it would be two multiplied by itself nineteen times, which is to say two to the power of nineteen. I used to play with my scientific calculator a bit when I was bored in maths class, and I remember that two to the power of twenty is a bit over a million. So it would be half that, which is-'

'Half a million!' she exclaimed, her face going red. She'd said it as a joke, not meaning for him to take it seriously.

'Correct.' he leaned in closer so that his face was almost touching hers. 'Looks like I'll have to spend a lifetime repaying you.'

Rukia's face went even redder, if that was possible. Before she had a chance to react, Ichigo moved away as quickly as he'd come. 'Where're you going?' she said.

'To take a bath,' he called over his shoulder. 'We can catch up after.'

As she heard the sound of water running, Rukia suddenly remembered his old Shihakusho that was laying besides her bed. What would he think if he saw it there! She had to get it back into his closet, fast.

x

Hinamori was sitting waiting for him for him outside the tenth-division headquarters. She stood up when he arrived.

'Hitsugaya-kun,' she said.

'Hinamori,' he said softly. He hadn't seen her since she'd got back because of the captain's meeting.

She ran up and im and hugged him, sniffing and weeping, 'I've missed you, Hitsugaya-kun,' she said.

He didn't retreat from her embrace, like he normally would have. 'Shh, you're home now, and I'm going to take care of you.'

'Thank you so much,' she said, and hiccupped. After a few minutes she said softly, 'Hitsugaya-kun, can you help me get stronger?'

He sighed, and moved away from her. This was no doubt was Kurosaki was afraid of, she still was determined for revenge, and now she was actively seeking the power to do so. But she would have to get a lot stronger to even have a chance at that, which could take centuries. Plenty of time to get her to see reason.

'Only if you promise me something,' he said.

'Huh?' Plainly she'd been preparing herself for his point blank refusal.

'I'll train you every evening, but only if you promise to work hard as my lieutenant.'

'Really!' she said, her eyes widening.

'That's not all,' he said, 'I want you to smile, Hinamori. Really smile, every day.'

x

While the bath had been relaxing, it had reopened the wounds that had only just sealed. So Ichigo reapplied the bandages he'd taken off, and took a trip to the fourth division. The first think he did there was check how Byakuya was doing, but apparently he was still in surgery. So in the meanwhile he got his own injuries seen to.

The tall white-haired lieutenant was the one who healed him. She was Kiyone's sister Isane if his memory served him correctly, he had a vague recollection of holding back when he hit her on Sougyoku hill. She didn't say much, but blushed profusely when his took his top off. She did do a good job though, afterwards he felt like a new man.

'Please come again, Kurosaki-taicho,' she said softly as she led him out, then saw Rukia waiting for him; blushed again and disappeared back inside the room.

Ichigo frowned, wishing someone back at the fourth division was akin to wishing them injuries and illness. He shook his head, another weird one.

'Looks like you've got another admirer,' said Rukia with a smirk.

'What are you talking about, shortness?'

'There's nothing wrong with my height,' she said crossly, then her expression changed. 'Captain Unohana's just finished with Nii-sama's surgery.'

'Have you spoken to her?'

'Not yet, I thought we could go together.'

He shrugged, 'Let's go.'

They were walking side by side down the passage towards Unohana's study, when a thought struck him. 'You know, I'm sure you were shorter before I left.'

'Must be your imagination,' she said pleasantly.

'Probably,' he agreed, 'You must have grown even smaller in my mind.'

That prompted an argument that lasted them until they were in front of the other captains door. But Ichigo wasn't convinced. He'd known Rukia for a long time now, and was very used to her height (or lack thereof). She was keeping something from him, but what, and why?

His thoughts were interrupted by Rukia rapping on the door, and Unohana calling for them to come in. She was sitting at her desk, writing up notes. He'd half expected her to be covered in blood, but she was as impeccable as always. She looked up and smiled tiredly.

'How is he?' Rukia blurted out.

'He's in a coma,' said Unohana.

Ichigo froze. He was well versed in medical terms and knew exactly what that meant and entailed. Byakuya hadn't suffered a head injury, so a coma was most likely the body's defense mechanism against pain. Either that or he'd been put into a chemically-induced one to allow him to recover.

'WHAT!' Rukia cried, obviously fearing the worst.

Unohana wasted no time explaining what Ichigo had already known. According to her, maintaining a Bankai at death's door was pretty generally fatal (Ichigo being the only excepting, with his being a compression), so he was lucky to be alive.

'So how long do you suspect he will be out for, a month?' he said.

Unohana smiled. 'Don't underestimate me. By the end of the week he'll be walking without aid.'

'Can we go and see him?' said Rukia.

'His wounds were very deep. There's a danger of him catching an infection at the moment, so he's been placed in a sterilised room. I'm afraid not for two days; at the very least.'

'But-'

'We understand, Unohana-taicho,' Ichigo cut in, 'Thank you for everything.

'There is an observation window I can take you to,' said Unohana.

She led them to a dark room, where a thick sheet of glass separated them from the intensive care room. There Byakuya lay, in a white bed, most of his exposed skin covered in either bandages or yellow disinfectant. Only his face was clear, but that was deathly pale. Yet his expression was peaceful.

'Nii-sama,' said Rukia softly, putting a hand on the glass.

'Byakuya,' said Ichigo, his eyes suddenly going moist. Dammit, this was all because he hadn't been strong enough, because he'd been too proud to use his full strength from the beginning. He was the reason Byakuya was like this, if he'd just been stronger, more skilled; none of this would have happened.

'Take as long as you need,' said Unohana quietly, leaving them alone in the small room.

x

Far away, in hidden fortress far from shinigami eyes, a meeting was getting underway. Five were seated at a round table, an ancient symbol that all who sat there were equal. The effect was ruined by the high chair in which one of them sat.

At just shy of two meters, he was very tall by anyone's reckoning. He cut an imposing figure too, with broad shoulders and a muscular physique. His skin was tanned and unblemished, except for an angry looking scar across the side of his neck that he almost hid with his high collar. He had high cheekbones, narrow brows, and distinctly hawkish features. His long dark-blond hair was tied in a tight ponytail, a few strands hung loose over his cold blue eyes.

His name was Franz Bismark. The bearer of the golden cloak. The only survivor of the Quincy twenty, the masters of the old order, he was the undisputed leader of their replacements; the Rache. To his left sat Takumo, his second-in-command. He had just finished putting his silver cloak on the back of his chair. To his right, Alexander Marx in black. Opposite him sat Serena Rommel; in blue, and to her right Ajmer Khaan; in red.

'Brothers, Sister,' he said, nodding at Serena, 'Welcome. I trust you have refreshed yourself after your journeys?'

'Thank you, we have,' said Marx, inclining his head.

Bismark waited for the others to at least nod before continuing. 'I thank you all for coming.' Not that they'd had much choice in the matter. 'As you are no doubt aware, today in the material world it is June the 11th. In sixteen day's time it is Soul Societies crowning ceremony, at which point we will make our move.'

'And kill them all,' said Serena coldly.

'Not all,' said Marx, 'Someone has to do the menial labour.'

'Only if we win,' Takumo cautioned.

'Do you doubt our victory?' said Marx.

'I'd be a fool not to. These are Soul Reapers we're dealing with, not a common rabble. They've endured wars for millennia, and never been defeated.'

'You have so little faith.'

'What did you say, Alexander?'

'You heard me. And my name is Marx.'

Bismark smiled behind the hand he was leaning on. Marx was insulting Takumo's habit of saying 'have faith,' far more than was common, while Takumo was getting back at him by calling him by his first name; which he detested. Across him the argument was growing, fuelled by over a century's worth of resentment and slights. Those two hadn't cared much for other from the moment they'd met. That initial friction had simmered into active dislike over the years.

Bismark had known all along about the problems between the two. He hadn't taken any measures to end it, quite the opposite. He was the one who'd taken steps to expand their initial dislike, and then by constantly playing them off against each other made sure they'd never reconciled.

His reason for doing so was simple, together Takumo and Marx could challenge him for the leadership of the Rache. But so long as they were at each others throats neither one would get far, even if one of them somehow secured the support of both Serena and Khaan in a coup d'etat. The other one would naturally support him in such a scenario, and that would be enough to take the three down. By perpetuating their antagonism, he was ensuring his position remained uncontested.

And it would definitely be contested if those two ever stood together. Both were extremely ambitious. Takumo was the only Rache that came close to matching his strength, and Marx was the most proficient strategist he'd ever met; even if he was only on the reitsu level of the other two.

He noticed that across the table Serena and Khaan were being drawn into the argument. Currently Khaan appeared to be backing Marx, but Serena wasn't taking any sides. She was too smart for that. She was obsessed in only one thing -killing shinigami- and wouldn't allow for distractions. She was also Bismark's infrequent lover, generally only when she wanted to extract favours from him. He wasn't entirely immune to her charms.

Deciding that it had gone on for long enough, Bismark slammed his palm on the table. 'I think it's time we got back to the business at hand,' he said.

Takumo was tense and seething, while Marx seemed smugly satisfied. It was a familiar end to their arguments. While Takumo was by no means slow, far from it, he simply couldn't contend with a man who set traps and twisted whatever he said like a lawyer.

'Have you finished formulating our enemies profiles, Marx?' he said.

One of Marx's main responsibilities was information gathering, getting agents into Seireitei and discovering the secrets of the captains and lieutenants abilities. Once the war began, those agents would have some very different and even more vital tasks to perform.

'I have formulated a basic one,' said Marx, 'But I would prefer it if I had more sources to draw upon. It would have been better if we'd been able to learn from Tousen, but that option has sadly been lost to us. I am currently investigating other potential sources, these however will increase our chance of detection greatly.'

'I trust your judgement,' said Bismark, ignoring Takumo's glower, 'Please proceed.'

'Thank you,' said Marx, and drew a small remote from his cloak. He tapped it once, and the table opened and folded away to reveal a hologram projection set. When the others gave him odd looks he shrugged and said, 'I have agents in the twelfth division too. We just copied the plans and made it ourselves. Please pay close attention.'

He touched another button, and a short blonde girl with pigtails appeared, hovering slightly above the set and rotating slowly. The image was full sized, and so realistic that Bismark wouldn't have been surprised if it had started talking. Truly, the shinigami did have access to some remarkable technology.

'I have classified the captain-class shinigami into three groups of five, according to their strength as based on their known battles,' Marx explained. 'I will be presenting them in order from weakest to strongest. Please bear in mind that our information is incomplete, so there may be some variance in the expected power levels.'

'That's Sagugaki Hiyori,' Takumo pointed out, 'She's not a captain.'

'I didn't say captain, I said captain-class. She doesn't have a Bankai, but she is a Vizord.'

'A half-hollow shinigami,' said Serena. 'A freak that must be exterminated.'

Marx gave a thin smile, pulled out his notebook, and started reading out her basic details, such as height; weight; approximate age; likes and dislikes etc. Only when he started talking about her zanpakutou and its abilities did the others start paying attention and making notes themselves.

The next shown was a dark-haired lieutenant called Kuchiki Rukia. Marx didn't know much about her abilities, except that they were ice-type.

'She doesn't have a Bankai, so what abilities does she have that make her worthy of our attention?' said Takumo.

'She is the only non-captain shinigami to have defeated an Espada in the Arrancar war. That alone makes her worth consideration.'

After that it was all captains. Abarai Renji, a redhead with a snake sword. Then a young boy called Hitsugaya Toshiro. Both of their abilities were well documented, due to a duel between them that Marx's agents had observed. While both had reached Ban release, their power hadn't matured fully. Something about the white-haired boy tugged at Bismark's memories, but he couldn't place it.

The last in the first group was Shiba Kukaku, who's abilities had also been observed due to her combat test with Hiyori. Annoyingly, they had no idea what her ultimate ability was.

'She would be in the next group,' said Marx, 'Except that she hasn't entirely recovered her coordination in her new arm.' Then he summed up the entire group. 'These are the weakest of the captain-class shinigami, as long we don't get complacent we should be able to deal with them without too much trouble. But I wouldn't suggest pitting any Kreis members against them.'

That was a jab aimed specifically at Takumo. He'd gathered twelve of the strongest circle members and given them special training. They had started calling themselves the Innen Kreis - the inner circle. Even though they weren't officially recognised they were without a doubt the strongest Rache outside of the Prima Kreis.

'We'll see,' said Takumo coldly.

The middle group consisted of Unohana Retsu, Shinion Yoruichi, Kuchiki Byakuya, Urahara Kisuke and Kenpachi Zaraki. All were strong and capable combatants, but as Marx explained, each had a large weakness or point that they could exploit. Zaraki expected to take wounds, which would be deadly when dealing with Quincy arrows rather than swords. Urahara preferred remain on the sidelines than do actual fighting himself. Yoruichi shunned the use of her zanpakutou for some reason. Byakuya probably wouldn't have recovered fully by the time they attacked. And as long as Unohana had high-ranking patients, she would absent herself from the fighting.

The tension was mounting when Marx moved on to the final group, the strongest shinigami in Seireitei. The first two, Muguruma Kensei and Hirako Shinji, had gained that ranking thanks to their hollow masks. The next was interesting, Kurosaki Ichigo, an orange-haired boy who had suddenly appeared last year to become the hero of the war. It was he who had defeated the chief traitor Aizen, as well two of the Espada and only yesterday their traitor Tousen. He was being ranked as the third most powerful.

Bismark clenched his jaw tightly when he saw the image of the second. Kyoraku Shunsui, the Wind of Death. How long had he waited for the chance to take revenge against that man. Against all the shinigami, but primarily against him. He had lost count of the amount of times he'd killed him in his dreams, the many ways he'd tortured him before he'd died. Absently he adjusted his collar over his scar. Marx wasn't talking anymore. The atmosphere around the table had changed noticeably since Kyoraku's image had appeared.

'Decide amongst yourself who gets the other captains,' he said, furious heat rushing off his face in waves. 'But Kyoraku and Yamamoto belong to me.' No doubt the captain-commander would be ranked as number one. He was the one who'd given the order to exterminate the Quincies, and ranked second in his to-kill list.

Bismark excused himself. He had wash his face and calm down before continuing with the meeting.

x

Rukia couldn't sleep. After such a busy day she would normally be out like a light as soon as her head touched the pillow. But although she was exhausted, her mind was working on overdrive, and try as she might she couldn't calm it. The events of the day kept playing through her head, denying her rest.

She had finally completed her Bankai training, but that achievement had been overshadowed by Ichigo and his team's return, and her brothers wounding. It was a relief that he was going to be alright, but Ichigo had really taken the guilt to heart. Despite the jubilant reception he'd been given by Kiyone and Sentaro, and the rest of the thirteenth division in the office, he'd brooded the entire night. The dinner they'd prepared for him had been terribly subdued, all those around him being affected by his black mood.

Rukia though wasn't sure if she should do something. Ichigo had changed in Hueco Mundo, that much was obvious. By how much remained to be seen. Maybe all he needed was time to work things out for himself. Besides, even if he didn't there was no way her brother would allow himself to be burdened with Ichigo's guilt once he'd woken up.

In the meantime, she would stand by him and support him when he needed it. Although Ichigo was remarkably mature for a nearly 17 year old, in some ways he was still a child. Perhaps that was the underlying cause of his anxiety, he was shedding the last of his child's-skin.

Rukia changed position, shifted a bit, then sat up and beat her pillow into softness. Great, she was still thinking, couldn't she just finally get some sleep. It wasn't like she had tomorrow off, she'd just had four days off, she'd be back at work and tired; she could just see it now.

She got up to take a walk, but as soon as soon as she was outside her room she felt her feet pull her in a certain direction. She froze up when she realised that she was outside Ichigo's room. No, she couldn't go in there! After a brief internal battle, she decided just to peek inside to see if he was alright.

She opened the door quietly and stuck her head inside. It was hard to make out anything in the dark, but Ichigo's bed, while unmade, appeared to be empty. There was a dark shape sitting at the end of it.

'Ichigo,' she whisper-called.

He raised his head. 'Rukia, why're you still up?'

'I couldn't sleep.'

'Yeah, well, me neither,' he said.

She came in and sat beside him in the pitch dark. Ichigo was silent, but he moved slightly to put the side of his head on her shoulder. Silence grew between them, but a comfortable one. They both knew that she was here for him, and would listen when he was ready to talk. Right now he wasn't ready for that, just her being there was enough in the meantime.

There was no sense of time in their closeness, and nothing to measure it by. But sometime later; when Rukia was getting really tired; Ichigo said, 'I don't want you to leave me tonight, Rukia.' His next words came in a rush, 'I don't mean it like that or anything, it's just-'

She could sense his embarrassment, and smiled. 'I understand. I'll stay.'

'Uh,' he said, plainly unsure of what to do next.

She solved his dilemma by getting into his bed. 'This is my side, don't you dare intrude.'

'Who would,' he muttered. 'Why do you have to take the right side?'

'Because I'm always right,' she said cheerfully.

'Lame,' he said as he got into the left. 'And don't you dare intrude on my half either.'

'In your dreams.'

This time there was no comeback.

'Um, Ichigo,' she said into the darkness.

'Hm?'

'Don't you dare mention this to anyone, you hear me.' She had no doubt that the others would get the wrong idea if they found out.

'You think I'm that stupid?' he snorted.

'You want me to answer that?' she retorted.

'Whatever. Go to sleep, midget, you can bother me more in the morning.'

'How many times do I have to tell you I AM NOT A MIDGET!'

x

A/N: I hope everybody picked up on the Prima Kreis that each have a primary colour, including black and white as primaries. Instead of yellow and white though we have gold and silver, due to the leadership structure. Remember that their interpretations of power ranking, while close to the truth, aren't the exact truth; as stated by Marx.