"Chapter Four;
Meetings"

- Forest Estate: Eleven Days Later

Takumi came back with Akuma and the arrancar, making it an immediate stop for Kaito. He told the sapphire eyed male to take care of the arrancar if he wanted to help Akuma's condition, telling him of what he discovered on the investigation, and made it as clear as he possibly could that killing the arrancar would lead to the albino's own destruction, that they were certainly not ready to face, and it was the last thing they needed to worry about with Aizen out there.

Kaito did as told, then tried to help Akuma's physical weakness as much as he could, but with how exhausted she was from the crushing pain, emotional cages, and just plain tired from enduring both, she promptly passed out seconds after she hit the mat in the infirmary, and stayed that way until a couple days beforehand, still heading in and out of consciousness, and very distinctly not ready to return to her regular activities (or standing, according to Kaito), and she spent most of her days either sleeping, trying to stay awake longer for the medic.

Now, as to their guest, he just slept his days away, stirring every now and again, but was nowhere near conscious, and was still too weak. The arrancar was practically buried in bandages, currently wearing a clean, white kimono, fluffy blankets pounded on top of him to keep him warm, and to stop the shaking that had begun from fever. An IV was stuck into his right wrist, and there was an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, and oxygen coming to him from a machine. Their was a strange blue band that was tied around his other wrist, and it had a small light glowing green, signaling body functions were normal, for the moment.

Takumi sat in Kaito's office. The man was a little older than Takumi, with golden blond hair that went to shoulder's length, and had a very messy style, even though it settled against the frame of his face while Takumi's went all over the place. His eyes were sapphire blue, and were more narrow. However, though they were that way, he was still the most smiley one there, and it went well with his light skin tone. The man wore a comforting pair of black pants, with matching cloth shoes. He wore a puffy, white shirt, and a small, round emerald hung from his neck from a gold chain.

Kaito's office was anything but a doctor's office. Even if the man happily kept himself at work in it, the room seemed so off. It wasn't calming ocean serenity, or the bliss of night that enchanted the room, oh no! The room was exotic with walls that were painted in traditional calligraphy (very well done, need I add), to represent high mountains with forestation and standing above a river valley; an inspiration he got, no doubt, from heading up to the mountains during the day. The floorboards weren't any special color, but he had place a large, rectangular rug on it with so many colors that brought out the joyous summer.

The twosome were kneeling on the floor, finishing up what appeared to be paperwork, but it was distracting for Takumi, because the desk was the deepest shade of brown he'd seen in his whole life (not even stained, yet), and the fact that Kaito's desk was covered in so many ornaments including a chipmunk pencil holder where ink pens made from peacock feathers stood high...which was why he brought his own.

The blond put his papers in a pile, tapping the edges of them on the desk a few times to ensure they were even, before setting them down, and beginning to fiddle with his color cube, still trying to find out how Hiroshi could solve their Première's puzzles. He continued to for a few minutes, getting so very frustrated, before being distracted by his superior. "Anything new?" He asked, concerned.

The elder man looked at him with slight shock, before sighing, a sad smile laying its way onto his face. He placed the cube down, and looked back at the other, intent on having a conversation through the boredom he knew would last for a little more than an hour. "Our 'guest' is still barely alive, and is gonna be lucky to wake up before the end of the month, especially with the fever he cooked up. As for Akuma, herself, she's still very weak, and isn't able to stand up in her condition; I'm lucky to keep the poor girl conscious long enough so she can eat! I'm afraid that I've done all I could on helping her recover, and I'm afraid that it more than likely won't go away before our arrancar recovers." He informed the other.

Takumi sighed. He really was hoping that there was some sort of change, praying that the problem could be dealt with faster. As if reading his mind, he felt a hand touch his shoulder from across the table, and found it to be none other than the paramedic he was currently working with. Kaito was smiling at him, eyes still holding concern. "It's good to see that older brother in you hasn't left!" He commented. Takumi smiled, looking down at the floor, and beginning to fiddle with his thumbs. "Time needs to take its course, Takumi; if problems could be solved that quickly, Akuma would be in here, punching your arm, and bashing you through my wall!" He reminded him.

They both let out a spurt of laughter, remembering the girl's tantrums because they always worried too much about her. A smirk remained on Takumi's face as the two quieted themselves. "Time does move faster, here!" He reminded them. Kaito's smile grew as he held out a hand as if saying 'there ya go!' Except, Takumi wasn't done. "Although, I don't think she'll be punching anyone into these walls; she helped you paint them, and she murder the person twice when the day came that it was broken." He threw in.

Then, he laughed. "Yeah, that was fun!" He sighed out, remembering how excited she was to begin. It was a little over a year before her expectations were being piled on her. The girl was jumping up and down, too anxious to contain her energy, and ready to burst into a run, if he hadn't stopped her. He remembered her smiles, simply because her being upset was actually very hard to do unless you knew how to pull her strings, and he enjoyed how innocence continued to sparkle in her eyes, no matter what storm blew her way.

He prayed that it could stay that way after all of this was taken care of, but he was pulled from his thoughts when a gong echoed through the walls of the traditional manor. The annoyed look on their faces read clear that they had to leave for their meeting with the other seats, and they weren't looking forward to it. Why is simple: the arrancar wasn't awake, their reports were going by theory, alone, and Akuma wouldn't be there to lighten the boredom.

The two got up from the comfortable position they had in the strangely decorated office, then left for their meeting...

~ Akuma

The girl woke up and saw the crystals, again, a smile forming on her face. "Hello, Mistress!" The oh so familiar voice called. Akuma looked up, and saw herself staring at the lovely, and rather large bat, Rayon. The female smiled down at the teen, gladly acknowledged by Akuma's very welcoming giggles. "Still tired, I see." She started, rather casually.

The teen rolled her eyes, before leaping up, giggling as flight came her way. She hovered in front of Rayon's face, smirking as her legs crossed, and while the bat stared at her, awaiting a response from the girl. "So, what's up with you?" She asked the winged creature, seeming intrigued by simple conversation, planning for fun alongside it.

The girl flew off, racing behind the creature away from the large crystal she happily claimed for a place to relax with the bat she fought alongside with. The room was large, and the ceiling was as high as a six story building. There were areas that were designed for relaxation, some for venting anger and/or getting out energy, and the lovely platform she was happily resting on stood for all of the said purposes.

Akuma landed on top of it, arching her back, and bringing her hands near her chest, while narrowing her eyes, spreading her legs apart, and bending her knees. Rayon got closer as the girl let out a cry, bringing a high kick into the air. She sent out a few punches before ducking and moving as if she were tripping somebody with her leg. She did one large back flip, releasing a tornado kick, then landing with her fist to the ground.

Rayon let out a light chuckle. "As much as I would love to get passed this, quickly, and have fun with you, Mistress, I'm sorry to say that I'm a bit puzzled at the moment." She confessed, looking away from the girl, and ears going down in pure shame. Akuma flew over and patted her zanpakuto's head, before sitting on top of her, one leg resting on another, as the female's ears darted upward. She noted that expectant look on the teen's face, and continued with her explanation. "This will sound weird to you, but why did you extend your world?" She questioned her mistress.

The regular reaction from the girl was her head poking down, a wide grin on her face, for her world did have its reasons for small and large changes. However, when said person poked her head down, the face seemed just as puzzled mixed with shocked eyes and a perked eyebrow with a question escaping her mouth. "What the hell are you talking about, Rayon?" Her world may change without her knowing, but that only happened once, and the girl had no reason to have changed it, or extend it, as Rayon proclaimed she did.

Akuma continued to stare at Rayon, whom just seemed confused on how she should answer. "Are you sure you wish to know?" She asked the teen. Akuma waved her hands out with an expectant look on her face that read 'it be nice!' The bat sighed, once more before directing one of the claws upon her right wing and pointing across the room. "That way!" She told her.

The red-eyed teenager turned her head, and found herself surprised. On the other side of the room, a tall passageway that had never existed before had made a tall, narrow exit way that lead to a set of stone stairs with gemstone lights guiding upward to an unknown area. Akuma didn't think that her breakdown made the new area, simply because the pathway was nonexistent the last time she was there.

With a sigh, Akuma stopped with the Judo, and began to walk towards the stairs...

- Forest Estate Meeting Room

Out of all the rooms in the house, this room held; not a lot; but an interesting form of character. Walls were left white, doors and floorboards were left the same color they always had been, along with the table just being a plain stained table with no special decor; not even a centerpiece. The only real thing that struck any form of individualism were the chairs. Each were numbered, four on each side, one on each end, making a total of ten.

At the far end of the room was where it started. Each chair was crafted for so they felt comfortable, and so the room wasn't completely boring. Each chair had a painted number on the back to signify where each person sat, and each were in different color. The far end was number one, then going around from the left side of this chair continued around the table until it was back at the other side of said chair at number ten. The colors went as followed, one-ten: gold, violet, orange, white, red, sky blue, black, silver, yellow, then green.

In the first chair is where an old woman sat with very narrow golden eyes, with gray hair held up in a bun with fuchsia colored chopsticks in it. The woman's skin was wrinkled, and was slightly peach. She wore a coral pink yukata with designs that resembled some form of flower, a dark blue obi, white socks, and zori sandals.

The second was a tall, lean, and muscular looking man with stunning purple eyes. His skin was a very pale tan, and his hair was long, and blue, bangs fanning out, and nearly veiling his eyes, and side burns gown out to shoulder's length while the rest nearly went to his thighs. Surprisingly enough, even if he looked like this, the man was still dressed well, wearing white dress pants, a pair of white designer boots, and a black dress shirt, with the top button undone. He also had a ring around his finger that shined of pure gold.

The third was another female, but she was younger than the old woman, about nineteen years of age. Her skin was the darkest in the room, light brown tone and her eyes shined bright orange that flared out like a cat's glare. Her hair was short, and more in place than the man next to her, but only added to the exotic look, for it shined like jade. She wore khaki shorts, white flip flops, a tight pink tank top, with fingerless gloves to match that went passed the elbow.

Takumi sat next to this girl, and Kaito sat across from the old woman, leaving the chair between them untouched. The sixth person sat next to Kaito, opposite to Takumi. She seemed to be in her early forties with bags forming underneath her eyes of onyx black. Her skin was white, but it held a firm tan color, while her long hair flowed in lavender curls all the way to the edge of her shoulder blades. Her top was a black spaghetti strap with lace and similar to a corset. She wore a plaided skirt that went to her knees, with chains dangling from her hips, and a pair of tall black boots, with buckles going up her legs.

Next to her sat another male. He was the smallest one of them, no taller than two-two and a half feet, tops. His skin was peach, and he was rather pudgy. His eyes were oval shaped and held a silver hue in them, while his salmon colored hair fanned out as the little guy climbed onto his booster seat. He wore blue shoes, a pair of overalls, and a white t-shirt.

Another girl sat next to the squirt. She seemed a little older than Kaito, yellow eyes darting out light arrows, with white skin that only made stand out more. The girl's hair was red, and it flowed down to her knees in partial pig-tails being held up by black bows of laced ribbon. She wore a long white dress whose skirt was so long, she had to pick up to walk in it. Her heels were also white, yet the gloves on her hands were laced and black like the ribbons in her hair. The tenth seat was left empty.

All of them had papers, to some amount, but Kaito was, quite sadly, stacked highest, which made him the center of attention. "Le Sixième!" The woman across from the blond called. He looked up at the old woman, just realizing he sat down, and that the meeting was starting. "Perhaps you'd like to tell us about the arrancar, and the condition of Nadari Akuma." She demanded more than asked for it.

The blond nodded, wanting it off his chest so the meeting would be done, and so he could head back to Akuma; he was just as worried, but he had to get it over with, that he knew. "Of course, Madame Hikari." He replied, unenthusiastically, and voice dripping with sorrow. He stood from his seat, looking over the others. "Well, I guess I should begin with Akuma, seeing as how the condition of our guest may take some more time." He started. Everyone there nodded in agreement, most only caring about the girl's condition. "Well, as of a few days ago, she had regained consciousness, however, she's experiencing severe drowsiness, and goes in and out of consciousness, most of her days remained in slumber, while I'm barely able to keep her awake long enough to feed her. Even still, she's still acting so different, and I'm afraid the exact cause to her condition is still a mystery, to me."

There was a small murmur around the room, before the man next to Madame Hikari spoke up. "Has your zanpakuto heard any news from Rayon regarding her condition?" He questioned, his voice deep, and subtle, looking at the blond with strict and serious eyes.

Kaito gave him his best professional gaze, trying to get passed his worry, then answered. "Yes, numerous times during her comatose condition, and even more so when she awoke." He replied, curtly.

"Is there anything he told you which is of use to discovering the cause?" He asked, his voice flat and monotonous.

Kaito thought it over for a short while, looking back at what he was told, and trying to pick his words carefully on how to explain it. He then looked back at the bluenette, and answered. "Yes and no, Hiroshi." He began. The murmuring stopped as everyone gazed at the medic with quizzical gazes. A deep sigh escaped his lips before explaining. "Soin told me that Rayon was rather disturbed at her mistress's behavior. Apparently, she was still in the midst of despair, and her inner world was so dark. Akuma was practically reaching for Rayon so constantly, poor girl was surrounded with agony. When she came to, however, it seemed to have disappeared within herself, but she still expresses pain, always looking towards the arrancar's room. Being conscious of his struggle makes it unbearable for her to be around, and her inner world is now her escape, because she no longer feels it, for some odd reason."

Hiroshi seemed surprised by the sudden change in the girl, and the others seemed at a loss for words. Except for Takumi, one of whom was glaring at him for not telling him in the first place. The blond cringed, an apologetic look telling the younger male that he was sorry, but he only wanted to explain it once so it's out of the way, and stays that way. "And the arrancar?" Takumi asked through gritted teeth, not liking the fact he had to save the enemy to help Akuma.

Again, a sigh escaped Kaito's lips, not even sure where to begin, but settled with the condition, first off. "As we all know, the arrancar is currently unconscious, quite sadly in between a coma and his inner world, so forcing him to wake up would more than likely cause an after effect that I can personally say would end bloody, no matter how wounded he is." He started, purposely putting the emphasis on the tail end of his sentence so that five out of the other seven wouldn't bother asking why he couldn't. "I'm quite surprised with how damaged he was when he came in; broken ribs, injured lungs, crushed organs, along with broken limbs and the number of gashes, scratches, and bruises. From what I can tell, he was outnumbered, nearly outmatched, and to top it all off, I highly doubt that a shinigami or a human did this to him, meaning-"

"He was more than likely attacked by his own kind." The girl with black eyes finished, glaring at her folded hands. "To turn against their own bretheren, they really have no shame at all. And to not even op up a fair battle; what dishonorable ingrates! THEM AND AIZEN ALIKE!" She shouted in her mind, her glare hardening as her hands began to bare white from clenching them.

Kaito put a hand on her shoulder. The girl in the seventh chair turned surprised, glaring at him before her eyes softened, and her body relaxing as her hands unfolded, looking away in such pity; one thing she rarely had towards those she despised. "I understand your anger, Keiko; I was quite surprised that he took up such damage and was able to survive! I say give him another hour out there, they would have succeeded in killing him. Akuma's strange behavior saved his life." He told her. Keiko smiled.

The blond stood before the others, once more, and continued with his report. "With him being out there for Kami-sama knows how long, and with how little spiritual energy is around the Gray Oak, death was coming quickly, and bacteria was already beginning to harvest within the body, so there was no stopping him from getting sick; the wounds were treated immediately, and I didn't bother at first because I was more inclined with keeping the poor soul alive." He explained as quickly as he could. "As for his connection to Akuma, all I can tell is that he was one of those hollows before becoming arrancar, next to that, eleven nights ago was really their first intercourse, and he was unconscious through the whole thing." He added in.

They all nodded, the subject making sense, and quickly moving on. "Anything else?" Asked the female in between Hiroshi and Takumi, looking expectantly at their medical expert.

The sapphire eyed male sighed once more, giving her a look of his own discomfort. "If only there weren't, Mei; I'd actually like to sit down." He complained with a shrug. This caused a few chuckles to go through the room, even from Takumi, who knew he said the last part on purpose because Akuma wasn't there to make it better. "There are a few things about the arrancar I'd like to discuss that I found peculiar, so much as to a sense Hiroshi may be amused." He stated.

The bluenette's eyebrows went up as people chuckled, knowing that was exceedingly hard without there being a major jump in the drama, or extremely difficult brain puzzles, both of which were very rare because Hikari made it end rather quickly. Still, he smirked, wondering how Kaito would attempt to amuse him.

Said man took in a deep breath before beginning. "The first is what I discovered while changing his bandages. Although, it's not much, it's still very odd to me." He started. "Our lovely arrancar had a tattoo on his chest that really makes one perk an eyebrow, and I've yet to wonder why it's there." He started off, calmly, giving off his usual grin.

A good amount of groans ran through the room has Hiroshi's eyebrows furrowed, wondering why it meant anything. "Why should we care about that?" The two-year-old asked in a voice that sounded only slightly higher in pitch to the bluenette in the room, and it coming out firm, like an adult's.

"Yeah! I've got one on my back that looks like a cobra, and Atsuko has a rose on her ass; what difference does that make?" Said Keiko, who caused five heads turn to the now-flushing-red-head in surprise, in which included Hiroshi and Hikari, who were surprised that the idea of her getting one was possible. And of all the places...

Kaito cringed, taking a breath through gritted teeth. "Anyway," he started, slowly bringing everyone's attention back to him, "as true and slightly surprising as those facts may be, Keiko, this one is particularly odd, and is definitely not your regular day tattoo." He guaranteed. Now they were intrigued. "It was a number; four, to be precise. It's bold, and takes up most of the upper left portion of the body, right above where the heart is meant to be. It's odd..." He began.

Hiroshi took in the little amount of information, but only just getting into deep thought, the 'two year old' spoke, again. "The number four?" He questioned. Kaito nodded. "Obviously, Aizen has a strange way of ranking his arrancar; this one is fourth best, then, very close to the top officials of the army." He stated, rather calmly.

"True, but it inclines more than that, Ryuunosuke." Hiroshi told the midget. All eyes went to him. "True, I believe Aizen has this required that they get a tattoo symbolizing their rank, but I highly doubt he cares on where it is." He started, simply. "That was entirely left for the arrancar to choose, and he placed it here." He said, pointing in front of the heart.

"Your point?" Ryuunosuke asked, leaning back, and giving the man a scowl.

Keiko let out a good few chuckles, while Atsuko looked at the young ling, pointing a finger out. "As told by Keiko, you can tell a lot about a person with a tattoo depending on what ya got and/or where you put it." She said, her voice very practical, and firm before letting out a giggle as the guy looked up at her in shock.

Hiroshi took in a deep breath before continuing. "That fact is actually very true, no matter what sense you put it in, and seeing as how Aizen required a number of rank, I can give you some brief detail about the arrancar before we even meet him, in person." He promised. They were all looking at him with utter suspense so great, Kaito let himself sit back down to let the other take the stand (which he happily took). "He placed it upon his front torso, symbolizing he's straight forward, and he has a practicality for strength, and wouldn't hesitate to kill something weak, unless he has meaning not to. The fact it's on his upper chest proves he's loyal and does as told, without question, which means it'd be rare if he were to not listen to direct orders." He implied.

The others didn't seem happy; if this was the case, then more than likely, he'd still be Aizen's loyal servant, and they'd have to verse him, and with Akuma's case, that was the worst thing they could do. Hiroshi continued, though. "However, as to the fact it's above the heart," he began, getting back the attention of the small audience, "this proves that his actions aren't based on lust of power, loyalty, more for personal intentions and purpose. For example: what's the purpose or point of going back to Aizen when it could mean his death sentence?" He inquired.

The answer was simple, and that there wasn't, unless he really had a death wish. With that, they relaxed, and Hiroshi sat down, returning the floor to Kaito, who stood back up, looking pleased. "Well, that was very interesting, Hiroshi; should help us get answers when he wakes up!" He implied. The other male only smirked in response. "Onto the other thing I wanted to bring up, is actually something more confusing; how this arrancar got here." He stated.

"So what? Guy got to the human world through a Garganta to get away from his attackers; I don't know about you, but that's not all that surprising!" Keiko yelled at him.

Kaito put his hands up defensively, shifting back as she did so, looking somewhat afraid of the girl, before trying to relax from the outrage as the older woman settled back into her seat, glaring at him. With a sigh, he continued. "I wasn't inclining here, as in the human world; I meant here! In Paradis Éternel!" He yelled back, seemingly frustrated with the fact. "I don't know about you, but I know for a fact Gargantas can't open, here, unless we open it!" He added, his hands on the table.

~ Akuma

The girl made her way up the stairwell, wondering where the hell it went, and why in the world it was there. For some reason, Rayon couldn't follow, for some reason being blocked by some form of weird energy that shined bronze, and remained strong whenever her zanpakuto came near it, however, whenever her body went through it, it flexed around her body until she stepped out onto the other side.

She made it to the top step and saw a long layer of cave floor that was revealed by specks of white fire that faded black as you got closer to the entrance. She went forward, heading towards said new 'exit,' curious to see where it went, but was unable to see outside of the mouth of the cave. She pressed on through the darkness, and stepped out.

Her body was surrounded by more of a copper color before she was able to exit completely to see that ahead of her was forestation. It was very hard to tell, but she didn't need to blink to know why. She looked up and saw that the sky was black, and was the only source of light came from a full moon that shined the purest white she'd ever seen; even then, it was still dim, which made seeing very hard.

Akuma narrowed her eyes, her vision focusing in more on the plants, and saw them of various variety, but most were green, and the barks to the trees were gray. "Talk about bleak!" She thought, distaste very evident within the thought. The place was very odd, and far off from where she came from. The light she was so used to was now darkness, and she could but only question, why. She turned around and saw the cave she came out of was in the side of a mountain base which was a darker shade of gray than the tree bark, making it nearly fade into the black night if not for the moon. The large structure was disfigured, and was both strange, and very, very, VERY, creepy.

The albino turned around, looking back at the forestation, and saw that it lead somewhere. "May as well look..." And as she shrugged, she began a slow walk in a forest she knew absolutely no idea how to get through, where it would lead, or why it was there. She only pressed on to find something within the weird place, a strange figure in the sky soon following her.

She continued on for what felt like forever. Their was nothing to be heard but her footsteps; there was no movement, no sound, no breeze, just her feet moving along the path of the forest, while her eyes were still trying to focus with the little light they had to see with. The blackened world was so dim, and so...haunting.

She smirked. "Haunting?" She questioned herself. "More suspenseful that haunting." She thought with confidence. It was as if she were in a horror movie. A completely uneventful one! She would be the person walking alone, aimlessly, just ready to be attacked by the strange monster within the film. A lone target that was helpless and by herself...

The albino rolled her eyes. The only difference between her and those victims, right now, is that one: she was always on guard, two: things were too quiet for someone to attack her without being noticed, and three: if she was attacked, she'd fight it off before even thinking of running. The idea of someone having an advantage over her was both uncommon and unlikely to her, and with how void the place was, she highly doubted she could be surprised if something creepier came out.

The teenager stopped, suddenly, looking ahead at an open valley. Here, there was a bit more sound, a slight breeze passing through, filling her ears with sound slightly more un-eased. It was surrounded by the vegetation, but there was no grass there, like there was near the path, and instead of dirt, it consisted of hard rock, gray upon every fiber, darkening black as you got further the center. She pressed forward once more, as she continued to try and focus on any form of structure in front of her.

Akuma tried to see where the plant life started as she continued on, but saw something else. Stone had been risen into forming some strange form of platform, many yards ahead of her, as she could see. She continued on, trying to get a better look, and trying to see as to why it was there. After walking forward another few feet, she noticed a figure who was lying down upon it.

"Hey!" She called out, quickening her steps. "Are you alright?" The teen questioned the figure from afar, her voice echoing outward. She didn't get a response. The albino began to run forward, trying to see the person better. She was worried for him, and she didn't know what was going on. Akuma continued on, wanting to see if the person was okay, or even still alive.

WHOOSH!

The girl flew backwards, and skidded against the rocky ground. "What was that?" She asked herself, slowly getting back up. That was difficult, because when she first tried, she had hold up her stomach, only just noticing the stinging, numbing pain it emitted from her abdomen, and the enduring the shock that came from standing.

Another swerve in the wind came, along with a loud shriek that made its ways into her ears. She plugged her ears, trying to find the source of the sound, but only saw darkness around her. The sound continued to ring throughout the air, as she continued to search, and trying to protect sensitive ears.

"Where is it?" She wondered. It was hard to see, and her ears hurt too much, so figuring a location was difficult. She all so suddenly felt something sharp cut into her flesh from her back, and she could feel her shirt being tugged upward, and her feet leaving the ground, and feeling nothing beneath her.

She looked up, noting a pair of black wings flapping, and something carrying her upward. "No wonder I couldn't find it..." She thought. The spiritual energy in her inner world kept everything on a pretty even level unless she was suddenly changing. The fact the thing was that loud, and that it could easily blend in with the black sky only made it harder to find as it glided around her.

It flew her back towards the mountain, intent on killing her if it had to. Akuma gritted her teeth. "Dirty trick, ya piece of shit!" She said, summoning the red light around her body. "Watashi no hikari kagayaka!" She yelled, summoning the energy, and allowing it to pool from her palms. She blasted the winged beast, enjoying the shriek it made as it let go of her, as she glided back into the forest below her.

Not too long after, it followed her. She pressed forward, determined to defeat it. She called the chant again, and blasting it, once more. The creature evaded it, and continued after her, eyes ready to strike and kill. She flew upward, continuing to fire at the winged animal that attacked her. "Hikari makikomu-tachi!" The energy swerved outward, filling the sky with bright, red light.

It was in front of her. It reminded her of Rayon, but she could see that only the shape could do that. The beast was a black bat, and judging by the looks of things, a male one. His fur was purely black, which would explain how her could have easily hid from her. His eyes, instead of being a shade of black, as she expected from most, she saw deadly, emerald colored eyes, that were ready to kill her, and thick, green marks trailing down his face.

It slashed at her again, sending her crashing towards the beginning the of the path. She landed with a hard crash, but she didn't stay, forcing her body to move before the male could hit her again. She felt sharp claws against her left leg as she landed on her stomach, the stinging pain from before returning.

It only got worse, as the pressure seemed to have only became more dense, attacking her body, and bringing back the familiar pain that returned whenever she woke: despair. "I have to get back!" She decided. Akuma was lucky to hit the bat once, and he's injured her more, and with the situation she was in, she wasn't going to survive if she battled any longer.

She forced herself to stand, before turning to run. The male followed her, intent on making sure the girl wasn't trying anything else. She spotted the cave, and the dim lights. "Please work!" She begged. Akuma leaped for it, entering through the mouth of the cave, the copper energy quickly letting her through before shielding her from the beast outside.

Tears stained her face, the reiatsu still pressuring her, and bearing agony upon her whole body. She ran to the back of the cave, and hurried down the stairs, lucky that she didn't trip as the panic from the pain was quickly consuming her strength. She ran through the entrance which she came, Rayon waiting for her, and barely able to catch her as she fell.

"Mistress? What happened?" The girl didn't answer, she only cuddled against her zanpakuto's fur, sobbing from the new pain that came from the other winged beast.

longest chap ever! sry if u guys got bored somewhere in between, but there's chapter 4, for ya! i do not own bleach, just my ocs and their zanpakutos, oh! and no worries, Ulquiorra is coming back in the nxt chap!

and before i forget; Watashi no hikari kagayaka =light shine for me, and; Hikari makikomu-tachi =light engulf us.

L8r!
~ K. Fang-sama