Chapter: 15

Very few knew Ichigo's condition or his whereabouts. Those who were aware wanted to keep it quiet. Most of the Seireitei were still dealing with those injured during the battle. Those Yaku had zapped with his mirror were still depressed and unwilling to move. Hitsugaya's leg was healed well enough for him to leave the infirmary and return to his desk for paperwork. Renji took his bed in the infirmary and rest and have his injuries mended.

In the meantime, the two Soul Reapers delivered their report to the Head Captain, telling him everything. The situation looked grim but there was a glimmer of hope. They told the Head Captain that Ichigo had indeed regained control and suppressed his Hollow. This proved that Ichigo wasn't lost. He was still in there and could be brought back. He could be cured. This was hopeful news. Unfortunately, the rest of Ichigo's condition was bleak. His weakness, his fever... He was getting worse by the minute and this was very troubling.

So much so that the Head Captain called a meeting. The Captains would meet and discuss the next step to take. Their meeting would take place soon and no one else was allowed to attend.

Cedric went to check on Linnette and make sure she was taken care of. With everyone so worried about Ichigo, Cedric offered to go back to his location and monitor him. Rukia was concerned about Cedric's well-being. Even he needed some rest. He informed Rukia that he would not engage Ichigo unless necessary. He would keep his distance and just watch. This way he could have his eye on Ichigo and gather any new information should it present itself. Something could happen and unless there was someone there to see it occur, no one would know what it was.

Cedric gave Linnette a hug and hurried off.

Rukia went to see how a cure was progressing with Mayuri. She went to the lab with Veneno who was still weak but able to walk. Mayuri was less than happy to have people pressing their noses in on his business. He threw a tray at Rukia's head when she entered which Victor skillfully caught in his hand before it could reach her.

"Questions, questions..." Mayuri muttered angrily. "If I had a cure, don't you think I would have come told you? No, I do not have one and the longer you keep pestering me, the longer it's going to take."

Victor pulled Rukia aside to whisper to her. "I suggested we confer with Kisuke on the subject and he threw a fit. I'm not sure what sort of relationship they have, but I've decided it's best if I don't mention his name again."

"I wouldn't." Mayuri already had a few choice words for Kisuke, but in addition to an obvious rivalry, Mayuri did not want to be compared to Kisuke. He certainly didn't want to hear about how Kisuke could do something he could not or how Kisuke had done it better. It was a point of pride.

"Nemu, get over here!"

Rukia thought it was best to stay out of his way when he was agitated like this. Clearly he was having problems. As he worked, Mayuri explained that he managed to isolate certain components in the serum Ichigo was injected with thanks to the samples they brought back. So far, very little of it was useful. He had to understand every bit of what went into the serum to come up with a cure. Extracting the ingredients was one thing. That was the easy part. Coming up with a cure for it was the tricky part. That's what was taking so long.

Veneno grew uncomfortable in Mayuri's lab and made a break for the door. His weak legs made it difficult to move quickly so rather than flash away he walked at a brisk pace. On his way out he ran into a familiar face.

Akon stopped short, carrying a box of tools in his arms. He set the box down and came closer to the Arrancar. His face showed a rare but caring smile. "Veneno."

"Hey, Akon."

"Wow," Akon said with a chuckle. He looked Veneno up and down. "It's been so long. You look good. How have you been?"

"Alright."

Akon chuckled again. "It's great to see you. I thought about you often after you left. I hoped you were doing well. Being in Hueco Mundo seemed appropriate. Thought you would be comfortable there among your own kind. Have you met any Arrancars there? Make any friends?"

Veneno shrugged. "Not exactly. A lot of the Hollows there just want to fight and eat. I cut down a lot of them. Others don't really want to be bothered. It's not so bad. And I have a place I like to hang out. It's got shelter hidden away so if things get nasty I can just chill there for a while until it blows over. No one's found me yet."

It was a happy reunion. Akon had missed Veneno and Veneno missed the man who took care of him all this time. After two years they were still good friends.

"I'm glad you're doing well," said Akon. "I'm happy things are going well. No problems, right? You're eating well and you're feeling ok? You still appear very strong."

Veneno grew nervous. "Um, yeah. Listen, about that..." Veneno looked around and came closer, lowering his voice. "There's something I want to tell you. I didn't want to say anything to Mayuri and you're the only other one who was close to me and knew about me still being alive. I trust you."

Akon was happy to know that Veneno trusted him and intrigued at what Veneno had to say. He moved closer so Veneno could speak to him without anyone hearing.

Without a cure, Rukia had no reason to stay in the lab. She didn't want to slow the process any further. "Veneno, we're going."

Rukia stopped short, seeing Veneno speaking with Akon. When she called out, they jumped away from each other. Akon looked surprised and slightly troubled and Veneno looked nervous and unsure. Rukia saw this and grew curious.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah, fine."

Akon nodded and picked up the box of tools. "I'm going back to work. If the Captain needs me, tell him I'm doing the work he's put on hold while he's working on whatever project you gave him."

"So you haven't been told what he's doing?" asked Rukia.

"Of course I know. I've been helping him. I just don't want to say anything too loud for the ones who don't know." Akon continued on his way. "See you." On his way, he stopped and whispered to Veneno, "Don't worry about it."

Rukia was very curious. "What was that about?"

"Nothing," Veneno said softly. He was dwelling on a thought he would never reveal to her. Rukia knew this just by the look on his face.

The meeting for the Captains began. Linnette who had been in Ukitake's care was left alone in his office with more than enough sweets and games to keep her occupied. When Ukitake left her, she was playing a card game by herself with a half-eaten cookie next to her on the table. Ukitake was uncomfortable about leaving her by herself but figured if she was bored she would take a nap on his couch or flag down a Soul Reaper passing by in the hall.

They jumped right into business and went over all the information they had gathered about Ichigo's condition. Every detail was shared and discussed. Afterward, the floor was open for the Captains to debate what the next step should be and what actions should be taken.

"We've established that Ichigo can change back so that means that this isn't permanent. Which is good. It means he isn't lost and that also means that there is a cure for him. He can be cured."

"But so far there isn't one, Captain Komamura," said Soi Fon. "How is that coming along, Captain Kurotsuchi?"

"If people would stop pestering me with nonsense, it would go a lot faster. Results are being delayed because of things like this. Let's wrap up this meeting so I can get back to business. Or better yet, let me leave and you can continue."

"Are you even close to any results?" asked Soi Fon.

"As of now, no."

The Head Captain didn't like the sound of that. "I see. When I granted you the assignment to find a cure, I expected better results than this."

"Don't blame me for you deciding to hold a meeting during such a time."

"It isn't that. From the sound of things, it seems that you may be unable to actually have a cure for Kurosaki at all. That is what troubles me."

The Captains grew worried. If Mayuri was unable to discover a cure, then hopes of saving Ichigo were lost. If that were the case then they would have no choice but to kill him, like a dog with rabies.

"That Quincy mentioned that he alone held a cure," said Ukitake. "Which is why Rukia and the others have been refining from killing him. Until an actual cure is found, we must keep him alive as a back-up."

"He could have been making that up to save himself," said Hitsugaya. "He knows that we are desperate to save Ichigo so he will give us false hope to keep himself safe from us. We know our enemy isn't above lying."

"We have to face the possibility that the Quincy is just saying that so we won't attack him. There's no way we can prove he has one or not. We just have to take his word for it," said Shunsui. "Even if we captured him and tortured him, it's likely that any information we get out of him, if at all, could be a lie. Torture doesn't breed truth, you know. He'll probably say anything to get us to stop. Cure or no cure, I don't trust anything this guy says."

"But if this guy doesn't have a cure and we can't come up with one then Ichigo's done for," said Kensei.

"We have to come up with something," added Rojuro.

"Ichigo has changed back twice so far on record," said Byakuya. "How long he can keep that up in unknown. It was also brought to our attention that the more Kurosaki resists his transformation, the weaker he will become. Logically, that means that eventually, he'll be too weak to change back. If that happens, the decision may be made for us. If he cannot return on his own, it may mean that he is beyond hope and cannot be cured at that point."

"Him being unable to change back doesn't mean that the real Ichigo was swallowed up. He could still be in there trying to get out," said Shinji. "Let's not jump to any conclusions. You're assuming too much."

"What isn't an assumption is the fact that Ichigo is in a bad way and we're nowhere near able to help him," said Hitsugaya. "It's pretty obvious, I think. Clearly the enemy lured Ichigo away and injected him with that toxin not for the sake of turning him into a Hollow but because he knew we would try to cure him. We're focusing on him."

"It also means that the enemy intended to use Ichigo in his Hollow form to attack us," said Shinji. "Clearly that was their goal. They intend to use Ichigo to attack us knowing we would be reluctant to kill him. But there's more to it than that. It's the fact that they consider Ichigo so much of a threat that they want him dead. That's the real thing that's going on here. Either Ichigo dies from the drug they gave him or we kill him."

"Either to end his suffering or to defend ourselves," Soi Fon finished. "If they consider Kurosaki that much of a threat, why not kill him themselves? Why go through all this trouble?"

"Either because they cannot do it themselves, fearing his strength... or because they want Ichigo to kill as many of us as possible," said Hitsugaya. "If they see Ichigo as a threat, they might not be willing to attack him directly."

"But directly inject him with a drug," said Kenpachi.

"These Quincies are all over the place. Do we even know what their goal is?"

"All we know for certain is that they want Ichigo dead and as many Soul Reapers as possible. They want the Seireitei to fall so they can take over."

The Head Captain banged his sword on the ground to get their attention. "So what should we do about the situation? What of Ichigo's condition should it get worse? If there is no cure?"

It wasn't an easy answer.

"In the event that a cure cannot be found..." said Byakuya. "We may have no choice but to kill him."

"Are you serious?" said Shinji.

"You almost sound like you want-"

"It is not something I want. It's simply what must happen should it come to that," said Byakuya. "If he cannot be cured or brought back, why must we keep a dangerous Hollow around? It's a ticking time bomb."

"I have to agree with Captain Kuchiki," said Unohana. "In the event Ichigo cannot be cured, I see no other way. We may have no choice in the matter."

"What it all comes down to is us killing Ichigo or him killing us," said Hitsugaya. "That is no doubt what the enemy wants and has wanted from the start."

"And no doubt once Ichigo is out of the way, they'll move in and attack now that they think their biggest threat is gone," said Shunsui. "Basically we'll be doing the work for them. They want Ichigo dead along with as many of us as possible. No matter what, they want to dwindle our numbers. They mean to weaken us."

"If Ichigo proves to be too much of a threat to us and other innocent people, we may have to kill him regardless," said Soi Fon. "There are too many lives at stake. One life cannot be compared to the many thousands... Even if it is Kurosaki."

"Ichigo has been a great help to us," said Ukitake. "He's done so much for us. He's our friend."

"But as a Hollow he is an enemy and a dangerous threat. If he cannot come back from that, he can no longer be considered a friend."

"We're talking about a big 'if' here. We may be worrying about nothing. So long as Ichigo can change back, there's a chance. And Mayuri is still working on a cure. We have options. We're just talking about the worse-case scenario."

Byakuya took notice of a certain Captain's turned head. "Is everything alright, Captain Hirako?"

Shinji looked back. "Huh? Y- yeah."

"You seem distracted."

"I was just trying to figure out what that was. It's pretty distracting."

Byakuya gave him a strange look. "Figure out what exactly?"

"That." Shinji was quiet. The other Captains had grown quiet as well. Shinji looked around. "You don't hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked Soi Fon.

"Hey, I hear it, too," said Rojuro.

"You, too, Captain Ohtoribashi?"

"Yeah." Rojuro cupped his hands around his ears. "It's faint but I can hear it."

The other Captains listened but most were left confused.

"I don't hear anything."

"I hear it now, too," chimed in Kensei. "Listen. What the hell is that?"

No one else could hear it. Only those three Captains.

"Well, what is it?" Soi Fon asked impatiently. "What are you hearing?"

"I still can't believe you can't hear that," said Kensei.

"Describe it."

"Hm..." Kensei listened carefully. "It's... Um... How the hell do I describe it?"

Shinji listened, his eyed directed toward the ceiling as if he heard it all around him. "It sounds kind of familiar..." He could swear he heard it before.

Rojuro started to grin. "It's pretty... Like a song."

"A song?"

Ukitake had his suspicions but remained quiet.

Shinji let a hiss pass through his lips. "It's beautiful..." His eyes started to turn gold.

Kensei and Rojuro's eyes were starting to do the same. They froze with their heads turned towards the sky.

They heard the message very clear. It said come.

Heeding the call, all three turned and raced to the door.

"Where are you going?"

They didn't turn around to answer. They left the meeting room and sprinted down the long corridor like wolves on the hunt.

Linnette sat crouch on the floor singing her song where no one would find her. She was far from guards and Soul Reapers seemed to avoid this hallway leading to nowhere. There were no rooms along the walls so she assumed this hallway led to somewhere private. She had seen the Captains use this path on their way to the meeting so it seemed like the perfect place to hide and wait. If she got any closer, she feared she would run into guards who would apprehend her or send her back to Ukitake's office with an escort.

She had to do this. She knew this was where she had to be.

She heard running footsteps and saw three Captains gallop towards her. Their feet slid on the polished floor as they screeched to a halt before her. At once, they dropped to their knees as if bowing to her, but actually they did it to be closer to her level since she was sitting on the ground. Their eyes were all glowing gold and the whites of their eyes had turned black. The Hollows had taken control of their bodies to answer Linnette's call.

"What is it that you want?" they asked her in a sinister yet affectionate tone.

Taking a deep breath, Linnette took charge of the Captains. "You were just in a meeting with other Captains. You know what was said, so tell me. Tell me, did they talk about Ichigo?"

They nodded. "Yes, hummingbird," answered Rojuro. "They did. He was a popular topic in the meeting."

"Are they going to hurt him?" Linnette asked. "What are they going to do to Ichigo?"

"Nothing has been decided yet," said Kensei. "It's just talk at this point."

"But they said that if Ichigo becomes too violent or in the event that a cure cannot be found, they are going to have to kill him," said Shinji.

"Oh, no..." Linnette felt sick to her stomach. She couldn't help feeling that this was all her fault. If only she hadn't gotten hurt, Ichigo wouldn't felt the need to go after the enemy to save her life. Rather than feel happy that Ichigo cared so much about her that he was willing to sacrifice himself to save her, she felt sad. She felt guilty. This was all because of her.

She wasn't going to have him pay for her mistakes or for her weaknesses. Linnette couldn't allow Ichigo to be killed for trying to help her. She was going to do everything she could to make sure his heroic actions weren't punished with death. He didn't deserve such a fate. Though Linnette knew she wasn't strong, after speaking with Ukitake she realized that there were things she could still do to help. Maybe she couldn't fight, but she was capable of other things. She was going to do everything she could to help Ichigo. She had to protect him now.

"Listen to me," she told the Captains. "I don't want Ichigo to get hurt. Please, don't let them kill him. Do whatever you can to make sure they don't kill Ichigo."

"Everything we can... You got it."

Linnette realized the loophole and had to take care of it. A Hollow was still a Hollow and they had urges and looked for any excuse to do what they did best. There was a big risk in telling them to do 'anything' they could.

"But don't kill. I don't want you to hurt any of the Soul Reapers. Just make sure they don't kill Ichigo."

That was more specific and less dangerous.

They looked slightly disappointed at this request but they remained faithful to her every wish. If she didn't want people harmed, then they would not be harmed. If Ichigo was in danger of being killed by a Soul Reaper, they would have to find another way to stop them without killing them.

"Consider it done," said Kensei.

"Not a problem," said Rojuro.

"As you wish," said Shinji.

"Good," said Linnette. "So we're clear? You will keep Ichigo safe and you will not harm any Soul Reapers?"

"Understood," they said in unison.

"Excellent." Giving them that order brought her some reassurance. She trusted that they would keep Ichigo safe. "Ok, now let the real Captains take back control. I'll call you when I need you again."

Linnette got to her feet and hurried off, the Hollow versions of the Captains bidding her farewell until their next meeting. She had to get back to Ukitake's office before anyone realized she was missing.

Veneno stared out the window to the office he was having dinner in. Being back in the Seireitei was very nostalgic. It was a place of oppression and war and a place of joy and security. This was where he had rampaged and started his own apocalypse. This was where he had family and a home. This place was many things to him. An odd mixture of emotions and memories. An ending and a new beginning.

Ichigo believed in him. He wanted to give Veneno the second chance he was never allowed. He was given a choice. Many choices. He could repeat the same mistakes in his past or do something different this time. He chose to turn Soul Reapers into Hollows. He chose to attack. He chose to start a war. He chose a different path. He chose to be friends. He chose to protect. He chose to be free.

Now he chose to help Ichigo. It was the least he could do. Ichigo had done so much for him. More than anyone ever did. Now that he understood the meaning of friendship, he knew what he had to do. Not just to even the score or because it was expected. He wanted to do it.

Veneno was compelled to help Ichigo not only because of the past and because of their friendship. It was a personal matter. Ichigo had been subjected to painful experimentation against his will. That struck a core in Veneno. It made everything even more personal to him. Of course he would have been upset if this happened to some stranger and he would sympathize with them, but he actually knew Ichigo and they were friends. Great friends. Ichigo was his best friend. That made experimenting on him even worse. It made Veneno furious.

He had to do something.

Veneno rubbed his sore legs. His injuries have healed but the pain was still there. He would be sore for a while but he was able to run again without causing further damage to his legs.

Veneno set the apple core down on the table and stood up. He was finished eating. He was rested, healed and fed. He was ready for action. Veneno approached the window and looked outside. It was sunset. It would be dark soon and Ichigo would be out there under the stars. Stars they once gazed upon together.

"I'm coming, Ichigo. I'll help you." Veneno wanted to save him. He wasn't sure what he could do and he didn't have a plan, but he couldn't stay here for another second.

Veneno opened the window. He didn't leave. He was thinking.

He couldn't be too impulsive. He had to think this through. The group had explained that there was a danger in killing Yagi and Ichigo was beyond reason. The Captains were holding a meeting to discuss what to do about Ichigo's condition. A cure was in the making but wasn't near completion.

What would happen if he left? What could he do for Ichigo? What could he do?

Veneno looked back at the office mulling it over in his mind. He remembered what he had told Akon when they met in the lab only a few hours ago. He felt a little better after speaking with him but he wasn't put at ease. He had several concerns and felt he could only share them with Akon. Out of everyone, Akon was the only one he not only trusted but knew about his revival. He was a caretaker and a good friend. Mayuri might know but Veneno didn't trust him. He trusted his friends but they wouldn't have a clue. Akon was the only one who met both requirements.

Akon had told him not to worry about it. He didn't seem to be alarmed by what Veneno told him. Maybe there was nothing to worry about.

Veneno made his decision. He was going to do it.

Outside Ukitake looked up and saw Veneno leap from the open window above his head and jump from building to building. There was no doubt in the Captain's mind that he was going after Ichigo. He understood that they had a strong bond. Ukitake couldn't blame him. He prayed for his safety and entered the building.

Ukitake went straight to his office and found Linnette sitting at the table in the center of the room playing cards by herself. She smiled at him when he entered. "Hi."

"Hello, Linnette."

Linnette started to pack up the cards. "How was the meeting?"

"Oh, it went well." Ukitake stood beside her chair, leaning on the table with one hand. "Odd thing, though. Towards the end of the meeting, three Captains suddenly wanted to leave and ran for the door. They said they heard something that sounded a lot like music but none of us could hear it."

Linnette kept her head turned so he couldn't see her face.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"I might."

Ukitake smiled. "I thought so. It's alright. Don't worry about it. No one's upset." He leaned down to be closer to her. "Just to let you know... In the future, you might want to wait until after the meeting is over to interrogate the Captains who attended. That way you won't lure them away before the meeting is over and risk missing important information."

Linnette looked at him, embarrassed. "Oh." She hadn't thought of that.

Her plan wasn't the most thought through. She thought by doing what she had done, how she did it, would give her a better chance of not being caught. She also knew where all the Captains were so she wouldn't have to track them down after the meeting. She also had no idea when the meeting would be over. She thought it was a good plan. Thinking back, she realized it had many flaws.

"Don't worry. You're still learning. And we were just about to end so there's no missed information."

"I figured that since you were having a private meeting with only Captains and that since I'm not a Soul Reaper, I wouldn't be involved so there are two reasons why I didn't think you would have told me what went on in the meeting even if I asked you."

"That's why you lured away the Captains with Hollow powers."

Linnette nodded. "I did that for a couple reasons. But mostly that, yeah."

She knew that even if the Captains refused to divulge any information to her, their Hollow counterparts would. She also knew that they would obey her if she told them to do something. Even if she asked a Captain what happened during the meeting and were truthful about it, it didn't mean that they would listen to her when she told them not to hurt Ichigo. Especially if the Head Captain ordered it. If she ordered the Hollows, they would obey her command, even if it went against the Head Captain's wishes.

That part of her plan she thought through.

"Don't worry," Ukitake told her. "I know you're worried about Ichigo and you're not the only one. We're all doing our best to help him. We don't want it to come to that either. That's why we're doing all we can."

No one wanted Ichigo to die. No one wanted to be forced to kill him.

They could only hope it wouldn't come to that.

"I'll be right back," said Ukitake. "I have to see Shunsui for a moment."

"Ok."

Ukitake left his office but didn't have to travel far to speak with his friend. Shunsui agreed to meet him in the same building only in a different room. Ukiatke went down the hall and into the corner office where he found Shunsui standing in front of the window. "What's on your mind, my friend?"

Shunsui didn't turn his attention away from the window. "I saw Veneno leave just a few moments ago. It's safe to say he's going after Ichigo. For what purpose, I don't know."

"When a friend is in trouble, you don't always think. All he knows is that he has to be with him and do whatever he can to help him."

"What can he do to help him? I doubt he has a plan."

"Who knows? He may have an important role to play. Ichigo may need him and Veneno will be there when it happens. What else can we hope for?"

Shunsui kept looking out the window.

"You're worried about him?"

"I'm worried about a lot of things, Jushiro. Things that were brought up, hinted at and never addressed." Shunsui sighed. "The meeting focused on Ichigo, but there's a greater threat out there."

"The Quincy and his comrades. I know. It bothers me, too." Ukitake joined him at the window. "We've seen their power. We were unprepared. They made us look weak. So much so that I started to doubt our abilities. I always felt we were strong but after what happened... Are we just arrogant or cocky in our abilities? Do we trust too much in ourselves and think we cannot improve because we are strong? Maybe we're too comfortable. After Aizen's defeat it's been pretty quiet. I suppose we were fooled into thinking the worst was behind us. That after he was defeated there was nothing else out there. Just as bad or worse."

"That may have something to do with it. Or maybe our enemy is just that strong. There's only four or five of them and look what they managed to do all by themselves. We outnumber them yet we were being pushed back. Whether or not we knew they were coming, we should have been prepared." Shunsui kept looking out the window. "That's what worries me. More than Ichigo, it's them. I'm disappointed it was never addressed during the meeting. We were too focused on Ichigo that we seemed to have forgotten about them."

"About what exactly?" asked Ukitake.

"Captain Hitsugaya started to bring it up but we all got sidetracked. But it's a little of everything that was said. About how they want to weaken us. How the enemy sees Ichigo as the biggest threat and seek to eliminate him. By turning Ichigo into a Hollow and have him attack us, they're killing two birds with one stone. Either we kill Ichigo or he kills us. Either way, Ichigo's going to end up dead. The transformation will kill him of we don't do it before that happens."

Ukitake looked at the floor. "You're right. That is troubling. We have to cure him soon. Not just for our sake but his as well. And we even brought up the possibility of the cure being nonsense the Quincy was spouting to save himself. Which is why we must come up with a cure. Even if he had one, I doubt he would tell us and if he did we cannot trust his word. It could be a lie or poison or who knows?"

"All that stuff bothers me but we're still not calling attention to the one thing no one discussed," said Shunsui. "It's about the Quincies themselves. We know how powerful they are and we've seen the damage they can do. What we haven't seen is them. Not for a while. We're so focused on Ichigo that we seem to have lost sight of them. What better distraction than Ichigo at this point? While we're trying to do something about him, what's stopping them from coming here a second time?"

It was a real threat no one really brought up during the meeting. Shunsui was right.

"To make matters even worse, Old Man Yama wants to dispatch a group to go after Ichigo and keep him busy. Even wear him down so he won't be able to cause too much destruction. But of we send people, especially Captains, out there to do something about Ichigo, there are less to cover us here should something happen. That's what bothers me the most. We'll be vulnerable. The more we have out there, the less we have in here. I'm thinking those Quincies are going to come back here while we're busy with Ichigo. Or even worse, if we send Captains out there, the Quincies could pick them off one by one along with Ichigo. It's messy."

"Did you warn the Head Captain about this?"

"I'm sure he already knows. But it's not like he can just sit around and let Ichigo do what he wants out there. We have people to protect. Ichigo could kill somebody. Either way Old Man Yama is going to have to send someone out there at some point. We can't just wait this out. Something has to be done. I just hope whoever he sends is going to be able to hold their own and not get themselves killed. Or kill Ichigo. We weren't given the order yet but someone might have their own initiatives."

Ukitake joined Shunsui looking out the window at the setting sun. "This whole thing is a mess," he said sadly.

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