Chapter: 16

Cedric remained with Ichigo all night, engaging only when needed. He remained out of the way and watched him. Ichigo grew sluggish at times and dragged himself across the ground, his growls turning to pained moans. He looked like a wounded animal. Cedric felt sorry for him. He wondered how much longer Ichigo would last. To the best of his knowledge, this was the longest Ichigo had been in a Hollowfied state. What it was doing to his body was an unpleasant mystery.

"Hold on, Ichigo. Help will come."

Veneno kept running. He didn't look back once. He tried to sense Ichigo's location. His Spirit Energy was strong and easy to pinpoint when he was in this state. He knew where Ichigo was. He was getting closer to the Seireitei but he was still a great distance away.

The Spirit Energy was getting stronger but Veneno moved away from where he sensed it. He had his sights set for a different prize.

He had enough time to think before he left and while he was running. He knew there was nothing he could do for Ichigo directly. He would have to fight him. That's what it would come down to. Ichigo would attack him and Veneno would have to fight back if he wanted to live. He couldn't go to Ichigo now. It wasn't the time. He was going to help him and now he knew how. At least, he thought he did. It was a theory and a long shot but he was going to give it a try.

The only draw back was that Linnette wouldn't be there to assist him and he would need her for this plan to work. He knew her protectors would never allow her to go anywhere without them and they certainly would never allow her to be in his care. He had to hold off on Linnette for now. He knew he would run into problems but decided to cross that bridge when he came to it.

It was very early and most of the Seireitei was still asleep. Even Linnette was sound asleep on the couch in Ukitake's office.

Very quietly, two Captains were dispatched to Ichigo's location. There wasn't a set plan other than to make sure he was no danger to people in that area. They knew Cedric was in that area and had not heard form him in a long time. Even without hearing from him, they knew he needed backup.

Soi Fon and Shinji were sent out before the sun rose to be that backup. They were also informed that whenever Ichigo returned to normal, the Quincy Yagi would appear. When that happened, they would apprehend him. That was the plan at least. A number of things could go wrong.

Many wondered how Yagi knew where Ichigo was and when he regained control over his own body. Soi Fon theorized that it was the change in Ichigo's Spiritual Pressure. Yagi must have been in the area and appeared when the change occurred. That was the best guess they had.

They arrived at Ichigo's location after the sun had risen. He was still in Hollow form and very ferocious. This was their first time actually seeing Ichigo in this state. He looked sick. Though large and powerful, Ichigo's Hollow form was looking sluggish and miserable. He huffed and dragged his claws along the ground as he wandered aimlessly across the flat earth.

When Ichigo saw two new opponents, he perked up and no longer looked sluggish. He growled at them and stood tall. He wanted a fight.

"This is bad," said Shinji. "We can't fight him like this. The guy looks sick as a dog, for crying out loud. One misstep and we could take him out."

"Don't be fooled," said Soi Fon. "He may look sick but see how he stood when he saw us. He's still dangerous and we need to take him seriously."

"I know he's a threat, it's just... Look, what I meant was that he's still not in a good way. I didn't mean that we shouldn't take him seriously. We should and would be stupid not to. I'm saying that we need to take it easy on him. We don't want to do something we're going to regret."

"Don't worry. We weren't given orders to kill him."

"I know. I'm just saying we have to be careful."

"If we're not killing him, then we're obviously being careful."

"Captain Soi Fon, we could unintentionally..."

"I know what I'm doing. I won't make a stupid mistake like that. I know how not to kill someone." Soi Fon looked around. "Where is that other guy. The one who was with him. Cedric was his name, right? I don't see him."

Shinji grew worried. Had Ichigo killed someone already?

Growing impatient, Ichigo roared, challenging them. He wanted to fight and he was sick of waiting for them to make a move.

"We can use Kido to hold him in place," said Soi Fon. "Keep him restrained until a cure can be made."

"Kido will only last so long and if you're thinking of putting him in a cage, I doubt it'll work. He'll just bust out."

"If you have a better idea, I'd like to hear it."

"How about dyin', baby?"

Soi Fon and Shinji looked to the right. A Quincy was standing a short distance away with a smug look on his face.

Shinji recognized him and knew not to engage.

Soi Fon did not and pulled out her sword.

"Captain Soi Fon, don't!" Shinji warned.

"It's one of them. He's a Quincy," she reasoned.

"He's not the leader."

"It doesn't matter. I'm taking him out before he tries anything." Soi Fon prepared to sprint.

"Don't cut him!" Shinji yelled so loud it made Ichigo snarl in response. "His name is Zalya. I fought him before. He uses blood as a weapon. If you cut him, he can use his blood to attack you. Even worse, he can do this to anyone who has an open wound. If you cut him or if he cuts you, it's fair game."

Soi Fon lowered her sword. Not cutting would be a challenge in a sword fight. Thankfully, she had other methods.

"Aw, now why'd you have to spoil it?" Zalya grinned wickedly. "I wanted her to find out on her own, baby."

Soi Fon didn't have the patience to listen to this man. She wanted to end the threat here and now. Since this was one of the Quincies who had sent many to Squad 4, she knew how important it was to take him out as soon as possible. There was no point in waiting. If he wasn't the one they wanted, there was no point in keeping him alive. Him being dangerous was even more reason to get rid of him.

"Sting All Enemies To Death!"

"Suzumebachi," Zalya finished for her.

Soi Fon held her weapon in front of her and stared at him in surprise. "How did you know that?" She had never met him before so she was interested in how he knew the name of her Zanpakuto.

"Leader told me," he answered. "Death in two strikes, right? Nasty little thing, baby. Gives me the chills." He held up a finger. "But! Only deadly if you can strike me with it."

Soi Fon took him up on the challenge. "I think I'll be fast enough for you."

She kicked off from the ground and soared at him in a straight line. Her arm extended before her, ready to strike. Zalya was gone in a flash. He was quick. Soi Fon changed direction and came at him again. Zalya kept moving. They both zipped left and right, faster than Shinji's eyes could track. Soi Fon kept her eye on Zalya, refusing to lose sight of him, knowing it could be disastrous.

She had him in her sights. He was so close. He was right in front of her. "Hyah!" Soi Fon jabbed forward and her attack landed...

… square in Ichigo's chest.

"Ah!" Soi Fon pulled away. She was so busy keeping track of Zalya, she hadn't realized he was moving closer and closer to where Ichigo stood. She hit the wrong target.

Ichigo barely felt the stinger enter his body but knew she had attacked him. He roared and slapped the ground with his tail.

"Want to try it again, baby?" asked Zalya. "But be careful this time. Now that you've stung him once, all you need to do to finish him off is hit the exact spot a second time. Shouldn't be too hard, right? I already got you to do it once."

Using Suzumebachi with Ichigo close by was dangerous. She couldn't risk using it again out of fear of hitting Ichigo. Zalya was right. All she had to do was hit him again and it was all over. He would lure her just as he did before and make sure she hit that exact spot again. Or he would have her keep stinging him until he was covered so many times it would be impossible not to hit one of those a second time.

In addition to worrying about that, now she also had to worry about Ichigo moving around and getting in the way. She had to worry about him attacking her as well. Things did not look good.

Shinji had an idea. Kido wouldn't draw blood if it was a restriction technique. They could try holding him in place. Then he remembered the fight with Renji and knew Zalya would still be able to attack. However, that might not be an issue if they restrained him before blood was drawn. That seemed like a good plan.

Shinji was also tempted to use his Zanpakuto against Zalya but confusing his senses would be too risky with Ichigo so close by. If Zalya aimed in any one direction either on purpose or by mistake, it could hit Ichigo. Shinji decided to hold off on using that method until he felt more comfortable with the idea.

In no time, Soi Fon was preparing another attack. If using her Zanpakuto was too much of a risk, then she would resort to hand-to-hand combat. She wasn't reliant on her sword alone in battle. She had other skills she could use.

She flashed away and appeared behind Zalya. She kicked him in the spine, sending him forward. Before he could hit the ground, she appeared in front of him and kicked him back into a standing position.

Zalya smiled as if he were enjoying it. "You like it rough, huh, baby?"

"Shut up!" Soi Fon kicked him again. Then once more in disgust. She hadn't known him for more than a few minutes and she already hated everything about him. His face, his voice, his attitude, his actions, everything. She decided to kick him every time he disgusted her, which was every few seconds. Soon, Soi Fon unleashed a barrage of kicks so the only thing coming out of Zalya's mouth was a constant stream of grunts upon impact.

Then blood.

Shinji saw this and warned Soi Fon to stop.

Hand-to-hand was just as dangerous as fighting with a sword. Blood could still be drawn. Either Soi Fon hadn't considered this or didn't care. Either that or she thought she could beat him without drawing blood, but as it turned out, Zalya was a lot tougher than she had given him credit. He didn't go down at the first few kicks so she had to keep going until he was brought to his knees.

Zalya gathered the blood from his lips and sent it into Soi Fon's shoulder. The blood was like a bullet. It shot straight through her shoulder and out the other side, drawing more blood. That blood was then gathered and shot back at her. Soi Fon was buffeted with her own blood, cutting into her body and inflicting terrible wounds.

"Like it, baby?" Zalya cackled. "Have some more!"

It was a hailstorm of blood. Zalya split the blood bullets into smaller pieces so there would be more to fire. Though the bullets of blood were no bigger than a droplet or the size of a pinhead, they caused serious damage and pain. Soi Fon was being sliced and punctured so many times, she felt like a pincushion. She was shrouded in a mist of blood, her Captain's jacket torn to shreds. Soi Fon kept her arms raised to protect her face and neck. Her arms were sliced so many times they were completely red. She couldn't tell if it was blood or her own flesh being ripped off, exposing muscle. Soon, her arms were no longer able to protect her. He sliced through her tendons, making them useless. Her arms fell.

"And now..." Zalya flicked his finger. "Take that!"

The blood gathered together and formed a long flexible whip. It took a wide curve around Soi Fon and struck at her legs from the side. The blood punctured her calves and circled back for her ankles. Soi Fon fell to the ground unable to stand. Her body would not move.

Zalya stood above her laughing. "This is just too easy, baby!" He started strumming an invisible guitar. "Too easy!"

Soi Fon tried to raise herself up, but her arms were useless. They hung limply at her sides unable to move no matter how much she wanted them to. She could bend her knees but below they were also useless. Moving her toes was a painful attempt. The muscle had been torn and sliced so brutally it was not only painful to try to stand but an impossibility. Unless she could get away on her knees or roll, she was stuck where she lay.

She couldn't believe this all resulted from a few drops of blood. Only a few drops.

With those few drops, he caused more to be shed and gathered it up, making it multiply with every injury he inflicted, no matter how small. Any blood shed would be gathered and added to what he already controlled. He became stronger and stronger whenever someone was injured.

Soi Fon was at his mercy in under two minutes and no blade was ever drawn. Only blood.

Zalya laughed seeing the look on Soi Fon's face. It was loathing. For him and for herself. She was ashamed she had allowed him to put her in such a state. Being brought to the ground like this was insulting.

"Aw, don't look so sad, baby," he told her with a wicked grin on his face. "It's not that I'm making you look weak. It's that you are. I'm just showing you how weak you truly are. You Soul Reapers think you're so tough but you're not. You're fooling yourselves. It's about time someone showed you the truth. We're just that good. That's why we should be in charge. You Soul Reapers don't know what you're doing. You're unfit to rule."

Soi Fon tried to find a way out of this. If she couldn't use her arms then she would have to use her legs but they were useless from the knee down. She wouldn't be able to run or stand. What could she do?

Zalya stepped on Soi Fon's ankle. She refused to give him the satisfaction by crying out but she couldn't help but grimace at the pain. He put pressure on her wound, digging his heel into her flesh but still she wouldn't cry out.

"You Soul Reapers think you're all that," he went on, leaning on her leg. "We've always disagreed with each other. Our methods are just one of the things we disagree on." He put his full weight on her leg and this time she couldn't help the groan escaping from between her teeth.

Shinji had to think of something. If he used Kido, Zalya would still be able to use the blood as a weapon and would be able to break free like the last time he tried to restrain him. Shinji still had a bad feeling he was making the wrong call, but it was the only thing he could think of doing.

Zalya chuckled, seeing Soi Fon in pain. He enjoyed it. "You want to save Ichigo, do you, baby? Why? He's a Hollow now. Why the hell should he be given a chance? He's trying to kill you. All of you. Just like all Hollows. You say we're wrong for eliminating them. That they should be purified. You are so stupid. Can't you see we're right in the way we do things? You Soul Reapers are so weak."

Zalya stopped. He smelled a sweetness in the air. He turned and saw Shinji swinging his Zanpakuto, stirring up the air.

"Trying to confuse me, are you?" He scoffed. "Nice try. But you're wrong once again. See how stupid you are? What does confusing your senses do when you can fire in every possible direction? Like so."

Zalya gathered the blood around him like a cocoon and sent it spinning like a top. The blood suddenly broke away from the mold and fired in every direction. It was like a rapid-firing machine gun. Shinji dove for the ground as the blood came his way. A piece of his jacket was hit, putting holes in the fabric but his body was missed.

Then he heard roaring. Ichigo was hit several times with the blood and was sent into a frenzy. He had been quiet for a while but no more. He charged in to attack Zalya. The blood kept firing and Ichigo was struck again.

The blood hit Soi Fon as well and she curled into a ball to protect herself.

This was becoming too dangerous. Shinji had to undo the technique. He knew he was taking a huge risk and it was a poor choice on his part. He just couldn't stay put and do nothing.

Zalya saw Ichigo coming and rode on the blood to safety. He stood on a board of blood in the air and watched as Ichigo went for Soi Fon instead. Shinji wouldn't be able to reach her in time.

Before Soi Fon could even flinched, Ichigo stopped in his tracks and roared. He looked down at his legs, frozen to the ground. He started to hack away at the ice with his claws.

"You two alright?" Rukia asked, hurrying over.

She wasn't alone. Yumichika and Ikkaku were with her.

Shinji wasn't thrilled to see them. Not with Zalya as their opponent. Anyone from Squad 11 was bad news when facing someone like Zalya. Their whole mission was to draw blood. "Couldn't it have been anyone else?" Shinji moaned.

"Where's Cedric?" Rukia looked around and couldn't find him. She knew he was with Ichigo and hated to think the worst.

"No idea, but don't worry about it." Shinji was more concerned about other things at the moment.

Ichigo roared and lunged at Rukia. She barely missed his teeth. Rolling out of the way, she heard laughing and looked up. The Quincy was watching from above, loving this.

"We entertaining to you or something?" asked Ikkaku.

Zalya shrugged. "Maybe."

"Then why don't you come down here and we'll put on a real show?" Ikkaku's Zanpakuto was already released and waiting to taste blood.

"Don't fight him!" yelled Shinji. "If blood is drawn during battle, he gets stronger. He uses it as a weapon. I'm telling you, don't fight him!"

"And let him do whatever he wants? Fat chance!" Ikkaku was beyond reason. When he set his sights on a fight, he never backed down. Either he didn't care to understand what Shinji was saying about Zalya's power or he took it as a challenge, accepting him as a worthy opponent.

"Just take Captain Soi Fon out of here! She needs medical attention."

Ikkaku wasn't listening. "This guy goes down first, then we'll take care of the rest. Ready, Yumichika?"

"I'll follow you. I know how you like first crack at them."

"Damn straight."

"Listen to me, you two! Don't!"

It was too late. Ikkaku and Yumichika sprang into action and attacked Zalya together. Unleashing battle cries, they each took turns, slashing at Zalya's body. The Quincy grimaced in pain but didn't bother stopping their attacks. He smiled each time they pulled back for another swing.

"That's it, baby. Let it flow."

Blood was everywhere. On the ground, on his clothes, on their blades. Even his attackers were being splashed with his blood. The blood started to coil and twist, rising off the ground and joined the blood Zalya was riding on. The blood coating their weapons started to break away, moving of its own will.

"Your head's next, you son of-"

Ikkaku's blade was held back by the blood coiled around it. Like a red hand, it held his weapon back so he couldn't strike again. A long whip shot from Zalya's blood board to catch Yumichika's four blades before they could reach their target.

"What the hell is this?" Yumichika couldn't believe it. "Is that... blood?"

"Yeah, baby." Zalya gave them both a sinister look. "Can't you just feel it... flowing through you?"

With a flick of his fingers, two blades of blood shot from the mass and into their bodies. The blood stabbed them through the stomach and out their backs. The blood from their wounds joined Zalya's and attacked. The fresh blood branched from the blade to puncture their bodies at close range. The blood then became more flexible and whipped them through the air and slammed them into the ground, hard.

"I tried to warn them..." Shinji felt sick. Zalya was next to impossible to fight. How were they supposed to defeat someone without injury to him or to themselves?

Ikkaku and Yumichika struggled up. Their injuries were bad but not enough to keep them down.

"That all you got?" taunted Ikkaku. "So you use blood to fight? That's interesting. But even you can die from blood-loss, right?" He struggled to his feet, using his Zanpakuto as a crutch. "Then I'll just have to keep slicing you until that happens."

"You idiot!" Shinji yelled. He couldn't believe Ikkaku's simplicity. Did he honestly think that was a good idea? Maybe eventually Zalya would die from blood-loss, but in the meantime he could use it as a weapon and defeat them long before he reached that point. Ikkaku was just giving him more weapons to work with. The last thing they needed now was more blood on the field.

"Yumichika, hold him for me."

"On it." He prepared to use Kido. "Bakudo 61 Rikujokoro!"

Shinji's heart skipped a beat. That was the same move he had used before and it didn't work.

"I have him, Ikkaku. Go on."

"Thanks." Ikkaku was going to chop off Zalya's head and end this quickly. He didn't have time to take Zalya on alone, even if he was a challenge. He would find another Quincy to take on by himself and have the others watch. He just wanted Zalya dead, by his hands or another.

Zalya was unafraid when he saw the weapon come at his neck. Ikkaku misunderstood and thought Zalya didn't understand that he was going to be beheaded. Ikkaku kept charging. There wasn't anything Zalya could do. He was restrained.

Yumichika gasped, seeing a large mass of blood coming at Ikkaku from behind. "Ikka-"

In a fraction of a second, Yumichika's body was slashed multiple times from different directions. He dropped to his knees.

Ikkaku stopped in his tracks and saw Yumichika fall. Their eyes met briefly before Yumichika's closed as he hit the ground. A second later, Ikkaku joined him on the ground. A sharp blood spike drove through his right shoulder and held him down.

Zalya couldn't be restrained.

He effortlessly freed himself from the Kido and stood over his prey. Ikkaku was still conscious and able to move his limbs. Yumichika was fading in and out and could not move his body. Zalya gathered up their blood and held it in the air above them.

"I could kill you like this," said Zalya. "But that's no fun. I think this will be a lot more entertaining."

Zalya took a massive wad of blood and threw it at the back of Ichigo's head. The Hollow turned with an irritated roar.

"Yo, Ichigo! Got dinner for you!"

Ichigo came running.

Yumichika was too injured to move and Ikkaku was held down by the spike in his shoulder.

Zalya flashed away, making them the new target. Ichigo wasn't picky. They would do fine. Ikkaku moved against the spike, causing more blood to flow and join the spike, making it thicker. He had to get up. He had to defend himself and protect Yumichika.

A few feet away, Ichigo bent down with his mouth wide open. Ikkaku ripped the spike out of his shoulder, grabbed his weapon and sliced Ichigo across the chest. Ikkaku's attack was powerful enough to send him stumbling backwards but not enough to stop him. He tried to attack Ikkaku again but he had grabbed his friend and flashed away. Ichigo kept going, his new target being Zalya.

"Oh, boy." Zalya dodged Ichigo and kept moving. He wasn't about to let Ichigo make a meal of him.

Ikkaku brought Yumichika to Rukia, setting him down beside Soi Fon. "He's lost too much blood. That bastard practically drained him."

"I'm dizzy..." Yumichika said weakly. He felt faint and cold. He couldn't continue the fight.

"Take them back to the Seireitei," said Ikkaku. "I'll take care of the Quincy."

"You're injured, too," lectured Rukia. "Hacking away at this guy will do you no good. It just makes him stronger."

"Eventually he's going to run out of blood. I mean, even he can die from blood-loss, right?"

"And what if he doesn't?"

Ikkaku didn't have an answer.

"Kido won't work on him," said Shinji. "I know. I've tried. The blood moves independent of his will. Restricting his movements will do nothing and cutting him or being cut is one of the worst things that can be done. Zalya's going to be difficult to defeat. The only other thing I can think of is knocking him out, but even that's a stretch. If the blood will move even if he can't, then he might not need to be awake in order to use it. Our best chance is to restrain him before blood comes into play. We have to make the first move."

"Too late for that now," said Rukia. "We might have to retreat and fight him later."

"And hope we can hold him down before he can cut us or himself." Shinji looked to where Ichigo was chasing Zalya around in circles. "He's not attacking Ichigo. Looks like he wants Ichigo alive for the time being."

"As collateral," said Ikkaku.

"He's using Ichigo to attack us. But if we try to attack him, he'll hide behind Ichigo, knowing we won't hurt him," said Rukia. "This guy's just as crafty as the rest of them."

Soi Fon was still unable to move though she continued to try. "We need more people," she said.

"More people for this guy to slice up?" said Shinji. "Are you nuts?"

"No, not for this Quincy. For Ichigo. Back-up for us."

Shinji realized something important. "No. We need people back at the Seireitei. This is the first time in a while a Quincy has shown up other than the boss, right? If we're out here with Ichigo, what's stopping them from attacking the Seireitei? We need more defenses back home, not out here. For all we know, the others are attacking the Seireitei while we're dealing with this guy and handling the Ichigo situation. We can't keep sending people out to get injured like this. It will weaken us. Then when they finally do attack the Seireitei, we'll be too battered to do anything. We have to go back and come up with a new strategy."

"Captain Hirako is right," said Rukia. "We have two down already and Ikkaku is in rough shape as well."

"I told you, I'm fine."

"You're bleeding!"

"Someone make a decision before I black out again," whined Yumichika. "Don't have all day."

"I'll take them back."

Rukia and the others looked up. "Cedric."

Cedric didn't look too worse for wear as he stood over them. He bent down and looked at the two injured Soul Reapers on the ground. "I can carry them both back to the Seireitei quickly. They need care, and it looks like you're going to be arguing for a while."

"Where were you?" asked Rukia. Even knowing they didn't have much time, she had to ask.

"I was keeping an eye on Ichigo. Then I saw the Quincy and kept my distance." Cedric looked around. "I also saw Veneno traveling not too far from here a while ago. He was pretty far from Ichigo but I doubt he wasn't aware of that. It looked like he was avoiding Ichigo on purpose."

"Why?"

"I haven't a clue. Should I take these two back and have you handle it, or should I return and get answers?"

Rukia didn't want Cedric out here for too much longer. She knew he needed to rest at some point and he would like nothing more than to see Linnette again. "Go back to the Seireitei and let us handle this."

Cedric nodded and carried Soi Fon and Yumichika away from the action.

Ichigo had gotten closer to where they were standing. Zalya seemed to be luring him closer to their position.

"Get ready," said Shinji.

They lifted up their weapons to defend themselves.

The flat surface was nothing compared to the endless sand dunes of Hueco Mundo. Running on sand was far more difficult and tiresome. Even with the rough patches of stone and barren soil, Veneno was able to travel quickly.

He had no idea where Yagi would be but he had to find him. He had a plan in mind, even if it was full of holes. He decided to tend to those matters later on. First things first.

If only he could find Yagi's workshop or home, this would be simple. His hideout must have been somewhere out here.

"Looking for me?"

Veneno stopped. He slowly turned. Yagi was waiting for him. Stepping out from behind the tall stones, he presented himself to the Arrancar.

"Alone? I see. Confident, aren't we? How is Ichigo doing, by the way?"

Veneno passed a growl through his teeth.

"Go on. Kill me," said Yagi. "Do so and the cure will be forever lost."

"If there is one. I still think you're lying."

Yagi shrugged. "That is just a chance you will have to take. You have no way of knowing for sure."

"Actually, I do." Veneno used his speed to get close to Yagi. Before he could lay a hand on him, Yagi flashed away and appeared on a different rock. Veneno flashed to that one but Yagi kept moving. His speed matched Veneno's.

Yagi took notice of something interesting. Veneno was coming after him without a weapon. He was just trying to grab him with his bare hands.

"I see," said Yagi with a smile. "So you're Veneno, the Arrancar Mayuri kept held up in his lab for so long. I was under the impression you had died some time ago."

Veneno stopped chasing him. "You know about me?"

"I've been to the archives. I've seen the things he has on file. I know everything he has ever written down. He has quite a selection. If only he put that much effort into his security."

Yagi had Mayuri's information. He must have gotten into his system somehow.

"So that's how you know about Ichigo and Victor's serum. You've read the files explaining everything."

Yagi looked proud of himself.

Veneno had no right to point fingers. When he was causing chaos in the Seireitei, he spent most of his time reading different files and books, learning more about Soul Reapers and their history. Partly to pass the time, partly to learn more about his enemy. Though, most of the information he attained was from books in the library and not Mayuri's personal files. He was never able to access it, even if he was curious enough to try. Mayuri was very protective of his information and even kept back-ups elsewhere. Not even members of his own Division were able to view them. How this Quincy managed to get a hold of it was an impressive feat.

"He ran tests on you and turned you into an Arrancar purely by accident. You were a mere tiny Hollow at the time. Then rapid evolution took place. That's the gist of it, isn't it?" Yagi chuckled to himself. "Then you took revenge on the Soul Reapers and attacked them. I don't blame you for that."

Veneno listened to Yagi but his mind was elsewhere, thinking. Something didn't add up. Yagi was under the impression that Veneno had been killed. He wasn't. He needed help regenerating since his body was so badly damaged. He was fully revived with Mayuri's help, but that was done in private. Not even his Division knew what he was doing. The only other person who knew was Akon. Him and Nemu but she was always aware of everything Mayuri did so Veneno didn't see the need to include her. He felt it was a given.

Mayuri never told anyone about what he was doing, therefore there were no files. He never recorded anything he did during his revival in order to keep it a secret. However, Akon was taking notes throughout Veneno's recovery. Mayuri ordered him to take careful notes and report back to him so he could add them to his computer.

Now it made sense. Yagi had seen everything from the files made public and put on record. Mayuri's private files were for his eyes only so the rest of the Seireitei would never see them and never know anything. Yagi had only seen the ones anyone had access to. Not Mayuri's restricted private files which he kept separate from everything else. That was why Yagi had no information about Veneno's recovery. It was off the record. He didn't have access to that information if it was entered into Mayuri's private files. Maybe Yagi didn't know about any others. He thought he had all the information he needed.

"Perhaps you and I should team up," suggested Yagi.

Veneno blinked. "Huh?"

"Think about it. You managed to cripple the Seireitei once before. You can do it again. And think how easy it would be with me helping you. Together, we can bring it down. You can finish what you started. You can take revenge and I will help you do that."

Now he knew Yagi wasn't aware of his recovery. Veneno had decided to give the Soul Reapers a second chance and trust was earned. He even became friends with a few of them. Though he still carried scars from the past, he no longer sought revenge. He was no longer bitter with them. They had a truce.

"What do you say?" Yagi extended his hand out to Veneno.

Veneno looked at the hand held out for him to take. Yagi was offering him a deal. A deal Veneno would never accept. But Yagi didn't know that. He had no idea what was settled in the past or how Veneno was an ally of the Soul Reapers. He could always slap the hand away and refuse, but Veneno had a different plan. This was a golden opportunity to trick the Quincy. He could pretend to join him only to turn traitor when the time was right. He could bring them down from the inside.

That seemed like a good idea, but Veneno already had a plan in mind. His plan would be a lot easier than pretending and wouldn't take nearly as long. Ichigo didn't have much time, so Veneno had to do this quickly. The fastest option would be the best one in this case.

In order to carry out his plan, all he needed was to touch Yagi.

With the hand extended before him, offered willingly, it was almost too easy.

Veneno smiled. "Bring it down together? Sounds pretty good to me."

He reached for Yagi's hand.

Just before contact was made, Yagi pulled away and fired an arrow at Veneno's body. Veneno flashed away and reappeared ten feet from where Yagi stood.

"You must think I'm a fool," said Yagi.

Veneno was confused. Yagi was the one offering a deal. Veneno accepted it. What had he done wrong? Could Yagi read minds? What gave him away? Somehow Yagi knew Veneno wasn't serious about joining him.

"Remember, I know your history with the Soul Reapers. I know your brush with them and what you did to the Seireitei." Yagi pointed at Veneno. "How you turned them into what they refer to as 'Hollow Reapers' with a touch of your hand."

He knew about Veneno's infectious touch.

"Do you honestly think I would allow you to touch me with that hand and turn me into one of those... one of those things?" Yagi was wise to Veneno. He trusted Veneno just as much as Veneno did him. "Why on earth would you try to infect me? What would be the purpose?"

"Because..." Veneno confessed his intentions knowing Yagi would never trust him no matter what transpired. "Because then, I could make you tell the truth. I'll turn you into a Hollow and bend you to my will. You will no longer be a threat and I can force you to give up the cure if there is one."

It was the only plan Veneno had. He thought it was a good one, even with one major issue.

An issue Yagi had already noticed.

"How on earth would you compel me to do such a thing?" asked Yagi, a smug tone in his voice. "According to what I read, the virus you give to those you touch turns them into Hollows. Hollow powers, mutates them slowly. But it doesn't give them intelligence. They might obey you when you tell them to attack, but you can't even have a conversation with them. Therefore, you cannot get me to reveal any type of information because Hollow Reapers are poor communicators. Most don't even speak. They're like zombies. You're plan is flawed."

Just because Veneno infected him, didn't mean he would reveal his secrets. The Hollow Reapers who could speak were very limited and most of them had little intellect. Even if Veneno got lucky and Yagi became a Hollow who could speak, Hollow Reapers forgot who they were before the turn and believed they were always Hollows. Therefore, Yagi would be unable to divulge any information because he wouldn't remember any of it.

Yagi chuckled. "You see it now? You're plan will fail. You won't be able to command me."

"Maybe I can't... But Linnette can." That was why Veneno needed her with him in order for this plan to work. "Hollows will obey Linnette no matter what. Even if you are a dumb Hollow who will not listen to me, you'll listen to her. If she commands it, you'll do it. You'll have no choice."

At least, that was the idea. Veneno had planned to turn Yagi into a Hollow, then use Linnette's voice to force him to tell the truth. Hollow Reapers seemed to be more articulate when she was in control. When Veneno told a Hollow Reaper to speak, it would not. That was the issue with Hollow Reapers. Sometimes they listened and sometimes they didn't. An act of violence, they were all too happy to comply. But speaking was another issue. So Veneno planned to have Linnette interrogate Yagi because she was better at it than Veneno. Even if a Hollow couldn't speak when Veneno commanded it, they would when she asked it of them. Their growling would turn to words.

It seemed so easy when he first thought of it. Now he was seeing even more flaws and knew it probably wouldn't work. Not if Hollow Reapers couldn't remember anything from before the turn. If that was the case, then Yagi would not remember any cure if one existed.

Veneno thought he could infect Yagi just a little bit and not turn him into a complete Hollow. That way he would be more likely to remember certain things and be driven to answer any and all of Linnette's questions. That was his new plan.

A plan that would never work if he couldn't touch Yagi.

Yagi smirked. "I knew you would not join my side when I saw the way you defended Ichigo. I had a feeling you two were friends. So it's unlikely you would join me if it meant hurting him." Yagi tapped the side of his head with his finger. "Smart, right? Always thinking."

You won't want to miss the next chapter. Be prepared.

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