Disclaimer- I don't own Bleach

Chapter 18

Trust

Sitting in a cold white chair, Sayomi stared blankly at her tea that sat on the desk that dominated the room she and her brother were in. It was full of high tech equipment that allowed the palace of Las Noches to be constantly watched, even manipulated if the need arose. Neither of the rooms occupants had spoken since they had arrived and sat down. Sayomi was too lost in her own thoughts and Gin knew her well enough that he let her be so she could sort through her feelings on her own.

Her light blue eyes watched the images flickering across the monitors blankly as she pulled her legs up onto the chair and wrapped her arms around her knees. After a few minutes she noticed all of the controls had labels that seemed to correspond to various locations that could be brought up on the monitors by using a little knob and toggle switch. She studied them for a few moments before she caught sight of Grimmjow on one of the monitors. Noting the location of the hall he was in she glanced over the controls before absently reaching for one that should correspond to the hall Grimmjow was just about to come upon. It was the hall leading to his room.

A grin formed on her face when she flipped a switch, she wasn't sure what it would do, but the idea of screwing with Grimmjow was too irresistible. She frowned when nothing seemed to change though.

"Close," Gin said, scooting over to her side. "But this should be more effective."

She watched as he flipped the switch beside the one she had before pushing a button beneath it and then turning a dial. Sayomi could see the hallway in the monitor Grimmjow would soon step into disappear. The blue haired Arrancar walked past the spot where the hall had been, he continued for a few steps before seeming to instinctively know he had gone to far. He turned around and walked the way he had come only to make it to the previous intersection and look around in uncertainty. He shook his head as if clearing it and turned back the other way.

It was as he was passing the spot where the hall leading to his rooms should have been that Sayomi reached over Gin and flipped the switch once again, pressed her hand against the same button he had and then gave the little dial a small turn like he had done. The hallway suddenly sprung back into existence and Grimmjow turned around to look both ways, the look on his face grew annoyed and he grumbled something before turning down the hall and stalking to his rooms.

She sat and watched the monitors for several minutes again before sighing and properly sitting in her chair so she could sip at her tea. "Why am I here, Gin? What could you possibly say to make everything... anything better?"

The thin man sighed, plopping his chin into his hand as he stared at the monitors. "I just thought it would be nice to spend some time together. I haven't seen you in a long time-"

"Not since you tried to kill me, you mean," she cut in, her voice tired and bitter sounding.

Gin nodded. "I didn't want to kill you, Sayomi. I just knew that if we left you there Soul Society would kill you, or use you for experiments until you died.. I didn't want to see you die like that. You deserved better."

"So you took it upon yourself to kill me? What a great big brother I have."

"You're not listening," Gin sighed. "You should know what kind of methods are used to kill anything the Soul Society doesn't like, you should also know that being used as material by the research department would be even worse than any death the Soul Society would have given you. I was trying to give you a death you could have been proud of."

Sayomi's eyes flickered and she frowned. Part of her could honestly understand his reasoning. Had she been left there to be found by Soul Reapers and had the Central 46 had any say in how the rest of her life would play out, she knew she would have suffered a much more horrible end than he ever would have been able to give her had he killed her himself.

"Did you know that when you disappeared I abandoned Rangiku and searched for you?" Gin asked, when Sayomi shook her head he continued. "I never found you obviously. I managed to find Rangiku again several years later though and we decided to join the Academy. I figured if I was a Soul Reaper I would be able to better protect you when I did find you."

"By then didn't you think I was dead?" She asked. "It's not like I could have survived on my own."

He shook his head and smirked, reaching out to pat the top of her head. "Nope, you're too stubborn. I knew you were out there somewhere, kiddo."

"You joined the Gotei 13 a few years after I did. You were considered a genius, graduating in one year, but you were different from how I remembered you when I saw you again. There was always something that was a bit scary about you, but you were almost unrecognizable you were so... distant, cold. You weren't, and still aren't, the brother who raised me and cared for me in the Rukongai."

He shrugged noncommittally. "You're right, I'm not. It wasn't easy being alone, I didn't handle it too well. We should probably just leave it at that though, it's not a very pretty story and I don't want'ya to hate me more than you already do."

"You wanted to find me to protect me, but you were going to kill me. Part of me can understand, we were Soul Reapers and an honorable death is better than what I would have been given if I had been captured, but... I still don't understand, Gin... Why did you join Aizen and choose to betray Soul Society?" Sayomi asked, looking up to see his frown. "What did that have to do with protecting me? That's what you said you had wanted to do, right? Why did that change?"

"You're pretty straight-forward, aren't ya?" He sighed, scratching at the top of his head.

"I want to understand, Gin," Sayomi replied evenly.

"Someone as innocent as you wouldn't understand the reasons. I was never the person you thought I was. I couldn't be if I wanted to protectch'ya in that world and let you live in your own little world that was free of the hurt and hate that was the real world."

"You're wrong," Sayomi countered defiantly. "You were always a bit scary, I mentioned that already. You were always strong and I knew you didn't skip into the towns we came across and just happen to find food and money and clothes. I was never an idiot, you raised me so you should know me better then that. You're also wrong about me not understanding...I can understand, to a degree anyway. I am well aware of what it's like to want to protect someone and I would do anything to protect the people important to me. But that doesn't answer my question about why you would join Aizen."

"Why wouldn't I?" Gin answered. "He accepted me for what I was and gave me a place to fit in and belong."

"Those experiments that Aizen conducted you knew all about them, didn't you?"

"Yup, I knew everything."

"And knowing all of that you still helped him?"

"I did. You've met Aizen, Sayomi, the real one. Do you think I had much of a choice?" Gin asked, one of his brows tilting up inquisitively.

"You've always had a choice, Gin, you just chose to be a traitor," Sayomi replied tiredly. "If I hadn't gotten involved that night what would have happened when you betrayed Soul Society? You would still have betrayed me, right? You just wouldn't have tried to kill me. In the end you still would have turned your back on me, Gin. Soul Society was my home. I had found a family, love and I was happy."

"I never expected to find you in the Gotei 13 as a member of a noble house or a seated officer. It sort of changed things, but I had already made my choice and all I could do was try and protect ya. I had planned on finding you and helping you join the Gotei 13, Aizen had even agreed to help me find you," he said.

"You thought I would join you?" Sayomi asked incredulously.

"It was possible," he replied coolly, shrugging. "You always did as you were told and you never wanted to disappoint me."

Sayomi went silent, but she nodded once to show she agreed with his statement. "I suppose if things had been different there is a good chance that I would have followed you anywhere. I wasn't attached to Soul Society or the people in it until I met the Himura's and they so easily accepted me. Acceptance is a very powerful thing it would seem, isn't it," she sighed, setting the cold tea aside and looking at the monitors that displayed much of Las Noches.

"It would seem so," Gin agreed.

"Um, this is off the subject, but..." Sayomi trailed off as she glanced at the monitors, blinking thoughtfully. "You can't see the inside of the rooms...Can you?" She asked curiously, smiling nervously.

Gin chuckled, reached forward and played with a few buttons. One of the screens went blank before a scene flickered to life on its surface.

Sayomi turned bright red as she realized that the picture was of the interior of Grimmjow's room and she could see him asleep on his bed before she walked in to the room and pulled the sheets off of him. "Oh you've gotta be kiddin' me," she groaned, covering her face with her hands.

"Don't worry, I won't tell," Gin said, grinning widely as he paused the playback.

"Did you have to stop it there?" Sayomi whined childishly as she looked at herself being pinned down by Grimmjow.

"Oh, sorry. Here, this better?" he asked, pressing a button and making the screen blank.

"Much."

There was a few minutes of silence, but this was different than the one when they had first sat down. It wasn't heavy and full of years of unspoken feelings and regrets. It was lighter now, almost comfortable.

"So what now, little sis?" Gin asked.

Sayomi sighed. "Hell if I know... What?" She asked when she caught his frown.

"You never used to talk that, it's not very lady like. I don't like it and I thought I taught ya better."

She tweaked a brow at him. "And you expect me to care?"

"I'm your big brother, you're supposed to listen to me."

"Is there something wrong in your head? Wait, never mind, bad question," Sayomi said upon seeing the amusement dancing on Gin's face. "I'm actually an adult now so I don't have to listen to you."

"And I told you that you are always gonna be a my kid sister, so deal with it," Gin replied, reaching over to ruffle her hair playfully.

"No way! You tried to kill me and I think that gives me the right to not have to listen to you!"

"I said I was sorry," he replied apologetically, though his grin hadn't entirely faded as Sayomi glared at him while smoothing her hair.

"No you didn't!" She snapped.

"Well, I'm sorry, Sayomi, I was only trying to keep you from becoming somethin' that you aren't."

"I hate you," she sighed, putting her head in her hands and closing her eyes.

"I know, I'm sorry 'bout that too," Gin said sincerely.

"I've spent all of these years resenting you, but now I keep on finding myself forgetting all of my anger and acting like a kid again. You're my brother, Gin, you're all I have left and I don't want to lose you too," she admitted quietly.

"So you aren't gonna kill me?"

A heavy exhale left her lips and she shook her head. "No."

"You sound disappointed," he observed wryly.

"Not really, but I betrayed everyone to come here and I don't really know what to do anymore. Aizen wants me to be his queen apparently and-"

Gin frowned, humming under his breath in dissatisfaction. "He said that?" He interrupted.

"Don't you see the bruises?" She tilted her chin up, the pale skin was already bruising in places. "I made the mistake of turning him down."

His frown deepening, Gin turned his face to the monitors thoughtfully.

"So what do I do now?" Sayomi asked.

"...You be a good little girl and stay out of trouble."

"Uh, ok. What about Aizen? Somehow I don't think he's too happy with me at the moment."

"Don't worry about that," Gin replied, his fox like grin back in place. "You're too cute to be mad at for too long."

She managed a weak smile in return. "I really wish I could believe that."

Sayomi wasn't sure exactly what she should do. She knew she needed to start moving before Aizen had a chance to fully trap her in Hueco Muendo without any other options for survival. The only problem with that was that not two days ago she had stood up to him and had made herself seem more like an enemy than a friend. She had also drawn the wrath of his "followers" in the process. She had managed to stay out of the way of all of them so far, but at the moment she was headed right into the lion's den for a meeting that Aizen had called them all too. She didn't expect it to end well. Gin had reassured her that everything would be fine, but that if she was going to stay she would need to realize that that meant playing along with Aizen and his plans.

She knew that of course, she wasn't an idiot, but no longer planning on killing Gin changed her entire reason for being in Hueco Muendo. It meant she had betrayed her friends so that she could reconnect with her brother, it may have seemed innocent, but that was hardly the case in this instance. A war was being prepared for and she was on a different side from those she had once allied herself with and called friends. That didn't mean that she would give up hope though. Aizen was still alive and it was Aizen that had taken away so much of what she had loved. She had many reasons to hate him and many reasons to want revenge. It was her thought of being able to kill him, to free herself from his shadow as well as getting her brother back that kept her going. At first she hadn't thought she would be able to accomplish much and leave alive, but now she had found her resolve and she wouldn't doubt herself any longer. She would kill Aizen and she would stop the war he wanted and save thousands of people from becoming tools in his game.

Her heeled boots clicked on the mirror like stones and the white coat she had decided to wear over her uniform billowed out behind her slim legs. The blue and silver lace obi she had used to tie the long coat in place around her waist was an unexpected splash of color in the monotonous background of white walls. Her hair was swept off her shoulders into a high ponytail that blew out behind her while she walked, her face a blank mask devoid of emotion.

When she walked into the meeting room to find that she was the last one to arrive she smiled at Aizen and made her way to sit with Grimmjow. Much to the blue haired man's annoyance Sayomi made herself comfortable on his lap, her back against one of the arms of his chair and her legs crossed and dangling over the other. She grinned at Aizen and her brother, who grinned back at her.

"Now that we're all here, why don't we begin this meeting," Aizen said smoothly, his brown eyes almost immediately shifting over to Sayomi. "I have decided to give Sayomi another chance to try and prove herself to you all since she is very important to me and I want you all to trust her, as I do."

Sayomi lifted a snowy white brow, she was quite curious as to where this meeting was going at that point since she was apparently supposed to be redeeming herself. Aizen knew full well that she could care less about whether the residents of his domain liked her or not, she wasn't there to please any of them and as it was she wasn't there for any reason anymore outside of the fact that she felt she had nowhere else to go and she was grasping on to a hope that she could kill the bastard that was trying to rule the world.

"I'm going to give her one more chance to find out exactly what Kisuke Urahara's orders are and what it is he is doing for the Soul Society in preparation for the coming winter," Aizen informed them all, his eyes on Sayomi the entire time. "She will be accompanied by Ulquiorra and Yammy as well as a few others of Ulquiorra's choosing. They will leave in two days."

Keeping her face blank and her eyes as bored looking as she could, Sayomi spoke up. "There was one captain in Karakura last time I was there. It's likely that there is another one now that they know I'm alive and not on their side. It's also likely they have orders to capture or kill me. Do you really think a few Arrancar will be enough of a distraction?"

"You won't have to worry about that. Let Ulquiorra and the others handle anyone that isn't Kisuke. Your only focus is to be him," Aizen replied.

Sayomi nodded her understanding all the while wondering just what the brown haired man was up to now.

"Good," Aizen said, smiling amicably at the long table of his Espada members. "I have no doubt that Sayomi will accomplish her task this time and after she has proven that she is trustworthy I'd like to have another meeting to discuss the future of Las Noches. The meeting is dismissed."

As the Espada began to clear out of the room, Sayomi stood from Grimmjow's lap and made to leave.

"Sayomi," Aizen called from where he still sat at the head of the table with Gin and Tousen beside him. "I'd like a word with you if I could please."

Stopping to turn around and face him, Sayomi smiled coyly. "Of course, Aizen-sama."

Aizen chuckled at her answer, but gestured for her to have a seat in the now empty chair to his right, which she did without hesitation, clasping her hands in her lap and leaning back to to stare coolly into the brown eyes that were assessing her every move.

"I'm surprised, Sayomi. I didn't expect you to so willingly agree to go back and confront Urahara," Aizen began, sipping from the white mug in front of him.

"The way I see it I don't have a choice," she answered.

"And why is that?"

Sayomi didn't take her eyes off of Aizen, she needed to step carefully or she could risk getting herself into a much tighter corner than she wanted to be in. Aizen couldn't know that she no longer cared about what happened to her so long as she took him with her.

"I thought we'd been over this," Sayomi replied, her head tilting to side. "It's because I don't have anywhere left to go. I can't go to Soul Society because I'll be killed for what I am since in their eyes I'm nothing more than a freak of nature that needs to be disposed off. I can't go back to Karakura because I betrayed everyone I knew there, besides I never really liked that place. I'm not fond of the world of the living and have no desire to go back, that leaves me with only one other option. To stay here and try to make the most of it."

"But you don't trust me," Aizen pointed out.

Sayomi shrugged a thin shoulder. "And you don't trust me seem to me like we're even. Besides, can you blame me for not trusting you? You knew I wouldn't get the information out of Kisuke the first time around and you sent me to the real world because what you really wanted to do was make sure that everyone, Soul Society and all my previous friends, knew I was a traitor. Chances are you have an ulterior motive for sending me on the same errand again, right?"

Aizen smirked at her while leaning thoughtfully back into his seat. "You already know my motives."

"Then why does it matter whether or not everyone here trusts me? You don't intend to change your mind." She kept her eyes firmly on Aizen, careful not let any emotion seep into them or her face as she spoke. It wasn't as hard as she had expected it to be, keeping up a calm and cool exterior around this man that she was well aware wanted to take everything from her and keep her for himself like some sort of trophy. She thought that it could have been because she had resigned herself to bringing about his end and she would gladly do whatever it took to do so.

"You're right, I don't. I'm curious, Sayomi, the other day you seemed completely against having anything to do with me. As a matter of fact you actually said you wanted nothing to do with me. So why are you so compliant now?"

"Compliant? I wouldn't say that," she replied smoothly, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "I just know that my stay will be more comfortable here if I keep an open mind." She gave Aizen a small smile, but she didn't fail to notice the slight downward tilt that her brother's lips were taking on as their conversation continued. She was also well aware that Aizen wasn't fully believing what she was telling him. "I know I've given you no reason to trust me and I also know that my actions the other day would make you want to do anything but trust me. However, I do want to prove myself. I will get the information from Kisuke this time."

Aizen smiled widely at her, he was clearly amused with the turn of events. "I'm sure you will."

The banging of wood against the tile of the floor drew the nine captains' attention to the front of the long boringly white meeting hall. It was late evening in the Soul Society and there had been no reason given for the late emergency meeting that had been called.

"I believe that you are all curious as to why you have been called here on such short notice," the old Head Captain Yamamoto began. He was hunched over his wooden staff, both hands resting on the knobby end in front of him as his hooded eyes looked over the two rows of captains before him. "As I'm sure you are aware there was an attack on Karakura Town earlier today. The report was that four Arrancar appeared in the skies above the city, three were merely distractions for the one female amongst them to try and get information from Kisuke Urahara, who was exiled a century ago, but has been helping us prepare for the upcoming war with Aizen. She failed in her mission and didn't get the information that Aizen had ordered her to retrieve."

"Then why the hell are we here," Captain Zaraki Kenpachi of the Eleventh division grumbled. He was a large man with spiky hair and a manic grin on his scarred face.

"The reason for you being here is simple; the woman is a former captain of the Gotei 13. Her identity was confirmed by Kisuke Urahara as well as lieutenant Matsumoto who served under her before her disappearance a century ago," Yamamoto continued in his gravelly voice.

"You can't mean..." The white haired Captain Juushiro Ukitake of the Thirteenth division began, his eyes flickering to the stoic, silent captain of the Sixth division, Byakuya Kuchiki. "She's alive?"

"Who the hell are ya talkin' about?" Captain Zaraki asked gruffly.

Byakuya answered the question, his voice was cold, distant as he spoke. "The adopted daughter of the last head of the noble Himura clan, their only child. She became the captain of the Tenth division after the death of her father, Hiroshi Himura. Sayomi Himura is how she was known to the entirety of the Gotei 13, her real name is Sayomi Ichimaru."

"That is correct," Yamamoto confirmed. "Sayomi Himura who disappeared over a hundred years ago, with eight others, has reappeared and it would seem that she is not an ally. It seems that she has taken sides with her traitorous brother and Aizen. The situation needs to be dealt with quickly. There were orders issued by Central 46 after the disappearances... Execution orders for each person who vanished that night."

Even the stoic Kuchiki couldn't entirely hide his surprise at the statement, his eyes widened minutely for a brief second before he quickly returned himself to his usual stoic demeanor. The reasons for the disappearances of the captains and lieutenants that had gone missing over a century ago were unknown to all that stood in the room. As far as they had known they were all dead, so it was a bit of a shock to hear that that wasn't the case and that there were orders to kill the nine ex-members of the Gotei 13.

"Is there any reason to indicate why the order to kill them was given?" Captain Ukitake asked.

"Yeah, my previous lieutenant was one of the ones who disappeared. I'm quite curious myself," captain Kyoraku asked lazily as he adjusted the straw hat on his head.

Captain Yamamoto didn't seem too pleased with the inquires from the two men, not that he hadn't expected someone to ask questions, he just didn't want to discuss the topic. Sighing, the elderly captain said something that would leave everyone completely speechless. "Due to the vile acts of Sosuke Aizen during his time as a member of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, specifically his experiments with hollowfication, they are to be dealt with as Hollows."

Captain Kyoraku stopped chewing on the piece of grass that was stuck between his lips as he stared at Yamamoto. "You can't be saying that they became Hollows, old man Yama."

"That is exactly what I'm saying, Shunsui. They have gained the unstable powers of Hollows. They are similar to the Arrancar that Aizen has created, except they were originally Soul Reapers."

"Do we know if the other eight are alive?" The short, fierce captain Soi Fon asked, her arms folded over her chest and her face blank.

"No, there is no information about the other eight," Yamamoto answered.

"It doesn't seem fair, does it?" Ukitake said with a sigh. "To kill them for something that they had no control over."

"They should not exist, they are to be dealt with as Hollows as per the orders of the Central 46. If that is not enough, Himura will be dealt with as a traitor. It would be preferred that she is brought in alive for questioning, but the others, if they are alive, have separated from Soul Society and regardless of what they are are to be dealt with as traitors and deserters," Yamamoto replied.

Captain Ukitake sighed in disappointment and Kyoraku frowned, but no one else questioned the orders. The room was silent, no one knew what to say. It was quite a shock to learn that someone they had all believed to be dead was very much alive and a traitor. Several sets of eyes glanced at the stony captain Kuchiki who looked unperturbed by any of the news.

"Knowing that Himura is helping Aizen, it would be best to station another captain and lieutenant aside from Hitsugaya and his lieutenant in Karakura."

Captain Kuchiki cleared his throat. "My lieutenant and I will go."

There were several gasps from the people who knew of the Kuchiki's relationship to Sayomi. Captain Yamamoto raised a heavy brow as he regarded the black haired noble thoughtfully.

"Fine, you may go. You'll leave immediately. This meeting is adjourned."

"We're really going to Karakura Town to look for that woman?" A slightly flustered Renji asked his unusually blank captain.

"Must I repeat myself, Renji?" Byakuya asked coldly, keeping his eyes focused on the path ahead of him as he led the way toward the Senkai gate they would be using to enter Karakura.

"Uh, no," Renji spluttered out, scratching at his head and sighing. It may have only been a matter of months since he had become the nobleman's lieutenant, but he knew when to leave the man alone. Now was one of those times.

It wasn't hard to see that Byakuya was in a foul mood, the little extra reiatsu that was seeping from the usually calm and collected man was enough to tell him that. So was the steely glint in eyes, it was too much like the look he had seen in his eyes during the ordeal with Rukia's execution. Renji didn't know much about the situation, but he knew they were to bring the woman that had surprised him with her lightening quick reflexes and cat like movements when he and his captain had retrieved Rukia from the living world was to be captured and taken back to Soul Society to be dealt with as a traitor. He also knew the woman had been engaged to the Kuchiki a long time ago, and though it had been an arranged marriage, they had apparently been quite close.

He also knew that she had disappeared with several others over a hundred years before and had been considered dead. That was about it though. He had no idea why she was considered a traitor or what she had done to earn herself a death sentence from the Central 46 and the way captain Kuchiki was acting made him curious. Did his captain still love this girl? He had changed his own set of rules and beliefs to help Rukia, the sister of his beloved wife. It had surprised everyone to learn that the stoic Kuchiki actually had a heart.

Renji frowned and shook his head. It wasn't really his business whether or not his captain was still in love with the woman, besides it certainly didn't seem like that was the case considering he had volunteered them to capture her. If they couldn't capture her then they were to kill her. Things had gotten a lot more complicated than he had thought they would be and he wasn't sure what he should do. He settled for simply following orders.

"Dammit! How long, Urahara!" A red faced Ichigo shouted.

He was sitting at Kisuke's round table, Uryu and Chad were there as well. The other two boys sat silently as Ichigo fumed at Kisuke.

Kisuke sighed, lifting his green and white hat from his head to scratch at the back of his neck. "Sayomi destroyed the only suitable location before she left. I've been rebuilding it since then, but-"

"But what? How long will it take to get a doorway or whatever ready to go to Hueco Muendo? Orihime's being held prisoner, Sayomi's a traitor and-"

"Now, now," Kisuke cut in. "Sayomi had her reasons, it's not fair to judge her without knowing them."

"I don't care what her reasons were. She's helping them," Ichigo yelled. "She betrayed us."

"Do you have to yell?" Uryu asked pointedly after wincing several times in response to Ichigo's raised voice.

"Yes!" Ichigo shouted at the black haired Quincy, who sighed and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "You were friends with Sayomi, Ishida, don't-"

"You're wrong," Uryu cut in calmly. "I am still friends with Sayomi."

"But-"

"I don't know her reasons for doing what she did, but you didn't know her as well as I did. I find it hard to believe that she betrayed anyone. She's just not that type of person," Uryu continued.

"I can't believe you're saying that! She's helping the bad guys!" Ichigo cried in exasperation.

"Geez, you're loud. How 'bout turning the volume down a little, eh? "

Ichigo blinked in surprise as he looked over to the door that led into the little dining room. Standing in the doorway was Shinji, grinning at the four people in the room as he waved at them.

"Shinji? What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked, confused by the blond's unexpected presence.

"I'm here to tell ya to trust Sayomi," he replied seriously.

"But-"

"Shuddup, Ichigo," Shinji groaned before the orange haired teen could go off on another rant. "You don't know her. You're not the only one to be really pissed off at her, but she's got the same goals as everyone here. She's just goin' about things a little differently is all."

"What do you mean the same goals as us? And weren't you in our class for only a few days, so how do you know Sayomi?" Uryu asked.

"I was a Soul Reaper, but that was a long time ago. And I meant just what I said; her goals are the same as ours, but she wanted to do things on her own and in her own way."

"What does she plan on doing exactly?" Ichigo asked.

Kisuke and Shinji shared a quick glance, Shinji sighed and looked back to Ichigo. "She plans on killin' her big brother, you've met him, Gin Ichimaru."

"The fox face?" Ichigo inquired curiously.

"That'd be him," Shinji nodded. "And from what Kensei said, it's likely she's going to try to go after Aizen too."

"On her own?" Uryu asked.

Shinji nodded again, frowning this time. "Yeah, on her own."

"That idiot!" Ichigo snapped loudly, everyone's heads turned to face the teen again. He didn't look angry anymore, now he just looked upset and more worried. "Why didn't she just say so? Why didn't she ask for help?"

"Because she would have gotten it," Shinji answered.

Sayomi kept silent as she walked through the garganta that Ulquiorra had created to allow the two of them plus Grimmjow and Yammy as well as two other nameless faceless to make their way to Karakura. Her eyes were cold, but bright pits of ice and she was moving with all the grace of a lioness that was stalking her prey. She was on her guard, not only was she aware that all but one of her companions didn't like her and would probably kill her if they were given the opportunity, she was also aware that there had to have been another reason beyond wanting her to prove herself to the Arrancar under Aizen's control for sending her back to question Kisuke.

She wasn't able to finish thinking over the reasons as a sliver of blue sky came into view. She wasn't fully able to conceal the flicker of unease that washed over her when she sensed the presence of the one man she really didn't want to run into in the town they were quickly approaching.

Byakuya Kuchiki.

It didn't surprise her that he was there. She had expected it. She knew him and she knew he would have volunteered to bring her back to Soul Society so that she could be put to death. A part of her was saddened by that fact, they had loved each other once, but now they were two very different people and more importantly, they were on two different sides of one fight.

"Your only job is to question Kisuke Urahara. You aren't to worry about anything or anyone else," Ulquiorra said to her, sensing her unease.

"I'm aware of that," Sayomi replied icily as they stepped into the crystal clear sky above Karakura. "You do your job and keep them away and I'll do mine." Without a glance at Ulquiorra or any of the others, Sayomi flashed away, heading directly for the Urahara Shoten and keeping her spirit energy as concealed as possible.

She wasn't surprised when she felt Byakuya giving chase to her, she knew he would sense her despite her efforts to hide her reiatsu. She sped up and ignored the nobleman's approach. Ulquiorra and Yammy weren't too far behind and though she doubted Yammy would stand a chance against Byakuya, she didn't quite know what Ulquiorra was capable of. A part of her was certain that she didn't want to know, he was Aizen's pet for reason and it certainly wasn't because he was weak. Nnoitra liked to say he was the strongest, but it wouldn't have surprised her if Ulquiorra actually held that title, fourth Espada or not.

A growl leaked from between her lips and her eyes narrowed as she raced to the sliding doors of Urahara's shop. The shopkeeper wasn't alone. While Ichigo had sped off in the direction of Yammy and Ulquiorra another person had instead gone straight to the shop, having more skill at sensing spirit energy.

"Bakudo number four, crawling rope," Sayomi muttered under her breath as she ran through the doors and into the Urahara Shoten, just as she finished the incantation she raised her hands, palms outward.

There was a surprised shout as a thick rope wound its way around a surprised black haired boy, pinning his arms to his sides and making it impossible for him to lift his arms from his sides.

"What are you doing, Sayomi?" Uryu shouted, struggling fruitlessly against the magic that bound him.

She ignored him and made her way to the underground training room where Urahara was already waiting for her. "Breathe, Fuyukaze."

There was a sharp hiss as Sayomi attacked Kisuke head on and without hesitation. When her attack was blocked, she pushed herself away from the blond man before attacking again only to have her attempt blocked once again. Spinning on her heel, she came at Kisuke's left side with Fuyukaze, when he moved his own sword to counter she lifted a booted foot and sent it back into his stomach.

"I see you're taking this seriously," Kisuke commented cheekily, rubbing at his stomach with a sigh as he grinned at Sayomi. "I was really hoping-"

Sayomi never let him finish, she gracefully flicked the hilt of her sword in to the air, causing the blade to sweep through the air in front of her in a circle. "Exhale, Fuyukaze."

"Sing, Benihime," Kisuke shouted, a wall of a hard red substance forming in front of him to shield him from the sudden onslaught of snow and ice that was being hurled at him by a strong and sharp ice cold wind. Parts of the shield cracked and some of the edges began to crumble.

A frown found its way to Kisuke's face as his shield began to fall apart around him. His eyes widening suddenly, he spun around and barely managed to lift Benihime into a defensive position across the front of his body, using the flat of it to block Sayomi's attack on him. The wind hadn't let up, but it didn't seem to have any effect on the blue eyed girl as small bits of snow and ice began to slice through the fabric of his black robe.

"I'm in a hurry, Kisuke, so either tell me what you're building for Soul Society willingly or I'll beat it out of you." Sayomi threatened monotonously, pushing against his sword and not failing to notice the strain he was under since he had been forced to block her hastily.

"So you know I'm building something, huh?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Sayomi growled, bringing Fuyukaze down quickly and letting the hilt slide over her palm so that the tip of the blade was now pointing to the dirt before bringing it back up and leaping backwards to put some distance between them.

"You almost cut me," Kisuke observed in a half whine, half amazed voice as he looked at the clean cut that Sayomi had inflicted upon his kimono to reveal part of his chest and abdomen, she had barely missed cutting through his skin.

Sayomi's eyes shifted to the entrance into the barren, desert like room, her jaw clenched and she openly frowned. Byakuya was getting much too close for comfort and he was extremely aggravated at the moment. Ulquiorra had been keeping him busy, while Grimmjow was fighting with Ichigo. Yammy and the two other Arrancar were spread out over a small area fighting with Chad and Byakuya's lieutenant, Renji.

A quiet hiss escaped her lips before she turned her blue eyes onto Kisuke who was watching her curiously.

"Do you really want to do this, Sayomi?" He asked.

"I don't have a choice," she replied, raising a hand in front of her face and pulling her nails through the air to allow the white of her feline like hollow mask to form over her face. "I suggest you tell me soon, before someone gets hurt." The reiatsu she had been keeping under strict control sky rocketed, sending a hurricane like gust of wind through the training room. She would normally not resort to having to use her Hollow form, but she wanted to finish things here as quickly as she could and get away from Byakuya and the others.

"That's cheating," Kisuke sighed, scratching at his head.

She was fast as it was. She had had Yoruichi for a teacher after all and only she and Byakuya could rival her in speed, but while in hollow form, she was little more than a blur of white that moved so fast that by the time anyone would be able to react she would have already inflicted a severe amount of damage. It wasn't much different for Kisuke, the only difference was that his eyes could see her, but his body couldn't keep up with her movements. He barely had time to register the palm that slammed into his stomach or the fact that there was a loud whistling in his ears as he soared through the air before smashing into one of the many rock walls, leaving a rather large indent in it as he fell to the ground.

His sword was still clutched in his hand, but it was knocked free by a swift kick from Sayomi and clattered to the ground loudly. He winced when Sayomi stepped in front of him, placing the extremely sharp tip of Fuyukaze at the base of his throat and putting enough pressure onto the spot to draw a small bead of blood.

Reaching up Sayomi lifted her mask from her face so that it rested on the top of her head to reveal that her eyes were still wild, but her face was much the same. "Tell me, Kisuke," she ordered, pressing Fuyukaze just a little deeper into his skin.

"I didn't think you'd go this far just to kill your own brother," Kisuke admitted, his voice slightly rough.

"I don't plan on killing my brother," she replied evenly.

Kisuke's eyes widened for a moment before his face returned to a more serious expression. "I see, then you've actually joined Aizen?"

"He wants a queen and I plan on giving him exactly what he wants."

Staring up at her for a few seconds, Kisuke seemed to think about something before sighing and shaking his head. "Four pillars will be erected around Karakura. All the citizens will be put to sleep and then Karakura will be replaced with a fake while the real thing is kept safe in Soul Society."

"Is there a back up should one of the pillars be destroyed?"

"Not yet, but I'm working on it."

"Well work faster because if I fail then everyone will be relying on you to keep all these people safe," Sayomi replied, her voice sounded tired as she reached a hand up above her head and let her mask disintegrate into nothingness. She removed Fuyukaze from his throat and turned around to leave the blond staring after curiously as she disappeared in a small chill breeze.

Uryu looked up as a blur of white shot past him, he heard someone mutter, "release" and the spell that had bound him was broken. He was on his feet and out the door not a second later.

There were several clashes of reiatsu, but instead of heading for Ulquiorra who she knew would sense her leaving the shop she headed towards Grimmjow and away from the rather annoyed Sixth Division captain. Having gotten what she had come there for she was focusing on getting out of there and back to Hueco Muendo. Her thoughts were distracted, focused on Byakuya and his fight with Ulquiorra, she neared the fight between Grimmjow and Ichigo, but she never noticed the person who was following her until it was already too late.

She spun around, drawing Fuyukaze to block the blow she could sense coming. Her efforts were too little too late, she hadn't immediately recognized the reiatsu of her follower. She had taken too long to recall that his weapon was a thick, segmented sword that was able to disjoint itself during an attack. Her eyes widened in surprise and a choked sound was forced from her throat as one of the protruding blades of the sword was embedded into her left shoulder. She ground her teeth together in pain when it was ripped forcefully out of her body. Tendons and bone were destroyed as blood showered into the air. Her left arm went limp at her side, but she managed to stay standing as a sheen of sweat appeared on her brow while her face paled.

"Sayomi!" Ichigo shouted, taking his attention from Grimmjow who had also stopped fighting to turn toward Sayomi as her blood ran in rivers down her useless arm while she faced Renji, her sword held ready in her trembling right hand. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Renji?"

"She's a traitor, she's working with Aizen," Renji snapped.

"You don't know a damn thing about her, you idiot," Ichigo argued, charging forward when Renji made it apparent that he didn't intend to listen and moved to attack Sayomi again. "She can barely stand up, but you'll still attack her?" He growled, blocking Renji's blade with his own.

"I have orders."

Ichigo planted his feet on the ground and tightened his grasp on his own sword. "I don't give a damn about your orders, I won't let you touch her."

Sayomi cast a glance back at Grimmjow. "I got what we came here for, lets go." She turned and walked to him, leaning heavily against him as he opened a garganta.

"Wait," Ichigo yelled after them, cursing when the two disappeared without paying him any attention.

"You idiot, they got away," Renji complained bitterly.

"You're the idiot, Renji," Ichigo retorted, his eyes slipping over to Uryu as the Quincy arrived, his eyes quickly taking in the blood covered ground and the fact that Sayomi was no longer there. "What do you know about Sayomi? Anything?" Ichigo snapped at Renji.

"She's a traitor," he replied, shrugging.

"Sayomi isn't a traitor," Uryu stated calmly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he frowned at Renji. "She was a loyal Soul Reaper and still is."

"How can you two defend her? She attacked Urahara," Renji pointed out.

Ichigo just shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal, and even Uryu didn't seem to think much of it.

"She's doing what she feels she needs to do in order to stop Aizen," the just mentioned blond added as he too walked into the park.

"I thought she wanted to-"

"Her plans have changed. She's no longer aiming for her brother, but for Aizen himself and she's willing to give herself to him to do it," Kisuke replied before Ichigo could complete his sentence.

"Wait.. you mean she's trying to kill Aizen?" Renji asked, confused by the revelation.

"Yes and she's trying to do it alone," Kisuke answered. "And chances are he's already aware of what she's planning."

"Dammit," Ichigo shouted angrily. "Why can't she just ask for help?"

"Because she's already betrayed you once, she doesn't want to have to do it again. She also doesn't feel that it is a fight you should get involved in. She's tired, she wants to end things on her own terms in hopes that no one else will have to get hurt."

"When is that garganta going to be done?" Ichigo asked.

Kisuke smiled. "Give me five days."

~A/N~

Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers. You are all super amazing.

If you wouldn't mind please feed the monster some review cookies. The monster likes cookies. Thank you!