Disclaimer: I do not own or have anything to do with Bleach and Code Geass.

Saving Method

"Let us please stop," A male voice interrupted.

Ryuken and Isshin were surprised and they looked and saw that it was Kisuke.

"There's no time to quarrel," Kisuke said, "You two, come with me. I will tell you the possible way to save that girl."

"Is there really a possibility?" Isshin asked.

"There you are," A female voice called.

The three men looked and saw Euphie who was rushing over.

"Euphie," Kisuke said.

"Hey, there's something that—" Euphie spoke and stopped herself when she saw Isshin, "Isshin, it's you."

"Lieutenant Kenjima," Isshin said surprised.

Euphie saw Ryuken, "Oh my, it's you… Ryuken Ishida."

Ryuken was shocked, "Why do you know who I am? Who are you?"

Euphie then noticed Masaki and was worried as she saw the state she was in.

"Oh my, is she okay?" Euphie asked worried.

"She's not," Kisuke said, "we need to head back."

"Anything I can do to help?" Euphie asked with a serious expression.

"We'll see," Kisuke said, "thanks for the offer. Are the others back?"

"Yes they are," Euphie said.

"Okay," Kisuke said and then turned to Isshin and Ryuken, "you two, follow me."

Within Masaki's soul, Masaki felt as though she was falling. It was quiet, dark, and lonely. Masaki looked and saw a huge Hollow head as it opened its mouth. The door to Kisuke's shop opened and Lelouch, Kallen, Shirley, Gino, and Anya were there waiting.

"Oh you're back," Gino said, "say listen to this…"

Gino stopped himself when he and the others were surprised in what they saw and it was Isshin and Ryuken who was holding Masaki.

"Isshin, why are you…?" Lelouch said and then he noticed the state that Masaki was in, "Hold on, is she okay?"

"No, she's not," Ryuken said bitterly.

"That girl…" Anya said.

The others were worried and Kisuke walked by them.

"I'm sure you have much questions and would like to have a little reunion but…" Kisuke said.

"We can get to that after this," Shirley said, "please tell us what's going on. Can we do anything to help?"

Kisuke looked at the others who felt the same way.

"I'm glad you all are on the same page so quickly," Kisuke said.

"Here's what's going on," Euphie said.

Meanwhile Genjuro was on a roof of an apartment building.

"Where are you Clovis?" Genjuro asked, "Where are you hiding?"

"So Yoshimaru," A male voice said, "Are you having any luck?"

Genjuro was surprised and he turned to see Luciano.

"Why are you here?" Genjuro asked.

"You look like you might have fun when you find His Highness," Luciano said.

"Do you really think that I'm having fun?" Genjuro asked annoyed.

"Are you not?" Luciano asked, "After all you intend to take what is important to him… his life."

Genjuro clenched his teeth and turned away.

"Why are you here?" Genjuro asked again.

"Finding Clovis la Britannia will lead to find the others," Luciano said and then he grinned, "And that includes those damn half-breeds."

Genjuro sighed as he was annoyed and turned his head to Luciano again.

"You really are an irritating man," Genjuro said.

Back in Kisuke's shop, Kisuke and Euphie explained the situation to the former members of the 10th Division. Afterwards, Kisuke began to explain what he knew and what he had for a solution.

"I've been researching the condition that girl has for 100 years," Kisuke said.

"100 years?" Ryuken replied.

"So you're not the age you look," Isshin commented, "Who are you?"

"My name is Kisuke Urahara," Kisuke replied, "eighty years ago I was expelled from the Soul Society."

Isshin was shocked when he heard the name.

"You're Kisuke Urahara?" Isshin spoke, "The previous Captain of the 12th Division?" Isshin then turned to Lelouch, "Lelouch, he's—"

"That doesn't matter right now!" Ryuken interjected, "I don't care who you are right now! You can save Masaki, right?! Make her go back to the way she was!"

Kisuke looked Ryuken, "I never said that I can make her go back to the way she was."

"What?" Ryuken replied surprised, "I don't understand. What are you saying?"

"Kisuke, please explain," Anya said.

"Yeah," Kisuke said with a nod, "I'll be frank. That girl Masaki will never go back to the way she was."

Ryuken and Isshin were shocked while the former members of the 10th Division had sad expressions as they knew what Kisuke was talking about. Euphie went to Ryuken and signaled him to the table.

"Ryuken, please lay her on the table," Euphie said.

Ryuken looked at Euphie and went and placed Masaki on the table.

"Kisuke, this condition that Masaki has," Lelouch said, "it's Hollowfication, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Kisuke said.

"Hollowfication?" Isshin asked.

"What is that?" Ryuken asked.

"Hollowfication basically means inserting a Hollow's soul into a normal soul then breaking the boundary between them to try and turn the original soul into something more powerful," Kisuke explained, "Originally this was meant to be used to Shinigami's soul but the technology we possessed wasn't enough to control it. What is happening to Masaki Kurosaki is the result of using that uncontrollable technique on a Quincy, a different objective than what was originally planned."

"Uncontrollable?" Ryuken responded, "But doesn't that mean we can't actually save her?"

"That's not it," Lelouch said, "It seems that she can't go back to the way she was but her life can be saved."

"When a soul is Hollowfied as the condition progresses, the original soul gets mixed up with the Hollow soul becoming a monster unable to reason," Kisuke explained, "and in the end, not only the boundary between souls but the one between the soul itself and the external world is disrupted and the soul regardless of its own will self-destroy."

"Is that what is called Soul Suicide?" Shirley asked.

"Yes, that is exactly what it is," Kisuke replied.

Isshin and Ryuken were shocked and mortified in what they heard. Isshin looked at Lelouch who nodded at the disturbing fact of what Kisuke told them.

"In my many years of research," Kisuke continued, "I've found a way to stop the Soul Suicide and that is to insert into the soul of something opposite to Hollowfication. The destruction of the boundary between the souls which is the key to Hollowfication happens by disrupting the balance of the souls. In other words, a conflicting object would restore the balance on the other side and actually stop the destruction."

"I don't get it," Isshin said.

"Right, I'll get down to it," Kisuke said, "I actually created a vaccine using the Quincy's Arrows of Light and Human souls and injected into the souls of eight Shinigami that were Hollowfied. Thanks to that, I was able to stop the Soul Suicide with the 100% success rate. However that though that only stopped the Soul Suicide," Kisuke turned to unconscious Masaki, "Saving the girl's life, preventing Hollowfication, and allowing her to live as a normal Human would require a much stronger power. Something to stay close to her until she dies would keep blocking the Hollowfication."

"A strong opposing force," Kallen said, "so then means that you need—"

Liar!" Ryuken suddenly shouted.

Isshin and the former members of the 10th Division were shocked and looked at Ryuken but Kisuke just looked at Ryuken as he knew what he was getting at and he also knew that Ryuken did not like it.

"There must be another way…" Ryuken said as he calmed down, "there just has to be."

"…You are a sharp young man," Kisuke said, "you already understood so quickly. I'm sad to say that although I know you don't agree with this, you're not the one that can choose."

Ryuken felt hurt hearing that as he felt that he was useless.

"Hold on Kisuke," Lelouch said, "you mean that…"

"Yeah I am," Kisuke said looking at Lelouch and then he turned to Isshin, "the one who can choose is you… Isshin Shiba."

"Me?" Isshin asked.

"Yes," Kisuke replied.

"Oh this is," Shirley said worried, "that's…"

"Kisuke, this is quite a heavy thing for our buddy Isshin," Gino said.

"I admit that it is," Kisuke said looking at Shirley and Gino, "unfortunately there's no other way."

Kisuke went over to something that was covered in a large sheet and removed the sheet revealing a Gigai.

"This is a special Gigai that I made," Kisuke said, "it's made from a Human soul and envelops the soul who enters it becoming like a Human body. In other words, if you enter it, you'll become a being midway between Shinigami and Human. The opposite of Quincies are Shinigami and the opposite of Hollows are Humans," Kisuke turned to Isshin, "Do you understand? If you use this, you will become a being completely opposite to her. "

"This is such a huge choice to make," Lelouch said in his head, "if it comes to it, maybe I should…"

"This is your decision Isshin Shiba," Kisuke said, "however this choice has many demerits for you. While you're inside this Gigai, not only you won't be able to use your Shinigami powers but you won't be able to even see Hollow or any spirits for that matter. Also once you enter it, you most likely won't be able to be a Shinigami again."

Lelouch, Euphie, Shirley, Kallen, Gino, and Anya were surprised and they looked at each other and discussed what they heard among themselves. Ryuken just looked on and had his head down as he was sure that Isshin was going to refuse.

"It has too many demerits?" Ryuken asked in his head, "This is nothing but demerits for this Shinigami. There's no way he'll accept this. There's no way…" Ryuken looked at the others who were discussing things, "that black haired guy with the violet eyes… he was there fighting against that Hollow as well. They seem to be close friends. Is he okay for his friend to do this? Surely he wouldn't him to do this as well because it would be a huge demerit and he doesn't seem to want that for him. I just don't get it."

"To make this Gigai work as a vaccine to block Hollowfication, I will have to tie to you with a reishi string both the girl's soul and the Hollow inside her," Kisuke explained, "it's a string that binds souls so it's extremely strong. As long as it's connected you won't be able to leave the Gigai. That is until the girl and the Hollow inside her are free from the string. So in other words—"

"Fine I get it, I'll do it!" Isshin exclaimed.

This surprised the others in the shop and none could actually believe that Isshin would just go for it.

"Wait, what?" Kisuke asked surprised.

"I said that I'll do it so hurry up and let get this started," Isshin demanded and pointed at Kisuke, "Your explanations are too damn long and we're wasting time here. I just have to quit being a Shinigami and protect her for the rest of her life. Of course I'll do it."

"Isshin, you…" Lelouch said.

"Don't you have any regrets?" Kisuke asked.

"Well yeah I do," Isshin answered, "I have lots of them but who cares about that."

"Isshin, hold on," Lelouch said, "I get how you feel but this is a huge thing. Think about this really carefully and—"

"Lelouch," Isshin interjected strongly, "I completely understand what is at stake."

"Isshin," Lelouch said.

"Isshin, are you sure you want to do this?" Euphie said with a serious expression as she stood next to Lelouch, "you can't back out of this afterwards."

"Do you really think I'm the kind of person who would back out of this?" Isshin asked.

"…No, of course not," Euphie said and then turned to Lelouch.

"Sorry, I just want to see that you truly understand," Lelouch asked, "You understand what Kisuke has explained."

Isshin looked at Lelouch, "Let me ask you this Lelouch. If it was Euphie, or Kallen, or Shirley and you had the means to help them with this, would you be willing to do it?"

Lelouch was surprised as so did the three women he mentioned.

"Of course I would," Lelouch said, "without a second thought."

"And would you just back out and turn away just so you wouldn't lose your powers?" Isshin asked.

"…No, I wouldn't," Lelouch said, "I would go through with it… just like what you're doing it right now."

"I understand why you have concerns and thinking and pointing this out for my sake but I can assure you that things will be fine even without me," Isshin said, "after all you're the one that set things up that way. Besides, if I back out of this or let her die for some reason just because of my regrets then I'll be ashamed of myself. I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

Ryuken was surprised and he was reminded what Masaki had said back at his family's manor.

Flashback: Yesterday at the Ishida Manor

Masaki stopped and turned to Ryuken.

"Ryu," Masaki spoke, "you know the fact that before acting, you think of Aunt, the Quincy, the future, and many other things is something that I really like about you. But I'm not like you. To me, caring about myself means to do everything in my power every day. If today I don't do what I can because of customs and someone dies as a result of it, there's no way I can forgive myself tomorrow. I couldn't live with myself knowing that I did nothing."

Flashback End

Ryuken had his head down and felt sad as he clenched his teeth. Isshin then turned to Kisuke.

"Let's do this," Isshin said, "I want to save her."

Kisuke nodded, "Understood," Kisuke turned around, "then let's start the operation."

Meanwhile at a park, Clovis jumped in the air and landed on his feet. He turned around and someone landed on their feet as well and it was Genjuro.

"Clovis la Britannia, I finally found you," Genjuro said.

"I'm shocked that you were able to find me," Clovis said.

"You will not be able to escape from me," Genjuro said, "this time, you will die by my hand, finally be punished for the massacre you ordered in Shinjuku."

Clovis narrowed his eyes staring at the Arrancar who was once human as well as one of his victims when he was the Imperial Viceroy.

Unknown Realm

Amatsuki was facing a Knightmare Hollow that was kneeling before him and he grinned.

"You may be my greatest creation as of yet," Amatsuki said.

"Allow me to prove myself to you Master," The Knightmare Hollow said.

"You will enter the Human World," Amatsuki instructed, "there you go to a place called Karakura Town. There is a particular individual that I want you to confront. I believe he is the one who is suited for you to deal with."

"As you wish my master," The Knightmare Hollow said, "so who is it? Who is it that you want me to set my sights on?"

Amatsuki smiled, "Lelouch Kenjima."

Naruki City, Human World

Naoto landed on his feet on a roof of one of the buildings and had his Zanpakuto in his hand. Naoto suddenly felt something and quickly turned deflected throwing projectiles with his own blade. Naoto clenched his teeth and faced his assailant and it was Luciano Bradley.

"What do you value the most Naoto Kozuki?" Luciano asked.

Naoto readied himself as he got in his stance facing former Knight of the Round of Britannia now turned Arrancar.

"Even if you refuse to talk, it's already obvious," Luciano said with a grin, "and it's your life. I made my career when I was human to take lives away and now it's no different for me as an Arrancar, a Hollow that has evolved."

"How the hell did you find me?" Naoto asked narrowing his eyes at Luciano.

"It wasn't hard really when you have good Intel," Luciano said.

"Intel?" Naoto responded confused, "How and where did you get it and from who?"

"Sorry but I'm not going to tell you," Luciano said, "There is no point… not when you're about to die."

Luciano formed his crimson energy based blades from both of his hands.

"This is going to be a problem," Naoto said, "I don't know how things might end up with them taking notice."

"Hmm, and who are you referring to?" Luciano asked with glee, "The people in the Soul Society? Are you and your group actually in hiding? Is that why you're in that some sort of shell?"

Naoto just glared at Luciano in response.

Karakura Town

In Kisuke's shop, Kisuke was performing the operation to save Masaki's soul with Isshin's assistance while the former members of the 10th Division looked on and helped a bit. Within Masaki's soul, Masaki was being pulled in by the huge face of the Hollow that was ready to consume her entirely but then a slash occurred and Masaki was being held. Masaki slowly opened her eyes and was surprised to see that it was Isshin. The 10th Division Captain looked at Masaki with a smile.

"Hey there," Isshin greeted, "I came to protect you," Isshin then faced the face of the Hollow, "Hey Hollow, I'm not going allow you to take her. Understand? You're not laying one finger on her."

The Hollow just stared at Isshin with a growl.

"What, you think it's weird that I would be talking about fingers when you're just a head?" Isshin asked, "Yeah I just realized it after saying it," Isshin raised his Zanpakuto and swung it, "Getsuga Tensho!"

Isshin's crescent moon like slash split the Hollow's face in half destroying it. Masaki just looked on seeing the face of the person she recognized and instantly felt happy as she screamed in excitement which sort of spook Isshin a bit.

"You're that Shinigami from before," Masaki said happily, "Wonderful, I wanted to see to you again. Are you okay? How did things go for you when you went back to the Soul Society?"

"Ah, what…" Isshin spoke caught off guard.

"Is your wound still hurting?" Masaki continued.

"H-Hold on," Isshin spoke, "Wait just a moment…"

Masaki freed herself from Isshin's grip and happily stretched out her arms showing her nakedness in front of him.

"Hey, a woman should not be acting like that when they're naked," Isshin said.

"Your name is Isshin, right?" Masaki said with joy, "I'm so happy to see you again Isshin!"

Back in the shop, Masaki took a deep breath as she was relieved still unconscious. Isshin was now in the special Gigai and Kisuke was pleased.

"Operation success," Kisuke said with a grin, "I was able to connect your souls. She's fine now."

Lelouch, Euphie, Shirley, Kallen, Gino, and Anya were relieved and glad that things worked out as so did Isshin. Lelouch walked up to Isshin and both men smiled and high fived each other. The other went to Kisuke complementing him and Kisuke was pleased as they looked at Masaki knowing that she was going to be fine.

That's it for this chapter. Next chapter: A Knightmare Hollow sets it sights and draws attention.