Bleach: Jigoku Files

by Bloody Simpson Chibi

The Shinigami of Soul Society are tasked with keeping the balance of souls in check. But what happens when outside forces work against this balance? Forces that are evil and violent by nature? Forces that push the Shinigami to question everything they've been taught? Forces that feed off horror and fear? Rated M. Alternate continuity from after the Lost Agent Arc

16. The Darkest Part of the Night

Chapter 16: The Darkest Part of the Night (How Can I Live REDUX)

(Before we begin, I just want to say thank you so much to all the people who've reviewed, followed and favorited this story. It's slowly but surely gaining traction as is Lisa Simpson: Animal Avenger and when it comes to both stories, well, let's just say I have such sights to show you. Including some really grizzly sights in this particular chapter. That's right! Our boy Jason finally makes his appearance in this chapter! But before we get to that, we must go back to the beginning..)

"Akane Watanbe! You stand accused of using a forbidden Kido to bring a human soul back from the dead! Do you deny these charges?"

"No. I do not." Akane replied softly, her eyes never leaving the floor. Even if she had bothered to look up at the man questioning her, all she would be greeted with was a giant plaque with the character for 22 on it. She and her partner Sanji were standing before the Central 46 in the Central Underground Assembly Hall. She knew this was to be her fate the moment she stepped foot back in Soul Society just as she knew that, regardless of what sentence these so-called wisemen passed on, her and Sanji's career as Shinigami was over. She was fine with that as far as she herself was concerned. Part of her wanted to leave this hypocritical profession behind regardless. And still, she was eaten up by guilt, not for what she had done but for the fact that she had dragged Sanji into it without so much as warning him. No matter how much he reassured her that he harbored no anger or fear for her actions, she couldn't let go of the fact she had decided his fate without his consent.

This would be the first of many regrets Akane birthed from her actions that night.

"Sanji Crusoe! You stand accused of teaching Akane Watanbe the forbidden Kido she used to revive the dead. Do you deny these charges?"

"No more than I deny the fact that I'm glad you guys are hiding behind those fancy plaques of yours. Otherwise, we'd have to look at your ugly mugs on top of getting sentenced." Sanji chuckled as several members of the Central 46 cried out in annoyance and anger.

"Sanji!" Akane whispered angrily in his ear. "Just what the hell are you doing? Are you trying to add to your charges?"

"Why not?" Sanji replied nonchalantly. "We're already stranded up shit creek without a paddle. We might as well have a bit of fun while we can."

"You idiot!" Tears welled in Akane's eyes as her lips curved into a small smile. "You always have something witty to say don't you?"

"Just one of my many gifts." Sanji smiled.

Akane's own smile faltered as guilt consumed her heart once more. "Sanji I...I'm so sorry! You're only in this mess because of my own selfishness!" Akane began to weep openly, only to be stopped by a sharp pain to her scalp. She opened her eyes and saw that Sanji had given her a light chop to the head.

"How many times I gotta tell you? to stop feeling sorry for me?" He asked in annoyance. "Don't forget I'm the one that taught you that damn spell in the first place! Why the hell would I be mad about you using it for its intended purpose?"

"Sanji." Akane whispered.

"Besides," Sanji turned his glare toward the wisemen in front of him. "I've come to hate working for this shitshow just as much as you do. No matter what happens, whether its imprisonment, banishment or even execution, it's bound to be a better deal than continuing to line these asshole's pockets. Even if I am to die, I'll do so without any regrets." He turned back to Akane with a smile. "And I think you should do the same."

"Sanji." Akane smiled through her tears, her resolve strengthened by her dear friend's words. "Right!"

Both Shinigami turned to face the concealed deciders of their fate. "We have heard enough." The man behind the 24th plaque started. "Normally, we would have Sanji Crusoe executed for teaching a forbidden Kido to a Shinigami. However, shortly before this trial, we were given a request by the Kido Corps that he be stripped of his powers and banished to the World of the Living instead. After some special consideration, we have decided to grant this request. Sanji Cursoe, for teaching Akane Wantabe a forbidden Kido spell, you will be placed in a sealed Gigai and banished to the World of the Living forever!"

"Alright." Sanji smirked. "Permanent vacation. Can't wait."

Akane couldn't help but giggle at Sanji's remark. Her laugh and smile vanished once the judge called out her name.

"Akane Watanbe! For the crime of going against the Soul Society and bringing back the dead, you will be stripped of your Zanpakuto and sent to the Maggot's Nest for life!"

Akane's heart dropped. Part of her was relieved that she nor Sanji for that matter would be executed but that didn't make the idea of living her life locked up with a bunch of demented criminals any more appealing to her. Even Sanji's confident gaze faltered, as if he was genuinely scared for Akane's safety.

"As for the child you brought back, we will be sending members of the Kido Corps to deal with it personally. We cannot allow the World of the Living to know of our ways!"

Akane's lips quivered and she fought to keep the tears from falling. "After all that poor boy has been through, all the pain and loss he had to endure, now he's just going to be killed like some rabid dog? For something I did?" Akane lost the battle with her tears as she and Sanji were escorted out of the Assembly Hall.

---

30 years later..

Akane opened her eyes about two hours before the Sun would come up, not that she could see it from within her little windowless room It didn't matter to her either way as she intended to remain in bed for as long as possible. Some days, she managed to spend the entire day in her bed. Laying beneath the sheets was the closest thing she had to comfort nowadays.

For the next three hours, Akane drifted in and out of sleep. She hardly dreamed so much as she saw random images in her head that became blurry as soon as she woke up. Sanji's face from the day of her trial, the terrified boy she resurrected crying out for his mother and the lake. That blue pristine lake bathed in the moonlight. For some strange reason, that image haunted her more than any other.

Eventually, she was pulled away from her dreams for good by the sound of a metal tray crashing against her ear. She floundered and squeaked in surprise, nearly knocking the already unbalanced food off of the tray.

"Easy, easy!" The guard who stood before her demanded. "Calm the fuck down lady!"

Akane stopped in her tracks and looked up at the man as she gasped for air. He was bald with a tattoo of a dragon on the left side of his scalp. From his robes, on could tell he was a Shinigami but because he worked as a guard in the Nest of Maggots, he did not carry his Zanpakuto. With his brute strength, he didn't need it here anyway.

"Just eat your breakfast and make it quick." He growled before storming out of the room. "Crazy bitch." He muttered under his breath.

"Th-Thank you!" Akane called after him weakly. Sighing heavily, she picked up the tray and studied its contents. Two plain rice balls and a cup of spilled water. "The breakfast of champions." She mumbled as she picked up one of the rice balls and took a bite. It was flavorless as always but she consumed the both of them nevertheless and washed them down with what little lukewarm water still remained in the glass.

So far, just another day in the Maggot's Nest.

---

A few hours later Akane found herself wandering the main hallway of the Maggot's Nest. She was, of course, joined by several other prisoners, all of whom were allowed to roam as they pleased. A few were playing board games with each other and one man was leaning against the wall reading a book but most of the inmates, Akane included, simply staggered along like zombies. There were guard standing in all four corners of the room, all members of the Onmitsukido and all ready to stamp out the very first sign of rebellion. As with most day, however, they would find none. The spirits of the prisoners had long been broken, not by torture or solitude, but by the very bleakness of their final home.

Akane decided she was tired of standing and sat against the wall for a little bit. She yawned and rubbed the fatigue from her eyes. Ever since she became used to the Maggot's Nest, the most she ever really felt like doing was sleeping which, of course, she was allowed to do a lot. That didn't help the nightmares nor give her any real energy for when she did decide to be awake. Not that she really needed it when all she did was wander aimlessly until it was time to sleep again. Feeling her fatigue return stronger than ever, Akane decided to let it win this time and closed her eyes for a short nap.

"Is that her?" A man's voice asked.

"Yeah. That's her alright." Another man's voice, the guard who gave her breakfast earlier, confirmed. "She's kinda lethargic to be honest. I don't think you'll get anything useful out of her."

"It'll be fine." The first man said. "I just need to speak with her is all."

Akane opened her eyes as she heard footsteps approaching her. The man coming toward her had a handsome, friendly face not unlike her former Captain Sosuke Aizen with black hair and green eyes. His robes were similar to that of a Shinigami but slightly more fancy with a purple scarf with jewel-laced trimming thrown on for good measure. "Excuse me." He asked. "Are by chance Akane Watanbe?"

"Who wants to know." Akane murmured in a sleepy disinterested voice. Part of her wondered if this was a dream.

"My name is Kiba Senzen. I'm with the Kido Corps and I've come here on behalf of Central 46."

Akane's eyes widened. "Central 46?" She tried to scoot away from Kiba, realized she was literally against the wall, and inched to the left. "W-Why do they want me? Have they decided to kill me after all?"

Kiba suddenly lost his cool composure and waved his arms frantically. "No! No! No! It's nothing like that at all! I-I just want to talk to you! I swear!"

Akane scooted another inch to the left.

"Stop scooting away from me!" Kiba shouted.

"Just tell me what you want!" Akane demanded, all tiredness in her body replaced with panic and confusion.

"Not here!" Kiba let his arms down and let out a heavy sigh. "Not here." He repeated more calmly. "We need to talk in private."

Akane's confusion and distrust only grew upon those words. "Why? Why can't we talk about it here?"

"Just please trust me on this." Kiba pleaded. "Besides, I think you'll be very interested in what I have to say."

Akane considered it for a moment and ultimately decided that she could at least hear the poor guy out. "A-Alright. Do you know anywhere we could talk alone?"

"There's an unused jailcell deep within this building." Kiba suggested. Apparently, it used to belong to a very dangerous inmate."

"Mayuri Kurotsuchi's cell." Akane whispered. She hadn't seen much of the Squad 12 Captain during her years as a Shinigami but it was enough to know that he was not the most...sane member of the Gotei 13. It amazed her that such a monster could have found himself in a Captain's seat. Just another commonplace injustice in the Soul Society.

"T-That's right." Kiba confirmed. "Let's go." The Kido Corps member led Akane to the backrooms of the building, what little noise the inmates made in the main hall dwindling as they walked. Eventually, they came to a lonely cell at the end of a dark cavern-like hallway. Kiba stepped inside and held the door open for Akane who took a seat on the giant block of stone that sat at the end of the cell. Kiba closed the door and leaned against the railing with his arms crossed. What followed was a brief moment of silence which was broken by Akane.

"So what now? Are you going to kill me in this jail cell?" She asked.

"I already told you it's nothing like that!" Kiba shouted before sighing heavily. "I figured you wouldn't be the most cheerful person but you could try to lighten up a little!"

Akane looked up at him with tired eyes, her fatigue having returned in spades. "Well you try living in the Maggot's Nest for three decades and tell me if you still feel chipper."

Kiba's face softened and he looked down to the ground guiltily. "I'm sorry. I should have consider that." He shook his head and returned her gaze with a fierce smile. "But that's precisely why I was sent here today, Akane, how would you like to leave the Maggot's Nest?"

Akane's eyes widened once more. "What did you just say?"

"What? Are you hard of hearing too? I asked you if you want to leave the Maggot's Nest and return to the outside world!?"

Akane eyed him with suspicion. "What is this?" She rasped. "Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?"

"No! Of course not!" Kiba protested. "Actually, if we're going to be fully honest with each, the situation is quite dire."

"What do you mean? What situation?"

Kiba took a deep breath and began. "Akane Watanbe, I'm sure you're familiar with a location in the World of the Living called Crystal Lake, right?"

Akane nodded gravely. Memories of that night flooded her mind as she did so.

"Lately, we've been noticing a rather strange occurrence within that area." Kiba continued. "Hollows have been appearing there frequently only to completely vanish a short time later. At first, we figured that they were just coming and going real fast but further research revealed that all Gargantas being opened around the area were only for the Hollow entering the World of the Living. Not a single Garganta has been opened to let them back into Hueco Mundo."

"Which means something is destroying the Hollows all together." Akane concluded.

"That's right. Something at Crystal Lake is killing Hollows through an unknown method and it's unnerving the Central 46." He pointed to Akane. "That's where you come in."

"M-Me?" Akane pointed at herself. "What could I possibly have to do in this situation?"

"Central 46 wants you to lead a team of Shinigami to Crystal Lake and investigate. Find out what's killing those Hollows."

Akane felt sick to her stomach. The memories of that night at the lake rushed to her mind yet again and pounded into her head like a hammer. She started coughing uncontrollably and Kiba rushed to her side and patted her back.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

Akane held a hand in front of him to cease his questioning as she allowed the last of her hawking to come to pass. Once she was finished, she looked up at Kiba and asked "Why me?

Kiba rubbed her back a few more times before answering. "Because you're the last Shinigami to have set foot in that place. No other members of the Gotei 13 have gone to Crystal Lake since your time."

"Really? What about your Corps?" Akane asked. "I remember Central 46 saying they were going to send your people to kill the child I..." She lips quivered. "I...brought back."

"That's true and I was even part of that mission." Kiba admitted. "But the thing is, none of us were ever able to find the child."

"What?" Akane gasped. "I-Is that true?"

Kiba nodded. "I'm not sure if something was blocking us from his spiritual pressure or if maybe he had already wandered far from the area but our search turned up empty. After a few days, our leader decided that the kid was probably already dead again. Human kids don't survive for long out in the woods you know."

Akane's heart sank and she looked down to the floor. "Of course! Of course! How could I be so stupid!?" She thought. "I brought him back to life only to leave him for dead. I'm no better than anyone else in this horrible, horrible place!" Tears fell from her eyes and splashed upon the concrete ground. Kiba noticed this and quickly helped Akane up.

"Hey! Hey! Are you alright?" He asked.

Akane said nothing but just continued to weep quietly instead. She used her sleeve to wipe the tears away and Kiba patted her back again.

"I'm sorry about the kid." Kiba finally apologized. "I shouldn't have brought him up."

Akane shook her head again. "No. It's not your fault. You were just doing your job."

Kiba felt guilty and part of him wanted to stop now and leave Akane alone. But he was sent here on a mission and dammit, he was gonna see it through. "Listen Akane, I know this might be asking a lot but if you agree to this, Central 46 is willing to give you a pardon. You can finally leave this place!"

Akane gasped quietly, for the briefest moment truly feeling hope for the first time in decades. That hope, however, was like a little flower sprouting a few weeks before Spring, too fragile to survive the harsh reality of winter and doomed from the very beginning.

"How do I know they'll keep their end of the bargain?" Akane asked sharply. "Better yet, how do I know they won't have me killed as soon as I've outlived my usefulness to them?"

Kiba was taken aback by this question and remained silent for a few moments while he tried to think of an answer that would satisfy her. When he couldn't find one, he sighed heavily and said. "I suppose you have a point but this is a one time deal either way. There won't be any second chances."

Akane found herself the one lost in thought now. As badly as she wanted to leave this place, to see the Sun and Moon once more, she wasn't sure it would be worth shackling herself back to the Central 46 again. Part of her secretly hoped they would execute her after all if only so that she didn't have to rejoin the façade that called itself the Gotei 13. "A-Alright. I-I'll do it." She sighed.

"Great!" Kiba shouted excitedly which startled Akane a little. "Whoops! S-Sorry." Kiba opened the jail cell and held out his hand to Akane. "Come on! Let's go!"

"N-Now!?" Akane asked. "As in, right, right now?"

"No time like the present." Kiba replied with a grin. "And besides, the sooner you meet your teammates, the better."

---

"Ahhhhh! I'm so bored!" The blonde girl whined as she kicked her feet up in the air wildly. She was laying on the only bench in the room, taking up all the space it offered. "I wanna go on the mission right now!"

"Quit your whining Sachiko!" The red-haired young man standing next to her demanded. He was leaning against the wall with his bare arms crossed. "And quit kicking the air like that! You're exposing yourself!"

Sachiko ceased her kicking and quickly sat up, her bare legs now in a criss-cross position. "Isamu, you're such a pervert!" She retorted with puckered lips and slight blush on her face.

"You're the one who was flashing everything!" Isamu snapped. "Wear a longer robe if you're going to be doing that!"

Sachiko's only response to this was to stick her tongue out on him which caused him to growl. From the sideline, she noticed the third member of their little group curled up in a ball on the other side of the room. "Hey Osamu? Are you alright?" She asked.

The dark blue-haired boy looked up at his two companions, the brown eyes behind his glasses reflecting fear and uncertainty. "It's just...aren't you guys worried about the person that's gonna be leading our team to Crystal Lake." He paused to fix his glasses. "I mean, I don't know all the details but from what I have come to understand, she's a Grade A criminal condemned by the Central 46 themselves!" The mental image of some rogue barbarian woman gnawing on a human bone filled his mind and Osamu suddenly began to shake like a leaf, feeding his already thin nails to his chittering teeth.

"If it's that such a big concern for you then why don't you just leave!?" Isamu snapped. "Frankly, I don't see the need for any of you pieces of trash! Whatever it is erasing those Hallows, I can take care of it myself."

"No fair!" Sachiko whined as she began to beat her fist into Isamu's chest. "That's just like you Isamu! You always gotta try to hog the fun all to yourself! You're such a big bully!"

"You better stop hitting me or I'm gonna show you how much of a bully I can really be!" As both Isamu and Sachiko continued to argue, Osamu grabbed his head and began to rock back a forth, terrified of the prospect on going on a super-secret mission to the World of the Living with an ex-criminal. This chaotic scene most likely would have continued for hours had the door not slammed open and caught their attention. The perpetrator glared at them in annoyance.

"Can you three really not last five minutes in a room without trying to kill each other?"

"Kondo-sensei!" All three shouted.

The brown-haired man who wore glasses like Osamu, waved his hand dismissively with a sigh. "I already told you guys, I'm not your teacher anymore. We're all on the Squad now and we're all equals. Please call me Tadashi."

"S-Sorry Mr- I mean T-Tadashi!" Osamu stammered.

"Tsk! Yeah right!" Isamu hissed. "We're not stupid you know! We may all be in Squad five now but you still outrank us as 7th seat!" Isamu let out another low growl and clenched his fist. "Just you wait! Soon enough, I'll surpass you, Lieutenant Hinamori and even Captain Aizen!"

Tadashi smiled softly at the young man's declaration. "I look forward to that day Isamu. I really do. Now come along, the Kido Corps have just arrived with the guide. We're to meet in the West Hall and then its off to Crystal Lake."

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Isamu demanded as he gritted his teeth." Sachiko, on the other hand, just broke into laughter.

"All right! Its showtime!" She rushed over to Osamu and grabbed his hand. "Come on Osamu! Let's go!"

"Wait! Wait!" Osamu cried but he was totally helpless against the surprisingly strong pull of his friend as she yanked him out of the safety of the room and into the hallway. Isamu uttered an annoyed grunt before following them.

The four Shinigami walked through the dark hallways of the Kido Corps base. It was not a place many Gotei 13 members got to visit very often as the Kido Corps liked to keep to themselves. As they continued their journey, Osamu pulled himself out of Sachiko's hand and ran up to Tadashi's side. "Kon- I mean Tadashi! Do you really think this is all right?"

"What is?" Tadashi whispered back.

"This mission! I-I know that figuring out why Hollows are vanishing in the World of the Living is important but can't they send stronger soldiers than us? Aside from you, all of us have only been in the Gotei 13 for five years. Surely they could send more qualified Shinigami to Crystal Lake right?"

Tadashi glanced sideways at Osamu and for a moment, the bi-speckled boy feared he had angered his former mentor. To his surprise, however, Tadashi smiled and placed a hand on his head, ruffling the hair gently. "Its been so long since I taught you guys at the academy and yet not a single thing has changed." He looked behind himself and Osamu followed suit, seeing both Isamu and Sachiko arguing again. "Sachiko's still the bright ray of sunshine that lifts up people's spirits but can also come off as naïve at times. Isamu's still the ambitious young man seeking to rise to new heights. He has the strength to achieve his goals, no doubt about that. What stands in his way is his brash personality."

Tadashi turned to Osamu and placed his hands on his shoulders. "And then there's you Osamu. You got the highest marks in almost every class and your skill in Kido is incredible. But it's hampered by your fretful heart. Being cautious about a secret mission such as this is a wise move but you shouldn't use that as an excuse to doubt your own abilities. Don't forget, Captain Aizen handpicked us himself for this mission. Trust in him if you cannot trust in yourself."

Osamu gulped. "O-Oh right Tadashi-Sensei, I mean Tadashi!"

Tadashi smiled, released Osamu and led the group to the room at the end of the hallway. It was a plain colored room with two individuals waiting inside, a man and a woman. The man wore a smile similar to Tadashi's while the woman, clad in a brand new Shinigami robe, simply looked tired.

"Kiba!" Tadashi greeted warmly. "It is so good to see you again!"

"Likewise!" The two men shook hands. "I take it those three are your team?"

"Indeed." Tadashi turned to the trio who scrambled to stand side by side with each other. "I wish to introduce you to Sachiko Yamamura!"

"Hi!" Sachiko beamed.

"Isamu Machiko"

"Just don't get in my way." The red-haired man warned.

"And Osamu Odoki"

"H-Hello." Osamu whispered.

"Pleasure to meet all of you!" Kiba shouted. "The name's Kiba Senzen and this lovely little lady here will be your guide through Crystal Lake. Her name is..

"Akane Watanbe." The woman raised her tired gaze toward the newcomers. "I'll help in anyway I can."

Osamu let out a sharp yelp and hid behind Isamu. "Y-You're the criminal? You're the evil villain condemned by the Central 46?"

"Get off of me!" Isamu dug his elbow into Osamu's face, knocking the dazed boy to the ground.

"Really? You're the criminal?" Sachiko took the opposite approach to Osamu and ran toward the fatigued woman, examining her from all sides at lighting speed. "What did you do? Did you kill someone!? Did you steal a priceless artifact? Did you streak at a Captain's meeting? What did you do?"

"Sachiko! That's quite enough!" Tadashi scolded. "This woman might have committed a grievous act in the past but that's exactly where it is, the past! As for right now, she's our guide and you will treat her with respect!"

Sachiko stopped in her tracks and sighed. "I'm sorry! I guess I got a little carried away."

"Its quite alright." Akane reassured her. "I am a criminal after all. I don't deserve respect."

"Please don't speak of yourself that way." Tadashi interjected. "I may not speak for everyone but I believe you have already paid your penance in full at the Maggot's Nest. Oh Where are my manners?" He held out his hand. "Tadashi Kondo! 7th seat of Squad 5!"

"7th seat?" Akane mused. "My, that's the position I held when I was in Squad 5." She shook his hand. "I never thought the day would come when I would meet my replacement!"

"I prefer to think of myself as your successor if I'm going to be honest." Tadashi smiled. "You're still talked about with much reverence among the veteran Squad members. They always bring up how kind and caring you were to both your fellow Shinigami and the souls of the Rukongai."

Akane's smiled faltered at the mention of the Rukongai. The place where so much needless suffering occurred under the Shinigami's watchful eyes. The place she was forced to survive in as a child, desperately clinging to any scrap of food or hope that would come her way, the place she wanted to save the young boy from, only to leave him for dead.

Yes. She was a criminal of the highest caliber.

Tadashi noticed her distraught and let go of her hand. "O I'm sorry! Did I say something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh no no!" Akane waved her hands. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

Tadashi was unconvinced but figured it be best not to press the issue. "Very well." He turned to his students. "Everyone line up. Kiba's going to explain the mission to us!"

Sachiko, Isamu, and Osamu formed a single line side by side. Tadashi offered Akane one last smile and stood besides them. Kiba walked to the end of the room and cleared his throat. "As you all know, a strange event has been occurring in the place humans refer to as Crystal Lake. Hollows have been appearing there frequently only to inexplicably vanish. Your mission tonight will be to find the cause of this strange occurrence and if need be, eliminate it." He gestured toward Akane. "And you've already met Akane Watanbe, the last active Shinigami who set foot at Crystal Lake a few decades ago. She will act as your guide. But first," Kiba reached into his robes and pulled out a sword almost completely covered in a white sheet, only it's hilt uncovered so he could hold it. "You won't be able to do much without this." He tossed the sword to Akane who panicked and unintentionally played Hot Potato with it a few times before she finally managed to grasp it. She examined it and gasp upon recognizing the brown hilt.

"S-Sento no Kotei?" She removed the sheet and the edges of her lips curved upward as she saw the light-purple sheath. "It is you! I thought you were destroyed!"

"We've held on to it for quite a while." Kiba explained. "No point in letting a good Zanpakuto go to waste, regardless of what it's user has done."

Akane's smile wavered. "It's been so long...will you even answer me if I called?"

Tadashi noticed her inner turmoil and approached her. "A Zanpakuto is a Shinigami's most faithful companion." He said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "In any case, you can leave all the fighting to us. We'll have your back. Promise."

"Thank you." Akane whispered as Tadashi made his way back to his students. Kiba clapped his hands and four men with white sheets over their heads suddenly appeared in the room besides him. "Alright," He began. "We're going to open the Senkaimon to Crystal Lake now. This is a much further location than we're used to so it requires a little more man power. I'll be checking in on your progress every hour just to be on the safe side. We'll also be ready to provide backup for combat if things get hairy but don't worry." He smiled. "I just don't see that happening."

Akane felt that strange almost alien emotion known as hope again. This time, it stayed with her and she found herself smiling once more. "Maybe, I can make amends." she thought.

"Let's get started boys!" Kiba demanded as the four defaced men formed a square around him. Speaking an incantation, they clasped their hands together and waited for Kiba to take his place at the bottom of the square. Once he did so, he pulled out his sword and stabbed it into the air. "Unlocking!" He called out as he turned his sword. At once, a giant Senkaimon began to grown from the ground.

"Maybe I can make amends. Not just for myself but for Sanji and maybe even...the boy." Akane's hope wavered for a moment as she recalled the boy she had failed to save, only to shake those memories out of her head. "No. I will make amends." She glanced toward Tadashi and his team, drinking the bright, youthful looks on their faces. They reminded her of when she was a student at the academy, of when she had first met Sanji. Her smile grew brighter.

"Good luck out there!" Kiba shouted as the Senkaimon opened its doors. "See what you will see and try not to die!"

"Why did you have to say right before we left!?" Osama cried, prompting laughter from everyone except for Isamu. Even Akane found herself chuckling. As Kiba stepped aside, the team of five rushed into action, their hearts aflame and their swords thirsting for battle. They were young, ready to face anything and before the next hour would come to pass, all but one of them would be dead.

---

The full moon hung high over the sky of Crystal Lake, reflecting its beauty onto the water below. Akane felt a sense of deja'vu as she stood before the expanse of water. The cold night air nipped at her body but she hardly felt it. She was too consumed by the past, the memories of being underneath the lake with the boy, of screaming at the sight of his deformities and then committing the greatest taboo against Shinigami kind by giving him his life back.

"Wow! Its so pretty!" Sachiko beamed. "I bet humans come to swim here all the time."

"Well considering this place was a summer camp, I'd imagine that was the case once." Tadashi commented. "But it's been closed for years now. There haven't been any humans here in a while."

"Are you sure about that?" Isamu called out as he bent over to pick something off the ground. It was a discarded bra. "Because I can't help but feel like this was left here recently."

"Gahhhh! That's a- That's- That's!" Osama stammered, his face red and his sweat profuse.

"Ohh! It's a bra!" Sachiko's eyes sparkled and a naughty smile formed on her lips. "Someone's running around with their tatas out!"

"Please don't say tatas!" Osamu begged. "M-Maybe the poor owner just lost it while s-swimming in the lake is all."

"Hmmm. No." Sachiko denied. "I bet she took it off on purpose to go skinny-dipping in the lake!"

"Sk-Skinny-dipping!?" The thought of people, especially woman, disrobing and jumping into the water in nothing but their skin made Osamu's blood spread throughout his head and neck. Sachiko noticed this and burst into laughter while pointing at him.

"Hahaha! Osamu's as red as a tomato!"

"Sachiko please! I-

The roar of a Hollow tore through the night, silencing the Shinigami. The air grew thick with a foul spiritual pressure, then another one, and another.

"The Hollows must have picked up our scent." Tadashi theorized.

"Either that or they heard these two clowns!" Isamu stared daggers at his teammates as Sachiko stuck her tongue out.

"Whatever the case, it doesn't matter." Tadashi scolded lightly. "Now we must prepare for battle!"

Akane looked down at her Zanpakuto, a weapon whose name hadn't bee called in decades. As she caressed its sheath, she could have sworn she still felt dust on it. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Tadashi smiling at her again. "Do not worry. I told you we'd have your back."

Akane's eyes shimmered as she recalled just the tiniest hint of her friend Sanji in Tadashi's warm smile. "Tadashi."

"Alright everyone!" Tadashi called as he turned his back to Akane. "We have a job to do here but first me must clear a way for our guide! Are you ready!?"

"Yes sir!" Sachiko leapt into the air and landed on her feet behind Akane. "I got your back, big sis!"

"Big sis?" Akane flushed.

"W-We'll protect you no matter what." Osamu stated as he nervously made his way to Akane's left and drew his weapon.

"Tsk! Just don't get in the way!" Isamu scoffed as he took Akane's right. "Otherwise," he drew his own sword. "I might just cut you down on accident."

From the trees and the night sky emerged a swarm of Hollows, roaring and chittering as they launched themselves at the Shinigami. Once the masked fiends were close enough, the four self-appointed guardians of Akane Watanbe called out their weapons names.

"Scorch, Vulcan!" Isamu's sword glowed a blinding shade of orange and reformed into a cutglass-like dagger with a blackened, cracked blade. The hilt was blood red.

"Soak, Kawa no Ninfu!" Osamu called out, transforming his sword into a strange rectangular blade with four holes alongside it.

"Spark, Shomei Muchi!" Sachiko chirped. Her sword elongated into a white and yellow whip which she cracked into the air with a giggle.

"Soar, Umidori Horo-sha!" Tadashi's word transformed into a halberd with a red tassel on the end of it. It looked far too heavy for any one Shinigami to hold and yet he held it effortlessly over his shoulder. "Alright! Let's get to work!"

"Right!" All three of his former students shouted in unison as they flash-stepped toward the advancing Hollows. With a single swing, Tadashi cut four of them down.

"You bastards think you're better than me!?" Isamu roared. "I'm the man who's going to surpass Captain Aizen. I won't lose to trash like you!" With a guttural yell, he rammed his blade into the chest of one of the Hollows and forced it downward. The resulting cut suddenly burst into flames which consumed the screaming monster as it was reduced to ash. Two smaller Hollows attempted to tackle him from behind, only for a line of flame to separate their heads from their bodies. "Who's next!?"

"Hey ugly!" Sachiko called "Over here!" The bird-like Hollow fell for her taunt and pounced on her, only for the bubbly Shinigami to dodge with a jump. "Ha! You fell for it!" She cracked her whip while in the air, causing it to glow a brilliant white. "Hopefully, you return to the Soul Society as someone with better manners! See ya!" Sachiko hurled her whip toward the Hollow, throwing the light gathered in the thong at it in a snake-like shape. The Hollow could only utter a helpless roar as the serpentine light incinerated it completely. Sachiko landed back on her feet and cracked her whip, once more filling it with light. "Let's keep this party going!" She declared as more Hollows surrounded her.

"S-S-Stay back!" Osamu cried as the Hollows surrounded him. "I-I'm warning you!" The masked monsters ignored his warning and rushed in for the kill. "Alright! You asked for it!" With a frightened cry, Osamu prepared to swipe his sword, the hole within the blade filling with water. As he swung the blade, the water was ejected in the form of bubbles which floated toward and approaching Hollow just as it prepared to slam its fist down on him. One of the bubbles floated in front of the monster's fist, engulfing it and ripping it away from the rest of the Hollow as soon as it made contact. Now missing the upper-left side of its body, the Hollow roared in pain and fell to its knees. Caught in the throughs of its own anger and pain, the Hollow failed to notice a second bubble heading toward its face until it was too late. Once the bubble "ate" its fill of the Hollow's head, it floated high above the battlefield along with the first bubble. Both bubbles popped at the same time, leaving no trace of the chunks they tore from the Hollow as the rest of the beast vanished into black mist.

"I-I did it! I actually did it!" Osamu beamed. His happiness was short-lived as another centipede-like Hollow announced its presence behind him by roaring loudly over his head. Frozen with fear and with the Hollow too close for him to launch more bubbles, Osamu could only scream as the monster prepared to take his head off.

"Osamu!" Tadashi cried as he cut another Hollow down. "Hold on!" Tadashi studied Osamu's position, specifically the way he held his Zanpakuto and copied it. At once, Osamu suddenly found himself in front of a pile of dead Hollows and it was Tadashi who struggled against the centipede Hollow which roared in surprise at the sudden displacement of its prey.

"Don't throw a fit!" Tadashi grinned. "You used your friend's death to sneak up behind my comrade! Once you resort to dirty tricks in battle, you lose the right to complain when those same trick are used against you!" Tadashi forced the Hollow back and cut it down the middle with a single strike. "Farewell."

Akane watched in amazement as one by one, the Hollows were destroyed effortlessly by Tadashi and his team. "It's been so long since I've been on the battlefield, I'd forgotten how hectic it could get." She smiled. "And how livelily as well."

Before long, all the Hollows had been disposed of and the Shinigami regrouped. "Good work everyone!" Tadashi congratulated his team.

"T-Thanks for saving me, Ko-Tadashi sir!" Osamu stammered. Isamu growled and suddenly slammed his fist onto the bi-speckled boy's head. "He wouldn't have had to save you if your weren't such a damn weakling!" He scolded. He opened his mouth to say more only for another fist to slam on his head, this one belonging to Sachiko. "Isamu! Don't be mean!" She scolded. "Osamu did the best he could and he still killed more Hollows than you anyway!"

"What did you say!?" Isamu turned toward Sachiko with gritted teeth as the blonde Shinigami giggled. "Of course, I got more than either of you so I win!"

"Why you!"

"It's not a contest guys." Tadashi held his hands up for peace. "The important thing is that all those poor souls are purified on their way to Soul Society. Furthermore, now that they're out of the picture, we can carry out our mission with ease."

"That's right!" Akane thought. "We were sent out here to find out why Hollows were vanishing without a trace." She put her finger to her chin. "But where would we even begin?"

The distant roar of yet another Hollow once again stole everyone's attention and they brandished their weapons. But the roars remained distant and aside from them, the shores of the lake remained empty.

"It's a Hollow but...it's not attacking?" Sachiko asked.

"Doesn't seem like it." Tadashi focused on the monster's spiritual pressure. "I can sense its presence so I know it must be able to sense ours. So why isn't it-

The roars stopped and the presence vanished.

Tadashi's eyes widened and sweat broke out on his face. "It...It's gone. It just disappeared!"

"No way!" Sachiko cried. "What happened to it?"

"M-Maybe it just left back to Hueco Mundo?" Osamu suggested, trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

"No." Isamu shook his head. "It takes time for a Garganta to open and close. This Hollow vanished in a instant, here one second and gone the next."

"I feel another spiritual pressure." Akane spoke up. "But I'm not sure what to make of it." It doesn't feel like a Hollow or a Shinigami." A dark thought crept into her mind. "In fact, it feels more like a human and so...familiar somehow." She shook her head and decided to keep that piece of information to herself.

"In any case, it would seem we've found what we were looking for." Tadashi said grimly. "Everyone, let's go but keep your wits about you! We have no idea what we're up against."

"Y-Yes sir!" Osamu whimpered, his entire being filled with fear of the unknown thing that destroyed that Hollow.

"Tsk! Let's just get this over with." Isamu said with a cocky smile. "After this, I'm sure to catch the attention of Captain Aizen."

"Onward to adventure!" Sachiko chirped, jumping up and down in excitement.

High above the group, clouds rolled in front of the Moon, obscuring its light and darkening the area.

"Let's move!" Tadashi flash-stepped into the forest and his former students followed, leaving Akane by herself. "Why does this presence seem so familiar to me? Have I sensed it before?" She shook her head again, realized the others left without her and flash-stepped after them. "I can't let myself get distracted now!" She thought. "We have a mission to complete and I owe it to Sanji to see it through!" Her thoughts darkened again as she recalled the day she was sentenced by the Central 46. "Then again, I might just be chaining myself back under their command by joining this mission. Would Sanji approve of that?" Akane suddenly remembered her old friend's sentencing. "That's right! Sanji was banished to the World of the Living! I wonder if-"

But before Akane could finish her thought, she noticed Tadashi and his team in front of her, they were standing amongst the trees, hiding behind them from something she couldn't see. A feeling of intense unease filled the air and Akane knew something was wrong. Making it a point to be as quiet as possible, she landed behind Tadashi and asked him what was wrong in a hushed whisper.

"Stay behind this tree and look ahead." He whispered back without turning toward her. "And whatever you do, don't draw attention to yourself."

Her unease tripled by those words, Akane did as she was instructed and fought to keep from gasping at the morbid sight before her.

It was a Hollow trying to devour what appeared to be a human soul. Normally, this was an ugly but ordinary picture Shinigami had to regularly deal with and would serve as a call to action to try and save it. But in this particular instance, it was the Hollow that looked like it needed saving. The human soul, a tall brooding figure, had its hands clasped on both halves of the monster's bony jaws and was slowing but surely forcing them apart. The Hollow squirmed and writhed as it tried to get away but to no avail. As Akane and the others watched in horror, the human-shaped being tore the Hollow in half with its bare hands. Blood puddled underneath its feet and it carelessly tossed the halves away from itself.

"No way." Sachiko whispered. "D-Did that just really happen?"

"That thing killed the Hollow without any weapons!" Osamu whimpered. "There's no way it can be human."

"Everyone hush!" Tadashi quietly commanded. "We cannot afford to give into panic now! Stay put and don't make a sound."

Sachiko and Osamu nodded fretfully while Isamu just scoffed. Akane gulped and lowered herself against the tree as Tadashi crept closer. By then, the clouds blocking the Moon's light rolled away, allowing her gentle light to illuminate a rather ghastly scene before the veteran Shinigami. The being that killed the Hollow looked to be human enough with tattered clothing and a strong build. Its face, however, was concealed by a strange mask that somewhat resembled that of a Hollow, two eye holes and several small dots peppered over with red markings on its forehead and cheeks. There was no hint of light within the sockets, only blackness. A large chain hung from the middle of the being's chest and fed into the trees behind it, indicating it as a Plus that had been anchored to this place for quite some time.

"A Jibakurei?" Tadashi asked himself. "Is that what's been killing the Hollows in this area?" Gulping, he tightened the grip on his sword. "Well if it really is a Jibakurei, I'll have no choice but to perform Konso on it." He stepped forward from the safety of the trees and into the clearing. The being noticed his presence at once and but did not make a move. "Do not fear!" Tadashi called out. "I am not like the monsters that have been hunting you. I am here to set you free from your earthly priso-

Tadashi stopped in his tracks. His body was once again coated in a cold sweat and his heartbeat was all too apparent to his ears. Now that was was closer, he could make out the bodies of Hollows nestled within the brush behind the being. Arms, leg, and head all torn away from their original bodies. He and the others had already figured this being was the culprit behind the Hollow disappearances, that much was just common sense. But to actually see the evidence, to actually realize he was in the presence of a Jibakurei capable of doing this, it filled Tadashi with dread, dread which did not go unnoticed by his fellow Shinigami.

"T-Tadashi? What's wrong?" Akane asked. "Why have you stopped moving?"

"This is bad!" Osamu whined. "If even Tadashi-Sensei is too scared to move, something must be really wrong here!"

"Are you kidding me!?" Isamu shouted out loud. "Are you pansies really wetting yourselves over a damn plus!? So what if he's killed a few Hollows? He's still a human dammit!" Isamu jumped out from the trees to Tadashi's side. "And if you pieces of trash are too chicken to take this guy out, than I'll have to do it myself!" With a defiant roar, Isamu charged toward the masked being.

"Wait Isamu!" Tadashi called out. "That thing's no ordinary soul!"

"You think those monsters were tough? You haven't seen anything yet!" Isamu leapt toward the masked soul, his Vulcan ready to strike. Here I come!"

"Dammit! There's something wrong with that soul! Isamu's in danger!" Tadashi thought. "I have no choice." Taking note of how Isamu was posed in the air, Tadashi copied him and suddenly switched places with his former student, sending Isamu back to the edge of the clearing.

"What!?" Isamu growled. "What's the big idea, you glory hog!?"

Tadashi's already extreme fear intensified as he neared the being. With little other choice, she pointed the hilt of his Umidori Horo-Sha toward the being's forehead, hoping to perform the konso quickly. "Please don't resist. Just let me end this for both our sakes!"

But Tadashi's plea would go unanswered.

The masked soul grabbed the weapon's hilt with its left hand, forcing Tadashi into a full lurching stop as he fell back to his feet. "He...caught it?" was all Tadashi had time to think before the being punched through his torso with his right hand. Blood coated the nearby trees and Tadashi's glasses went flying into the trees.

"No!" Akane cried.

"What?" Isamu breathed.

"Tadashi-Sensei!" Both Sachiko and Osamu cried in unison.

"..urk!" Tadashi spit up a wad of blood as the being retracted its arm from his abdomen, allowing him to fall to the floor. As this occurred, his hands unconsciously released their grip on Umidori Horo-Sha. The masked soul looked down at its new prize and examined it with interest.

"Tadashi!" Akane whimpered.

"Dammit old man!" Isamu screamed. "Why did you interfere!?" From the cracking of his voice, Akane could tell Isamu felt the same grief as his former classmates. Unlike them, however, he chose to to hide it under a fiery wall of rage as he once again charged the masked soul.

"Isamu! No!" Osamu cried.

"Come back!" Sachiko pleaded.

"Hey asshole!" Isamu roared as he caught the soul's attention. "That Zanpakuto isn't yours! So give it back!" With a enraged howl, Isamu slammed his Vulcan down at the masked soul...

...only to find his blade blocked by Umidori Horo-Sha.

"What!?" Isamu found himself launched away from his foe and back near the edge of the clearing. The masked soul was now brandishing the halberd as if it were his own. His stance was undefined and amateur, like his only intended move was to keep hitting the Shinigami with his new toy until they died. Slowly, he stomped toward the group, his Soul Chain clanking along the ground.

"Bastard!" Isamu charged once more and slammed his blade down onto Umidori.

"Isamu!" Sachiko rushed out into the clearing and Akane followed. "Wait!"

Osamu tried to take a step forward, panicked and ducked back behind his tree.

"Leave him alone!" Sachiko cried as she leapt into the air and cracked her whip, once again filling it with light "Shototsu Suisei!" She cried as she launched her attack at the masked soul. He took notice, forced Isamu backward once again, and blocked her attack with Umidori. The resulting blast forced him backward as well but he remained on his feet nevertheless.

"No way!" Sachiko thought. "There's no way a soul like him could have handled a Zanpakuto before this and yet he used it to block my attack. As if he's had experience with wielding a weapon before. Could he have been some sort of warrior in life?"

"Butt out Sachiko!" Isamu demanded. "This guy's mine!"

Sachiko landed next to her former classmate. "Get over yourself already!" She screamed, all trace of her usual bubbly demeanor gone. "Can't you see this is a serious situation?" Before the argument could escalate, both Shinigami were forced to dodge the masked soul's swipe. They landed a few feet away and assumed a defensive stance. "This soul isn't like any we've dealt with before." Sachiko continued. "There's something off about him."

The masked soul continued its slow but steady march toward them, dragging Umidori behind itself. Akane came up between Sachiko and Isamu and pointed her palm toward him. "Ye lord! Mask of flesh and blood, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws!" A blue orb of flame formed in her palm. "Hado #33, Sokatsui! The blue flames shot toward the masked being faster than he could bring up Umidori to block it. A thick cloud of smoke engulfed the being, concealing him and his fate from the Shinigami's sight.

"Did you get him?" Sachiko asked nervously.

"I don't know." Akane panted. "To tell you the truth, this the first time in a long while that I've used a Kido." She bent forward and placed both hands on her knees as she gasped for air. Sachiko gently rubbed her back while Isamu scoffed and turned away, disgusted with Akane's winded actions. Before the group, the smoke began to clear and a lumbering shape could be seen coming toward them. Their blood froze and their pupils shrank as the expressionless mask of the abnormal soul broke through the last remnants of the smoke.

"You've got to be kidding me." Akane whispered. "He was really able to shake off my Kido?"

"There's hardly a scratch on him." Sachiko choked. "Just what is he?"

"Get out of the way!" Osamu cried out from the forest. All three Shinigami turned to see the bi-speckled boy dash through the trees, crying and sweating all the while, his Zanpakuto posed for a slash. Realizing at once what he intended to do, Isamu and Sachiko flash-stepped out of the way, the latter grabbing Akane and pulling her along. "Take this, you monster!" Osamu screamed as he launched four more of his destructive bubbles at the masked soul.

The abnormal spirit cocked his head as if confused by Osamu's method of attack. It lifted Umidori off the ground and swung the Zanpakuto with all the force it could muster. The blade cut nothing but the air sent backward by the swing sent the bubbles away from him and back toward the Shinigami. Isamu cursed under his breath as he flash-stepped once again to escape on of the bubbles. As the masked soul watched on, the bubble uprooted and took an entire tree into itself before popping.

"No way!" Osamu whimpered as he fell to his knees. "My attack didn't work?"

"Try it again Osamu!" Sachiko shouted. "You have to get closer!"

"Sachiko look out!" Akane cried.

"Huh? Gah!" Sachiko barely dodged a swing from Umidori. With her concentration focused on lookout for Osamu's stray bubbles, she failed to notice the masked soul sneak up on her. She landed on Akane with a thud, dropping her whip in the process. The monstrous attacker wasted no time looming over them.

"Shit!" Isamu cursed. "Sachiko!"

The blonde Shinigami attempted to reach for her whip, only for the masked soul's foot to slam down on her wrist. She cried out in pain and looked up to her attack with pleading eyes. "Please...don't"

With his other foot, the masked soul kicked Chomei Muchi out of Sachiko's reach and raised Umidori to strike.

"Sachiko!" Osamu cried.

"Hado #31, Shakkho!" A red orb of burning energy slammed against the soul's back before exploding, forcing him to his knees. Sachiko and Akane both took this opportunity to get back to their feet and flash-step back near the clearing edge. "A Shakkho!?" Akane rasped. "But..where..."

"Look!" Sachiko pointed toward the other end of the clearing where a grievously wounded but still very much alive Tadashi was standing, one arm held firmly against the gaping hole in his stomach. "Is everybody alright?" He asked in a strained voice.

"Kondo-Sensei!" All three of his former students shouted. Akane simply smiled, relieved to see him alive.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" Tadashi sighed under his breath before noticing the masked soul getting back up, his back blackened and smoking. "Oh no you don't!" He pointed his index and middle fingers toward the soul. "Bakudo #1, Sai!" The masked monster's arms suddenly locked behind his back and he fell back to the ground. Tadashi took a brief moment to catch his breath before making his way toward the downed fiend.

"Tadashi! Be careful!" Akane called out.

"It'll be...alright..." Tadashi reassured her through his grunts of pain. "Sai may not be the most powerful Bakudo spell but even an abnormal soul such as him has no hope of breaking it." He stopped to cough a little and then continued until he was standing over his downed foe who was still struggling with his invisible restraints. "All that's left to do now is grab my Zanpakuto and perform Konso." He looked down at the masked down with surprisingly pitiful eyes. "I can only hope you find salvation."

Tadashi reached for Umidori but within that moment, and with a single strained grunt, the masked soul suddenly ripped his arms away from his back. "What!?" Tadashi reeled back in surprise, allowing the soul to get back to its feet, its head turned toward the veteran Shinigami with a fierce and angry glare. "No! This is impossible! What kind of soul is he?" Tadashi was so caught up in his own surprise that he failed to notice the soul prepare his Zanpakuto for another swing.

"Tadashi-Sensei! Look out!" Sachiko cried.

But her warning came too late. With a single slash, the masked soul cleanly separated Tadashi's head from his shoulder with Umidori. The former Shin'o' Academy teacher's head bounced away into the brush ahead while the body remained on its feet for a few moments before descending to its knees and falling to its side. A bright crimson puddle of blood formed from the severed neck and turned black in the moonlight.

"T-T-Tadashi-Sensei..." Osamu whispered as Sachiko screamed.

"N-No..." Isamu muttered. "It can't be..."

"How..." Akane choked. "How could that monster break out of the Kido that easily?" Her entire body was coated in sweat and Akane found herself stepping back with no desire to stop. "This soul...no...this thing...it isn't normal...is it even human...was it ever human?"

"You...You bastard!" Isamu screamed into the sky. "You fucking piece of shit! How dare you kill Tadashi!" He flash-stepped toward the masked soul and trust his Vulcan toward him, only to be blocked by Umidori once again. "You are going to pay for that!"

"Isamu!" Osamu cried.

The masked soul's only response to Isamu's declaration of war was to once again shove him backward and prepare to slash him across the chest. Before he could make the swing, however, the Zanpakuto he purloined from the now dead 7th seat suddenly broke apart in his hands as if it were glass. For the first time since the battle began, the soul's eyes became visible as they widened in surprise.

"Hah! You fool!" Isamu taunted. "Don't you know a Zanpakuto is bonded with its Shinigami. When we die, they die as well. By killing Tadashi-Sensei, you've gone and broken your only weapon!" Isamu took a another swipe at the soul. "Now you're done!"

Before Vulcan could make its mark and reduce him to ashes, the masked soul suddenly grabbed Isamu's wrist with his now free hand and bent it backward. The fiery Shinigami screamed in pain and dropped his Zanpakuto to the ground. Using his other hand, the soul grabbed Isamu's shoulder and pulled on his arm. Tears streaming from his eyes, Isamu tried to pull the soul's hand away from his shoulder but the intense pain he was in weakened his own grip significantly. A horrible ripping sound rang through the clearing and Isamu's screams grew even louder and more agonized as the bottom of his shoulder turned red. With a final yank, the masked being ripped Isamu's arm off in a gory fashion.

"Isamu!" Sachiko finally managed to break out of her fear-induced freeze and searched frantically for her whip. "Where is it? Where is it?" She spotted lying a few feet from the masked being which was currently pulling on Isamu's remaining arm. She hesitated for a moment, not wanting to get anywhere near that thing. The sound of Isamu's pained cries encouraged her to fight through that fear and flash-step toward her whip. "He can't block our attacks with Umidori anymore!" She thought. "If I can just get my Chomei Munchi, I can end this! I can end this nightmare!"

Her sudden arrival did not go unnoticed by the masked soul however. As soon as she appeared before her Zanpakuto, he tossed Isamu aside and grabbed her wrist right as she tried to pick her weapon up. His grip caused Sachiko to yelp in pain as he forced her back up. "Let go of me! Let go!" Sachiko held out her palm in front of his face. "Hado#-

But the masked being simply grabbed the wrist of that hand as well and pulled it away. Realizing that the fiend now had both hands clasped firmly around her wrist, Sachiko panicked and tried to flash-step away, The masked soul's strength vastly surpassed her own and he kept her in place. "Stop!" She cried. "Let go! Please!"

The masked soul once again cocked its head in confusion, as if wondering why Sachiko was so upset over her wrist being gripped. He would get his answer when steam began to form from her body and she started writhing in agony.

"Dear god...her vents..." Akane gasped. "He's blocking her wrist vents...her Reiatsu..."

"Let me go! No!" Sachiko's pleas for escape turned into screams of agony as the Reiatsu inside her body, its own escape blocked by the being's hands, began to incinerate her from the inside out. Her blonde hair blackened and her robes began to fall away from her body in pieces. Her tan skin darkened and charred and blood leaked from her closed eyelids. Her throat and tongue dried, reducing her screams to raspy howling before finally falling silent. By the time the masked soul finally let go of Sachiko, there was nothing left to fall to the ground but a charred corpse.

"Sachiko..." Akane uttered. Her voice was drowned out by Osamu's screams of terror and grief as they rang throughout the forest. Isamu, on the other hand, was completely silent, too stunned by the events of the last half minute to even move. His eyes seemed to stare off into the darkness of the trees and his lips trembled. No hint of his fiery resolve remained.

The masked soul loomed over Sachiko's burned remains for a few more seconds, perhaps trying to understand why she had died the way she did. Next to his feet, Shomei Munchi came apart. Vulcan remained, its blade smoldering and black. The masked soul noticed the smoke and picked up the fire-type Zanpakuto. He examined it for a moment before turning his attention toward the shell-shocked Isamu.

"No...please..." Isamu muttered, afraid for his life but unable to move.

"Why? Why couldn't we save them?" Akane asked herself. "Were we that afraid of this...this thing?" She turned to Osamu who had curled up against a tree and sobbed uncontrollably. It was clear he would not be of any help and while part of Akane wanted to slap him silly and force him back to his senses, she decided to focus on breaking free from her fear herself. "You can't stay here." She told herself. "You were brought to guide these people. You have to try to protect what's left of them! You'll probably be killed once we get back home anyway, even more so now that people have died on your watch so you have nothing to lose. Move. Move. MOVE!"

And move Akane did. She unsheathed her Zanpakuto, a black blade that almost blended into the night and cried out, Pierce, Sento no Kotei!" The sword glowed blue and changed shape underneath its shimmer. Once the light was gone, Akane was left with a brilliant onyx sword with a sliver fuller and blue tip. The edged of the cross guard were bent upward and the rain guard held a small blue blade on it. "Leave him alone you bastard!" With a almost feral roar, Akane slashed the blade upwards and pointed it toward the masked being who was currently making his way toward Isamu. At once, the ground began to tremble and a row of stalagmites suddenly jutted out one after the other toward her target.

The masked soul barely had time to fully realize what was happening before he was impaled by the stalagmites and forced away from Isamu, dropping Vulcan in the process. One of the bladed rock formations shot right into his mask, cracking it in two. The stalagmites finally stopped at the edge of the clearing, the sudden halt launching the now maskless soul against a tree. He slid down the trunk and slumped over, blood leaking from his face and several parts of his body.

Panting heavily, Akane rushed toward the injured Isamu. "Are you alright?" She asked.

"I...want to go home..." He muttered, his gaze fixed on something Akane could not see. Realizing that his mind was broken, Akane sighed and tried to help him up, only to be slapped away as he panicked from her touch.

"It's alright!" She reassured him. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Home...I wanna go home..." He muttered, still not looking at Akane.

"Alright." Akane reached for his arm once again and slowly lifted him to his feet. "We'll get you home. Just as soon as-

The sound of labored wheezing stole Akane's attention. From the very corner of her eye, she noticed the soul getting back up, its chain jangling in the wind. Turning to face him, Akane stood in front of Isamu and lifted her Zanpakuto. "If I were you, I'd stay down. You no longer have a weapon and I do not have to come close to you to deliver another blow."

The soul ignored Akane for the moment, his right hand gripping his left shoulder tightly. The blood from his wounds continued to flow onto the forest floor and as he held his head down, his face was impossible to make out.

"He's been hurt really badly." Akane thought. "Had he been any normal human soul, I'm certain that attack would have killed him. He's abnormal alright. So abnormal and yet...his spiritual pressure...it feels so familiar...if only I could remember where I felt it before..."

The soul took a few steps toward Akane, directly under the moonlight and looked up at her. His left eye was sunken, his jaw was bent and his nose was broken from the blow he had taken earlier.

Akane froze. Her breathing slowed and her arms lowered. Her expression matched Isamu's in its dead and cold look but while his mind was shattered, hers was racing. "No...No...It can't be...There's no way...This can't be..." The memories crashed over her like a waterfall threatening to drown her. The icy-cold water of Crystal Lake, the crying soul of a young deformed boy, and her mortal sin against the Soul Society that brought her commendation until this very night. "No...No..."

"Nooooo!" Akane screamed as she slashed her sword again, releasing a second trail of stalagmites toward the soul. They crashed into him and sent him back against the tree, this time with enough force to uproot the mighty plant and knock it backward with him against it. With a another feral howl, Akane sent another trail, and another, and another. "Why!? Why did you become like this? I gave you another chance and this is what you used it to become!?" With one final swipe, Akane sent the biggest stalagmites she could create jutting toward the soul. This time, the trail continued deep into the forest before finally stopping, uprooting several trees in the process.

Akane uttered a choked sob and fell to her knees and then to her hands. "I did this...I created this monster..." Tears fell from her eyes onto the torn-up forest floor. "I brought this thing back...and now...Tadashi..." Her watery gaze shifted to where the headless body of the former Sh'o Academy teacher lay. "...Sachiko..." It moved toward the blackened corpse of the once lovely girl, the flesh still smoking. "...Isamu..." Finally, Akane turned back to the fire-haired young man she had tried to help not but a minute ago. He was slumped back down against the tree, his head hanging low. Akane did not need to check his spiritual pressure to know that he was dead, killed by a combination of blood loss and fear. She broke down and sobbed uncontrollably.

---

Within the shadows of the forest, the soul of one Jason Voorhees slowly rose back to his feet. His body was covered in blood and as he looked himself over, he couldn't help but wonder how he was bleeding. Wasn't he a spirit? Wasn't he already dead? Ever since these strange people in black robes showed up, things have been getting stranger and stranger.

"They're trying to hurt you Jason." His mother's voice echoed in his mind. "Just like those horrible monsters."

Yes. The monsters that had been coming here since Jason first returned. They wanted to eat him, each and every one and he had made them pay. He had punished them.

"Now you need to punish them." Mother demanded. "You're already half way there!"

And he was. He killed two of them and could somehow sense the death of the third. How exactly he could sense this, he did not know nor care to know. All that mattered was that he had two left. The boy in the glasses hiding out in the trees and the woman who had just hurt him really badly. The woman who, for some odd reason, seemed familiar to him.

"Kill them all, Jason. Kill them all."

Jason nodded and marched through the woods, breaking apart the stalagmites as he smashed them with his legs. It didn't matter if this woman felt familiar or not, she was an intruder, she had hurt him, and she had to be punished.

They all had to be punished.

Ki ki ki, Ma ma ma

---

Akane almost missed the thunderous footsteps of the abnormal soul as they stomped toward her. Through her watery vision, she made out the lumbering shape as he emerged through the trees, his expression hateful and focused. "How...How can you still be able to walk after that?" Akane forced herself back to her feet just as the bald giant stopped in his tracks. Both of them stood completely still, letting the night air sing through the forest. At this point, the clearing had been almost dyed completely red from the spilled blood of Tadashi, Isamu and the soul. Akane noticed that he was holding something in his hand and pointed her sword at him, ready to send another trail of stalagmites his way the second he made a move.

She didn't have to wait long.

He moved his arm as if intending to throw whatever he was holding and Akane slashed her sword in his direction, creating another line of stalagmites in the ground. Once again, they moved too fast for him to dodge but not fast enough to keep him from launching his own weapon into Akane's left shoulder. As the soul was bulldozed back into the woods by the sudden rock formations, Akane screamed in agony and fell to her knees once again.

"Shit! He got me! But with what?" Fighting through her pain, Akane tried to examine the object now stuck inside her shoulder. To her shock, it turned out to be the top half of one of her stalagmites. "A stalagmite?" She thought. "He used my own power against me." She grabbed the rocky object and tried to pull it out, only to increase her agony tenfold. It was wedged into her bone and no one short of a seated Shinigami of Squad 4 would be able to remove it without causing extensive damage to her shoulder. Realizing that her best course of action would be to escape, Akane forced herself back to her feet and made her way back to the woods. She wanted to run or even flash-step but the pain was too great, the most she could muster was a slow walk. Even then, every step seemed ton aggravate the wound and draw more blood from it.

"Osamu!" You need to contact the Kido Corps right now! We need to-

A pain one thousand times worse than the agony in her shoulder exploded throughout her right side. She could feel blood splatter on her face and hair and while she didn't dare to look down at herself, she could already tell what had just transpired.

The soul had managed to sneak up behind her and punched through the right side of her torso.

"I'm going to die." Akane thought. "This is how I die." Gritting her teeth, Akane fought through the pain and tried to slash the abnormal soul she once tried to save. In her pained state, however, he was the faster one and grabbed her wrist before she could make the cut. As he came closer, he stepped on her left foot as it was turning with the rest of her body, twisting it at an uneven angle. Akane gasped, allowing a trickle of blood to escape from her mouth and tried to pull her wrist free. But the soul was stronger and turned it and the sword it wielded toward Akane's face. Before she could even realize what was happening, her own Zanpakuto she had trained for years to achieve slashed her across the right eye, cutting it open.

"Gaaahhhhhhh!"

Akane dropped her sword and cupped her hand over her bleeding face, screaming at the top of her lungs. The soul picked her up, slammed her on the ground and then stomped his foot onto the stalagmite in her shoulder, driving it even deeper through her flesh and into the ground. Akane screamed even louder, only to interrupt herself with another bloody cough. Pain racked her entire body. She could feel the blood from her wounds pool underneath her. Hell, she could even feel the night air caress the inside of her body from the ruined right of her torso.

"I'm done." She thought. "I'm finished." Her single remaining eye met with the hateful gaze of the soul now looming over her, his deformed features seeming to twist into an expression of pleasure as he raised his foot over Akane's face. "I'm sorry everyone. I failed you. Please forgive me."

"Bakudo #4: Hainawa!"

A crackling rope of yellow Reshi suddenly ensnared the soul from behind, forcing his foot back under him. With a single yank, it knocked him to the ground with a low grunt. Akane was frozen for the first few minutes, trying to process just what the hell was going on. Despite the tremendous agony she was in, she forced her head up to try and spot the perpetrator of the Kido and gasped when she saw it was none other than at the other end of the rope.

"I got you now, you ugly bastard!" He snarled, tears streaming from his eyes. "I'm going to make you pay for what you did!"

The soul's only response was to stare daggers at the speckled boy and get to his feet. As he struggled to do so, Osamu turned his attention to Akane and shouted, "You need to get out of here! Now!"

"B-But...the Kido...You can't..." Akane trailed off in fear as she realized the soul was once again standing over her, his joyous expression replaced by one of sheer rage. "No...don't!"

Osamu growled as he pointed his index finger at the soul. "Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro!" At once, the light wrapped around the murderous soul changed shape into six-petal shaped beams of light which dug into his torso, completely paralyzing him. "I'm going to hold him off for as long as I can!" Osamu cried. "Get out of here and hide!"

"Osamu! Please don't!"

"Just go! Go!"

Akane opened her mouth for another rebuttal but then closed it again. She knew it was hopeless. She could tell from the look in Osamu's eyes that he had no intention of surviving any longer. Maybe it was because he felt as if he needed to atone for not doing more to save his friends and teacher. Maybe it was because he couldn't bare to live without them. But either way, one thing was clear. Osamu Odoki was going to die fighting this bizarre enemy that had killed those closest to him.

Akane heard the sound of Reshi crackling and turned her attention back to the soul, horrified to see that, somehow, someway, it was starting to break through the Rikujokoro. As the soul struggled to regain its mobility, cracks were forming in the light.

"Hurry!" Osamu demanded.

Akane tried to get up, only for her entire arm to be engulfed in agony. She remembered the stalagmite wedged into her shoulder and tried once more to wrench it out with force. No such luck. The sharpened piece of rock was too far in and it hurt far too much to continue for long. Akane heard the cracks in the Kido grow and desperately looked around for anything that could save her.

Then she noticed her sword. And the horrible answer to her dilemma became crystal clear.

She grabbed it, pointed the blade toward the top of her shoulder right before the stalagmite, took a deep breath, and screamed like a banshee as she rammed the sword into her flesh. She ripped it out and forced it back in, again and again and again, coating herself and the forest floor in even more crimson. She could feel her arm becoming lost to her as she sliced through the nerve endings and completed the job with one final slam. Free of the trapped limb, Akane flash-stepped to the edge of the blood-soaked clearing just as the abnormal soul broke out of his binding and too a step toward Akane.

"Hey! Asshole!" Osamu screamed, grabbing the soul's attention. He opened his palm. "Hado #33, Sokatsui!" A giant blue wave of energy suddenly fired from his palm and engulfed the soul, causing him to scream out. He fell to the floor, smoldering and bloody but still alive.

"Amazing." Akane thought. "He used it without any incantation." Akane winced as her agony reminded her of the horrific situation that she was in. She still didn't want to leave Osamu behind but she also knew that in her condition, she'd only serve to get in the way. So with a heart more heavy with regrets than ever, and despite the world of pain she was in, she flash-stepped back to the forest, leaving a trail of blood behind her.

"Sachiko...Isamu...Tadashi-Sensei..." Osamu wept. "I'm sorry. If only I hadn't been such a coward, I could have saved you." He sniffled and glared at the soul responsible for his friend's death as it got back up, blood trickling down his Soul Chain. Gritting his teeth, Osamu unsheathed his Zanpakuto. "But I promise you. I promise I'm going to make this son of a bitch feel every ounce of pain you had to feel!" He slashed his weapon at the soul, sending four more bubbles toward him. The soul remembered this attack and knew what would happen if he was touched by one of them. Without a weapon to send them back, however, the soul had no choice but to run toward Osamu, dodging one of the bubbles along the way. Weakened by the Kido, his speed was greatly hampered and as he veered to the left to avoid one bubble, his left arm fell victim to another. The abnormal soul cried out in pain as his arm was ripped away from his socket and condensed inside the bubble in a mess of gore. He fell on his knees, gripped his bleeding shoulder and howled.

"Ah ha!" Osamu shouted. "Let like Miss Akane's arm! I bet that hurt, didn't it you bastard?" He sheathed his Zanpakuto and pointed his palm toward the enemy. "Sokatsui!" Another blue wave rammed into the abnormal soul, sending it to the ground. "I told you, didn't I? You're going to suffer every ounce of pain you put my friends and Miss Akane through!"

Another blast.

"Every."

Another collision of soul and Kido.

"Last."

Another agonized scream.

"One!"

In his fury, even Osamu lost count of how many Sokatsui's he blasted at the monster. His Reiatsu was running low and he felt weak. "There." He croaked as he fell to his hands and knees. "You must be in a world of pain by now, although I can still feel your spiritual pressure." His glasses, one lenses already shattered, fell to the floor and he didn't bother trying to pick them up. "I won't lie, part of me hoped that maybe, just maybe I could destroy you after all. But I'm just not strong enough."

From the giant mound of smoke swirling before Osamu, the sound of a chain clanking could be heard. He realized he was sitting next to the brute's Soul Chain only a second before said chain suddenly rose and whipped him in the face, creating a large gash where his left cheek was once. The chain was lifted, twirled and curled around Osamu's neck before he could even utter a cry from his first injury. The spiritual metal coiled tightly around his neck and he gripped at it with both hands, his legs kicking helplessly into the air.

"So this is how it ends for me." Osamu thought as he struggled. "Strangled by an abnormal plus's Soul Chain. Not the most dignified way to die but I suppose it beats getting eaten by a Hollow."

As the smoke dispersed, the soul, bloodied, bruised and angry, pulled on his chain again and yanked Osamu close to him. Using his remaining arm, the soul pulled on the chain as hard as he could. Osamu's eyes bulged and bled, the crimson tears trickling down his face. "Get away from here, Akane Watanbe." He thought. "And whatever you do, please don't blame yourself for us."

This was Osamu's final thought as he lost the struggle with the abnormal being and quietly followed his friends and teacher into a world of peace and shadows.

---

"By the time the Kido Corps found me, almost all my blood had drained into the lake." Akane continued. "I had stopped running once I had reached the shore you see, my injuries were just too great. I was sure I was going to die. Hell, I thought I was dead until Kiba scooped me up and I felt my ribcage rub against his haori. I don't think I screamed louder in my whole life."

An hour had passed as Akane was nearing the end of her tale. Mayuri was feigning interest at best, a certain inquiry currently occupying his mind but everyone else was hanging on to every word. Rukia felt great sorrow for Akane and her fallen comrades, as well as sheer horror in the ways they were destroyed. To think a human soul was capable of killing Shinigami that violently Ichigo felt the same but his pity was accompanied by an even greater anger toward Jason. "He really is just like Freddy." He thought. "A being that takes lives and leaves sorrow and destruction in their place.

"I must have spent a whole month in the Squad 4 barracks. They had to replace a good portion of my organs and the first and second replacements for a lot of them didn't take." Akane looked down at my foot. "So much focus was given to my organs that my foot received hardly any attention. It had already healed at that angle by then. Suffice to say, I had to spend another two months at the barracks for physical therapy so I could learn to walk again. That's where Kiba told me the truth about the abnormal soul I helped to create. About Jason."

Akane could recall this memory clear as day. She had just finished with a another therapy session and was being helped outside the room by lieutenant Kotetsu. To her surprise, Kiba of the Kido Corps was standing in the hallway. This time, he had the usual cover for his face but it was shifted to the right so that she could make out his features.

"K-Kiba?" She asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Really?" He asked in a tone of mocked hurt. "I come by to see how you're doing and this is how you react? You're hurting my feelings Akane!"

"I-I'm sorry." Akane whispered.

Kiba smiled at his old friend but this smile vanished as he turned to Isane. "I know this is rather rude, but your Captain gave me permission to speak to the patient alone."

Isane blinked. "A-Are you sure?"

Kiba nodded. "You can ask her yourself if you wish."

Suddenly becoming flustered, Isane waved her hands wildly. "Oh no! Of course not! If Captain Unohana said you could talk to her, then I'll take your words for it!" She offered a quick bow to Akane and sped off, wanting to be out of that awkward situation. Once she was gone, Kiba approached the crippled Shinigami. "So, how are you holding up?"

"Well for the most part, I'm not." Akane chuckled gravely as she placed a hand on her right side and winced.

"I'm sorry." Kiba uttered, a line of red on his face. "That was unfortunate wording."

Akane chuckled again. "Its fine. So what brings you here?"

"Well..." Kiba turned away from Akane as if he were afraid of what he needed to say to her. "I'm afraid it's not good news."

Akane's faint smile faltered. "What is it?"

"You should sit down for this." Kiba gently grabbed Akane's shoulders and led her to the end of the hallway where a wooden bench lay. He sat her down on one end before taking the other for himself. He took a deep breath and began. "After the mission, we had some scouts stay in the area around Crystal Lake in gigais to obtain any human world information that might provide some insight into that abnormal soul you encountered." Kiba turned to Akane, a grave look in his face.

Akane gulped. "It was the boy, wasn't it? The one I brought back. The one you couldn't find all those years ago."

Kiba nodded. "He is and after finding out what he's been up to since, I really regret not finding him back then."

"What are you talking about?" Akane asked in a hushed voice. Part of her knew what was coming.

"His full name was Jason Voorhees." Kiba explained. "And on the last weekend of his life, he slaughtered 34 humans."

Akane's pupils shrank and her blood ran cold.

"And that's not all," Kiba continued. "Apparently, his mother, Pamela Voorhees, killed 9 fellow humans out of revenge for her son's drowning. The only survivor of that massacre mysteriously vanished a year or so afterward. Simply put, you picked some bad blood to revive with that Kido."

"No." Akane's lips trembled. "No. It..It can't be true..."

"I'm afraid there's simply too many humans backing this up to be false." Kiba sighed. "This Jason...he might have been a boy once...but now...he's a monster worse than any Hollow..."

The tears fell freely from Akane's eyes and she raised her remaining hand to cover them. "All these years," She thought. "I wasted all these years wondering what become of you, what you did with your second life, and now I realize, I saving your life, I've helped in the destruction of several others." The sheer weight of this knowledge crushing her spirit like a hammer to a rock, she broke down into an hysteric sob. Kiba wrapped his arms around her and allowed her to dig her face into his chest.

"I've must have sat there for hours," Akane thought. "I just couldn't believe it. The boy I threw my life away to save ended up becoming a killer."

"What happened after that?" Rukia asked. "Did the Kido Corps do anything about Jason? Did they try?"

Akane shook her head. "Honestly, the details were kind of sketchy. From what I remember, Central 46 wanted to pretend that the whole thing never happened in the first place. I guess having to admit they threw a couple of promising young Shinigami into the lion's den didn't sit right with them." Akane chuckled dryly and without a shred of humor in her voice. "They did keep their end of the deal with me though. I wasn't brought back into the Maggot's Nest and they even allowed me to keep my Zanpakuto. But of course, I couldn't resume my duties as a normal Shinigami. I knew too much. Of course, I wouldn't want to come back even if I had the option, especially after seeing them handwave the deaths of Tadashi and the others like that.

"So they banished you here." Nemu concluded.

Akane nodded. "Yep. And here I've been for the last decade or so. I've tried to make the best of things but as I'm sure you've seen, folks around here aren't exactly friendly."

Ichigo thought back to the old man and the boy that called Akane a witch.

"But its peaceful so there's that at least." Akane sighed. "Even that might be more than I deserve for what I've done."

"Enough!" Ichigo slammed his palms on the table, startling Rukia and Akane.

"I-Ichigo!" The dark-haired Shinigami stuttered.

"You need to stop blaming yourself!" Ichigo shouted. "You said Jason was just a boy when you revived him right? You couldn't have known what he would become at that time. The fault lies squarely on his shoulders so stop taking the burden on your own!"

"Ichigo." Akane whispered.

The orange haired Substitute-Shinigami took a deep breath and sat back down. "I'm sorry. I got a little carried away there." He continued. "I do mean it. There's no need to blame yourself for the sins of someone you tried to help so stop talking like you're the one that killed Tadashi and the others."

Rukia smiled at Ichigo before turning to Akane. "He's right." She said. "And in any case, as I've said before, we plan to destroy Jason and end his reign of terror once and for all. He will be made to atone for his sins, I promise you."

Akane sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye. "Thank you. All of you."

"Ahem!" All eyes fell on a slightly annoyed Mayuri. "This is all well and good but before we go, there's one more question I must ask you and I demand you answer truthfully."

"Very well." Akane agreed.

"Earlier, you explained that you used a forbidden Kido to revive Jason Voorhees. All information pertaining to this specific Kido seems to be totally lost even with my through research. However, as you were retelling your final mission as a Shinigami, I got to thinking about some Kidos I had read up upon going through some notes left behind by Tessai Tsukabishi shortly after he vanished with Kisuke Urahara in the World of the Living."

Akane said nothing but the look in her eyes reflected the fact that she knew where Mayuri was headed with this and she didn't like it.

"I recalled one specific Kido that caught my interest but only got so much as a peak before those Kido Corps ingrates confiscated the notes. Honestly, I feel quite annoyed with myself, to think that I of all people would let myself forget something so important in the chaos of finding Jason Voorhees. Luckily, your story roused that memory and I think I've recovered the name of the Kido." Mayuri sneered as he stared right into Akane's exhausted gaze. "The Kido, it was Fukkatsu Suru, wasn't it?"

Akane seemed taken aback for a moment. Her face dropped back to its usual disposition and she nodded slowly.

"Kekeke! I knew it!" Mayuri chuckled. "At last, all the pieces are falling into place. Thank you, Akane Watanbe." He got back to his feet. "We will be taking our leave now."

"Wait! Now!?" Ichigo asked. "It's the middle of the night!"

"All the more reason for us to get moving." Mayuri replied. "I want to get our mission to Crystal Lake underway as soon as possible. Now that we have the full story on how Jason came to be, apprehending him for study and execution will be a simple walk in the park. Nemu, let's get going."

"Yes, Master Mayuri." Nemu nodded as she rose and followed her captain out of the tent, leaving a bewildered Ichigo and a neutral Rukia.

"Is that it," Ichigo asked. "Are we just gonna leave like that?"

"Captain Kurotsuchi said he has what he needed." Rukia sighed as she got up. "There's no point in staying here and bothering our host anymore." She turned to Akane and offered a polite bow. Thank you for sharing your story with us, Akane Watanbe. We're sorry you had to relive that awful night."

Akane, taken aback that a member of the royal Kuchik clan was actually bowing her head to her, made her blush and fidget. "Oh no no no! I-I should be the one thanking you all, really, please don't bow for trash like me!" Akane forced herself to calm down, inhaling and exhaling a couple of times. "You really mean it, don't you? You're really gonna destroy Jason?"

"For the sake of the Cycle of Souls, we must." Rukia answered, her head once again held high.

"Then please," Akane teared up. "Please grant me this one request. Before you destroy him, tell Jason that I'm sorry for bringing him back into such a lonely world, that I deprived him of the chance to see his mother again and condemned him to a life of solitude in the forest."

Ichigo's heart ached. Part of him sympathized with Jason's plight. It couldn't have been easy to grow up the way he did, without any family or loved ones to look after him. Nevertheless, he became a monster that inflicted that exact same pain on several innocent people and that, Ichigo couldn't forgive. "I promise." He answered.

Through her tears, Akane smiled. "Thank you. Thank you all."

Ichigo and Rukia bowed their heads again and followed Mayuri out of the tent. It didn't take them too long to catch up and once they were near the border of District 80, Ichigo asked Mayuri a question.

"So Captain Kurotsuichi. What exactly is Fukkatsu Suru?"

"Hmmm." Mayuri shifted his gaze toward the Substitute Shinigami. "And pray tell why would you want to know that?"

"I dunno." Ichigo placed his hands behind his head casually. "I just figured I outta know and you sure seemed like you knew what you were talking about back at Akane's tent

A vein popped up on Mayuri's forehead. "Are you implying that I was faking it?"

Ichig shrugged.

Mayuri scoffed. "Very well, I'll tell you." Mayuri turned his attention back toward the front. "Fukkatsu Suru is one of a collection of highly-forbidden Kido spells, the existence of which is almost entirely kept secret from anyone outside the Kido Corps. They are said to have the ability to alter the very nature of reality itself. Reverse time. Creating new life out of nothing and in this case, bringing the dead back to life. Collectively, they are known as the Forbidden Scrolls."

"Forbidden Scrolls." Ichigo repeated.

"I only had the pleasure of reading about Fukkatsu Suru before the note were taken away but I was able to gather quite a bit from what I did read and altogether, it paints a rather disturbing picture regarding the rest of Jason's history."

"What do you mean, Captain Kurotsuchi?" Rukia asked.

"The Kido works by repairing the Soul Chain of its target and reconnecting it with their physical body. Without a body, the Kido's as good as useless."

"So even it has it's limits." Rukia commented.

"Indeed, but if there is a body, no matter how torn up, decayed, or otherwise ruined it is, the Kido will restore the being to life. However, there is a very interesting side effect to this process, one I do not believe Akane Watanbe was aware of when she used it on Jason."

"Side effect?" Ichigo asked. "What was it?"

"A very peculiar one." Mayuri continued. "The soul is rebonded back to its original body at the price of its spiritual integrity. Simply put, the Kido leaves the soul extremely vulnerable to corruption. This corruption could come from many places such as exposure to violence or death and the process may take years but the end result is always the same. Eventually, the soul will lose its human form and devolve into a horrific worm-like entity."

"A...A worm?" Rukia squirmed. The mental image of a large earthworm poking out of Crystal Lake with a hockey mask popped into her mind.

"Yes." Mayuri continued. "And unless its abnormally strong, its physical body will soon rot away as a result, freeing the corrupted soul to hunt down living humans to possess."

"Possess?" Ichigo's blood ran cold at the thought.

"As you can imagine, the bodies the being possesses wouldn't be able to handle the spiritual pressure and would rot away once it left them for a new host. Unless, of course, it finds a host who was related to its physical body by blood."

"What happens then?" Rukia asked.

"The affliction is reversed and the corrupted soul returns to normal in both body and spirit, at the cost of the relative human's life, of course."

"What a horrible process." Rukia whispered.

"Do you think that side effect has something to do with how Jason came back a second time?"

"Possibly." Mayuri nodded. "However, we won't know for sure until I can run the appropriate test on Jason." He sneered once again. "Now that we've collected all the data we needed from Akane Watanbe, we can formulate a plan to invade Crystal Lake and capture him!"

"Great." Ichigo replied. "When are we going?"

Mayuri shot him a look." We as the Gotei 13 will set the plan in motion as soon as it's created. But you will remain in Karakura Town until we have Jason in custody."

Ichigo nearly fell to the ground. "What!? What the hell for? You asked for my help in the first place and now you're pushing me away? What gives?"

"Its simple common sense really." Mayuri explained. "You're infantile sense of justice would make you want to hunt down Jason and destroy him as soon as possible. Our goal is to simply capture him. Plus, we'll need to limit the number of Shinigami that we have with us at Crystal Lake. Too many would surely produce enough spiritual pressure to tip Jason off and let him escape."

Ichigo growled in annoyance.

"Don't pout! You'll still be integral to our operations after we've successfully captured Jason. But for now, I want you to return to the World of the Living and rest up for your next assignment."

"Next assignment? Do I look like a errand boy to you?" Ichigo meant to say more to the Squad 12 Captain but was stopped by a hand gently resting on his shoulder. He turned around and found himself staring into Rukia's violet pupils.

"Let it go Ichigo." She instructed calmly. "I know you want to stop Jason from killing anyone else. We all do. But thanks to Akane's story, we know just what he's capable of. We can't rush in recklessly." She offered him a small smile, her eyes sparkling in the moonlight. "Let the Captains handle this."

"Rukia." Ichigo smiled as well. "Alright. I will."

"Glad to see even you're capable of wising up every once in a while." Mayuri murmured. "Now let's make haste. I want to begin the preparations as soon as possible."

Mayuri was already calculating several different methods for capturing Jason as he and his group marched through the 79th district of the Northern Rukongai.

---

Akane took a sip from her tea cup, the liquid inside tasting bitter with only a hint of sweet lemon. Try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to sleep after her first visit in years. Maybe it was the agony of having to relive her bloody past. Maybe it was the excitement of having a positive encounter with other people for the first time in a while. Her guest had already left several hours ago and the first rays of the Sun were beginning to peak out over the mountaintops.

"May I help you?" Akane asked politely, finally deciding to acknowledge the two new spiritual pressures she felt outside her tent. They had been there for the past several minutes and Akane had waited patiently for them to make the first move. When they didn't, she took the initiative.

"Are you by chance the one they call Akane Watanbe?" A woman's voice asked. It sounded sweet, motherly even. And yet, there was a trace of venom in it and Akane knew that this person was not an ally.

"I am." Akane answered truthfully. She saw no point in lying. If these people had come to kill her, there wasn't much she could do to fight them off.

"May we step inside?" The woman asked.

"You may." Akane finished the tea in her cup and turned to the newcomers. The woman had long blonde hair, brown eyes and a deceitfully kind smile. The man next to her had black curly hair and intense yet tired green eyes. She wore a Shinigami uniform and even carried a Zanpakuto. "Might I ask your names?" Akane continued, almost certain of her grim fate.

"Back at the Seireitei, I'm known as Prim." The woman replied. "But between you and me, my real name is Pamela." She stepped up to Akane. "Pamela Voorhees."

Akane's eyes widened and had she not already swallowed the tea in her mouth, she most likely would have spit it out. "P-Pamela Voorhees? I-Is this some kind of joke?"

"Afraid not." Pamela answered. "I've been meaning to speak with you for quite some time."

"B-But, I don't understand." Akane trembled. "Y-You're a killer! You should be in Hell!"

"That's what they all say." Pamela sighed and sat at the other end of the table. Her partner remained on his feet, a look of unease on his face. "Truth is, even I'm not sure how I arrived here. Perhaps the Good Lord saw fit to spare me because he knew that what I did was justified."

"Justified!?" Akane suddenly shouted. "You murdered innocent people! You took their lives!" Akane slammed her fist on the table. "I'm sorry about what happened to your son but that never gave you the right to inflict those same miseries onto others!"

"I had to." Pamela responded calmly. "They were evil. Sinful. Corrupted by sex and drugs. That's the reason my Jason drowned in the first place you know? They were supposed to be watching him but..." Pamela began to shake. "But instead, those dirty little punks were off making love while my boy drowned!" Tears flowing from her eyes, Pamela planted her face in her hands and wept bitterly. Akane noticed the man next to her look away, his saddened face giving away his empathy for her situation. Perhaps he had gone through something similar?

Regardless, Akane felt a pang of pity for the woman, a pity that was condensed and tainted by the knowledge that this woman was a murderer and should be trapped in Hell right now, (Is even Hell afraid of the Voorhees bloodline?) More importantly, she knew that the woman had come to kill her. That was the only explanation as for why she would bother tracking her down instead of directly hunting for Captain Kurotsuichi.

"Why exactly have you come here?" She asked, deciding to get this out of the way.

Pamela wiped her tears, sniffled, and curved her lips into another motherly smile. "We were wondering if by chance, you had a visit from anyone of the Gotei 13? Perhaps even a Captain?"

"Captain Kurotsuchi." Akane replied. "He and his group arrived here hours ago. I told them everything I knew about your son and they're going to use that information to destroy him once and for all." Akane felt like smirking as she spoke and even briefly considered it. But in the end, she knew there was nothing to smile about.

Pamela seemed to agree as her own smile faltered. "I should have expected as much. You Shinigami don't care about anyone but yourselves, least of all poor forsaken souls like myself and my boy."

"Perhaps you're right. Most of us don't seem to care." Akane admitted. "And if we find ourselves in the hands of destruction one day because of that, we'll have no right to complain." Akane got up from the table and stared right into Pamela's eyes. For the first time in decades, her own shone with resolve. "But those of us that do care will see to it that Jason is destroyed and the World of the Living kept safe from his evil."

"How dare you!?" Pamela snarled as she got up quickly. "My Jason is nothing but a sweet, special boy."

"Maybe at one time he was." Akane uttered. "But that boy died that day at the lake. What I brought back was not the same person and for that, I apologize." Akane exhaled one final time and closed her eyes. "I caused you both so much pain and suffering."

Pamela unsheathed her Zanpakuto. "Sorry?" Her motherly smile returned one more time. "Why dear, you gave my boy a second chance at life and soon he and I will be reunited at long last. I should be thanking you instead and I will...by not using my Shikai."

"Wait!" The man shouted.

But it was too late. True to her word, Pamela cut down Akane without much fanfare. A single slash of her sword cut Akane down the middle, starting at the base of her neck. She opened her eye in reflex and quickly, they began to darken as her sight left her. "I will not make a single argument against this fate. Not after the sins I've committed." The mental image of the Substitute Shinigami she had met earlier crossed her mind. "All I ask, as much as I may not deserve to make any request, is that you complete your mission. Don't let another innocent soul fall victim to the Voorhees bloodline. Destroy Jason and stop Pamela. I beg of you." A single tear fell from her almost closed eye as she fell down to the floor.

Akane Watanbe had perished.

"Farewell, Akane." Pamela said as she sheathed her Zanpakuto. "You have my eternal gratitude."

"Why did you do that?" Roy shouted. "There was no point in killing her!"

"Shut up and let me focus!" Pamela held both of her palms toward the Zanpakuto mounted on the wall behind Akane. "Sourushira!" Blue light formed a strange square pattern on her palms which shot out at the Zanpakuto, sticking to its hilt.

"W-What did you do?" Roy asked uneasily.

"Keeping the Zanpakuto from following its master in death." Pamela explained as she approached the sealed weapon and removed it from its hilt. "Squad 12 might be full of monsters and madman but there's a lot of interesting things you can learn there." She rubbed the hilt gently. "Such as subjugating a Zanpakuto spirit to serve another master. Here." She tossed it to Roy, who panicked as he scrambled to keep the sword from hitting the ground. Once he had it awkwardly clutched in his arms, Pamela marched toward the exit. "Come on. It's time to head back to the Seireitei."

"T-The Seireitei?" Roy blubbered. "No offense but I don't think we'll make it in time to stop them from coming after your son."

"You're right." Pamela sighed. "By the time we get there, I'm sure the retrieval mission will be underway if they already haven't brought him here." Pamela looked down at the ground as she continued walking, Roy following behind. "That's why our mission will not be to stop them from kidnapping Jason."

"Huh?"

Pamela turned to Roy, a new type of smile on her face, one of pure malice. "Our job will be making them pay by setting Jason free in the Seireitei!"

(Holy balls that took forever to write! Not only was this chapter super long but I had to stop and write out another Alt Four story for St. Patrick's Day. I'm gonna be giving those idiots a break for a while. Regardless, I have to say I'm pretty proud of this chapter. A few years back, I would have never been able to even dream of making this long a chapter. Practice may not make perfect but it does build up self-discipline and for a amateur writer such as myself, writer, that's invaluable.

Now to respond to NoHorrorYesAnime's comments.

I do have a arc planned for Saw but it won't be till later. No plans for the Blair Witch though.

I do plan on reviving some of the more human horror villains as Hollows. Won't say which ones but I've cooked up a few ideas I think people will love. As for Alien, well let's just say it'll be a weird as all hell arc.

And yes, there is a reason why Pamela didn't go to Hell but I'm afraid I can't say more. All I can tell you now is that she's not the only killer that will show up in Soul Society.

Kurotsuchi does play a vital role in this arc but you'll meet the true protag of this arc in the next chapter. Actually, maybe its not right to call him the protag since he's been out of the last few chapters but I promise you, his story is important to the arc! Plus, I think you'll personally like what I have planned for Ichigo and Rukia in the next chapter too. ;)

Sorry it takes me so long to write these stories. But I need to make sure they're as good as they can be!

The next chapter will see the Shinigami return to Crystal Lake. Which ones, well you'll have to wait and see! In the immortal words of Gin Ichimaru, Buh-bye!)