Valentina stomped her way through the streets of Karakura, anger very apparent on her face. Back when she was at Urahara's place, she had managed to keep some of her composure so she wouldn't let the Shinigami get the better of her, but now that she was alone, all that anger she had felt during her argument about the rights of Hollows was bubbling to the surface.

Valentina grit her teeth and kept her fists clenched at her sides. She couldn't believe the Shinigami! How could they view Arrancars as beasts?! Sure, several members of their race had attacked them and tried to kill them, but that didn't mean the entire race deserved to be exterminated for their crimes or that they were all evil! That was just bullshit! Thinking like that was called genocide mentality, and it was how the Holocaust happened!

Growling lowly under her breath, Valentina stomped in the direction of Yasutora's apartment so she could go retrieve her things. Eventually however, she noticed that she was walking by a very empty park. Curious about why the park was so quiet, Valentina stopped her trek and made a detour through the park gates.

'This place is like a ghost town. Normally parks in cities are overflowing with people, but I don't see a single one here. Just what happened to make everyone avoid this place?', Valentina asked herself as she walked down one of the park's paved paths, past playgrounds and park benches, all of which were deserted. After a few minutes of walking, she saw something that made her eyes widen in shock.

'The hell?', she thought as she walked faster to reach the surprising sight. It was a large crater in the middle of one of the park's wooded areas, big enough to contain a house. There was yellow caution tape with Japanese characters surrounding it, like it was a crime scene. Valentina didn't hesitate to walk closer to the crater, and ducked under the tape so she could get a better look.

"Just what the hell happened here?", she asked herself, not expecting an answer. Much to her surprise, she got one.

"An attack by the Arrancar. Two of them invaded a few weeks ago. One of them killed several dozen people in the area, defeated Chad, Ichigo and Orihime, and then fled back to the world of Hollows with his cohort. The normal humans think this crater and those deaths were the result of a freak gas explosion, but people like you and I have to carry the burden of knowing that wasn't the case.", the voice of a familiar young man said from behind her. Valentina tensed but didn't turn around to look at him.

"You must be very familiar with that event then if you know all that… Uryu.", Valentina said to the boy behind her. Uryu looked at her intensely with his blue eyes as the woman finally turned around to face him, her hands buried in her jacket pockets and a look on her face that said she couldn't care less that he was there, when they both knew that wasn't the truth at all.

"Why did you follow me? I told you and the others I wanted some time away from you all so I could sort out my priorities, and yet here you are, tailing me like some kind of stalker. Did Yasutora put you up to this to convince me to join his little gang of Hollow hunters? Because if so, you can tell him his Shinigami friends can take their anti-Hollow doctrine and their offer to 'train' me and shove it up their asses.", Valentina said irritably. Uryu pushed up his glasses, causing the light from the sun to glint off them intensely.

"I assure you that Chad didn't send me. I'm here of my own volition, and even if your cousin did send me, the last thing I would want to speak to you about would be convincing you to become a Shinigami.", Uryu said, spitting out the word Shinigami like it was a slur. Valentina raised an eyebrow at this, but decided against asking about his tone when using the word… for now.

"Then why are you here? Surely it's not just for a friendly chat?", she asked. Uryu then gave her a sincere look, one that surprised Valentina.

"I'm here because I want to join… whatever it is you've started by speaking up against the Shinigami. What you said back there resonated with me, about how Arrancars are people and don't deserve to be slaughtered indiscriminately.", Uryu revealed, and Valentina smiled at him hopefully.

"Does that mean you agree with me?", she asked excitedly, hoping she had found someone that shared her ideas. Having someone like that would be wonderful, and would make her feel less like the world itself was against her. Uryu gave her an uncertain look.

"Not exactly. While I do believe that so long as Hollows are a threat they need to be eliminated, I'm realizing that not all Hollows are threats. I don't see why I nor the Shinigami should indiscriminately murder sentient beings who don't hunt souls anymore and are being forced to fight on behalf of a mad man. So in short, I don't believe all the Arrancar should die. Just the ones like the one that killed all those humans and made this crater.", Uryu said, explaining his changed philosophy on Hollows. Valentina nodded in understanding.

"That's an understandable opinion to have. Can I ask what brought about this change of heart?", Valentina asked. Uryu's face grew solemn.

"This isn't the first time Soul Society has plotted to slaughter an entire race of people. Many centuries ago, in mostly Germanic countries, there was a race of humans called the Quincy. These humans were special, because they were all born with the power to manipulate reishi and wield spirit weapons. They lived all over the world, with the key difference between them and Shinigami being that the Quincies primarily wielded bows instead of swords. The Quincy were stalwart defenders of humans, and like the Shinigami, they used their powers to kill Hollows that attacked people. But the Shinigami didn't like that their territory was being encroached on. So they ordered, not asked, ordered the Quincy to cease hunting Hollows. The Quincy, obviously, didn't listen. They were living humans. Ergo, Soul Society had no power over them and had no right to tell them what they could or couldn't do. So they continued hunting Hollows, and in response… The Shinigami massaraced them. Hundreds of men, women, and children, killed on the whims of a government that didn't like that it was losing some of its power to 'mere humans'. It was a bloodbath. Barely anyone survived, and those that did went into hiding. They changed their names, moved to different countries, and some even disregarded their heritage entirely to escape the Shinigami's ire. Now they're forgotten by almost everyone, lost to the sands of time. Even the Shinigami forgot about them, because they covered up the massacre from the lower ranks. An entire race of innocents, wiped out on the whims of powerful men. It's one of the worst things Soul Society's done to date.", Uryu explained. There was a lot of emotion in his voice as he told the story. He spoke passionately about it, almost as if he had lived through the centuries old events, and his eyes glossed over with unshed tears. Valentina felt sorrow fill her heart as she listened to the tale. How could someone be so heartless that they would order the death of innocents like that? Was Soul Society really that depraved?

'And they have the nerve to call Hollows the monsters. The only monsters I see are the ones clad in black robes.', Valentina thought bitterly, clenching her fists in her pockets. Then she realized something.

"Wait, if the Shinigami covered all this information up, then how do you know about it, Uryu?", Valentina asked. Uryu's blue eyes became dark and he held out his hand. On his wrist was a blue and silver christian cross with a circle around it, dangling from a silver chain around his wrist. Valentina was about to ask how a bracelet would answer her question, but Uryu spoke up before she was able to.

"Because my family was one of the few that escaped the massacre. I'm the last true Quincy in existence.", Uryu revealed, and Valentina stared at him with wide eyes, frozen in place. Then, after several moments of silence, she spoke.

"You poor boy… ", she said with tears welling up in her eyes. Uryu's eyes widened in shock as the woman wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. Because of their height difference, Uryu's face ended up buried in the crook of Valentina's neck.

"Those Shinigami put you through so much before you were even born, didn't they? No wonder you speak of them with such anger in your voice.", Valentina said as she held Uryu, hoping to comfort him. Normally, Uryu would have been struggling to get away from the person he barely knew that was holding him, but he quickly realized that the sensation of being held by Valentina was… rather pleasant. So, he relaxed his body and leaned into her hold.

"We may not be able to erase the past, but we can change the future, Uryu. I may be new to this whole 'supernatural powers' thing, and don't really know what I'm doing, but I can promise you this; no one is gonna end up like your people did because of Soul Society ever again. I swear it.", Valentina vowed. Uyru lifted his head to look into her eyes and when he did, he saw the strongest resolve he had ever seen in his life. Even Ichigo's resolve paled in comparison to the resolve of the woman in front of him. So, despite the fact that it sounded impossible for one woman to change the fate of an entire people, Uryu couldn't help but believe that Valentina would accomplish her goal. He slowly broke away from her hold and smiled up at her (since she was damn near half a foot taller than him).

"Thank you, Valentina. You have no idea how nice it is to hear someone actually care about what happened to my people.", Uryu said, and Valentina frowned at him.

"But surely Yasutora cared at least? Or that Ichigo boy and Orihime? They're such compassionate young people. I find it hard to believe they wouldn't care at all about what happened to the Qunicies.", Valentina asked. Yasutora was reluctant about Soul Society's policies on Hollows even when he was defending them, so it didn't make sense that he wouldn't show any emotional response to the Quincy Massacre. Uryu frowned thoughtfully at Valentina's words.

"I suppose I misspoke then. It's not that my friends don't care, it's that they don't understand. Ichigo and the others fail to see how events that happened hundreds of years before I was even born could affect me, but the situation is more complicated than they realize. Imagine for me, if you will, that you're the descendent of a Holocaust survivor, and that Hitler and all his Nazis are semi-immortal supernatural beings that age a few years over the course of a century, and are still running Germany. And that you, for the sake of the greater good, are forced to constantly work alongside the Nazis for various reasons to protect the people and things you care about. That is how it feels to be me.", Uryu elaborated, and Valentina's eyes widened in horror and shock as she tried to grasp his statement.

'Wait, so if everything in that analogy Uryu just came up with is accurate, then that means… '

"Hold on, you mean the guys that ordered your people to be massacred are still in charge?!", Valentina asked loudly in disbelief. Uryu nodded solemnly.

"Yes, and that's only the tip of the iceberg named 'things that are very wrong with Soul Society'. I've been to Soul Society before. I know things and I've seen things there that would make you want to burn the whole place to the ground. Like how more than half of the so-called 'heaven' Hitsugaya and the others told you about, the one known as Rukongai, where good souls go after they die, is poverty-stricken and filled with lawlessness and crime. Or how the Shinigami do nothing to help those suffering in the Rukongai and leave them to their own devices. Or how Soul Society's head scientist, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, is a sadistic madman that abuses his lieutenant, conducts non-consensual and lethal experiments on his subordinates, and orchestrated the murder of my grandfather so he could experiment on him. Or how they let that bastard Kurotsuchi get away with anything because he's a captain and therefore on Soul Society's side. They kill Hollows for killing humans. They kill Quincies for killing Hollows. They try to have one of their own executed for a minor crime, and no one, not even the alleged criminal's own brother, does anything to stop it until it's almost too late. Soul Society is wrong and corrupt and evil and I'm ashamed that I kept working those Shinigami like nothing was wrong when they slaughtered my people and- !", Uryu rambled fervently. He spoke like every word was unraveling his being like a spool of thread. The more he spoke of Soul Society's crimes, the more hysterical he became. By the time he reached the end of his triad, his eyes were watering and he looked on the verge of a panic attack. Valentina did the only thing she could think to do and hugged him again.

"Hey, hey, it's gonna be alright. Uryu, you need to breathe. Slowly. In and out, in and out.", Valentina said gently. Uryu did as he was told and breathed deeply and slowly. As he did so, he smelled the scent of the trees around him and the scent of Valentina's Gucci perfume. After a while of repeating the process of deep breathing, Uryu managed to calm down. Once he was sure he was fine, he looked up at Valentina, embarrassment apparent on his face.

"I… I sincerely apologize for losing my composure like that, Valentina. I have no idea what came over me.", Uryu said, mortified. Valentina gave him a reassuring smile.

"Hey, it's alright. Things like that happen to the best of us, and given the fact that you were speaking about all those things from firsthand experience… well, it's understandable that you would lose it. To think, Soul Society is that corrupt. I knew they were bad because of the whole Arrancar situation, but this is just… ", Valentina trailed off, shaking her head in despair. She knew human beings were capable of awful things, but knowing that and actually hearing about such occurrences were two different things. Uryu's brow furrowed.

"I know. I meant what I said earlier about being ashamed of working with Soul Society. For the longest time, I hated all Shinigami for what they did to my people and grandfather, but now I see it's not the Shinigami themselves that are evil; it's the system they adhere to and the people at the top who perpetuate it. People like Renji and Rukia, they're victims of the system too, just in a different way than I am. And they need help just as much as the Arrancar do.", Uryu declared vehemently. Valentina nodded in agreement.

"You're right. But how can we help them, let alone the Arrancar? We're just two people against a paramilitary organization and a madman with a magic rock and an army of unwilling soldiers, and I barely know how to use my powers. Not that I'm going to give up because of that, but realistically speaking, how can we change anything?", Valentina asked her companion, and Uryu frowned deeply.

"Yeah. Not to mention I lost my Quincy powers using a very powerful attack during the mission to rescue Rukia. That puts us at one powerless Quincy and a human with Shinigami powers that not even the Shinigami seem to fully understand. So our outlook isn't great.", Uryu pointed out, and just as the pair were about to start brainstorming answers to their predicament, a voice called out to them.

"Make that one powerless Quincy, a human with Shinigami powers, and an actual Shinigami, Ishida.", a male voice called out from the trees above. Uryu and Valentina looked up, and were surprised to find a smiling Yumichika standing on a tree branch with his arms crossed. The pair looked up at the Shinigami in shock.

"Yumichika?", Uryu asked, unable to believe his eyes. Yumichika smirked at him.

"The one and only.", the fifth seat of the eleventh division said as he leapt down from his perch on the tree branch and onto the ground in front of the two humans. Uryu and Valentina eyed him with wariness.

"What are you doing here, Yumichika? Shouldn't you be with Histsugaya and the rest of your team?", Uryu asked, suspicious of the Shinigami's intentions. Yumichika rolled his eyes at the question.

"You're right, I should be with them, but I don't wanna be. So I followed Valentina's reiatsu here to see if she was up to anything interesting, and I must say, I was not disappointed. The self-proclaimed 'last Quincy' and the latest product of Urahara's reckless research tactics, conspiring to create a fledgling rebellion against Soul Society? What would Ichigo think of his friend behaving like this, hmm Uryu?", Yumichika asked mischievously. Uryu visibly tensed at the mention of his friend, before glaring at the Shinigami.

"Oh please, you and I both know I don't give a damn what Kurosaki thinks. Now stop dodging the question and tell us why you're here.", Uryu demanded, and Yumichika frowned before sighing loudly.

"Oh fine. The truth of the matter was that I found Valentina's argument on behalf of the Arrancar beautifully moving. To be willing to defend one's own people is one thing, but to be willing to defend another people that you have no true connections to so fervently? I've never seen an action more beautiful! It intrigued me, and if I'm being honest, so do your ideals.", Yumichika answered truthfully, albeit with more dramatics than necessary. Uryu and Valentina traded looks of apprehension and asked each other questions with their eyes.

'Is this guy for real?'

"So, Yumichika, what moved you to, you know… risk your life and career to help two crazy kids with an even crazier idea? Other than my so-called 'beautiful words'?", Valentina asked, wanting to make sure the help the man was offering was genuine and came from the right place. Yumichika smirked at her.

"Beyond your words? Your beautiful face. It looked so passionate when you said Hollows aren't just mindless beasts for us to slay… Also I may or may not genuinely agree with your sentiment about Arrancars being people. Add that to the fact I hail from a division of the Gotei 13 that doesn't care about politics and won't reprimand me for joining your crusade so long as they all get a good fight out of the ordeal, and you've got one ready and willing participant in your plan.", Yumuchika informed the pair. Valentina was eager to believe him (and to ignore his possible attempt at flirting with all his remarks about how beautiful she was), because she needed all the help she could get, but Uryu was still slightly skeptical.

"I suppose that does track… ", the Quincy boy trailed off, realizing Yumichika's reasoning made sense… or at the very least made sense to the man himself. Valentina then embraced Yumichika, startling the man and knocking some of the air out of his lungs. Valentina gave very tight hugs.

"This is great! We've barely started hashing out our plan and we've already got an experienced Shinigami who is willing to work with us! Now we just need to keep this trend up and we're golden!", Valentina cheered before releasing Yumichika, which prompted him to take a huge breath of air to relieve his screaming lungs. Uryu shook his head at Valentina's optimism.

"Yes, having large numbers is all well and good, but we need things other than that. Like supplies and in-depth knowledge of our opponent. Things me and you, regrettably, don't have.", Uryu pointed out. Valentina frowned at his words.

"But I thought you'd been to Soul Society before?", Valentina asked. Uryu nodded.

"Yes, but I was there to prevent an execution, not to learn the history of the Seireitei. I wasn't exactly able to browse through files while I was there. We need access to Soul Society's archives so we can learn how they've dealt with past threats, because surely we're not the only people who have decided to challenge them.", Uryu responded, and Valentina nodded.

"You're right, and hey, maybe some of those people who challenged Soul Society might still be out there and willing to go against them, or we might find people who were wronged by Soul Society and are itching to get some payback. The real question is, how are we gonna get access to those archives in the first place?", Valentina asked, and Yumichika smiled.

"I can help with that. Fifth seats and above have access to most of Soul Society's classified files. I can head back to the Seireitei, make some copies and bring them here for you two to see.", Yumichika offered, and Valentina grinned.

"Excellent! We're on the right track, guys! Our situation isn't perfect, but it's a start! Yumichika, you head straight to Soul Society and get those files! Uryu, tell me everything you already know about the spiritual world! We can walk and talk. I need to find a hotel to stay in until I feel I can move back in with Yasutora.", the amber eyed woman said enthusiastically. Uryu shook his head.

"There's no need for you to bother with finding a hotel, Valentina. My apartment has two guest rooms. You're free to stay with me as long as you like.", Uryu offered with a smile and a light blush on his cheeks at the thought of a woman living with him. Valentina blinked at his generous offer.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly impose on you like that. After all, I doubt your parents would like the idea of a stranger living in their house.", Valentina refused politely. Uryu's smile turned to a frown at the mention of his parents.

"I can assure you, that won't be a problem. I live alone, and who I invite to stay with me is my business. Besides, us co-conspirators have to stick together, right?", Uryu explained, a small smile appearing on his face when he said his last sentence. Valentina chuckled at his joke.

"Alright, I'll come and stay with you. It's probably best that I do, so we can have an easier time working together and keeping what we're doing discreet. I'll get my stuff and meet you at your place. Here's my number, text me the address and I'll get a taxi.", Valentina agreed, before taking a pen out of her pocket and using it to write her phone number on the back of Uryu's hand. Yumichika shot them a sheepish smile.

"Actually, can I have one of those guest rooms? It probably isn't a good idea for me to keep staying with Ikkaku while we plot against Soul Society, even if it is to keep up appearances.", Yumichika asked. Uryu sighed but quickly relented.

"If you insist. It's probably for the best that you move in too, anyway. Like Valentina said, it's easier to work together if we're all in one place.", Uryu agreed, and Valentina laughed joyfully.

"Wonderful! This just keeps getting better and better! If that's all, I'll go and get my stuff now. I'll see you boys later, okay?", Valentina said, and she started to walk away, before stopping suddenly and turning around to give her two new allies a look that made their breath catch in their throats.

"Thank you guys so much for agreeing to work with me. Because of you two, we can actually do something about Soul Society's unjust actions, instead of just standing by and letting them happen. This won't be easy to pull off. It will be hard, and there may be times when all of us will wanna give up, but… you guys are doing the right thing. What we're doing will save lives. Never forget that.", Valentina told them with glistening amber eyes, and with that she was walking away again. Uryu let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and Yumichika smiled softly as he stared at Valentina's retreating back.

"You know, I didn't become a Shinigami to help people. I became one to fight people and get stronger, like Ikkaku did. A century ago, I wouldn't have been phased by speeches about 'doing the right thing' and 'saving lives', let alone the lives of Hollows. But now… things are different.", Yumichika mused quietly, his purple eyes reflecting an emotion Uryu couldn't quite put his finger on. The last Quincy gave him a brief look before smiling as well.

"I feel the same way. If you had told me three months ago I would be actively trying to save the lives of Hollows and willingly working with a Shinigami to do so, I would've sneered in disgust before threatening to shoot you. But Valentina… I don't know. It's like when she spoke, I couldn't help but listen. She's got a magnetism not even Kurosaki could match. It's almost frightening.", Uryu said with a light chuckle. Yumichika laughed as well.

"Frighteningly beautiful is what I'd call it. I wasn't lying when I said I found her to be stunning… with or without her radical ideas. And I think you feel the same way.", Yumichika said teasingly. Uryu turned bright red.

"I have no idea what you're talking about.", he refuted with a suspicious amount of speed. Yumichika laughed again.

"Of course you don't. Now, mind showing me to that guest room of yours?", Yumichika said disbelievingly. Uryu gave him an annoyed look before sighing.

"Very well. Follow me, and please try to keep my apartment in one piece while you stay there.", the powerless Quincy relented, before walking away from the park with Yumichika trailing after him. Both of them had a single thought running through their brains,one that centered around the gorgeous woman they had just agreed to rebel against Soul Society with.

'Things are about to get very interesting around here.'

Here's the latest chapter! I know I promised another Hueco Mundo scene this chapter, but I pushed it back to next chapter since this chapter was already so long. I'm almost finished with the chapter after this one though, so it should be published very soon. Sorry if a lot of the characters seem OOC (especially the love interests) when it comes to Valentina or the rights of Hollows, but this story wouldn't work if they weren't at least a little out of character. Next time, a return to Hueco Mundo Szayel makes an appearance!

So long and Goodnight, Thackery Binx.