I wanted to come up with a villain for this story with an interesting ability, something that would catch the Gotei 13's attention. I think I hit on something unique here. Well, maybe not unique, but like. I don't recall there being a character in Bleach who can do this kind of thing.

I dunno. Whatever. The point is, I like this guy, and I hope you will too.

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While Hitsugaya managed his usual morning reports, Izumi and Hibiki were settled on the floor of his office, drawing with paper pads and art pencils that Ichigo Kurosaki brought with him the last time he'd come to work with the Ninth.

"I dunno what kinds of hobbies you soul reapers get up to," he'd said, "but having extra options never hurt. Work some color into your routines. Work with your hands."

The twins were so focused on their art that they didn't notice when the door opened; Matsumoto walked in, followed quickly by Yumichika Ayasegawa and . . .

"Hinamori?" Hitsugaya blinked. "What are you . . . ?"

"I wanted to see how your new recruits are handling things here in the court," Momo Hinamori announced with aplomb. "Also, Captain Madarame wanted someone here to report back to him. He's indisposed today."

"He got dragged into a disciplinary meeting for starting a fight over breakfast," Yumichika said, with the casual air of someone discussing the weather. "Captain Zaraki gets those summons all the time; he collects them like trading cards. I saw him building a fort with them once."

Hitsugaya bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. "I see," he said flatly.

"So." Yumichika turned his attention to the children. "These are the Tenth's newest grunts, are they?" He settled onto the floor, crossing his legs underneath him. He studied the twins' drawings with a seriousness that belied his usual blasé attitude.

Izumi looked up at her new audience. "You're pretty," she said.

Yumichika straightened, blinked several times, then graced the girl with a beaming smile. "Why, thank you. That's so lovely of you to say. I am Yumichika Ayasegawa. To whom do I have the honor of speaking?"

"Izumi," the girl announced. "I don't gots two names."

"I stoled the other one," said her brother. "It's Hibiki."

"I see." Yumichika nodded solemnly. "Izumi and Hibiki. It's delightful to meet you both."

Hinamori settled herself next to Yumichika. "We were wondering if maybe you could explain something for us," she said gently. "When you both met Mister Captain out on the street, you were doing work for somebody called Mister West. Isn't that right?"

"Uh-huh, uh-huh." Izumi nodded. "Mister West is the big boss. He gives jobs. He tells everybody what they gots to do, and they does it 'cuz he's mean."

"Who is Mister West the big boss for, Izumi?" Yumichika wondered.

Izumi tilted her head to one side, like she couldn't understand why a whole grown-up—especially a pretty one—would ask such a silly question. Eventually she repeated herself: "Everybody."

Hibiki, who was still drawing, said: "Mister West says he gots special powers."

"He doesn't says he gots them," Izumi said, reproachfully. "He does gots them."

"I never saw no powers," Hibiki huffed.

"You never saw nothing."

Hinamori covered her mouth with a hand.

Hitsugaya covered his face with a sheet of paper.

Yumichika, oddly, still looked rather grim. "Izumi," he murmured, "what kind of special powers does Mister West have? What have you seen him do?"

Izumi hummed. She settled back and set her pencil down. "He don't gots no shadow," she said, "so's he takes other peoples'. He steals them. If Mister West gots your shadow, you gots do do what he says. Even if you dies."

Yumichika closed his eyes. He sighed. Nodding, he rose to his full height and eyed Hitsugaya with that solemn, angry look he'd had before. "It's him." He gestured. "Didn't you say something about that bandit you caught . . . moving strangely?"

"I didn't see it," Hitsugaya said, "but Rangiku said he moved like a puppet."

"He's not the first person I've seen who moved like that," Matsumoto said, with the air of someone remembering something suddenly. "It's familiar. I know I've seen it before."

"What does this mean?" Hitsugaya asked.

"It means the bandit, and whomever else you saw," Yumichika said to Matsumoto, "was probably dead. Like Izumi said. Check with Captain Kurotsuchi. I'm sure he'd be overjoyed to tell you about it. This is why Nishi is such a problem. How he can get people to work with him despite being . . . spectacularly unimpressive. He can . . . upset the balance. By himself."

Hitsugaya set his pen aside and leaned back in his chair.

"If he catches someone's shadow . . . they don't leave him, even if they're killed. They don't return to the living world. They . . . remain here."

Yumichika nodded. "Precisely," he said.