Bleach: The Alternate Tale

by blackout2010

We all know that Ichigo Kurosaki was a human who became a Shinigami, but what would happen if he was always a Shinigami when the events of bleach happened, perhaps an altered story. Very minor crossover with Sakura Wars. A/U A/T. Contains incest in later parts.

43. In the hands of another

Pre-fic banter:

Blackout2010: Hello again, my lovely audience. I've finished this latest chapter and I think I should be fine with the rough idea on how to finish this story off.

Ichigo: It's been over 6 months, where have you been?

Blackout: Busy, busy with personal things. Anyway, I hope you the audience like this chapter for what it is, I did try to make things as uncomfortable as possible in some parts. I certainly hope I'm not too out of touch with things.

Senna: Uncomfortable for whom exactly?

Blackout:…

Senna:…

Blackout: Anyway! I hope you enjoy.

Senna: You are such an asshole for letting me die!

Shaolin: Sadly, she kind of has a point Blackout.

Blackout: (sigh)

Aizen: In the meantime, why don't you grab a bottle of water, like me and continue on. Do Enjoy the fic.

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Chapter 42: In the hand of another…

…

…

"…g…"

Ichigo's body stirred lightly, as his consciousness began to emerge back to the forefront, the body-pounding exhaustion that he expected to feel after his battle against Aizen was mysteriously absent.

"f..l…b..ti…"

'What…?' the man pondered, barely able to hear a voice calling out to him. Opening his eyes, he saw the bend of his elbow and arm, near level with his eye. "Uggghh…" he groaned, as he turned his hand over and covered his eyes, giving himself a small shake to bade off any lingering lethargy.

Lifting his hand up, so he could see, he saw that he was sprawled across a fluffy red carpet. Looking to his left, he saw a myriad of marble pillars standing straight up, holding the white ceiling overhead. The tan walls were lightly decorated with symbols and banners the likes of which he'd never seen. "Where am I?" the man asked himself, as he pushed himself up, taking just a moment to steady his feet underneath him.

Bending over beside his foot, he picked up his blade, Tensa Zangetsu, and after giving it a once over to make sure it was still okay, glanced down to the sword's hilt, where the newly acquired gem hung snugly wrapped in the black chain. He quietly wondered if this change in scenery was something it had done, but the gleaming stone made no discerning emote to signify so to its new master.

Bringing the weapon back down to his side, he peered down the way he was facing and saw that the columns and the red carpet road extended far beyond the horizon, further than he could see. The man was about to contemplate what he should do, when the voice from before, a familiar one called from behind him.

"You are very annoying. First: you drool on my floor and then you ignore me. (sigh) The thing I put up with."

Turning around, the man saw that the carpet went behind him as well, albeit before going up a small flight of stairs, leading up to the foot of a throne.

As his eyes traveled up the throne, they widened as he recognized just who was sitting on it, speaking to him. "S-shaolin?" the man questioned seeing his wife staring down at him apathetically, her right cheek resting against her fist. The man tilted his head a bit, unable to make head or tails of this, what was she doing here and where the hell WAS here? "What's going?"

"Shaolin?" the diminutive captain replied curiously, moving her head from its resting position to giving just a passing glance to her clothing. "Is that what you see?" she asked, looking back to the man before her.

"Is that what I…see?" he repeated. It took a moment for the words to pierce through his quiet puzzlement. "A-Aizen!?" he stammered panicked, raising his sword up defensively, genuinely frightened to having been hypnotized of his victory, of losing the crucial war. "But…I stopped you! The Hogyoku-"

'Soifon' laughed amicably, as she got up from the throne, hands resting in her pockets. As Ichigo tightened his grip on his weapon, tepidly, preparing to engage, the woman started walking down the stairs, her laughter dying away till only an unnerving smile remained. "No," she informed quietly, as she walked down the steps. "I am not Aizen, Mr. Kurosaki."

Ichigo's brow furrowed even more, as the woman stepped off the last step. IF she wasn't Aizen and wasn't Shaolin, who the hell was she!?

Tilting her head to the side, the impostor's eerily similar grey eyes locked with his own. "I" she said deeply, hand raised to her chest, "am the spirit king." she finished with a sweep of her hand.

"Whaa…?" he whispered breathlessly, trying to make sense of this. Ichigo shook his head, disbelieving what he saw, as he lowered his blade back down. The Spirit King was a woman? AND looked like Shaolin…? But why?

Sensing his unvoiced question, the blue-haired woman closed her eyes and started walking towards him. "My physical appearance is based on a form that relaxes those that see me." She said, stopping only when she was nearly touching him. Turning her gaze upward, she leaned in close, in same seductive way, Shaolin would when they kissed, before blowing a breath of air at him, tauntingly. "However…" the king said as s/he walked around the disturbed Kurosaki, voice changing as the man tried to gather his wits, from the near perfect mimicry. "I am far from limited."

As he turned around trying to keep up, keep sight of the creature, gone was the visage of his beautiful wife, instead the captain was replaced by the smiling boyish face of Hanataro Yamada, his deceased friend and medic of the fourth division.

"So you really are the king…?" he asked quietly, very unnerved by this…thing's ability. Taking a glance behind him, he saw the throne on the top of the stairwell and assumed it the throne of heaven that Aizen sought to control to become a god. Looking back at the man, his appearance again changed from the meek medic to resemble his spunky sister, Senna.

"That's correct." The woman's chipper voice rang, dissonant with her bored expression.

"Then you brought me here?"

The woman nodded, "Once again, yes."

"Why?"

"Well…" The woman looked away, placing her finger against her cheek contemplatively. Thinking over the reason, she smiled childishly, "because I wanted to thank you for amusing me so." She explained.

"Amusing you?" the man asked, taking a step closer to her, unsure of what to make of that.

'Senna' raised an eyebrow quizzically, "Yeah, amuse. What you don't know what that means? I didn't think you were that much of an idiot." The young woman sighed heavily. Twirling her wrist in a small circle, finger pointing up, she continued, obviously annoyed. "The word amuse means when- "

"I know what the word means!" Ichigo yelled at her hotly, cheeks flaring red. 'God, this is guy is condescending.'

"I heard that by the way." The unamused woman replied, bringing her hand back down to her side, before she walked around the surprised reaper again, a dark glare leveled at him, as she roughly brushed by.

As he turned back around, the spirit king, now taking the form of Shinjiro sauntered over to the steps and sat down, leaning back to sprawl out over the steps, tapping the side of his temple. "Watch what you think." He advised the man.

Ichigo stared at that man for a couple of seconds, before continuing his prior thought. "You were talking about amusement and giving congratulations, what were you getting at?"

The samurai smiled amicably, intrigued by the turn of the conversation. "Well, I was congratulating you on overcoming such a powerful foe. Sosuke Aizen defeated the head captain, before engaging you; plus, considering his numerous machinations to destroy or entice you, I must commend your fortitude." The man lifted his arms up and shrugged gently, "Actually why stop there, I should also probably give you props for surviving all the events in your life. A lesser man would have broken for sure, but I guess it's just the way the game goes. One man's misery is another's pleasure. Still even I was on the edge of my seat, anxious to see how you'd handle things."

The reaper took in the man's words and slowly some things were beginning to click to him. "You knew what was going to happen?" he questioned, taking just a step closer to him. "And you let it happen…for your amusement?"

The samurai tilted his head back and let out a ponderous hum for a second or two, before looking back at the man, the same damn infuriating smile from before back on his face. "What's it to you? Matter of fact:" the man leaned forward resting his arms on his knees, smile widening by the moment. "What would you do if I said 'yes'?"

The king wasn't the least bit surprised when the youth grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and effortlessly lifted him up, fire burning in his eyes. "I'd kick your ass!" he threatened, curling his wrist to tighten the hold. "How could you do such a thing to so many people!?"

The fiery man tightened his grip on the man's collar, his knuckles pressed against the faux-samurai's throat, before suddenly he felt nothing. Gone was the weight and gone was the king, all he was grasping was empty air. The sound of footsteps rang in his ear as the king, appearing as his mother now, walked around him, re-taking his earlier seat. "Please keep your hands to yourself." He taunted quietly, before leaning in and speak lower, but just as pointedly. "Didn't you mother teach you at least that much, before she died?"

The king narrowly dodged the ferocious swipe of Tensa Zangetsu, as its owner scanned hastily to find the shit-talker. Reappearing in a flash step back on her throne, as she quietly sat down back down and looked back at the man. "If you keep attacking me," she said, getting the man's attention. Just as he was about to unleash a Getsuga on her ass, she added, "how am I supposed to give you an answer to the questions you ask, hmmm?"

Letting out an aggravated growl, the man straightened back up, bringing his sword back to his side as the energy coating the blade died away...for now "Fine then." He spat, patience shortening by the second.

Elated, the healer basked in delight, before speaking. "Now, just so were clear: You want to know why I let all these things happen, right?"

"Yeah."

"Because it amused me." The ruler answered, hand extended outward, causing an enormous heavy pressure to slam on top of Ichigo, pinning him down before he could launch a Getsuga Tenshō at him. Resting her arm on the armrest, the woman's face morphing into Unohana, she continued in a bored monotone. "Mr. Kurosaki, you must take a moment to understand my position. I sit on the throne of heaven. I see the lives human beings every day; I watch them constantly. But more importantly than that: I already know what's going to happen to them before it even happens."

"What…the fuck…eghh…are you talking about you bastard!?" the man grunted, fighting against the intense gravitational energy pressing down on him.

"Soooo slow." The captain droned, sighing heavily from sheer annoyance. "I swear I would not be having this conversation if Aizen was here, he would at least be able to follow it to some degree." She lamented, before leaning forward.

"Let me spell it out for you: Your very existence serves as pure entertainment. I created the world and the hierarchy of destiny, do you not think that I couldn't change the way the world works on a whim, if I really wanted to?"

"So why don't you!? Because you'd be bored!?"

"You hit the nail right on the head, Ichigo." The woman replied, lowering her hand back down and halting the gravity field, the Kurosaki falling to his knees, breathing heavily from the ordeal. "I didn't create such a world because it would be boring for me."

A frown formed on her face, "Think about it: I would be trapped in this room for all of eternity watching the world below live happy perfect lives that I constructed for them to have. Do you honestly know how completely and utterly bored out of my mind I'd be? I would be forced to watch something that I already know how it ends for the rest of my eternal life. I refuse. Flat out."

"So the alternative was to let everyone suffer!?" he roared, shooting a dirty look her way. "Just so you can get your entertainment!?"

Unohana looked away guiltily, before rearing a sly look back at the man. "Well, that's why I set out and made adjustments all the time. For instance, at one point, I let everything be determined by me. That didn't work out so well, so then I gave people freedom of choice, and well…" the woman laughed harshly, "That was way WAAY more entertaining. Although, that did end with Aizen effectively forcing me to destroy the world…well, I guess your father had a hand in that too, but still I was definitely on the edge of my seat the whole time."

Ichigo was taken aback by what he heard. His father had something to do with the king? Biting back, his knee-jerk reaction with dealing with the callous king, he tried to keep things civil. "You said my dad?" he inquired, not liking that for every answer he got from the king, ten more question took its place.

"Mmhmm. Isshin, or Ein as you better know him, came to me once before. Actually, now that I think about it, for pretty much the same reason as you. He wasn't happy with his world, so as a last hope in a world conquered by Aizen, he came to me and implored me to intervene, exactly like you. So I did, ending his world and creating yours."

The woman sighed loudly, as she shook her head. "And now here we are with you. I tell you, your family is difficult to please. They want one thing, and then when they get it they want another, geez!"

"Are you fucking kidding me!?" he yelled furiously, temper spiking from the response. "You let a world get destroyed by Aizen and then you killed everyone without a second thought and YOUR complaining because he called you out on it!?"

"Well…" the woman trailed off, seemingly thinking it over. "yeah, but why should I take responsibility for someone else? I gave you autonomy after all."

'Does this jackass have snarky answers for everything?' Ichigo thought to himself disgustedly, 'Oh my god…does that mean Aizen was…actually right…?'

"Well, that's a matter of perspective, Mr. Kurosaki." The voice of Urahara relayed back to him, once again reading his mind. When the man looked back up at the scientist-king, he continued. "Tell me have you ever heard of the saying of: A man stands in the palm of another?"

When he received, a neutral shake of the head, the king nodded knowingly. "Okay, here's how it is explained in simple terms. A man may believe himself in complete control of his world and surroundings, the master of his own domain if you would. HOWEVER! If, if, one was to take a step back and really look around to what moves the world, they would realize that everything about them, everything that they -think- they control is actually ruled by another far more powerful than them."

The king raised his hand and in it an image of human being appeared.

"Humans rule the earth above all other creatures. Their will and innovation have given them domain over all that they see. They choose what species of animal lives or dies based on their whims, the have constructed weapon that could end the world hundreds of times over should they will it, yet they don't. They seek to expand themselves, to learn, to master more of their world."

Suddenly the image changed from the human in gaudy clothing to a Shinigami standing proudly, hand on their Zanpaktou. "And yet for all their understanding, all the knowledge they seek. They are so ignorant of the true dangerous in the universe. Imagine what would happen, if all the Shinigami did nothing to stop hollows for a single day, can you imagine the chaos that would ensue, as the human wonder frantically why they are dying to some invisible force? The Shinigami oversee the vastly unaware humans, guiding and protecting them at all times, ensuring the very survival of their race, so that they could achieve the feats that they have. Tell me where is humanities thanks in that?"

The image of the Shinigami was replaced by the collective captains of the Gotei 13. "Take it a step further and we have the captains. They are the leaders of the Shinigami, guiding all the lower ranked soldier in accordance with the plan best suited to protecting humanity. They are privy to the way the world works and issue the orders necessary to influence the changes needed in the world. Were it not for the existence of the captain, the Gotei 13 would fall apart, people would scramble and fight for power and control, and do you know who suffers in the meantime? The Shinigami and the humans. Tell me, where are their thanks in that to the captains?"

The spirit king lowered his hand back down against the armrest, the image disappearing. "Now do you see? Each level is monitored by a greater power, for the most part vastly unaware of it's influence. There are of course select few that are aware of this established order. For instance, there are spiritually aware humans that catch glimpses into our world, there was you, a common soldier, that got to see the far-reaching sides of this war and make choices your fellow soldier could not. Sosuke Aizen, in fact could see beyond the level of his station and peer just a bit into my own realm, an ability even you lacked until I brought you here before me."

Ichigo made a disgruntled expression, "This just sounds like some cheap way to shirk off the responsibility, Spirit king." He grunted back.

To his dismay, the spirit king actually seemed amused by his words and actions, rather than insulted. "I will be perfectly frank with you. Even I am not completely sure, if there exists a power beyond I. Yes, I could crush all the realms in my palm without a second thought, but not once have I ever considered doing such a thing. And when I ponder, why I don't ponder such thought, I keep wondering, if I were to look away from the worlds resting in my hands, would I see myself hovering precariously in the hands of another, to judged, to be crushed?" the spirit king turned his gaze to the ceiling thoughtfully.

"Do I merely dance to another's tune merely for their amusement, much as you do me? Are the words we speak, the thoughts, beliefs we hold, even our own? I do wonder…" he turned his gaze back to the silent reaper, "Can they see us now? Can they see our lives down to the smallest ant? Ichigo, do you think they saw the trials and tribulation you went through? Everything that has happened since Aizen manipulated Toshiro into making you join to Shaolin Fon's division…and considered it as entertaining as I did? For that to be the reason, why I never chose to avoid those bloody treacherous conflicts?"

The king paused ominously, paying close attention to ensure his words were being heard by the other party. "Were these onlookers heartbroken when they saw you fight your beau in the forest of Soul Society, a string of tragedy and betrayal, leading to the chance of losing your love forever? Were they laughing in their secluded dimension beyond ours, every time you had a back and forth with your inner hollow, the qualms of instinct versus reason?"

The king leaned in closer, eyes narrowed, judgingly, voice low and gravelly. "Did they delight in watching you struggle, as your world fell apart around you? Much like a child with a new toy would? Mr. Kurosaki, truly ask yourself: Do you, as much as I, exist solely for the entertainment for these people? To be forgotten when your plot, your drama, no longer amuses them? By your standards, are they not as much a monster as you claim I to be?"

The king leaned back into his throne, as the permeating silence rang throughout the hollow corridor. The myriad of musing and thoughts washing over the two of them.

Thoughts of existence.

"It doesn't matter." The man said finally, breaking the silence of the empty room. Leveling an even glare at the king, he said, "Maybe there is something beyond you, pulling at your strings, and maybe there are things that I can't comprehend that consider me their plaything…" Baring his teeth, he snarled, "but my issue isn't with them. It's with you."

He took a few steps closer to the stairwell, stopping at the base, as the shapeshifter took the form of Kukaku Shiba. "You've seen the struggles we've been through, and like you said with Aizen, and now myself, we've seen into worlds beyond our own. But unlike you, we've made choices to resist. To fight against those that would use other people as their playthings."

Raising Tensa Zangetsu up, he pointed it challengingly at the ruler of worlds. "So…I'm going to ask you: Why don't you intervene? We're allowed to protect humans, captains protect the Shinigami, I'm choosing to protect everyone, and we're doing it because we choose to. So why don't you protect your creations? Even if you hate us, it's your 'job' at the very least right?"

The one armed-woman seemingly rolled her eyes, before scooching over. "I told you that was boring the first time I did it. And, the second and third time around, I granted you freewill to act independently. Why should I take responsibility for another's actions? Better yet: Why I should I take responsibility for something born of men's hearts?"

Leaning forward, she gazed evenly at the man, "I granted you the ability to make your own choices and forge your own destinies, so if some abused such power, would it not be the responsibility of your own kind to solve it first before I? I mean my solution to the problem is to wipe out existence and start over, and I have to tell you, I'm two for two on that one, so I've got a pretty good track record at the moment. I can make it three now, if is that is what you want."

Ichigo swung his sword through the air, obvious frustration in his voice. "You already know what I want. I want this world to become a better place. A place where we don't need people like Aizen to rise up, a place where people's lives aren't destroyed by the whims of another!"

Kukaku raised a brow, "You would have me –remove- human free will?" she questioned, admittedly slightly intrigued to hear such a request from such an individual.

A frustrated groan escaped Ichigo's lips, gods how can something so smart, be so dumb. "Stop thinking in absolutes, damn it! I'm saying as the spirit king: Do your damn job and be there for us! You have the power to affect those under you, is it so damn hard to use your power and try to make life better for everyone!?"

"Better…? How?" the spirit king as drolly, "One man's heaven is another man's hell, literally. I refuse to work my ass off the rest of my eternal existence making each individual life IN existence even ten percent better, while also ensuring they don't inflict some level suffering on another. Or, is your little utopian view not account for people like me? That I should not be allowed to have happiness of my own? Because, I do believe that would make you a hypocrite AND put us right back where we started, me bored. Or maybe you really mean, make life better only so long as you are alive, then I can do what I want, hmmm?"

The woman sighed heavily, as she leaned back in the chair. All this build up, all these events and this was the culmination of choice and chance. "What a bore." She huffed disappointedly, "I wish you would just leave my sight. Don't spout nonsense that you know nothing about."

The man closed his eyes, contemplating his next move. He heard the distinct whisper of the Hogyoku echo in his mind. Its voice didn't sound as foreign as he might have envisioned; instead, it sounded like his own heart muttering to his conscience, a sentiment he wasn't entirely sure was his own, but one he knew that had to be done, if he wanted to make things right.

"What if I took the throne?" he asked, looking back up at the obstinate woman.

To his credit, he was able to make the woman open her eyes and look back at him, quizzically. "I'm sorry? What was that?" she replied in a low whisper, clearly not expecting those words to fall from his lips.

"I said:" he reiterated more resolutely, "What if I took the throne from you?"

The man watched as the woman's posture slumped a bit, eyebrow raising slightly, before she reared her head back, laughing her ass off like no tomorrow, the very walls of the room shaking. "OH, OH OH GOD! AHAHAHA! T-TH(huff) THAT WAS HILARIOUS!" the spirit king cried out, tears falling from her eyes. The fit of laughter was so great that the shapeshifter's form warped, changing from the Shiba leader into a small blond haired boy Ichigo had never seen before.

The young child, looking no older than six, came back down from his joyous high and looked at the reaper, dead on. "You're joking." He replied deathly serious. With a snap of his finger, an intense invisible energy slammed against Ichigo's body flooring him. The man chocked as a harsh gasp of air left his lungs from the impact, closing his eyes, he hyperventilated to recover at least a bit, so he could try to struggle against the suffocating weight. Opening his eyes, through the tears of pain, Ichigo could only watch helplessly as Tensa Zangetsu, the weapon of his soul, broke apart before his eyes into reishi particles, as his Shinigami Hakama drained of its color, turning from black to pure white.

The boy got up from his throne and started walking back down to the powerless man. "You see what I did with a single snap? I destroyed all traces of spiritual energy within your body, up to an including the Hogyoku attached to your sword. Effectively, I have reduced you to the status of a normal human being."

He stopped about half way down and sat, staring back at the man that was gasping for air, a nonchalant look on his face. "The only reason you're still alive is because I set my powers just low enough for you to not be turned into bloody paste on my rug." He placed his cheek against his fist, "This is just the beginning of the difference in our power; do you honestly think you could take me, backed by my power granted by the throne of heaven?"

Ichigo gasping, trying to catch his breath and fight against the intense pressure crushing his body, closed his eyes tightly, before yelling out as loud as he could, "I KNOW I CAN!" he screamed defiantly.

The man's body was slammed flat against the ground, as the pressure seemingly increased a hundred-fold, knocking all the wind out of his chest a second time. Gritting his teeth, he forced his elbows closer together to use as a base prop, before turning all his energy into neck and shoulder, raising his gaze up slowly at the king, who stared at him, slack jawed at his resistance. "I…challenge…you…!" he grunted out, before his body gave out and his face slammed into the floor once again.

The young child watched the orange haired man curiously…intrigued even. With an amused smile, he stood up and snapped his finger once again, as he walked down to the reaper.

All at once, the Shinigami felt the pressure vanish from him, as well as the return of his spiritual energy. Pushing himself off the ground, he examined his hand lightly, red and still shaking, letting him know that what he felt a second ago was real, eyes traveling down, he noted that his clothes had returned to normal. Feeling a weight on his side, he looked down and placed his hand against his Tensa Zangetsu looking in pristine condition, trailing his hand up the chain, he felt the small pulsating heat of the Hogyoku amidst the cold steel chain.

"You interest me." The young boy said, drawing the man's attention back to him. When the man's expression turned wary, the king's smile grew just a hair. "Confused?" he added playfully. "What you see is my true form." He shrugged, "It makes people uncomfortable to see what amounts to a child on the throne of heaven. That's why I looked the way I did."

Ichigo turned his gaze away, as he stood back up to his full height. The man frowned as he shook his head, "I can't fight you like this."

The child's face went blank for a moment before breaking out into a wide smile. "Oh no, we're not going to fight now. I wanted to give you something instead." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small golden ticket.

As the man grabbed it, he looked it over and found both sides to be blank. Looking back up blankly for an explanation, he got it. "That will allow you to return within a year's time back to this space, so that we may battle."

"Why one year?" Ichigo asked, confused by that specific parameter.

"Because, while I think you could defeat me, if I was not backed by the throne of heaven's power. I am unsure of your conviction to humanity." The blond haired boy stated, "I want you to return back to them and just observe them. Take awareness in the events and people around you, and then decide then, if you think you are better suited to taking the throne."

The boy turned slightly and gazed at the throne forlornly, seeing the rather pensive look on the king's face, Ichigo wondered a bit more on his actions, before looking at the empty throne, looming…ominously above them.

"You have the qualities of a good leader, but do you have the foundation of a ruler? How would you fair, if questioned by another as you did me? How would you fare to being shown ingratitude and apathy on a near constant basis? I am far from perfect, but I still created Masaki, your mother, to aid humanity, without asking anything in return. Just keep that in your thoughts."

The child looked back at Ichigo and nodded self-assuredly, "The choice is yours Ichigo. You do not have to return here, but know if you do, I will try to kill you, so do keep your loved ones in mind."

"Alright…" the man said, able to meet some level of understanding with spirit king, as he put the ticket into his pocket. "But don't think that it will stop me, spirit king."

If it was possibly the child's smile grew wider, as he raised his hand dismissively. "Don't get too cocky. Although, its cheating in this case, I did just beat you with two fingers. So don't underestimate me." A bright light radiated from his hands and in an instant, the reaper was gone. The young man slowly trudged back up to his throne and sat down upon it, his legs kicking back and forth with youthful impatience. "And now I wait and see. It's been a while, since I've been so excited."

(Ichigo)

"Uggg…" the man's voice echoed, as he stirred within a sea of darkness. He felt a bright heat on his face as the darkness around him slowly began to lift. His eyes flitted open as another moan escaped his lips, he saw a strange tile-pattern, before it was obscured by another object, as his eyes closed again.

He felt his body being shaken lightly forcing his eyes open, this time he saw Shaolin looking over him, her lips moving rapidly, trying to communicate with him. The man narrowed his eyes on her face, focusing solely on her. As he did so, her previously muted words began to increase in volume from a distant echoed muffle to coherent speech.

"...can…hear me? Ichigo, Ichigo? Stay with me." She whispered tepidly, coaxing him to keep his eyes open.

"Shaolin…?" he creaked weakly, raising his hand up just enough to rub his eyes tiredly. While his vision was obscured, he felt the woman wrap her arms around his head and neck, and with a well imaged smile, he heard her whisper happily.

"Welcome back, Ichigo." The relieved captain muttered.

Removing the hand from his face, he lightly brushed it through the woman's hair, before resting it against the back of her neck and pulling her in with his shoulder. "It's good to be back." He whispered, before kissing her on the cheek.

The light peck slowly turned into a heart pounding kiss when his wife, slid her face to the side and returned the affectionate gesture with all her passion, her hand reaching down, interlocking fingers with him. The two spent a minute or two lost in each other, obviously grateful to know they survived the hell of war, before the smiling woman pulled back and leaned away from him.

Looking down, he saw that he was laying down in a bed. Pushing himself up, he was surprised to see, that he wasn't immediately wracked with pain from the battle prior. Removing the blanket from his chest, he saw that his normal Hakama was gone, replaced by ward clothing, when he cast a questioning look, Shaolin piped up answering his question.

"You've been in the fourth division for a while, Ichigo. Captain Kyoraku found you, unconscious in the streets; he brought you back to Soul Society. You've been sleeping ever since."

"How long have I been out?"

"Almost two weeks." She answered quietly. Turning away to the nearby window, she continued, "You gave us quite a scare." She said as neutrally as possible, trying to hide the worry she'd felt all this time. "No matter what we did, you wouldn't wake up, even after Unohana confirmed that you were already fully healed."

Ichigo stiffened from her confession. 'Could it be because I was talking to the spirit king? But it couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes right?' Looking away, he thought about if it was all in his head, "How long did it take Kyoraku to reach me?" he asked, as he dug into his pocket searching for the ticket the spirit king had given him.

Shaolin barely recoiled questioningly, before answering him. "I wasn't there you know," she chided, "but Kyoraku said you shouted something before falling down. So I would say immediately, why?" she asked with a small frown.

Pulling out his hand, Ichigo held out the small ticket and extended out to the woman. "Because I met the spirit king. I talked to him while I was unconscious?"

"Really?" she asked uncertainly, not expecting him to say that.

The man nodded, as he raised up the ticket. "He gave me this."

"Your hand?" she replied, the skepticism in her tone growing stronger.

"Yeah, the…what?" glancing down at his hand, he clearly saw the ticket in his palm, but when he glanced back at the captain, she just stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "You…don't see anything?"

Shaking her head slowly, she said. "No. Nothing."

'Can only I see it?' the man thought to himself, 'I guess that would make sense. He told me to observe how things went, still…' "Shaolin…" the man swallowed the lump in his throat, "can I ask you something."

The woman leaned forward, "Anything."

"Do you believe me…" he cringed at what he was about to repeat, given her response so far. "that I saw the spirit king?"

The woman's eyes darted away, as soon as the words left his mouth. A sure sign that she was honestly contemplating it. The pair sat in silence for a couple of seconds, as the woman's mouth shifted uneasily back and forth, seemingly tasting whether the words were foul or not. As her lips stopped in a slanted frown to her right, she said, "I want to believe you." She answered him, before shaking her head from side to side.

"I don't know the powers of the spirit king and well, while it does seem impossible that you would have left to visit the king, I know you and I trust you. So I'm not sure, but if you say it's true, then I'll believe you." She looked away dishearten, "I'm sorry, but that's the best I can tell you."

"I see." He replied, a little relieved that she did seem willing to accept such a ludicrous prospect. "Thanks." He replied sheepishly, as he pocketed the invisible item. "It was pretty surreal to be honest, I'm sorry I can't better explain it, right now. I'll try to work on it, in the meantime, could you tell me what's been going since I've been out? The war's over right?"

The woman grimaced, "Yes," she answered stiffly, before sighing audibly. "Although, not without cost."

(flash back: two days after Aizen's defeat)

Hearing the banging on the head captain's staff, shook Shaolin from her daze of worry. After seeing the numerous amount of captain missing from the assembly, her mind wandered back to the state of Ichigo and Senna, of how motionless they had been. Pushing the depressing thoughts out of her mind as best she could, she tried to focus on what their commander wished to speak to them about.

Once all eyes were on him, the old man cleared his throat before speaking. "Firstly, Taichōs, I would like to thank-you all for your hard working in ending the war between ourselves and Aizen's forces. Your dedication and guidance of your respective divisions, helped us repel the Arrancars and the threat that Aizen posed."

"It wasn't without cost sir…" the somber 6th division captain replied morosely, his demeanor much more withdrawn by Soifon's estimation; though she didn't know what could have happened to shake his normal unflappable mannerism.

"Yes…" the head captain agreed, as he closed his eyes. "As some of you may not be aware, we have suffered tremendous casualties on all divisions."

Soifon frowned at that remark, "Is that why some of the captains are missing sir?" she asked, extending a hand to the numerous gaps in the lines.

Yamamoto nodded gravely, "Yes, Soifon-Taichō, that is the reason why. In fact, I am about to give a brief summary on some of the seated officer we lost, to give you all that were in Hueco Mundo or the hospital an idea of the damage." The man cleared his throat before turning away from her and back to the assembly. "Captain Shunsui Kyoraku was seriously injured during his and Jushiro Ukitake's fight against the fourth Espada. Though the Arrancar was destroyed, Ukitake's life was lost when his illness flared up during the conflict. Unohana-Taichō is currently stabilizing Shunsui, his life alongside Lieutenant Kurosaki takes top priority."

Yamamoto fell silent as he looked away, a heavy pause falling over the assembly. "I have no doubts that the time Unohana spent healing him will have caused the deaths of several more individuals desperately in need of her assistance."

Soifon watched as several of the other captains slumped their shoulders heavily. She certainly couldn't blame them, if they had been in their subordinate's shoes and knew that their friends and family were left to die to save someone else, she'd be just as angry and depressed…well, maybe not as much considering what she had to do out in the sands, the sacrifices she had to make.

"The other captain missing from the meeting that is alive is Captain Zaraki. He and his squad are patrolling the remains of Las Noche scouring for any surviving Arrancar that eluded custody. It is thanks to their efforts, that I was reunited with Ryujin Jakku after Aizen hurled into the depths of Las Noches after defeating me."

A collective gasp echoed throughout the halls at what they just heard. The Sotaichō, the most ancient of Shinigami, was defeated by Aizen and then near permanently disarmed? Shaolin closed her eyes and muttered a silent prayer to Ichigo, for stopping such a powerful enemy.

Regaining his composure, Captain Komamura tried to steer things back to the topic at hand, instead of the near disastrous end they almost suffered. "What about Kurotsuchi-Taichō?" the wolf man inquired about the mad scientist whereabouts, "Was he not accounted for as well?"

Genryusai shook his head, negatively. "According to Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi and Uryu Ishida, Mayuri Kurotsuchi lost his life while valiantly engaging the Tenth Espada in his lair. They both assert that it was a mutual kill instigated by the Arrancar. The details outline that the Arrancar losing the battle sought to take Mayuri with him and triggered a self-destruct mechanism in the laboratory that served as their arena. The remains of both combatants haven't been secured, but it is presumed they are buried beneath much rubble."

"That bad huh…?" Toshiro sighed heavily, he couldn't believe that they'd take this much of a hit. While he hated to think about, he did start to question whether following Urahara's suggestion to split their forces between the two realms really was the right choice to make.

"I'm afraid it gets worse." Yamamoto corrected, as he looked over to Byakuya Kuchiki for just a brief moment. "Rukia Kuchiki, a prominent member of squad thirteen was also slain in battle. This has left the thirteenth division as a whole nearly inoperable. I have seen fit to take over its duties in the meantime until we have recovered our strength enough to ensure it can regulate itself properly."

Taking a glance away from the commander, Soifon looked at the deceased woman's adoptive brother and felt a sting in her heart at seeing the man's morose expression. Having also felt such a blow, she had to resist the urge to go over and console him openly. Steeling herself to at least keep up appearances for the time being, she turned over to the man to give a polite, but professional condolence, when the door to the entrance hall swung open.

The doors loud creak as it opened garnered the attention of all the individuals present, each of them wondering just who had the audacity to interrupt such an important meeting. Standing at the entrance way was a well-endowed woman with one arm and revealing attire that looked more like rags than clothing. Given her physical appearance, the beautiful woman would have definitely looked seductive to the average passerby, if it weren't for the rather cold judging look of disapproval on her face.

The woman skulked forward, her eyes shifting wildly as her sandals clomped against the ground dully, she kept walking without regard to the crowd her presence threatened, until her gaze fell on him, and then she stopped. With a quick swallow, she spat out some saliva to the side, disrespecting not only the sacred hall, but the captains within, before raising her right knuckle up, and after extending her point finger, rudely bent it towards her, as if to command the Taichōs to come to her, lest she come to them.

The bewildered Taichō's were about to move to unsheathe their Zanpaktou and intervene against this brazen intruder until Byakuya Kuchiki took a step forward and held his hand up. He merely uttered a single word, "Hold." Before he inhaled deeply, physically, maybe even mentally, preparing himself for something that was apparent only to him, before politely excusing himself from the congregation.

As he left the line walking towards the woman, she in turn walked closer to him. Looking on at the display, the woman's face seemingly clicked to Soifon now that she pondered the connection between Byakuya and the woman. She was a friend of Yoruichi's, Kukaku Shiba, if she recalled correctly. The mystery seemed to only deepen as she wondered what on earth could drive another exile to return back to Soul Society, especially in such a…quiet but furious state. 'What's going on between them?' She wondered, unable to figure out the connection between them that caused this scene, and judging by the looks of her fellow captains, they were just as much in the dark as she.

Closing her eyes, she tried to focus in the pair's direction and ignore any other distraction that might disrupt her, opening her eyes again, she caught just a few snippets of what was said.

(Byakuya)

As Byakuya kept his face as impassive as possible, he could feel the eyes of his fellow captains on him as well as the ex-noblewoman, as she sauntered forward. Once he was half-way down the hall, he stopped, less than three feet from the silent woman. The nobleman's eyes traced over her form, taking in the raggedy red clothing she wore, before returning back to the smoldering look in her eyes and heavy snarl on her face. Taking in another deep breath to prepare himself for what he knew was coming, he closed his eyes and softly spoke. "Shiba-san."

"It's Kukaku, pretty boy, I told you that last time." She barked back, blood boiling hot at the way he was talking to her. "I told you that last time." Narrowing her eyes, she resisted the urge to slug him and instead crossed her arms as a form of self-restraint. "And look at me when you're talking to me." She snapped impatiently.

Opening his eyes, the heir of the Kuchiki, got another full sight of the woman, this time crossing her arms in front of her impressive bust, as she taped her foot impatiently. "My apologies, Kukaku." The man corrected.

Kukaku looked him over briefly, her heated anger cooling down just a hair, before she took a step around him, turning her attention away from him, back to the line of captain most likely trying to eavesdrop. While she was slightly disgusted that they were trying to pry, she didn't give them any regard. Let them look on for all she cared, this wasn't about them, it was about him and her.

"I take it you were doing something important." She asked, turning her attention back to him, her arms falling back down to her side. When she received a reserved nod, she returned it. "Then I'll try to make our business quick." She offered neutrally

Byakuya glanced back to the onlooking Taichōs, a pit of worry and embarrassment knotting in his stomach. Putting two and two together regarding her words and action, he came to the only conclusion that made sense. "You intend to make a scene." He stated more as a fact then a question.

"Yes." She said tersely, as she turned to face him fully, all traces of her prior anger and malevolence baited back below the surface. "I heard Rukia was killed in Hueco Mundo." She said emotionlessly, tilting her head to the side just a bit, as if to judge him further for his actions. "I made damn sure you knew what her life cost my family, both of my brothers, younger and older, died for her. I told you that you'd better fucking cherish her and be thankful for that."

Narrowing her eyes, she stared right at him, cold fury permeating her every word. "So…I'm going to ask you one question Kuchiki and I want you to give to it to me straight," she raised her left up and closed it slowly, the bones popping to help reinforce her point. "or so fucking help me, I will break your goddamn neck."

Letting the magnitude of her threat sink in, she brought her hand down and asked him simply, "Why didn't you protect her? You promised me on your life that you would. So why is she dead?"

Soifon and some of the other captains were surprised by the lifeless stare the Kuchiki heir gave her. While they knew he wasn't the most expressive in his range of emotion, never had they seen such a look of defeated resignation before.

"I failed." He said with crushing hopelessness, utter finality that because of him, she was truly gone. "I failed because of my weakness. I wasn't strong enough…" the man stumbled over himself, as he relived his discovery of his departed adoptive sister; her bloody corpse lying on the ground missing an arm, the way he carried her back to Soul Society for burial despite his injuries. It flashed by his eyes in a moment, only to be brought back with each word that shattered the heart of his world.

"…I wasn't good enough." He admitted shamefully, unable to meet her gaze any longer. "I'm sorry, Kukaku-san, that…is all I can say."

The firecracker shuddered slightly from his tone. "I see." She replied, as she bit her lip, conflicted with something.

Looking to the side at the spectating audience, Byakuya turned back to her and simply asked the question he already knew the answer to. "Have you come to publicly shame me?"

The woman didn't answer immediately. She instead chewed on her lip as her eyes remained fixated to the lower corner. They lifted up just for a second to look at him, before returning back to the corner. Finally, the cold anger on her fact departed, replaced instead by unsettling serenity, "Yes." She finally answered, looking him back in the eye.

"I see." He closed his eyes and left himself vulnerable to her, it would pale in comparison to the pain Rukia's death caused him. "Do as you wish Kukaku. I won't stop you."

The jagged haired woman narrowed her eyes, before her pursing of her lips softened and she stepped just a hair closer to him.

The captain heard her approach, but instead of feeling the popping slap of righteous fury across his cheek, or crunching knuckle of vengeance buried into his stomach, he felt the woman's arms slip underneath his shoulders and wrap around his body.

Opening his eyes, he found the woman placing her cheek against his Hakama, looking away from him. "What are you doing…?" he asked dazedly, unable to comprehend why she was…hugging him.

Turning her head up, Byakuya saw not anger, but sympathy and sadness. "I have shamed you." She replied quietly, squeezing him just a bit tighter to know she wanted to comfort and not condemn him.

Kukaku watched as the man's stoic expression softened as tears began to flow from his eyes. Bowing his head, he returned the embrace, a pained smile remaining. "…and I am ashamed."

(Captains)

Soifon looked away having caught some of the conversation along with the other Taichōs. She could understand that this was a difficult situation for the both of them and sympathized with them greatly.

Taking a glance back at her fellow captains, she could see that they were as much a loss for words as her.

With a deep sigh, catching everyone's attention, Komamura stepped forward, his expression sympathetic to the scene before him.

"Lets…postpone this meeting." He turned his eyes back to the standing couple down the hall. "I don't think I'm up for this right now."

Yamamoto looked towards Sajin silently, before everyone's attention was drawn by another voice. "I agree with you captain. I'm…suddenly drained." Hitsugaya chimed.

"Me too. A small break might do some good." Shaolin replied eager to get the sentiment passed.

Seeing all of his remaining Taichōs express their intention of avoid the issue, Yamamoto consented for now. "Very well. We are adjourned till tomorrow. Please attend to your soldier and yourselves in the meantime." He dismissed, with a banging of his staff.

(flash back end)

"I see." Ichigo whispered sadly, head shaking despondently, as he pulled back into his pillow. The man placed the palm of his hand over his head, a crushing sense of guilt coming over as he heard the tale. "I can't believe it. (Sigh) Their blood is on my hands." He muttered, wiping his hand away.

"People were going to die, no matter what you chose to do, Ichigo." The woman reassured her lover. "Please. Don't blame yourself." She begged.

"I know…I know." he replied quietly, turning his eyes to her. "I just wondered, if I could have done more to keep people safe, is all."

"You did far better than you know Ichigo. The casualties that we suffered, were surprisingly less than our initial estimations. To be honest, it took less than a week to full heal everyone and initiate our plans in rebuilding our ranks to properly house our new 'residents'."

Quirking a brow, the man leaned back, arms crossed, "New residents?" he repeated.

The woman nodded, "Yes," she lifted her hand up, casually. "the Arrancar."

Ichigo's mind shut down as the full implication of what she was saying sank in. His mouth opened as he tried to speak, but no words came to him. His eyes darted away, as his face ran through a quick series of different emotions, "Ahh, well…that's ah…hehe…(whew)."

Thoroughly amused, Shaolin giggled gently, understanding why he was so surprised to hear about their war prisoners, and what he really wanted to know: How they ended up with prisoners instead of corpses. "While many of the Arrancar were put to the sword during the battle, a good portion heard your little declaration for them to surrender after defeating the Primera Espada."

Soifon paused when she saw the man's mood immediately darken at the mentioning of their then objective. While she was torn between her intense desire to know, since she hadn't been there and because she cared about his wellbeing, she set it aside for now, trusting him to tell her about it at a more opportune moment. "A-after the dust was settled, we brought the remaining Arrancars back here and divided them up, before imprisoning them."

Turning up one of her fingers, she said, "Some are being held in the penance tower. The ones located there were deemed the most powerful of the survivors, so they were placed there so that they would be surrounded on all sides by Shinigami forces."

Ichigo nodded his head, in agreement for the tactical move, while Shaolin raised another digit for two. "The middling level Arrancars were placed in the 12th division laboratory wards and containment facilities. Since there was quite a bit of them, we need them to be placed somewhere that could account for all of them and provide tight security and surveillance at all times."

Bringing her hand back down, the Chinese woman leaned back into her chair and thought back on the final group. Her problem, so to speak. "The last group, the weakest of them all, were rounded up and delivered to Muken, the maggot's nest. Because of Muken's rules of not allowing weapons and its remoteness, it was ruled that the Onimitsukido will keep them locked away until further notice, since normal Shinigami may not be able to properly detain them."

"So WE actually have some back home?" Ichigo asked, skeptically.

Nodding her head, she explained the reason for which he was asking: the why. "I'm sure you know, taking them in was a…very divisive meeting." Ichigo rolled his eyes at the captain's stress in euphemism. "While no one will come out and say it directly, the taking in of the Arrancar rather than destroying them all is mostly fueled by personal agendas."

Closing his eyes tightly, he tried to stave off the oncoming headache, imagining how the opposing captains, let alone the Shinigami, took the ruling. "I'm sure the same could be said about those wanting the Arrancar dead." The rested patient voiced, poking an eye open.

"Of course." The woman scuffed lightly. Both knew it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that people's friends and family were killed by them, and now that they were being spared, hard feelings were to be expected.

"So how did it turn out like this? I mean…it's pretty surprising. I really didn't think so many Arrancar would surrender or so many Shinigami would have taken them in. I…honestly kind of thought Soul Society would have killed them all, once the away team brought them back."

"Well," she paused to glance over her shoulder, to make sure no one was listening. "aside from me and Unohana being against it for personal reasons," turning back to her love, "the Vizards were against the idea for the simple fact that the Arrancar act as a 'buffer' against the notion of killing them."

The man nodded his head understandingly, "Right, I get you. If you kill the Arrancar: Hollows with Shinigami powers, it's not much more a stretch to want to kill Shinigami with Hollow powers."

"Exactly. The thing Shinji warned about before he trained you." She continued for him. "Although, we don't know how long that sentiment of his will last, if Kisuke is able to reverse engineer a cure of the Hogyoku's hollowifcation properties, he might consider eradicating the Arrancar."

"I…trust him." Ichigo muttered glancing away, "I don't think he's the kind of guy to leave others in the wind, especially since Senna and I are the key to the cure."

"Hmm…" the woman tilted her giving him some consideration, "It's true. But I have a hard time trusting anyone's claim on this issue."

"So how did you convince them to hold off on the issue without our relationship coming up?"

A smug smile crept on the woman's face. "Resourcefulness was one of the first lessons I taught you, I'd be a fool to forget my own teachings."

The man huffed playfully, eyes rolling all the while. "Oh, Soifon-Taichō, please impart your honored wisdom to your unworthy lieutenant."

"Hahaha." She dryly laughed, before leaning back in her chair, savoring the moment of bliss. "Well, it was actually Cirucci, the Arrancar girl that was with me." Her smile shrank just a bit. "She…saved my life."

The woman's word took the man by surprise. "Are you okay?" he asked, leaning forward, alarmed by her admittance. "...W-what happened!?"

Shaolin looked away grimly, her expression turning remorseful. She opened her mouth only for a croak to escape her. Letting lose a sigh, she reached down to her hip and pulled a familiar looking knife and placed it against his bed; far away enough he couldn't reach it without moving, but close enough he could see it easily. The man looked at it for a few seconds, before recognizing that it was a Zanpaktou, but more importantly, just whom that knife belonged to.

"Shao- "

"Don't Ichigo." She cut him off, eyes closing tightly. "Not…not yet. We can talk about it later." Pulling the knife away, she returned the temporal blade back to its new home at her hip, inches away from her Suzumebachi. "Just know that Cirucci saved me from being killed by another enemy after I lost consciousness."

"So I guess that's why they didn't try to push things, when you spoke up against it. Your story forced the other reapers to see them as something more than just mindless enemies. Well, I suppose it's a step up from what happened to the Quincies."

"Yes, with the backing of Unohana-Taichō on my recounting, I offered the solution that this issue should be investigated further, to see if coexistence is even a possibility."

"What did Unohana say about all this?"

"Well, aside from backing my account with Cirucci. She brought up the possibility that perhaps we could use the Arrancar as guides for the dead."

Ichigo leaned back a bit, processing the strange idea lobbed at him. "You mean like…konsoing people? Can Arrancar even do that?"

The Chinese woman titled her head to the side, lips pursed uncertainly. "Well, they DO have a Zanpaktou and they haven't shown any inclination to wanting to feast on human souls anymore. In fact, from the ones I've been tasked with, they seem to eat the same normal food that you and I would."

Turning back to him, she shook her head. "I really don't know what else to say on that account. They eat like us, can act like us, and for the most part look like us, but I think Urahara would be much better suited to arguing what is realistically possible. Unohana was probably just saying anything to stave off an execution order against you, if things hit the fan. As I said, things have been hectic."

Scratching the back of his head, Ichigo looked away from his beloved, "heh, more like things have gone to hell in a handbasket, am I right?"

The beauty giggled slightly, noting the irony in his crude assessment "Quite; but when has it ever been easy, especially when it involves a Kurosaki?"

A surging smirk erupted on his face, as he turned back to her. "Heh, yeah." His smiling face gave way to burning inquiry after the reminding of the other Kurosaki involved in this torrid affair. "Speaking of Kurosakis, have you seen Senna?" he asked innocently. "I didn't see her in the human world when I fought Aizen and I…" his voice trailed off when he saw Shaolin's expression harden and 1the mirth she previously had in her eyes fall away. "Shaolin…?"

The woman silently looked away, her prior joking mood lost, ringing alarm bells in the man's head.

"Why are you acting like that?" he asked quickly, his heart starting to thump harder and harder against his chest. "Shaolin, where is Senna?" he asked more urgently.

Biting her lips, she closed her eyes and exhaled deeply through her nostrils. Turning her gaze up to Ichigo, she flinched at the fear he held, as his mind was racing through the myriad of horrible possibilities. Opening her mouth, she prepared to break the truth to him. "She's…not doing so good."

'Not doing so good.' Her words echoed in his mind, "What happened!?" he all but yelled.

"It would be easier and probably safer, if she explained it herself." Pushing herself out of her chair, the woman lowered the guard rail of Ichigo's gurney, before offering her shoulder for her husband.

The man nodded, before whipping his legs over the edge and hopping off the bed. The powerful reaper was almost surprised at how weak his legs felt and were it not for the woman next to him catching him, as he braced his hand against her, he'd have hit the floor in an instant.

Feeling his legs wobble for a few seconds from disuse, he nodded to the captain to let him know that he was good once they were solid. Turning towards the door, the duo waked in tandem toward it, before Ichigo paused as something occurred to him. Glancing behind him, he saw only the bed he'd been laying in, Shaolin's chair, and the turned off medical monitors to the side. "Where's my Zanpaktou?" he asked, turning back to his other partner.

Looking up to her taller compatriot, the woman said, "Oh. You don't have to worry about that." She moved her left and slid the door open, so that they could continue their walk. "I took them back to my office as soon as I found you."

Shuffling his feet forward, he asked the most obvious question. "Why?"

"Well…" the woman frowned, "there was already enough controversy about you at the time and well, I only just got out of my own bed, when Unohana caught me in your room." She could practically hear the scolding remarks from the doctor as the panicked bandaged-up girl held tight to the pull bars.

"She explained to me how you were wielding two Zanpaktou according to the battle report and that your Tensa Zangetsu had the Hogyoku implanted within it." Glancing back up, she offered a soft smile, "At first…I was pretty surprised…to say the least."

Ichigo rolled his eyes playfully, "Yeah, try imagining how I felt when I wound up getting it from you after being stabbed by Aizen."

"W-what?" The woman blushed at his words, embarrassed by any scenario she could envision where such a transfer occurred. "I…gave it to you?"

The man looked away sheepishly, since it sounded just as cheesy as she probably thought. "It's…complicated. Let's just say…the Hogyoku chose me over Aizen, in the end."

"It…chose you?" she repeated flatly, her confusion evident. Shaking her head, trying to wrap her mind around it, she asked the doorway question to everything. "It's…alive…?"

Ichigo cringed, "It's…complicated." He repeated, sounding even more unsure than before.

The woman's eyebrow rose even higher at the lack of explanation, before she shook her head dismissively. "Clearly." She said, a playful smile emerging on her face. She'd keep it simple for herself, if it helped defeat Aizen, then at the end of the day, that's all she needed to understand about it.

"So, I gotta ask. If I caused such a controversy, why aren't I under heavier guard?" Glancing over his shoulder to confirm, there wasn't anyone following, he looked back at his beloved. "I mean don't get me wrong, I'm thankful, but…"

"Well, as part of my secret assigned duty to kill you if you turned traitor, I was naturally elected to watch over you. To be fair, I was supposed to keep a close on you because you are my soldier, but I WAS supposed to alert the Sotaichō, if you regained consciousness." she answered quietly, before whimsically tilting her head to the side. "buuuut, I think it can wait till after visiting Senna."

Slowing their pace, she forced them to a halt in front of a door. "Well…here we are Ichigo." She announced.

Ichigo gulped as the silence between them became more pronounced. He inhaled deeply wondering the condition Senna was in. His mind raced at the possibilities, sure, Shaolin had said Senna could explain it herself, but through what? A crushed wind pipe?

He lifted his hand up to reach for the door, but hesitated. Seeing his hand shake, the woman gave a light squeeze and whispered. "It's okay."

Sparing a side glance, the man nodded his head, as the woman helped guide his hand to the door knob. Turning the handle, the pair pushed the door inwardly, the young man flinching by the intensity of the sun rays shinning in his face from the open window.

As the sun spots died away, the young man was privy to see the Arrancar girl from Hueco Mundo, Cirucci, sitting in a chair beside Senna, the other young woman lying in the bed with a breathing mask over her mouth.

The two girl who seemed to have been in the middle of a conversation of some kind, went deathly silent as they looked back at the door, Cirucci in particular seemed ready to intervene until she recognized her Espada and ladyship. Slowly, the look of agitation was replaced by relief. "Ah! Buenos dias, Master! Good morning!" she greeted, glad to see him up and about after so long.

The man smiled awkwardly after being called 'Master' by the woman, "Hey Cirucci, thanks."

"Cirucci, do you think you can take care of Ichigo. I can't risk delaying reporting to the Sotaichō for too long." Shaolin requested.

"Si!" the woman replied with a nod, as she walked over and pulled Ichigo's other arm over her shoulder blade. With the shift in weight done, Shaolin slipped down under the man and pulled away.

"I'll be sure to go slowly." The captain promised as she slowly edged towards the door. Casting one final glance at everyone, she smiled softly, "Take your time." With that, the woman walked out closing the door behind her.

With her gone, Ichigo turned his attention back to the bed ridden woman and to his relief he saw that she definitely had all her limbs attached. 'Still…' he thought to himself as he quietly implored Cirucci to bring him to the chair beside his sister's bed. 'Why did Shaolin seem so worried about Senna if she was relatively okay?'

Taking a seat, the tired reaper leaned over the railing and gave a reassuring smile, "Hey you. It's good to see you again."

Letting out a small pant, her breath sticking to the mask, Senna closed her eyes, smiling sheepishly. "It's good to see you too." Pushing herself back, she propped herself up, as she looked towards the Arrancar in the room. "Cirucci-chan, Unohana and Shaolin have been telling me how you were doing and keeping me company, since I can't leave my bed."

Ichigo grunted lightly as he nodded, taking note that the respirator mask would have complicated things. "Thanks Cirucci." He expressed, looking back over his shoulder, "Thanks for watching out for her for me."

"Ah…eh…" the purple haired woman froze up from the praise, before darting her eyes away, a blush on her face. "N-no, problemo, Master Ichigo. Master Sado taught me to look out for my allies."

"Look out for your allies?"

"Si." She responded, but seeing his confusion she clarified. "Pero, how do I say this? I sense…" she paused to remember the correct words in their language. Extending her hand to Senna, she continued, "I sense her hollow energy and her Shinigami energy. She's like you…and I guess…like me too?"

"You'll have to forgive her, Ichigo-kun." Senna chimed, "Talking in Japanese isn't exactly easy for her, so I've been helping her with it."

"T-that is not so! It is…just a few…umm" she looked away beet red, "s-sayings that confuse me. It's much easier in my language." The woman sighed in frustration, "I always seem to find myself falling back to my native tongue, luckily Senna is able to pick up on it easily."

"Ahahah (cough) (cough) ha-ha…well, Shaolin wasn't very amused." Senna wheezed as joyfully as she could, her hand retreating back to her chest to steady herself.

Turning back to Senna after her little fit, Kurosaki bit his lip recalling the words Shaolin spoke to him. Taking a deep breath, he took the plunge. "Cirucci." He said quietly, not looking at the woman.

"Yes, Ichigo-sama." She replied, noticing the firmer tone he took in speaking to her.

"I need to talk to Senna…alone."

Knowing about the situation between the pair's injuries and friendship through word of mouth, the woman nodded her head silently, as she backed up. "Of course." Giving a bow to Senna, she gave her a brief farewell, saying they'd speak later, before leaving the room.

Once the door clicked shut, the man's prior jovial demeanor faded away, revealing the solemn worry underneath. "What did you want to talk about, Ichigo?" Senna asked out of sheer formality, she already had a pretty good idea what his first question was going to be about.

"What happened?" he asked, turning his eye up to the mask over her face. "Shaolin told me you were hurt badly, but didn't say much else. Then I walk in to see a respirator on your face and you tell me you've been bedridden for a while." The man leaned in closer and clasped her hand, his frown deepening by the second, "What's going?"

"Well…" she started, as she pulled her hand away from his, reaching up the button of her shirt and started to undo them. "It all started in Karakura town."

(flash back)

Squelch.

"ah…ugh…" Senna choked out as she felt an intense pain in her chest. Reminded of the horrible vision, her teeth began to chatter as she reflexively looked down, praying against hope that she wouldn't see what she saw.

The only thing more real than the panic flooding her mind was the blood stained sword sticking through her chest. Her breathing was stifled as she felt blood pushing past her lips, spilling out uncontrollably. Try as she might to force her hand to reach up and hold the blade in, just to do anything to prevent herself from dying, the blade slid back with a sickening pop, and before she knew it she was falling down towards the war-torn street below.

She only got a brief glance at Aizen's face as she was falling, her hazy vision occasionally blocked by memories and pure darkness. Her eyes fluttered open…then closed, only to open again, this time to see the man growing smaller voiceless words spilling from her lips through the blood, when she blinked again, all she could see was a dark purple-black wall in front of her, then a screeching bone-crunching pain slamming into her left side along with a voice.

Senna's head shook like a bubble head, forcing her eyes to open once again, this time she saw Yoruichi hunched over her, hands working meticulously as she yelled a muffled scream into her face, the nekomata's face becoming more frustrated.

The cat woman brought her Zanpaktou into view briefly, before touching the butt of the handle against her forehead. The dazed woman couldn't keep her sleepy eyes open any longer, with another bob of her head, she was back into darkness, overcome with a fleeting sensation that her entire body was rocking back and forth, like someone was trying to wake her from, in Senna's opinion, well-deserved sleep.

Opening her eyes again, to see, who was bugging her, she saw nothing except a gray pattern with an occasional overhead light passing by, her body still shook, so she assumed that's what was waking her up.

She barely sighed, quite tired…all she wanted to do was close her eyes, right when she was about to do let the rocking motion carry her away, she was jerked back awake, this time by a Shinigami wearing a mask that she…hadn't actually noticed till now. The masked figured stared at her, before looking away, when Senna swiveled her she noticed, to another figure that was moving in the same direction as Senna was being carried.

The mouth piece of the mask moved and Senna briefly caught the words, losing her or something or another. Senna looked back to the first figure, before straight up again at the gray tile, her eyelids falling down and closing, once, twice and then fully. Just as they stayed down, she was suddenly overcome with an intense feeling of pain on her breasts and chest.

Forcing her eyes open to see what the hell was going on, her breath came out raggedly, as a pair of flat panels were lifted off her. Following the offending items, she saw the person holding it quickly rubbed them together, a small spark of electricity flickering between them, before slamming them back against her flesh a second time. As the volts of electricity ran through her body, the teenage girl felt like screaming to high heaven or wailing all the tears from her eyes, anything to voice to these masked nutcases that they were hurting her. A lot!

Eyes falling closed again, she felt tears begin to pour down across her cheek, as her body went into convulsion once again from the third shock wave. The young woman felt herself falling back down once the electricity left her body again, although this time, she felt like she was falling further and further away from them. She could only faintly hear the buzzing of sounds and the flurry of voices, as hands ripped apart her clothing and touched all over her exposed chest.

Then finally nothing.

The pain she felt, the fatigue that had plagued her subsided. Inwardly, Senna let out a relaxed sigh, thankful that they at least got the message to stop hurting her. She sat alone in the empty void briefly, eyes closed as she basked in the strange floating feeling enveloping her.

Slowly, she opened her eyes again, and the dark world around her was pierced by a dim light. Raising her arm, she moved to wipe the sleepies from her eyes, when she saw strange wires attached to her and a steady beeping ringing in her ears. Her eyes widened when she felt a cold surge of air forced into her mouth and down her throat.

Mind racing at what was going on, the strange beeping became more pronounced, more erratic. Looking down, she found herself strapped to a bed of some kind, whipping her eyes around the room to try and figure out what was going, the beeping shrilled even louder. Looking to her left, she found the source of the noise to be some kind of graphic device, a heart symbol was next to a graph that was spiking up and down as the number next to the heart rapidly increased. 88-96-102-114.

Her breathing became more labored, as she tried to take in all the information that she could, but she could barely focus once her chested started tightening up, a crushing pain that took nearly all her strength to stop herself from screaming.

Suddenly the door was thrown open as Shaolin, Unohana and several other doctors came rushing into the room. Shaolin, despite being in an arm-sling, quickly reached her side, and as gently, but swiftly as she could, pushed her back down against the bed and told her in as calm of voice as possible. "Senna, you need to calm down. The pain will go away only if you relax."

Despite her erratic breathes, the human girl nodded as her body shook fearfully. Wincing from the pain in her chest, her eyes wandered over to the doctors and Unohana, who had their hands over her, a shimmering green light emanating from their hands. "Sh-sha…-! (cough) (cough)" she sputtered, the feeling of blood resurging in her mouth again.

"Senna, you need to listen to Soifon-Taichō. Don't talk you'll only agitate your condition." Retsu uncharacteristically barked, as she snapped her attention back to the scarred flesh that housed the wound underneath.

Taking the cue, Shaolin placed her hand against Senna's cheek and forced her to look at her and nothing else. "Senna, you need to listen to me. I need you to relax your breathing. Don't fight it, just try to ignore the doctors."

Despite the sudden chill running through her body, the room's ward stiffly nodded her head as she tried to relax, doing her best to ignore the stabbing needle-like pain in her chest. Closing her eyes to clear her mind, she took in small breathes and did her best to think about anything else but here.

Shaolin looked away from the Vizard's consternating face and looked to the monitors beside her. The spiking line slowly started to widen, as the pulsing heart symbol began to slow it's beating, dropping down from its low hundreds back to safer levels. Using her one good arm, she grabbed the girl's spasming hand, "You're doing good. Keep it up." She quietly encouraged, face breaking out in fervid hope. "Just…just focus on me okay?"

Finally, after five intense minutes, the doctors pulled away, each being extra careful not to disturb the patient's tender wounds in the slightest. Opening her eyes again, this time keeping them open, she was greeted with the weary, but tender look of her sensei beaming at her. "(sigh). You really scared me there." She admitted, lips curving upward. "Welcome home, Senna."

(flash back end)

"Shaolin-chan explained to me what happened after Aizen attacked me. Yoruichi managed to save me from being destroyed by Aizen's kido attack, but at that point well…" she looked down to the exposed scar on her chest. "The damage was already done. He pierced my heart and I was going to die." Senna paused for a second, before a whimsical smile appeared on her face, "Well, technically I did die. For a solid minute according to the doctors. If they didn't have that defibrillator handy, I wouldn't have even made it to surgery in the I.C.C.U (intensive cardiac care unit)."

"But…you're okay, right?" he asked, leaning in a bit closer, "I mean, the worst is over." His voice waivered, fearfully. "Y-you just need a little bit of rest and you'll be out of bed in no time…right?"

Senna looked away downcast, since she knew he didn't quite understand the full implication of what her injury actually meant. She didn't blame him. It took her a bit to fully understand it herself. "Ichigo, it's not that simple." Chancing a glance up, she continued when she saw he gave her his full undivided attention. "The only way to heal the wound as quickly as they did was by using kido magic. Unfortunately, because I'm part hollow, it was much more difficult than it would have been normally. My hollow blood was trying to contain the wound in an…ineffective way, while the doctors were treating it. The doctors had to actively isolate and re-heal over the affected areas multiple times."

"But the wounds closed. I'm looking at the scar right now." Ichigo pressed, bringing up the closed scar as proof that the doctors must have been done with their work.

Senna took in a deep breath through her mask, as she shook her head negatively. "It's not that, that's the problem. The human heart is constantly pumping, so the magic they had to use is very…delicate to make up for its flexibility. If I over exert myself, I could reopen it because of the pressure, so I need to go through some re-habilitation training once I'm out of the hospital, so I can get used to my new physical condition."

Ichigo shook his head, still not seeing what the problem was. "But…that's still only a temporary thing. Why the doom and gloom?"

Senna sighed again, "I figured you wouldn't get it since you've lived on this side forever. Because my heart is being held together by kido magic, I have to stay in areas with incredible spiritual energy, like the Seireitei or Rukongai. If I try to leave, or if something restricts the flow of spiritual energy inside of my body, like a Gigai, the magic binding it will fail and I'll undergo cardiac arrest…or put simply: My heart will literally fall apart."

Ichigo looked away, processing the information she was telling him. "So…if you try to leave Soul Society," he said slowly, forcing himself to say the conclusion. "you'll die unless there is a doctor with you 24-7, that's what you're saying?"

"Yes, but that's not the worst part of it."

'It gets worse?' The man thought darkly, wondering how such a thing was possible.

"The worst part is…how long this will take to get over."

The once hopeful girl leaned back and stared at the ceiling sadly for a minute, before closing her eyes. "Even if I get out of the hospital tomorrow, it could take upward to a year, before my heart is strong enough to let me live independently in the human world."

Suddenly realization hit Ichigo about what she was talking about, what was really bugging her and what Shaolin felt he should hear from her. "Your human life is over." He muttered with soul crushing finality.

"Y-yeah," she whispered, as tear feel from her eyes once again, reminded of bleak future in front of her and the friend she'd leave behind…all for the sake of this war. "I have to stay here. I…can't go back to my old life. I…can't see any of my school friends and I…I…can't do what I wanted to do with my life. (sniff) Don Kannoji might understand, but Makoto won't. I can't interact with her without killing her…and, and she wouldn't understand even if I tried to explain it in a letter…no normal human would."

A despondent sight escaped her as the tears fell. "Urahara already told me that it'll take less than a week, before people will wonder where I am, and only a day or two later, before the government issues a full-on police investigation for me and dad's whereabouts. So…to protect the secrecy of Soul Society and prevent any discrepancies my disappearance is going to cause, Urahara created false legal documents to claim ownership of my home, before the Sotaichō ordered a mass mind wipe using the pillars in Karakura that anchored it to Soul Society. Once the tether was cut…the government, my teachers, my classmates…my friends. They all forgot I even existed…'Memories of nobody' (1) as the operation was called, was completed."

Senna stopped as she wiped her tears away, only for more to replace them. Ichigo stared on silently, heartbroken over the troubles awaiting her. "It's kinda funny if you think about it." She sniffled, trying to force a smile on her face. "I fought in the most important war in all of mankind, I…we lost father, I even died. (sob) (sniff) I…I gave up everything…and it's all for nothing."

"That's not true." Ichigo interrupted, placing his hand against her cheek to force to look at him. "You didn't sacrifice so much for nothing."

"But…" she started doubtfully, looking away from her brother.

Leaning in close, Ichigo wrapped his arms around her and hugged her warmly. "I'm glad that you're here. So is Shaolin and probably a bunch of other people." Turning his head, he kissed lightly on her forehead, "I know it hurts to think that nobody but us cared about what you went through…and what you're going through. But you're wrong. We love you…and come hell or high water, I'll protect you for as long as you want me to."

The woman shook fearfully for a few seconds before she returned the hug. Embracing him, losing herself in his love for her. She was scared, frightened, but if he said he'd help her, then she'd believe. "Thank-you."

"No problem." He eased as he pulled away, calm smile on his face. Leaning back in his chair, he let out a low hum, giving a small consideration to an idea before deciding to chance it. "Well, since you're stuck here…" he paused, scratching the side of his cheek embarrassedly, "How about when you get out of the hospital, I take you out on a date. Show you that it's not all bad here, even if you can't leave Seireitei." The man's smirk grew when he saw the blush appear on Senna's face, "What do you say?"

"I'd like that." She replied happily, before she diverted her eyes, "But…since we said we'd see how it goes, I guess I'll have to go on a date with Shaolin-chan afterward." Looking back, with her own smile, she continued, "It wouldn't be fair otherwise, Playboy-san."

"That's true." He replied sagely, nodding his head in agreement. "Guess, we'll have to work out the details on our end."

"And I'll have to work hard on getting better." She agreed.

Pushing himself off the chair to stand, "Then I guess it's all figured out." He concluded, "I better get ready to go meet up with Shaolin. The Sotaichō is probably going to want to see me."

"Okay," Senna said with a nod, "But before you go, I just thought I'd ask you have you heard about the Arrancar?"

"Yeah, they're staying with us," the man paused uneasily, "uhhh, well, more in chains, but…"

"Yeah,"

"Speaking of which, do you know why Cirucci was allowed to walk around by herself?"

"Shaolin said it's part of some kind of test to see if their worth trusting. But I don't know anything else."

"I see."

"But what I wanted to ask you is: well…" she swished her lips back and forth uncertain, "Do you think…do you think now that Aizen's gone that the Shinigami are going to let the Arrancar live?" When Ichigo placed his hand on his hip and started to think it over, Senna stuttered nervously. "I mean…they are human in a way and it's not like all of them are evil. Most probably didn't want to be hollows in the first place."

"You still thinking about what Aizen said before?" he asked quietly,

The girl squirmed for a second, before nodding. "Y-yeah. I mean, I know we made our choice and I wouldn't change it. I just…umm…I just don't want to fight anymore, if that makes sense. Enough people have been hurt."

Ichigo closed his eyes and nodded slowly, perhaps he could talk to the Sotaichō to get a better understanding of things. 'I wonder if this is what the spirit king mentioned.'

"I'll see what I can do." He replied.

"Thanks." She answered with a polite smile. "Anyway, I better not keep you. See you later, Ichigo-kun."

"I'll let Cirucci know to keep you company till I come back. Love you and stay safe."

"Alright, come see me again."

With his peace said, the man turned and walked back towards the door. Pushing his way through, he paused and thought what the future might have in store now. He couldn't help but wonder if things were really as precarious they seemed. With a shake of his head, he decided to hold off until he had a better grasp on things, which meant see the Sotaichō ASAP. "Well, better get a mo- "

"YOU BITCH!" a loud voice yelled out, followed by a loud thump.

"What the hell?" Ichigo wondered, as he quickly walked down the hallway where the noise came from. Turning the corner, he saw Cirucci pinned against the wall by a red haired Shinigami, while his fellow reaper beside him snarled just as viciously.

"Este idiota." Cirucci muttered coldly under her breath, "I said- "

"What the hell is going on?" Ichigo butted in, getting the trio's attention.

The reaper pinning Cirucci down, released his hand off her chest and turned to the man. Seeing that his clothing was of a patient, he figured that he probably didn't know what this abomination was of the bat. "It's an Arrancar." He said simply, as if it explained everything.

"So…? What did she do?"

"The hell kind of question is that? It's obvious!" jutting his head towards her, he snarled, "This bitch and her fucking kind killed our fellow reapers! Least she could do is act grateful that we didn't kill her, like the rest."

"And the least you can do, is to keep your hands to yourself, if you think you're better than her." He countered calmly, his spiritual energy slowly rising by the second.

"Ichigo-sama…" Cirucci whispered quietly, as the man's friend stepped a bit closer.

"What are you a Hollow-Lover? In case you forgot these things aren't people! There are probably hundreds of thousands of souls trapped inside of them and you know what else!? They still lack a heart! They can't feel shit!"

"My cousin was out there in the desert fighting these things. He had a wife and a son. He's dead now because of these things! Don't tell me that shit doesn't bother you?" the red haired man snorted disgustedly, "Or maybe it doesn't. You probably didn't lose anyone."

Ichigo's spiritual pressure finally washed over the trio as his anger began to wash over his face. "Look, I understand your loss. But I didn't end this war against Aizen to start another one. Everybody is hurting right now and before you forget, not everyone sided with Aizen because they believed in him." The image of Shinjiro, Subaru, and his mother flickered briefly in his mind, "Some people were forced into it."

Taking a step forward, Kurosaki balled his hands into fists ready to throw down. "Now leave her alone or else."

The two soldiers were about to take a step forward, when a splitting spiritual pressure fell over all of them, stifling the two lower ranked Shinigami, while barely inconveniencing Cirucci and Ichigo.

"And just what do you two think you are doing to the Arrancar under my authority?" the cold calculated voice of Soifon rang from behind the men. Her voice perforated by the sounds of her sandals hitting against the corridor floor. "or, better yet:" she came to a halt just behind the men. "The hero of the war and the one that KILLED Aizen, Ichigo Kurosaki."

The shorter man on the left paled at the thought of who they were talking trash to, while the red haired man was still piping mad, but had enough sense to not do anything to a seated officer, especially the hero in front of the captain.

"Nothing." The man spat, as he turned around, muttering just loud enough for Ichigo to hear. "Captains have lost their damn minds keeping all these hollows."

"Grr…" A throaty grunt escaped Kurosaki as he took a heated step forward, ready to whip that man around and dare him to say it to his face. But he was stopped by Cirucci of all people, the opera-slasher grabbing hold of his arm and shaking her head gently, signaling to her master that it wasn't worth it.

Soifon sighed to herself as her lieutenant relented. It seemed that she'd have to tell him a bit more of the volatile situation Seireitei had found itself in, while her hubby had been hospitalized.

Once the two men were gone, Shaolin turned to Cirucci and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Si."

"And you?"

"Fine." He grunted, "But what the hell was that?"

"That's the result of the captain's indecision on what to do with the hollows." She said flatly, "Not everyone was exactly happy with arrangement." She shook her head sadly, "If it wasn't for you and so many others, I'd probably be siding with them on the matter."

"But still…that was over the top! He could have seriously hurt, or even killed her, if I hadn't shown up when I did." The young man then turned to his fraccion, "And what about you!? How come you didn't call out for help of something? You just…took it."

"I guess, Soifon-sama didn't tell you?" the purple haired woman asked. When she got a stern look telling her to go on, she continued, "Because of my actions during the war, the captains decided to see if it was possible for Arrancar and Shinigami to live in the same space freely."

Soifon picked up where Cirucci left off. "What this means is that Cirucci is an ambassador of sorts for the Arrancar. Everything she does is going to reflect back on the other hollows in captivity. If she behaves herself, the situation can improve possibly to the point of co-existence."

"But if she screws up, heads will roll."

"Exactly, Ichigo." The woman agreed with a nod, "As you've clearly seen, some people are willing to take advantage of that fact."

"Damn it! There's gotta be something I can do. I didn't stop one war to start another!"

"Soifon-sama," the Arrancar finally spoke, unusually quiet through the exchange.

"Yes?" the captain turned to the woman, eyebrow raised.

"Do they know about Ichigo-sama being part Hollow?"

The woman shook her head, "I doubt anyone outside of the captains knows and even then nobody directly asked questions to the type of training Ichigo and Senna were going to go through when Urahara proposed. I guess they were too blind to the fact that someone wasn't affected by Kyoka Suigetsu."

"So does that mean…they don't know you are pregnant either?" she pushed further, tilting her head to the side as she scratched her head.

"No." she stated firmly, "And I told you not to bring up our relationship in public."

Suddenly, Ichigo snapped his fingers audible. A sudden bolt of inspiration hitting him. The two women turned their attention his way as they say the man's mind racing a mile a minute. "What's up?" Shaolin asked, eyebrow quirked.

"What if…" Ichigo paused and closed his eyes, wanting to make absolutely sure of himself before he committed to what he was about to say. After a moments pause, he continued, "What if we told the Sotaichō about us?"

As Shaolin tilted her to the side, still uncertain as to where he was going with this, the man continued his train of thought. "The Sotaichō has to know that I'm not fully Shinigami. He was there when the Vizards were banished and sent us to them for training."

"Right."

"He also…know that my mother wasn't normal."

Again another nod, "Right. She was once a captain from what I gathered."

"Yeah, but that's not quite what I meant. I met her in Hueco Mundo."

The good wife's face drained of color. "What…?"

With a sigh, Ichigo began to tell her about what happened after they had split up. His travels with Giant Devil, his slaying of Shinjiro and acquiring of Masamune, and the creation of the Primera Espada, his mother turned Hollow. As the words kept spilling from his mouth, Shaolin looked more and more angry by the second, while Cirucci was aghast, both from what her former master did and seeing the connection between her current Espada and the Primera Espada.

"I hope you killed that son of a bitch." Mrs. Kurosaki muttered darkly, tears of anger pooling around her eyes, as she shook with rage and fury.

Ichigo looked away tiredly, from having to relive the thoughts of the situation that he tried to put out of his mind prior to battling Aizen. "I dealt with him, he's not coming back." He answered back.

A dark mood fell over the trio as they waited in silence.

"Sorry…" Ichigo muttered realizing that he killed the mood.

"No…I shouldn't have forced it." Shaolin apologized, slow to calm back down. "Anyway, what does this have to do with anything? How is telling the Sotaichō about us, supposed to help?"

"Well, I figured, if he knows I'm half-hollow and we were to tell him about our relationship and…how it's been going on through all of this. We might be able to do something about all this hollow hatred." The man calmly explained

"I see, because they will see they've been living with a hollow for years." Shaolin replied with a twinge of concern in her voice, "On the other hand, we will have to answer for our relationship as well as the numerous breaks in protocol." The woman frowned darkly, as she looked away, "And if we aren't right, the hatred of Hollows can increase even further. We are putting our child at risk Ichigo."

"I know." Ichigo sighed, before leveling a resolute stare her way, "but if we don't things can get worse." The man scratched the back of his head nervously, "I'm just saying…now might be the best time."

"Do you really think so?" She asked, skepticism and fear lacing her words.

"Well," he gritted his teeth, expecting her perfectly normal reaction on the matter. "Soul Society is in pretty rough shape right now. So it's not like they have the man power to do anything and right now, and me and Senna are the 'heroes of Seireitei', so at least for the moment, some people are going to have our back."

The man's wife shifted uncertainly from foot to foot, which made Ichigo reflexively smile just a bit, glad to know she was just as scared and contemplative as he. Putting a hand on her cheek, he rubbed it with his thumb and gave her an appreciative look. "I know I'm asking a lot…but please trust me. I'll make it work, I promise."

Soifon stared longingly into his eyes for a few seconds, before nodding her head and placing her own hand on top of his. "Okay. I'll follow your lead Ichigo." She purred.

"Thank-you." He whispered, before looking over the Arrancar of the group, "What about Cirucci? It'd be kind of dangerous to leave her alone, but we can't take her with us either."

Pulling away, Shaolin looked back at Cirucci, "Cirucci, although you aren't supposed to leave my side, I am ordering you to stay and watch over Senna. You are to protect her in case anything does happen, understood?"

The purple haired woman nodded sharply, "Si. Eso está hecho, señora Soifon. I'll keep her safe."

Ichigo raised a brow, "When did you two get so close?"

"Weeeelllll," the woman glanced away, cheeks puffed out just a bit. "she's not sooooo bad, now that we aren't trying to kill each other."

"Si, y Senna-sama is a good friend. We're birds of a feather, I think."

'What does that mean?' Ichigo asked himself, but nodded all the same. "Well, thanks for doing this. We'll see you in a bit," he glanced back to Shaolin. "We better not keep the Sotaichō waiting any longer."

"Right." The captain nodded,

The trio then split up, the Kurosakis heading one way as the fraccion went the other. As the two captain class Shinigami made their way to the front desk, they were stopped by Unohana, that had been in a worrying flurry wondering where Ichigo had gone. Explaining the situation as carefully as they could, the pair got the reluctant approval from Unohana for the man to be checked out of the hospital for this meeting with the Sotaichō. With a sad apology from Unohana to Ichigo regarding the Primera Espada, the pair left the division and began their way back to the head captain.

As they walked through the corridors of Seireitei, Ichigo kept looking around, observing the diminished population of reapers and their expressions. Most just seemed trained on the task in front of them, seemingly not trying to think about others, while some were physically and mentally tired, there were very few smiling faces amongst the people they passed by.

"So…are you sure about this plan?" Shaolin piped up, catching Ichigo's attention, as they strolled through the corridor.

"You're really worried, huh?" the man asked quietly.

The pair came to a halt at the four-way intersection. The captain took a moment to look around to make sure nobody was nearby, before she released her emotions. "Yes, I'm…actually kind of scared." She admitted evasively, biting her lip slightly. Forcing a smile, she said, "It's actually taking a bit of effort on my part to not scream or run away."

Ichigo sighed tiredly, while he did his best not to show it too. He was just as nervous. "I don't blame you." Lifting his arm up to eye level, he showed that his hand was shaking ever so slightly. "I'm scared as hell too."

Looking back over her shoulders, the frowning woman eyed their destination in the distance, "I'm really having second doubts here. A lot of Shinigami, including some captain, were really in favor of executing anything resembling a hollow. Now we're going to tell them about you being a hollow, us, and our kid…I…" the woman's gaze fell away as she swallowed the knot in her throat. "What we're about to do, can't be undone Ichigo…are we really sure about this?"

"When we sided with Soul Society, we knew something like this could happen." He muttered, while the woman nodded. Reaching forward, he clasped her hand gently. "I want to try and find some kind of middle ground and I think the only way to do that is by telling the truth."

Taking a step forward, he slowly got the woman to continue following him down the path to their commanders' office. "Right now, the Sotaichō believes that everything has worked out this way because he thinks that all his actions were the correct one to make."

The woman shook her head, confused, "What do you mean?" she asked, pulling her hand away, as she spotted some people approaching from the front.

Lowering his voice, he continued, "What I mean is, he thinks that everything worked out because we weren't involved. You said it yourself, you were selected in the mission to assassinate me and Senna, if it seemed like we'd defect. Do you think the Sotaichō would have even told you about it, if he had a clue what was going on? I certainly doubt it, he probably would have had someone attack us; instead, of letting us make the decision ourselves."

The woman nodded better understanding his point now. As she had told Senna, if it wasn't for Ichigo changing her, she wouldn't have hesitated one second in putting them both down, the moment she thought either of them even considered joining Aizen. "Yeah, you're- "

The Chinese woman's breath hitched, when she realized the full implication that Ichigo was implying.

Looking over his shoulder back at her, Ichigo's smile widen just a hint further when it finally dawned on her, the possibilities he was opening up with his words. "Now you get it." He said a bit louder, as they entered into the first division barracks. "All of his actions and assumptions were always in jeopardy of falling apart, but didn't because of us."

"You're right." She replied with a cool confident smirk, drawing a few strange glances from those in the foyer. "You are exactly right."

Turning down the corridor, the man wryly added, "Let's just hope the old man doesn't try to kill us after losing his shit. I just got OUT of the hospital."

The Chinese woman rolled her eyes, "Don't worry, I'll carry you."

Exiting the corridor, the pair came to the final walkway, the Sotaichō's door looming just at the end. Coming to a stop, Ichigo reached into his pocket and clutched the ticket tightly, thinking hard on it. Breathing in deep, he loudly exhaled as he scratched the back of his head.

His escort look at him with a cheeky grin, "What's wrong? You're stalling, got cold feet?"

Turning red, the man looked away, "Of course not. I was just thinking ladies first. Got to show some manners you know?"

"You're such a gentleman." She replied dryly.

The pair shared a nervous laugh with each other. Reigning their chuckle back in, the pair turned to each other, each staring deeply into the other's eyes for comfort. "Let's not get too hung up on the what ifs, Shaolin." The man said quietly. "Worst come to worst, I guess we'll work something out with Kisuke, so we can elope out of this place."

Closing her eyes, the small lady placed her index against her cheek. "Perhaps so, it's good to have a back-up plan." Opening one eye, she continued, "But if we elope, it can't be somewhere we've been to before, Soul Society will look there first. So somewhere secluded from civilization. Oh and have enough spiritual energy to help Senna heal." Struck by a sudden thought, the woman looked away, her cheeks burning red. "and it needs to be warm. I refuse to be miserable during the winter season, if I have to give up my life as a Shinigami captain."

"Whatever you want, Shaolin Kurosaki." The man replied as he leaned down closer.

"You better deliver than." She threatened, as she reached up and kissed passionately in the deserted corridor.

The two drew themselves in, arms wrapping around the others body, drowning out the world and the problems around them. They stayed close for a few minutes, just quietly listening to the other's heart, before pulling away.

With a resolute nod from the both of them, the pair walked down to the door. Raising his arm up, he was about to knock, sparing just a second to get a fervent glance at his partner, which he received as she adjusted her sword in case they'd need it. Receiving what he wanted, his hand collided against the door frame, once, then twice. "Yamamoto-Sotaichō, it's me, Ichigo Kurosaki, with Captain Soifon, we need to speak with you."

Silence…

…

…

"You may enter." The aged captain's voice echoed from behind the door.

Sliding the door open, the pair walked in.

---

Blackout2010: Hey Senna! You're such an asshole for lying to the audience!

Senna: You wrote my dialogue in an intentionally misleading way!

Shaolin: (sigh) I miss the good old days, where this was light hearted and funny.

Ichigo: Yeah, me too. Hard to believe it went form a romantic comedy to this.

Aizen: By the way…Spirit King will you answer you phone?

SK: Why?

Aizen: BECAUSE I FUCKING CALLED IT! (turns to Ichigo) Tell me, Mr. Kurosaki, how does it feel to know that I was right the entire time?

Ichigo:…

Aizen:…

Ichigo: Shut up Aizen.

Aizen: Good thing I have some water. (Slurp) Cause that's a lot of salt.

Blackout: Well, I hope this will satiate you my lovely audience and more importantly lets you ask yourselves an important question:

Who's really the monster here?

Guide points of the Soul:

1. Memories of nobody: The Operation name was a shout out to Senna's original appearance in her movie, Memories of Nobody. In the movie, everyone forgot she existed as she faded from existence, whereas in this, she lives, but everyone she cares about forgets her existence, essentially resulting in the same thing.