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.

44. The trial

In the middle of a wide empty room is a young man of medium height sitting in one of two cozy chairs, his body bent forward over a coffee table as his fingers rapidly fly over the keyboard of the computer, punching in different letters and punctuations.

The rapid flurry of fingers slowly comes to a halt over the center, as the guy leans back into his chair, eyeing things over and contemplating how else to proceed, as he strokes his five o'clock shadow softly.

He does so for about five or ten seconds, before feeling a presence hover around him, turning to the side he quickly spots you beside him. The ponderous expression on his face, gives way to amicable contentedness upon clear recognition of you. "Hey there. Didn't see you come in." he turns an eye embarrassedly at the monitor in front of him. "Guess I was too busy caught up in my work, happens sometimes, haha."

He places his elbow beside the computer, "I'm glad to see you again." He says softly, placing his cheek against his fist, "Certainly been a while, huh?" Eyes darting back to the computer momentarily, before back at you, an idea strikes him. "Maybe I should set the mood? Gotta be a gracious host after all."

Typing in a few commands and waving the cursor around and clicking a few times, he sorts through the files looking for just the thing. "I've been working really hard to keep my promise to you, you know? That's why I can say what I say with full confidence despite the trials I've endured and the ones that lay ahead." He says, as pulls up the exact music file he was searching for, double clicking it enthusiastically.

(OST: We're coming back – Bouncing Souls)

Turning away from the music playing through the laptop's speaker, he gestures to the empty chair beside him, smile brightening as his heart skipped a beat in pure joy.

"We're back."

---

Chapter 43: The trial.

The soft pattering of shoes and feet echoed down the hallways, as a pair of women, with hair the same tiny of purple as the other, separated only by their distinctly different styling, walked shoulder to shoulder through the second division, on their way to the captain's office. It had been two months since the conclusion of the cataclysmic war against Aizen and a tense peace had settled over their 'home', although the term home was loosely used with these two.

The woman on the right, had a gentle, if tired expression on her face, as she trudged through the hallways. Her eyes winced closed every couple of steps, compensating for the slight tightening around her chest, a reminder of the wound that permanently relocated her here. Slowing to a halt, she pressed her right hand against her black Hakama and breathed in and out heavily, trying to focus her mind on the important mission that led her through the halls of 'her' squad.

Seeing her comrades distress, the second woman slowed to a halt, as she pressed her hand against the sputtering girl's back, trying to soothe her. As she did so, she took a moment to check their surroundings. While she knew, they were safe, almost totally accepted, in these halls, it didn't stop her naturally learned habit of looking over her shoulders, as the pair travelled abroad, ensuring no trouble-making Shinigami tried to pick a fight."

In squad two, the ground rules had been set, the moment her master was cleared from the hospital. Kneeling before her Espada, the second division captain and the onlooking forces of squad two and the Onimitsukido in the public assembly hall, she swore an oath that forbid her from drawing her Zanpaktou, lest she suffer their wrath, her fault on the matter inconsequential. While her warrior's pride felt a burning sting of embarrassment that day for being made a spectacle to be gawked at, she swallowed it down knowing it was one of many necessary steps on the road to peace.

But what she realized immediately afterward, a cleverness on her master and mistress's part, was the caveat they had thrown in when addressing their soldiers: Senna. The young woman having also disclosed her status as a hybrid was not to be touched, and, as dual layered security, Cirucci herself was 'technically' charged with her safety. Which meant, if Senna, for any reason at all, was in danger, Cirucci's oath would be temporarily suspended, as she would be acting in the interests of Soul Society, defending not only a fellow Shinigami, but also a key member in its continued existence.

When this information, with sworn testimony signed by everyone present, was delivered to the captain's assembly, and the newly convened central-46, another predicted uproar ensued, both sides recognizing it for what it truly was: a threat to instigators, masked as deterrence.

The anti-hollow side pointed out that: So long as Senna was there to witness, or worse collude with the Hollow, Cirucci could damn well kill anyone she pleased, and say it was in defense of her charge and herself. The 'pro-hollow side', for lack of a better term, stated it served to force the Shinigami to cooperate, pointing out a Shinigami would have to fear retribution IF they were malicious.

It had gone back and forth for a while, but ultimately the pro-side won the issue on the technicality that: Cirucci, as ambassador/experimentee, should have the right, albeit threat-scaled lethality, to defend herself from those that my try to disrupt the peace and, as part Shinigami and resident of the second division, she was required to defend Seireitei and her fellow Shinigami from threats, both foreign AND domestic.

With a final sputtering cough, dislodging a wad of saliva, Senna's breathing returned to normal. "Mmm…ha…sorry there." She apologized, wiping the water that had gathered around her eyes. "(Cough) I'm okay now."

"No se preocupe." Cirucci replied softly, "It's not trouble." Removing her hand from the woman's back, she looked back the way they came and sighed. "Pero, I can't believe they would force you to relay the message to master Ichigo."

Senna nodded understandingly. "Well, it's only been two months. As we know better than anyone, tension is still pretty high. It's not as bad as before, but still nothing to write home about."

Sanderwhicc closed her eyes and sighed beside herself. While she certainly didn't expect to be treated kindly anytime soon, not that she would have reciprocated so easily with some of those she'd met, she hadn't expected some of the Shinigami to take such wary or hostile stance around a girl as friendly as Senna. It was…annoying to say the least. "Yes," she muttered, "but I thought you'd and Ichigo-sama might get a warmer reception."

The woman smiled gently, "It's fine. They just don't really know me or Ichigo as much as the other Vizards." Her smile waivered a bit, "Anyway, I think you have it worse. At least I got to keep my wardrobe."

The hollow soldier's expression ran blank for a moment, before she looked away an embarrassed flush on her face. "D-don't remind me!" she exclaimed, clutching her rather revealing clothes tighter around her.

With the routing of Aizen and his forces, and the precarious situation with captive Arrancar…mostly resolved; the higher-ups in Soul Society wanting to stamp out any potential resistance made a move. Deeming the white Shihakushō uniform worn by Aizen's army as both provocating and disrespectful to the Shinigami, Cirucci and the rest of the Arrancar were forced to burn their old uniforms and dawn the original black version.

Cirucci nearly started tearing up again at the thought of her beloved ball gown going up in flames. Even, after informing them, in a desperate effort to save it, that it was functionality issue, due to her ressurreccion creating wings from her back, it still went into the incinerator. Still, it wasn't too bad. Her Espada and his lover had provided her one of the Onimitsukido uniforms for her to wear; it was a white master's uniform from Yoruichi's tenure, whose design was backless to allow for the formation of her wings, without issue. While this too had caused issue with the higher up, Yoruichi's timely shutting down by stating it WAS standard uniform, got the issue dropped and gratitude from Sanderwhicc.

"By the way…" Senna spoke up, eyes travelling down the woman's thighs and to her feet. "Are you…sure you don't want sandals or something? Walking around barefoot all the time sounds like a hassle."

Tapping her toes against the wooden floor, the barefoot woman huffed lightly, amused by her concern. "It's fine. In fact, I prefer it this way."

"Really?" Senna asked again, still not entirely convinced, "It looks like if you stepped on a rock or something it'd really hurt. I mean, I know we stay in the Seireitei, but…"

"I understand and appreciate your concern, Senna." The purple haired woman replied, bending over and running her hand down her leg. "But you see these straps?" she asked, pulling said strap that ran all the way down and over the arch of her foot. "They are strong enough to protect my feet should I step on such objects."

"And the rest of your foot?" Senna asked quizzically.

"A non-issue." Cirucci replied, as she stood back up. "You may not understand this now, but as a fellow bird-type hollow, you will come to realize the intricacies of your movement. We tend to be much lighter on our feet, springy, bouncy, tu entiendes? Having my feet touch the ground, stimulates some of my natural instincts. I can feel how the terrain is like, how it affects my movements, and with that I can modify my movements to better fight."

"Really? You can tell all that just with your feet?" Senna asked, genuinely surprised by that kind of information.

"Si, for example." The woman looked down beside her foot and smiled. "See that plank?" She asked pointing to the one board, two planks over from her foot. "It'll creak, if I step on it."

Senna then watched curiously, as the woman slid her foot over, surprise spreading across her face as, just as Cirucci claimed, the wood creaked audibly with virtually no pressure at all. Sliding her foot back, the fraccion braced her right knee and said, "But if I step here, no sound."

Lifting her leg up, she thumped it against the wood in front of her, but unlike the first, there was no echoing groan, only the initial plunking of her flesh striking against wood.

"That's incredible." Senna asked, truly amazed by what her friend could do. Furrowing her brows, Senna looked down towards her own feet, hand pressed against her lips. "You think you could show me how to do that?"

"Hmmm…" Cirucci hummed as she closed her eyes, tinkering with the idea. While she didn't really 'learn' it, since it was something she simply grew aware of as time went on, she didn't see why she couldn't better direct her to what the instincts were. "Perhaps." She answered quietly. "It might be harder for you, since you never lived in a fully hollowfied state, but even with your limited experience, you know how to use an instinct sonar ability, an unusual thing for a bird, without any training."

The woman paused considering it further, before she smiling mischievously, "Well, we shall see. Birds flock together and I've never met an avian that couldn't do it. Voy a hacer mi major, mi senora."

"Do you think, Ichigo and the other Vizards might be able to learn it too?"

The purple haired woman, tilted her head to the side, thinking it over, before shaking her head. "Probably not. It is more a…racial skill. Each classification of hollow has their own unique strengths, weakness and innate traits. Bats have: flight and echolocation, in-animates: grounding and Zanpaktou emphasis, birds: flight and seismic sensory, hunters: predation patterns, and so on. Ichigo-sama's mask looks like a bull to me, but others have said a demon."

Sanderwhicc prior enthusiasm tapered off just a hair, as she was forced to remember another demon she knew that she missed. "Mi Antigua Espada," she muttered softly, "Yasotora Sado, was a demon type, they specialize in strength, endurance and size, but he couldn't do sensory. So…I don't really…know I'm afraid." She finished looking away solemnly

"Oh, I see." The younger woman answered automatically; too caught up in her preponderance and gratitude of exploring her hollow lineage. When she turned back to Cirucci, after setting her prior musing on the back burner, she was caught a little of guard to see Cirucci's usually calm expression turned inwards. Her melancholic expression and the way her posture seemed to be silently endurant, set off alarm bells in the human's head.

"H-hey…are you okay?" she asked taking a step closer, her hand lightly landing upon the warrior's shoulder.

The fraccion snapped her attention back to her, caught off guard from her private thoughts. "Ah…sorry." She apologized, eyes dancing left and right, uneasily. "I was just…umm…err…"

Seeing her trail away nervously, Senna swallowed the lump in her throat and pushed her gently. "…juuuust?"

Cirucci locked eyes with the young girl again, before breaking contact once more. Her tongue ran over her lips for a second, as she shifted to the side, before finally closing her eyes and sighing, beside herself. "Thinking of home." She muttered quietly.

Senna's heart plummeted after that. "Oh…"

Cirucci sighed quietly to herself, acceptant of the reality, but reluctant at the same time. "When I wasn't in uniform, I used to walk barefoot around the gardening zone of Las Noches. I enjoyed the warm feeling of sand beneath my feet, the eternal setting sky with sun and moon hanging above, and the calm winds blowing by, whispering to me to take flight in them." Her eyes grew deeper in longing, "It made me forget about the killing I did, the souls I consumed…the monster I used to be just to survive. With my friends and fellow fraccion in that place…I…(sniff)…I was human again."

Senna clenched her teeth tight at hearing a bit more of the internal troubles that plagued the ambassador. Feeling that she had to at least say something, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm sorry, Cirucci-chan." She offered apologetically, "I know it must be tough. And I'm not saying I totally get what you must be going through." She placed her hand against the woman's cheek, forcing her to face her gently smiling face. "But…I do understand…at least a bit of what it feels like to lose things…you never want to part with."

The woman stared at the empathetic Vizard, she herself knowing that the woman had been forced to abandon her home and adjust to the same world she now lived in. While the circumstances were vastly different, she could appreciate the sentiment, she was trying to convey.

She wasn't alone.

Cirucci returned the embrace passionately, eyes closed tightly, to hold unto this burning feeling inside, the instinct to survive, the instinct to protect. She had lost her home and been stripped of her pride by the conquering Shinigami, but she had gained new friends and new purpose.

Friends she had personally sworn on her life to defend.

Pulling away, the fraccion bowed her head reverently to her superior. "Gracias, Senora Senna. While I know, you are forced to be with me, your devotion and understanding to me and our kind's plight has been most appreciated, especially in these trying times."

The former Karakura resident sighed tiredly, "Tell me about it. I mean, you guys can think and act on your own, you'd think they'd at least give you the chance to properly reform." She drawled over the same squabbled talking point.

"There will always be those that live-in fear of us." The Arrancar relented, before pointing out to the wisdom in the anti-hollow side. "but I would hesitate too in trusting creatures that supposedly lost their hearts."

"I know, I know." Senna answered knowingly, resting her hand against her forehead. "It's just…with all that's been happening lately, I hope Urahara-san comes through with all the DNA testing that he's been doing on us."

"He will. It is cunning Shinigami like him that has kept us alive," she glanced sideways at Senna, "And kind-hearted Shinigami like you and master that got some of us released to Hueco Mundo."

Senna moved the hand off her head, and droned, "Under guard of the 11th, to make space and separate the current Arrancar, and only those that can be dispatched by unseated officers." She listed off the most prominent conditions for said release.

"Still it is progress. Perhaps, one day Senna-sama, Shinigami and our kind will be able to co-exist without bars in between us." She mused, before looking back on ahead, "But that is a discussion for another time, for now let us hurry, that message isn't going to deliver itself."

That snapped Senna's attention back to what they were doing real quick. "Oh, you're right. I almost forgot." She yelped, a little frightened at the chewing out she might have gotten from Shaolin over her birdbrains. "We better get moving."

Turning back to the direction they were heading, the pair picked up the pace to make up for lost time, doing their best to avoid getting in the way of working Shinigami and any Onimitsukido passing through the halls, on route to a mission.

Turning around the corridor, the pair came to their destination: The captain's office. Slowing to a halt, Senna and Cirucci heard voices talking from the other side. Raising her hand up, she knocked against the door, and asked for permission to enter. After a moment of silence, the captain gave her approval allowing them to enter.

Sliding the door open, the hybrids came into a three-way meeting between the Kurosaki's and Yoruichi. The two walked in under the trio's gaze, before saluting, per standard procedure. "Fukutaichō Senna Kurosaki reporting in."

"Arrancar ambassador and unauthorized third seat, Cirucci Sanderwhicc present."

Taking a step to the side, his newly minted captain's jacket swaying by the movement, Ichigo gave a brief nod for them to relax. "So, what brings you two in?" he inquired, crossing his arms over his chest.

Turning to her captained brother, Senna replied, "I've come to relay two messages." She answered as professional as she could, eyes darting between the standing man and two seated women. "The first is about the meeting regarding the Hollows and the current situation."

In the chair beside Ichigo, a visibly pregnant Shaolin, robed in a black maternity kimono, shook her head methodically. "Yes, we're well aware of that Senna. We received word from a hell butterfly, so we decided to go over past events to make sure everything is in order."

Senna sweat dropped, "Oh…right." She deflated, having forgotten about the messenger bugs normally used to communicate such things. 'I wonder if I was told to deliver it just to mess with me.' She considered half-heartedly.

"It's fine. Thanks anyway." Ichigo waved off.

"Not a problem, Master." Cirucci replied, with a light bow.

"Still, you know that's going to be a pain in the ass." Yoruichi voiced from the other side of the captain's table. Mind prepping itself for another one of those meetings. Leaning back in her chair, she absentmindedly asked, "There's been no major incidence since the last meeting, right?"

"If we aren't counting that one operation that we already took care of, then no. The Onimitsukido haven't reported anything new in Muken and we haven't received any word from the eleventh division." Shaolin reported quietly.

"So, as long as nothing happened at the twelfth, which, considering Kisuke is there, nothing has, we should be just fine." The third division captain added.

Reminded by Shaolin's prodding, Senna turned to the sitting woman, "Will you be allowed to attend the meeting? I mean, last time…"

"Last time, I was sick. Anything else was just a rumor, Senna." The ex-captain reiterated, as she leaned back in her chair. "Besides, the current arrangement of things was reached by both a private tribunal between the Sotaichō and us and a public tribunal with all the captain's present."

"Tribunal?" Cirucci asked, clearly left in the dark about what she meant.

The opera-slasher reddened when she found all eyes on her for a moment, before a collective 'oh' filled the room, everyone having realized Cirucci wasn't in the loop with second division's unique structure, and by extension the rest of the Gotei 13.

"Yeah, after we left you to look over Senna, me and Shaolin came to the decision that it would be best if we informed soul society about a lot of things. My heritage as a hollow, our relationship…"

"…and my pregnancy." The woman finished for him.

Ichigo glanced away, towards the wall, scratching the back of his head, annoyed. "Needless to say, some people weren't pleased."

"By that, they mean their immediate superiors and about 60% of their fellow captains." Yoruichi added with a catty smile.

Cirucci's eyes narrowed, as she listened. She had to bite her tongue from threatening to kill the individuals that would attack her saviors. "So, what happened next?" She asked, trying to steady her voice.

"Weell…we laid our case out both to the Sotaichō and then to our fellow captains. They took into consideration our accomplishments, as well as our intentions, before weighing them against our crimes. For the most part, it was relatively civil. We got a couple of slap on the wrists for 'Fraternizing with an officer of significant rank difference', 'hiding/tampering/withhold crucial information of both peace and war-time', 'obtaining hollow powers illegally', 'abuse of power and authority', 'not informing correct/authorized personnel about change in relation status', 'illegal appointment of officer seating/favoritism'." Ichigo droned barely remembering the multitude of violations and laws they'd broke.

"It's a very long and extensive list, Senna." Shaolin told the girls. She leaned back, scratching her, puzzled. "There was even a single random charge to Ichigo about 'misappropriating office supplies.'"

"He honestly couldn't take a joke. I don't know how mom could stand the guy for so long, before snapping." The man muttered quietly, beside himself that the Sotaichō took him seriously on an offhanded joke in that one meeting.

"W-wait." Senna piped up, moderately surprised by what she heard. "This is the first time I've actually heard the charges. I'm no expert on laws and stuff, but some of those sounds like more than a slap on the wrist you two!"

"Well…" the pair muttered together, glancing towards one another quizzically. "Yeah," Shaolin admitted, turning back to the woman. "had it been anyone else, they'd probably be busted all the way down to privates, if not dishonorably discharged and thrown out of the Gotei 13."

"See the thing is. Most it could be explained away or was consequentially negligible." Ichigo explained, as he leaned back against the captain's desk. "I mean take the 'obtain hollow powers illegally' charge, it's a technicality offense at best. We explained that I was born with them, so, obviously, I couldn't help getting them. Besides they were crucial in ending the war against Aizen."

"That's basically what almost every answer boiled down to." The Chinese woman explained, as she lifted her arms up, bent slightly towards the left. "Why didn't we tell of our relationship?" she shifted her arms to the opposite side, "The Sotaichō ordered me to kill Ichigo, if Aizen tempted him, I couldn't refuse because doing so would put Ichigo in danger." She then moved them back to the left, before going back to the right, emphasizing her cause and effect points. "Why didn't I inform the Sotaichō of our relation when Aizen framed Ichigo and Masaki as traitors? Because they were innocent, plus if we weren't close I wouldn't have assisted him in repelling Aizen. So really, most of the things they try to stick is just speculation charges. It could have gone that way, but it didn't, so they don't hold much, if any weight."

"Oh…" the young woman muttered demurely, a little embarrassed. "I see. I was just a little worried, I mean they did punish you guys, but I didn't think it was this serious."

"Well, yeah, Soul Society did give them a slap on the wrist, but the terms we imposed upon them were relatively fair." Yoruichi spoke up, the squad two Haori ruffling, as she shifted to the side. Extending a hand to her protégé, she said. "Considering being a captain is a very stressful endeavor, it wouldn't do for Soifon-chan to be running the second division in her current state. So being stripped of rank temporarily is just a flashy formality for her granting of long-term maternity leave. Besides, the Onimitsukido is separate from the Gotei 13, unless the acting captain is part of both organizations, then the Onimitsukido don't have to answer to the Gotei 13, at least not directly."

Cirucci frowned, "I…don't understand. How does that work? Are Onimitsukido the fraccion of squad 2 or the other way around?"

"No, Cirucci. Onimitsukido, Gotei 13 and Kido corps are three separate organizations, that together make up the Shinigami forces. Shaolin was both captain of Squad 2 and Leader of Onimitsukido. The Onimitsukido follow the command of their leader independent of the Gotei 13 is doing. But if the leader is a captain or registered Shinigami of the Gotei 13, the Onimitsukido follow the instructions of the Gotei 13." Ichigo explained.

"That means while I am 'suspended' as a soldier of the Gotei 13, I still maintain my rank as leader of the stealth forces. So, I am not to be recused from these kinds of meetings without reasonable justification." The pregnant woman shrugged, "Besides, even if I was, then I would be allowed free reign to act without supervision of the captain's or Central-46, which I doubt it's something they'd want."

"That's why they hired me back." Yoruichi continued, "Since there shouldn't be any major upcoming battles or massive conspiracy plots now, Soifon-chan's position in the Onimitsukido is basically an extremely well-paid desk job."

Senna's eyes lit up, understanding now. "Oooh! So, they put her in that job because it's less strain on her."

"Exactly." Ichigo confirmed, "And then they moved me over to squad 3, so that it retroactively undoes any dating within company problems caused by rank, and puts me at captain class: the exactly same rank as her."

"Now I get it. I was wondering why you didn't mind the punishment or the list of crimes. Still…" Senna looked away, contemplatively. "With the way things are right now, I hope everyone learns to accept these big changes, especially coming out like this."

Ichigo glanced away, a lopsided frown on his face. "Well…I guess it'll depend on how these Arrancar updates go. I mean squad two and the Onimitsukido accept what's going on between us, but that's because we've had so long to work with them, nobody outside of us and the captains knows, so I don't know how others might feel if they heard about it."

"Speaking of." Shaolin interrupted, eyes glancing towards the clock. "We'd best be off here in a second."

Turning their attention to the nearby kitty clock on the wall, the all nodded on seeing the time. Wasn't much longer that they'd have to head out for the status report.

Pushing herself out of her chair, to ready herself to leave, as did the others, the removed captain turned back to Senna quizzically. "You said there was two things to inform us on. Is the other thing pressing or can it wait?"

Smiling, the young woman shook her head. "No, it's just Kisuke wants us to visit for a status update. Apparently, it's something to do with the baby."

That troubled the expectant mother slightly, "Hmmm…" she pondered, raising her hand against her lips.

"You know anything about this Yoruichi?" the sole male in the room wondered, glancing back at the re-instated captain.

The mocha woman shook her head negatively, "Sorry, Kisuke has been keeping things under wraps. So, I'm just as much in the dark as you are."

A permeating silence fell over the group, each pondering what the eccentric genius had to see them for, but couldn't risk telling someone as close as Yoruichi about.

With a sigh, Ichigo closed his eyes. "Let's just set it to the side for now. We got more important things right now, like the update and voting."

The ladies nodded in agreement, before one by one exiting the office. The group wasted no time speeding off the grounds towards the captain's halls save Ichigo, who was carrying his pregnant wife.

When Ichigo and Shaolin arrived to the expectant trio it was just a few moments after the scheduled meet time. It wasn't too big a deal, since there was a history of captains showing up late for meetings, sometimes not at all, besides, it couldn't very well start without Cirucci present.

Kneeling, to let his wife off from her piggy-backing, Ichigo gave the others a quick nod, before Yoruichi pushed open the doors to the meeting.

The doors to the grand hall creaked loudly as it opened, catching the attention of those already present. Yoruichi quirked a brow from the sudden attention, before putting on a devilish smile and strode forward. The shapeshifter walked steadily, watching the captain's eyes dart from her to the newly anointed captain of squad three and Onimitsukido leader at the rear, before settling to the middle of the group, the Arrancar ambassador on 'trial' and the second divisions female hybrid.

But as they observed them, so too did they observe back.

Yoruichi eyed the first gate of officials, while technically the second, since the original first hadn't arrived yet, it was still a pair of relatively friendly faces.

To her left was the boyish and serious pretty boy, Toshiro Hitsugaya. His face was set in a small smile as he greeted the new arrivals, before falling away as he turned back to his opposite, the pair of women that made Rangiku look good.

The two women shared the same name and the same love for battle, but that was about it. Named Yachiru, the older one was a red head wearing a worn gray battle gear that she'd found lying around at the macho man eleventh division. Her foul tongue and crude attitude seemed to resonate well, with the small lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi, who was sitting Indian style on the floor munching on a lollipop, oblivious to the world around her. While a large up roar had ensued at Yachiru being allowed to be here at Seireitei, when it was found out that she wasn't even an Arrancar, but a normal, if wild soul like Zaraki, any criticism about excluding her was silenced.

Well…that and the absolute brawl fest she and Zaraki had daily for both funsies and his screwing around as a captain, before he left to Hueco Mundo's prison system. If it made Zaraki a better Taichō and kept him from picking fights with other people, then everyone was immediately all for it.

The next gate up was the very definition of extremely experienced and extremely new. To the left was Kyoraku, the normally flippant and flamboyant leader was rather subdued. Sure, he still wore his pink mantle and sure he still had his straw hat, but his eyes had lost a bit of the fire, the spark in them, no doubt the tragedies amidst the previous war still weighing heavily in his mind. Still, he did his best to greet the new arrivals.

…in the exact same friendly way Jushiro did.

Across from the seasoned veteran was Tosen's lieutenant that got kicked upstairs, Shuhei Hisagi. The normally level-headed and reliable man was still frazzled and playing catch up with the numerous duties he had to attend to. His only saving grace was that it wasn't too much harder than being a lieutenant, but given the situation of things, before and after the war, it was a true testament to his abilities to keep things running in the face of disaster. The man looked over the newcomers, before diverting his gaze to the floor embarrassed, his mouth muttering something that she couldn't quite hear.

Up next was Yoruichi's favorite non-female noble, good old Byakuya-chan. The man stood regally and full of poise, as they group made their way. The man opened his eyes briefly as they passed, giving a slight courteous nod to the new arrivals, despite the obvious differences in opinions between them.

Across from stone faced captain, was the hulking masked form of Komamura. The man's eyes darted over all of them, nonthreatening, but unnerving all the same. He gave a slight bow, when he saw that they seemed to be nervous around his intimidating stature.

Unohana bided the group a welcoming smile, as her trademark coil of hair swished to the side as she bowed. The kind doctor's support of both them and their cause a source of relief.

On the other side, Hirako Shinji sighed deeply, as he just stared completely and utterly envious of Ichigo, as he was surrounded by not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR distinctly different beauties. Even if he was an ally, he'd resent him till the day that he died. He didn't deserve that kind of luck with the fairer sex, especially when people like him were still waiting around for their first crush.

Passing by their empty spots, they looked to the left where a green haired woman with baggy ceremonial robes stood. The slender woman was very youthful in appearance, looking no older than Ichigo and Senna, but she was probably around Soifon's age group. Her clothing had a distinct style, filled with distinct marking and talismans, telling everyone around her she was from the kido corps, and not just any soldier either, she was the leader.

She was Nozomi Kujo.

And Nozomi was adamantly against the Hollows, like some of the others. But from what could be dug up from the Onimitsukido, it was a bit personal, much like everyone. Her cousin, Kageroza Inaba, and her fiancée, Oko Yushima, both died during the war, one supporting the fourth division, the other fighting against a fraccion near a support pillar. She was only allowed to be here, because like Soifon, she was representing her branch.

And she wasn't going to miss it, no matter how much she'd have to reign in her dismissive attitude.

Finally, at the end of the hall, was the old man himself. The battle scared visage of Yamamoto Shigekuni Genryusai stood above them in front of his chair. To his side, was an attendant of some kind, mostly likely a scribe of sorts.

Coming to a halt Yoruichi gave a catty smile, head tilting slightly. "Hey ya, Yamamoto!"

The aged Shinigami closed his eyes patiently, doing his best to keep his temperament in check. "Aren't you happy to see me?" the woman cooed, before turning around flashily, "I mean here I am in my second squad Haori and everything." She exclaimed, showing off the Haori with a shake of her booty. "Heck, I'm even on time!"

The old man closed his eyes even tighter, trying to reassure himself that hiring Yoruichi and her irritating malcontent of a partner back on wasn't a mistake, that it was a necessity for the greater good.

Yes.

The.

Greater.

Good.

"Please, Shihoin-Taichō," the commander started, before the door to the grand hall opened again and in walked in the foppish captain of squad 12, Kisuke Urahara. "Damn." Yamamoto cursed, under his breath.

"Sorry, I'm lat-" he started apologetically, until he saw just who had arrived before him: Yoruichi and her merry band of trouble makers. "Heeeeey Yo-chan!" he called out, as Nemu Kurotsuchi trailed behind him, holding his important documentation close to her chest.

Capitalizing on his veteran instincts, Yamamoto loudly roared over them, drowning out any possible attempt the pair might take to derail the proceeding meeting, and take what precious little sanity and patience he had, as they'd done numerous times in the past. "Announce yourself and take your positions, you two!"

The scientist and cat girl looked back at him, conversation broken, before visibly pouting. "Party-pooper." The scientist and cat girl replied smarmily, as everyone else sweat dropped.

Turning fully to the head captain, Yoruichi put on her business face, at least for now. "Yoruichi Shihoin, captain of squad 2 reporting."

From the back, Kisuke tipped his trademark two-colored hat, "Kisuke Urahara and Nemu Kurotsuchi ready to present the facts for the twelfth."

Crisis averted, the commander nodded solemnly, as the pair took their respective spots. Turning his attention to the now open-secret couple of Soul Society, he nodded to them indicating for them to speak.

Raising his hand up to his brow, he tapped two fingers lightly, "Acting incumbent captain of squad three, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Bowing her head respectfully, the visibly pregnant Shaolin announced herself, "Leader of the Onimitsukido, the stealth and punishment special forces, Soifon."

While everyone gathered in the hall knew it was technically Kurosaki, due to the prior briefing on the complete disclosure of their relationship, as well as their intent to be wed at some point, for the sake of differentiating between them during these meetings, and preserving the secret of a pregnancy between a Vizard and Shinigami from the masses, it was kept quiet for now.

The one thing that both sides of the aisle agreed on was that the last thing they needed was to have to tell the masses of Shinigami and Arrancar that procreation between a hybrid and Shinigami -a war hero and captain no less!- had occurred. It was tense enough as it was and it would only get worse, if detractors from either side used fear-mongering to incite open bloody conflicts over the mere thought of someone from the other side abusing their power over another.

"You may take your place, Kurosaki-Taichō." The man nodded before turning to his right, to stand opposite of Yoruichi. "Soifon-san, I trust you'll find your place."

"Of course, Sotaichō." The pregnant woman answered, before standing to Ichigo's right, directly opposite to the leader of the Kido corps.

Taking the final step forward was the last pair caught between the heroes and rogue. Placing her hand over her heart, Senna made a move to bow, but was stopped by the head captain raising a hand. "Do not strain yourself." He informed, well aware of her delicate constitution. "Your name and place will suffice."

"Thank-you head captain." Bowing her head, she softly announced herself, "(Ahem) Fukutaichō of the second division, Senna reporting in."

With a solemn nod from the ancient Shinigami, Senna turned to the left and walked behind Yoruichi, the only other lieutenant beside Nemu allowed at this meeting.

Left alone underneath the gaze of so many that could kill her, the ambassador stole a glance to her master to steel her resolve. Returning her gaze, she gave a courteous bow, "Buenos dias, good day, Yamamoto-sama. I suppose it is that day again?"

"Indeed." He replied tersely, "Shall we begin?"

"Si. Representative of the Arrancar, Cirucci Sanderwhicc attending."

At her declaration, the Sotaichō banged his cane, calling the meeting to order. "Before we begin on your experiences Sanderwhicc-san, I would like for the 'hosting' divisions to inform us of how their populace is doing."

At once Shaolin, Kisuke, the Yachiru pair representing the eleventh, and the green haired woman from the kido corps stepped forward, the leaders of the 'generously dubbed' hosting divisions. The four ladies and lone man looked from one another silently unsure of who to speak first, before everyone shifted their eyes to the disenfranchised captain of squad two.

Taking the hint, Shaolin broke from her spot and walked to the left-hand side of the head captain. When she reached her position, she waited until the head captain gave her an approving nod, before issuing her report.

"The Arrancars residing in Soul Societies' underground maximum security prison, commonly known as Muken or the maggot's nest, have been cordial as of this time." She calmly stated her overall conclusion of the subject. "None of the members of the stealth and punishment forces have had any troubling incidents or life threatening encounters. While I've considered their poor individual strength a factor, I think the living conditions and environment restricts them from using their superior numbers to fight against us."

Slowly tilting her head to the side, she let her eyes fall to Urahara, who had similar housing quarters and populace. "I was hoping to see if their passivity is reflected in your Arrancars as assurance, Urahara-Taichō. But I could be mistaken, since while you have slightly less than me, they are much stronger than any I house, and might be more emboldened to act out."

"You raise a valid concern, which is noted Soifon-san. However, let us remain focused on your report, before moving on." Yamamoto directed softly.

Shaolin's eyes broke briefly from the men and women before her to glance at the commander beside her. It lasted only a second, before she quietly nodded and turned back to the group, the action the only acknowledgment needed to know she complied. "Hostilities between the jailors and the Arrancar have remained roughly the same since the last time I submitted a report on the matter, but relations have improved somewhat."

Raising her hand from her side, she gestured to Cirucci softly, "I do believe Cirucci's explanation of the situation has caused a bit of self-regulation amongst the captives."

"So, what your saying is…" the soft voice of Nozomi Kujo spoke out, catching everyone's attention. "they are simply acting nice for now?" she scoffed dismissively, earning a distasteful frown from Soifon and small glare from Cirucci, "I would have thought the leader of the Onimitsukido would have shown more…subtlety in her response to the situation."

Crossing her arms over her breasts, an annoyed look on her face, Shaolin retorted, "Considering I served a few days in the nest as a jailor, before suggesting Cirucci speak to them, I think my actions should illustrate my professionalism on the matter."

She then spoke a little harder to the purple eyed woman, doing her best to avoid insulting her, more out of preventing her case from being hurt than professionalism. "Unless of course, you have some reason to doubt my word, Kido-commander Kujo."

Responding to the challenge laid out before her, the green haired leader of the magic corps turned fully to face the woman. If she wanted to play ball, she'd oblige. "Considering you kept your illicit relationship with him," pointing her thumb nonchalantly to the newly minted captain of three, "off the record an entire year, before he was even a lieutenant, not to mention withholding vital information during pertinent situations…" she trailed off with a shake of her head, "I question a lot of what you might say."

Ichigo stepped forward, catching both women's attention, "Perhaps, if the kido corps were more involved with the affairs of the Gotei 13, they'd know that rehashing old information is pointless, especially when it's context sensitive."

He then jutted his thumb towards the Sotaichō, Shaolin and the envoy of the Central-46. "Now if you wish to address the topic of the discussion: Soifon-san's report, then by all means, please continue. We're all ears."

Nozomi glared at the orange haired half-breed, as the others on the pro-hollow side, resisted the urge to smile or giggle at the precise riposte.

Seeing the rather victorious look of Soifon on his left and the quickly burning thread of patience in Kujo's eyes, Yamamoto banged his cane against the ground, intervening before an unnecessary argument broke out. "Enough!" he barked, releasing a bit of his spiritual energy over the crowd.

When he saw that all were silent once again; he looked to the kido commander and addressed her. "Kujo-san: Kurosaki-Taichō and Special Forces commander Soifon are serving only in advisory capacity and not mandatory roles in this meeting to maintain fairness and prevent conflicts of interest." He informed, reinforcing the fact to not only her, but to Ichigo and Soifon, that they had no real say in the decision-making process of whether the Arrancar lived or died, due to their prior actions and punishment atonements.

Gesturing to the dignified messenger on his right-hand side, he continued, "IF you wish to contest this decision, my decision, you are welcome to submit a formal request for a re-examination to this gentleman here. He will take it to the central forty-six, who will then bring it back to me, and I will make another evaluation and decision, which may include several, if not all the gathered captain here today. But for now, I advise you to remain on the issue."

The petite woman in the ceremonial kido robes grumpily turned away. "As you wish, Sotaichō." She grumbled, knowing that even if she did all that, it was likely the decision would stand or move to be more favorable for them.

Appeased with her acceptance on the issue, he simply said "Good." Before turning back to the ever patient Soifon on his left. With a reassuring nod and directing of his hand toward the crowd, he said, "Please continue."

"As you wish, Sotaichō." The woman obeyed, turning back to the people she hoped to sway with her words. "Relations have been cordial. Even after concealing my identity and appearing as a low-ranking member, the Hollows followed my instruction without any resistance. To further test it, we've also hidden ourselves from sight in random locations and times and they still seem to obey to the rules we've established. Listening in on their private conversations, we've heard very little dissent or thoughts of rebellion. They are very eager to leave the facility, but are quite fearful of what we might do to them next."

"Tch, yeah, don't blame 'em." The elder Yachiru loudly scoffed, since it was a common-sense explanation, even an undereducated warmongering criminal like her could see. "I'd hate to be cooped up in some underground shit-hole full of hostile ninjas too. Especially if the stories from Rukongai about the Shinigami prison are true."

The more refined members of the congregation remained impassive at the former Rukongai-turned-Hueco Mundo warrior's gruff way of speaking. The jagged red-haired tomboy was at least a slight improvement over the berserker that captained the other berserkers.

Shaolin turned to the woman in weathered combat gear, "It's no luxury resort, but we aren't giving them the full maggot's nest treatment." She assured; she wasn't that heartless…

…at least not anymore.

"They're prisoners, not criminals." She stated aptly

"Ehhh," Hisagi hissed hesitantly, "They DID kill many Shinigami though…" he pointed out. Flinching a bit when he felt all eyes turn to him for his input.

While most were stone-faced at the young ninth captain's words, Nozomi was visibly relieved by his opinion. "Glad to see you know how to maintain perspective, Hisagi-Taichō." She answered rather sincerely, no doubt feeling vindicated by his words. "Keep it up. It'll serve you well in your tenure as captain."

The tattooed man felt a lump in his throat and looked away sheepishly. The veiled barb directed at Soifon and her report, and to a lesser extent the pro-Hollow side, apparent for all to see.

Once again, Ichigo interjected, before Soifon could open her mouth. "IF we're just going to keep interrupting with petty commentary, why don't we just hand in physical copies of the reports and let the insults fly for the rest of the meeting." The man quipped sardonically.

Unfortunately for him, Shaolin wasn't going to let it slide this time. "Because Ichigo-Taichō," she answered in a cordial, if condescending manner, "SOME PEOPLE" she said louder, throwing a sly glare at the unamused kido leader. "don't get to sit at the big kid's table too often, so they feel the need to posture." Nozomi's glare intensified, when she heard Yoruichi's human lieutenant, try and fail to stifle a giggle behind her. "Isn't that right kido commander Nozomi Kujo?"

The woman snarled as she took a step towards her, out of the line-up of captain and was about to retort, when the captain commander once again slammed his cane into the ground, releasing a noticeable amount of spiritual pressure directed primarily at the two sniping ladies.

"Cease the childish insults or I will take Mr. Kurosaki's suggestion and take your reports, before throwing you both out of this meeting."

Shaolin didn't visibly deflate, but her tiny smirk did devolve into a thin frown, while Nozomi took a step back and directed her glare to the floor. The hall fell into silence for a few seconds to let the pair regather their composure.

With a deep inhalation, the pregnant woman closed her eyes and decided to be the bigger woman here, since she had sworn an oath to be neutral and as unbiased as best as she could. "I apologize, Kujo-san." She said, bowing as best as she could, given her body's condition.

The kido slinger glanced up at the placating ninja, before looking back to the ground, obviously reconsidering both her options as well as her animosity. No matter what her opinion of her and her actions were, Soifon was not the enemy here.

Turning to her fully, Nozomi nodded her head gently, as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Apology accepted. Please forgive my transgressions against you. It was a moment of passion that I won't let get the best of me again."

Appeased that the two would better hold their tongues, the old man nudged his Zanpaktou forward. "If there is no more 'unnecessary' commentary, please continue, Soifon-san."

"Yes, sir." She answered, as she clasped her hands together and placed them to rest against her swollen belly. "The Arrancar's eating habits aren't any different than yours or my own. I've also observed this in Cirucci-san as well."

The enormous masked form of Sajin Kommamura drew everyone's attention, when he motioned to speak. "Do you mean to say that they don't require souls anymore?" Sajin asked tentatively, he like others on the fence about the Arrancar, but siding with their personal experiences.

"Pretty much yeah." Senna answered, from behind the goddess of flash, "The Arrancar can taste and survive on our food. They aren't like vampires."

When the crowd of captains stared at her, before looking to one another, muttering various murmurs and shaking of heads, Hirako sighed to himself. "I think your analogy is a little lost on them Senna-tan." Shinji pointed out, aware of the fact that the captains probably weren't in tune with the human's concept of a vampire and its necessity for blood, or in this case souls. "But, yeah, I get what you're saying, althouuugh…" he extended, looking to the back of the assembly towards Kisuke Urahara, "that means they can still do it am I right? Kisuke, buddy, care to weight in?"

Kisuke dejectedly shook his head, knowing what everyone's kneejerk reaction was going to be. "Unfortunately, they still can." He answered, "Although, the research is yet to be conducted on whether it's actually beneficial or not."

Kujo quirked a brow interested, "So we don't know, if they'll try to eat more souls or cannibalize each other to grow stronger?" she asked, since everyone was aware the Arrancar still held hundreds, if not thousands of souls within them, one of the biggest grounds for execution on the anti-hollow side. However, this was offset by the question of 'if', if the hollows would resort to this to acquire more power to threaten the balance, and 'if' the souls could be released from the Arrancar without putting them to the Zanpaktou.

Kisuke put a hand against his head, trying to think of a good way to put it that left little room for misunderstanding and didn't take as much time as a Shino academy seminar course. "Research takes time." He stated conclusively. "Normal research on Arrancar's was scarce at best because of the rarity of such a phenomenon. Trying to then guess how Ichigo-kun's Hogyoku affected them send things into an entirely unexplored research dimension to be considered; that is: what's naturally occurrent and what's artificial facilitated or enhanced."

Now it was the silently observant Kuchiki's turn to speak on the matter. "How long would it take to have an answer, Urahara-Taichō?" Byakuya asked.

Once again, Kisuke sighed exhaustedly, since it was basically a question without an answer. "Like I said two months ago, when I started delving into this. Time. Lots and lots of time. That's how we reached the agreement of frequent reports and observations to stay abreast of things." Kisuke then took a step forward, breaking from his spot and looked to the special forces leader. "Soifon-chan, has your Arrancar population done anything worthy of concern?"

The woman bit back the reflex to inform him to not her call her that and remained focused on the matter at hand. Some things were a just bit more important now.

Later though was a different story.

"Well…" she started taking a moment to discern the best way to proceed. In this place, amongst this divided society, her words needed to be careful, but unbiased. "A few of the more defiant Arrancar have resorted to cannibalizing others to try and gain more power."

When the anticipated whispers started, she spoke more loudly to get them to focus on her and instead of what was pure unadulterated speculation at this point. "Which may not even work, since we don't have any data to support that theory. We, myself and a few specialized operatives, including Kurosaki, put a stop to it quickly and wiped out the faction in its entirety within 24 hours of first hearing about it. 5 hours and 24 minutes, if you want specifics."

"Si, most of the Arrancar in the prison expressed their gratitude for what the Shinigami did." Cirucci added quickly, after seeing the uneasy shuffling and whispers of the soldiers surrounding. Of course, everyone knew Cirucci's words were going to be taken with a grain of salt.

"Most." Toshiro quoted uneasily, after hearing what could have been the makings for a rebellion.

The captain of six was a little more assertive of Hitsuguaya's words, or more accurately perspective. "So, that means at least-"

"Objection, Kuchiki-Taichō. Speculation." Unohana butted in tactfully. The nobleman looked to the doctor carefully, before turning away back to Soifon, quietly letting the issue drop.

Seeing that no one else seemed willing to explore that train of thought with Unohana on guard, Ichigo proceeded with providing his wife a welcoming push. "Anything else to add on, Soifon?"

The woman shook her head, negatively. "No, there is nothing else to add to my report." She concluded amicably, before turning to the Sotaichō sitting contemplatively in his chair. "May I step down, Yamamoto-Sotaichō?"

The bald man stroked his beard thoughtfully to consider if there was anything more to discuss. While his position, as the leader of the first division, was thoroughly against the captive Arrancar's continued existence, as representative for the thirteenth in the late Ukitake's place, he would honor his memory by approaching things as he would. When he concluded that there was nothing further to broke issue with, he turned to the messenger at his side and asked, "Did you get all that?"

The envoy nodded swiftly, "Yes, captain-commander."

"And is there anything the central 46 wishes to address regarding her report, before I dismiss her?"

Once again, the man offered no dissent. "No, she may step down, but I would request the floor momentarily."

"Very well," turning back to the young woman, he graciously gave her leave to return to her spot. The woman quickly walked back over to her lover's side, directly across the woman she'd been sparring against, Nozomi. Like everyone else, she was eager to hear about whatever it was the envoy wished to say, before they continued further.

The bespectacled man cleared his throat, before speaking. "My apologies for interrupting this very important meeting, I will do my best to keep things brief, since what I am about to is a little off topic."

When he was met with no immediate denial, he turned his gaze towards Ichigo and Soifon. "It pertains primarily to Soifon-san and Ichigo-Taichō." He announced to the room, but kept it low enough to remain personal.

As all eyes shifted to the couple, the pair turned to the envoy, arms crossed, indicating they were giving their full undivided attention. "The central forty-six has approved of your request to maintain ownership over the Zanpaktou's of the late third seats of squad nine and two, Shinjiro Taiga and Subaru Kujo. Their reason being, the blades seem to have accepted you as their new wielders and, as their previous owner are dead, they cannot protest re-allocation of their Zanpaktou. So, the Central 46 will honor the tradition and precedence of such situations as these and will not weight in or against Yamamoto's earlier decision for you maintain custody and usage of the weapons. They will be released from the twelfth division's custody and be returned to you for pick up at your earliest convenience."

"Thanks," Ichigo pipped appreciatively, that they'd let them take them back home where they belonged, but right now they were focused on a plan they already had in place with Kisuke. "But we'll probably leave them at the 12th, since Urahara has been using them to help with his experimentations on the Hogyoku to resolve this situation."

At the mention of the wonder gem that created the existence of these hybrid creatures, the envoy sucked on teeth briefly. "I see. Well, that does bring us to the next piece of news: The Hogyoku."

That got everyone else's' undivided attention, since it was a very hot button issue that would still need to be broken down for the massive amount of Shinigami not present. "As we understand it, the Hogyoku has physically infused itself within your Zanpaktou, Zangetsu, but its essence is inseparably linked to your soulscape." He stated, looking for some confirmation to the information and situation regarding it.

"That is correct." Soifon answered on his behalf. "Ichigo's will exceeded Aizen's and pulled it to him during their fight in the fake Karakura town. The fusion seems to be permeant, or at least irreversible from Urahara's reports."

The envoy looked away from the pair and to said scientist, "And this report is accurate to the best of your knowledge."

Kisuke nodded, agreeing with his earlier report. "Yes. The Hogyoku is infused with the Zanpaktou, it's a lot different than implanting it into your body. As every Shinigami worth their salt knows, the Zanpaktou is a separate, but intertwined entity that represent the facets of its partner as well as their spiritual power." He said aloud, the same text book information everyone, save maybe Senna, knew by heart at this point. Raising a finger up, he spoke louder, "However, due to Ichigo's specific biology, and his inner hollow being interconnected with his Zanpaktou, unlike Shinji here and his Vizards. When he defeated his inner hollow and made its powers his own, he effectively made the Hogyoku be completely subservient to his control. The reason being for this phenomenon is that his Hollow powers, a portion mixed together with his overall his Zanpaktou powers, is always under his command, independent of his Zanpaktou spirit."

The scientist then looked around the room and -with the exceptions of Nemu, Soifon and the Vizards amongst them- saw that they had no clue of the full scope of what his words actually meant. "Okay. The dumb down version is that basically: The Hogyoku can never rebel against him and is even now infused with his DNA entirely." He stated pointblank for the simpler-minded, "Even if we confiscate Zangetsu right now and eradicated it from existence, Ichigo is still effectively going to be a walking conduit for the Hogyoku and its power. That said: we won't have to worry about it causing any more problems or mutations like the Arrancar or Vizards unless Ichigo wills it to happen, which I doubt he will."

With the general message -technical details aside- heard everyone's attention turned back to the dissatisfied messenger. "I understand and will relay that information back. I expect a full and including report from the twelfth to be given to me for delivery as well."

When he got a frivolous nod from Kisuke, who made a motion for Nemu to start fishing for things in her folder, the messenger then relayed the ruling handed down to him to deliver. "As it stands, we are still tentative of Mr. Kurosaki's possession of the Hogyoku, due to the threat it poses and he himself presents due to his hybrid nature of being Shinigami and Hollow."

The messenger paused, to let Ichigo roll his eyes and huff dispassionately without interruption. "We acknowledge the threat, but won't start any deliberations on the issue until either more information is presented from Kisuke's research or the outcome of Cirucci's appeal. Which finally brings me to your request Soifon-sama regarding amnesty for one Shinjiro Taiga and Subaru Kujo, as well as revoking their status as defectors and conspirators against Soul Society."

Shaolin swallowed the lump in her throat, as Ichigo gently squeezed her hand tightly, bracing her for the most likely outcome.

"After careful discussion and examination of the evidence provided, we have denied your request regarding a pair of grave stones be erected in the Shinigami memorial cemetery, as well as the request to have them be listed as anything other than: Dishonorably discharged." The man stated flatly, his words shattering the fragile hopes the woman silently had.

"Their actions do not constitute to hold up the statute necessary of acting under duress. As is stated in law: the threatened harm to them must be greater than the harm caused by the crime." He explained, so that everyone in the room understood how the central 46 reached their conclusion and why the proposed defense was invalid. "Their actions, caused the destabilization of Soul Society, which caused the deaths of thousands of Shinigami, by the hands of their own friends and loved ones, as well as the creation of the Arrancar army, which has led to the situation at hand."

Shaolin felt the full weight of the world fall on her shoulder as the man shook his head dispassionately. She squeezed her beloved's hand, as she closed her eyes, trying to keep a strong accepting front up, even as her heart fell to her stomach with each word the diplomat spoke.

"Even after making the consideration that their actions helped stall for time and provided aid to Kurosaki and the other 'infil-traitors' during the 'Kurosaki rebellion', the central forty-six feel they remain culpable for their actions."

The man paused at seeing the pain hidden behind the woman's grey eyes. While he did agree with the decision personally, he was empathetic, since Soifon was alleged very close to both individuals, and knew he himself would be hard-pressed to judge in either the third seats or the ex-captain's position.

"That said," he continued, speaking more softly, trying to at least let her off on a somewhat good note. "IF they were still alive today, the central forty-six doesn't believe they should be ritualistically executed by the Sokyoku, the standard punishment of conviction of high treason. More than likely they would be: dishonorably discharged from the Gotei 13, have their powers restricted, if not outright sealed, and would be under 24-hour surveillance and house arrest."

The man then surprised Soifon by bowing gently to her, a contrast to his earlier rhetoric. "I apologize for delivering such…unsatisfying news, Soifon-san."

"No, it's alright. I…had a feeling it was a long shot." The woman replied reticently, trying to take solace in the silver lining. "Please convey my thanks to the Central-46 for letting us keep their Zanpaktous. They will serve our hearts, if not our powers, well."

The envoy nodded, before taking a step back. "My apologies for taking up your precious time, please continue on with the meeting." He finished, allowing the floor to whomever was next.

Yamamoto nodded, agreeing with the notion. "Yes, lets." Turning to the solemn kido commander, he motioned with his cane for her to make her way up, and so the green haired woman did as commanded. Her baggy ceremonial robes shaking with each step. Reaching the spot that Soifon previously occupied, the woman turned around and made her address.

"As you all know, my forces oversee the maintenance and guardianship of the most powerful of the defeated Hollows that remain confined within the penance tower: the captured Espadas and their surviving fraccions. Their self-appointed leader, Tia Harribel is quite obedient and seems to keep the others in line. But we have noticed the distinct personalities amongst them, which makes me worry about how the other guards are holding up."

"Well, that sounds a little sinister." Kyoraku spoke up, his eyes focused and devoid of his usual laziness. "Care to elaborate a bit more on what you mean?" he asked, tipping his straw hat back.

"Of course, Kyoraku-san." The woman answered, as she held out her hand, casting a small kido spell. Soon, a visible image of several Arrancar appeared. "While most hollows -before they became Arrancar- were typically violent and cruel."

"She's means our kind of people, Yachiru-chan." The older Yachiru quipped, with a friendly nuzzle to the top of the smiling girl's head.

The woman looked to them. "…right." And then looked away, boredly. "Once they've become Arrancar they display more dimensions of their personality. Some of these Arrancar like Harribel and Cirucci here, show incredible loyalty and care for others, even if they lack in other categories. Such as Cirucci being unable to understand romantic feelings, due to her lack of heart."

"Is this just a longwinded roundabout attack on the hollow's deficits or are you getting somewhere?" Senna interrupted the magic commander; clearly unamused by her almost unrepentantly negative presentation.

Knowing that Senna had to acquire hollow powers on behalf of Soul Society, Nozomi was far more patient with her that other pro-Hollowers; even though, she didn't understand why she'd want to defend the Arrancar. The Vizards? Okay, sure, they helped her get those powers and taught her how to use them, even the most anti-Hollow individual couldn't disregard that fact.

But the hollows?

They tried to kill her and everyone she'd cared about, last Nozomi checked.

…repeatedly.

"What I am trying to say is that these enhancements granted by the Hogyoku have caused the captive Arrancar to be completely unpredictable."

The image in her hand changed to a snarling blonde Arrancar with jagged hair and a black Shinigami uniform, the remnants of her hollow mask covering one of her eyes. "This one, Menoly Mallia is quite the rebellious one and holds a deep-seated hatred for Shinigami kind."

Cirucci opened her mouth to say something, but closed it soon after, thinking better of it. Cirucci inexorably knew she would be a troublesome one, once the whole decision to imprison them was reached, it only magnified upon hearing of Aizen's death.

Unaware of the fraccion's internal struggle, Nozomi continued, "I heard you are thinking of having her be re-assigned to work directly alongside you, Cirucci-san." Nozomi stated, bringing the woman back to the conversation after spying the fleeting moment of distress on her face. "Care to explain why we should let someone like that walk around as freely as you?"

The barefoot woman in white tensed under the scrutinizing gaze digging into her back from the line of captain class Shinigami. It was only made worse when the commander released a bit of his spiritual pressure on to her, mistaking her silence for intentional withholding of information. "Sanderwhicc-san, you are to answer the question." Yamamoto intoned deeply, eyes narrowing on her form.

Ichigo looked at Cirucci with a frown, since he wanted to help her, but knew if either he or Soifon spoke up first, it would look like obvious bias, since it was well known that Cirucci was effectively their servant. The silent tension continued for a moment longer, as the Arrancar struggled for the right words, before Senna took a step forward, aiding her friend's defense, since no one else could. "The reason (cough) Yamamoto-san." Senna started, but was stopped by the gentle hand of the fraccion in the hot seat. She smiled at her, thankful, but assurant that she could handle things.

Taking a step back from having her outburst paused, Cirucci glanced towards her master and mistress, who gave a nod for her to continue. "Yamamoto-sama, Kujo-sama," the fair-skinned Arrancar addressed, "the reason that I requested Menoly to be released, is because I wish to make her a fraccion of Ichigo-sama."

All around the room, the whispers and muttering began to echo. Even Urahara was perplexed as to what it seemed to be the plan between Ichigo, Senna, Cirucci and Soifon.

Casting a glance to the inscrutable captain commander, Nozomi whipped her face back to the ambassador an…unsure expression on her face. "Why…?" She asked, combing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Or rather what exactly are you trying to do?"

"You may not understand, but Menoly and Loly were the personal attendants to Sosuke Aizen. So, in a way, they are like me, a fraccion. With the death of Loly, her sister, at my hands and the death of Aizen at my master's hand, I believe she has mucho resentimiento en su corazón."

Seeing an opening created by Cirucci, Kurosaki spoke up, "The idea was to get her to give up on the idea of revenge and find something else to better channel her energy towards." Ichigo explained more transparently for everyone in the room.

"Si, it is as master says. In the worst-case scenario, she will be separated from others that might share her feelings and will be constantly monitored by me, Senna-sama, Ichigo-sama, Soifon-sama, Yoruichi-Taichō, the Onimitsukido and the rest of squad two. At no time, have we made a request for her Zanpaktou or other belongings to be returned to her."

"I get what the little lady is saying, but do we really want two hollows running around?" Kyoraku mused aloud, seeing the pros of their half-baked idea, but the obvious cons as well. "I mean, you're pretty fine by me, and Senna is definitely a friendly little lady, but this one? I don't know."

Surprisingly, it was Yoruichi who answered the question. "Well, this comes into the next stage of things. Transitioning from the release of the prisons. Squad two and the Onimitsukido have the highest acceptance rate of Vizards and Arrancars. If we eventually decide to allow the Arrancars into our ranks to serve as supplemental forces, like Ichigo proposed at the initial meeting, we would have to begin the integration process at some point. Otherwise-"

"Otherwise we'll be forced to dump them in mass across all the division, I see." Byakuya finished for her, pointedly ignoring the tongue she stuck out at him. It made sense, a sudden dropping of a few hundred Arrancar on the unsuspecting Shinigami is what would lead to either an all-out war between Shinigami and the Hollows or a civil war between the accepting and rejecting factions. The opposite of putting them all in a separate special division was also met with obvious flaws, like the accusation of all the Hollows conspiring against the greater populace completely unmonitored.

"Umm, is it…possible to execute certain Arrancars to prevent some of the foreseeable problems. Arrancars like this Menoly?" Hisagi chimed in cautiously. "I mean Soifon-san already mentioned putting down some of them in the prison."

"Well, it's possible, but that carries the risk of causing a domino effect and instigating an uprising from the hollow's that might feel threatened." Kisuke interjected, shooting down the idea. "The biggest difference between something like this and what Soifon-chan did, is that the hollows knew of the threat coming from one of their own. They also happened to have a good rapport with the local Shinigami forces, so the Hollow's could trust that the Shinigami weren't going to go the squad eleven route and just kill them all and let the spirit king sort them out."

"Won't be so quick to judge when you hear us, hat and clogs!" the pink haired child teased, bubbly despite issuing what was unilaterally understood as bad news.

"In any case," the blonde-haired man continued, despite the heckling. "A bunch of random hollows seeing a bunch of random Shinigami come in and kill someone without any explanation as to why is just a recipe for disaster."

"Well, again, this is only one confirmed trouble-maker." Nozomi reminded everyone, "There's probabl-"

"Objection, speculation." Unohana reminded her.

This time Nozomi smiled, "Is it really speculation, when the eleventh division's representatives say there is trouble in Las Noches?" she asked, confident in having the upper-hand.

Her confidence soon fizzled out, when the woman turned to her smiling that same eerie smile. "When I hear things that come from those that intentionally look for a fight. I try to keep an open mind." Her menacing aura grew darker, "You should do the same too and wait to hear all the facts, isn't that right kido commander Kujo?"

Everyone in the room save the two Yachirus, who were laughing their ass off, sweat dropped. Nozomi broke eye contact, voice wavering from the doctor's intimidating aura. "Of…of course. Jumping to conclusions is never a good thing."

Appeased by Nozomi's accommodating platitude, Retsu clasped her hands together and allowed her smile to become more authentic and serene. "I'm so glad to hear it."

"Me…me too." Nozomi struggled to say, trying her damnest to un-see her life that had just flashed before her eyes.

Coming back down from her laughing fit, the rough-hewn tomboy took a step forward, "If little miss prissy up there is done, can we go next? Yachiru's getting hungry and I need to get into a bar fight."

"Zaraki certainly knows how to pick 'em." Shinji snarked, as the wild soul and childlike lieutenant made their way up, while the shaken kido commander stepped down, her report finished.

"Can we have ice cream today? I want peanut-butter and chocolate!" the young girl asked her guardian.

The adoptive mother frowned, as they walked past Kyoraku. "Gotta eat your vegetables first kiddo." She said firmly, "It's broccoli day."

"Aww!" Yachiru whined, face scrunching up at the mere thought of the bushy greens. "Not the tree things!"

"Hmm, broccoli and peanut butter ice cream? That sounds delicious!" Soifon muttered aloud, intrigued by how such a creative dish must taste. "Ichigo," she cooed gently, turning to her husband with soft eyes. "I know what we're having for dinner tonight."

The war hero's face drained of all color at hearing how lovingly -seriously- she had just said that, barely able to resist cringing at the idea of swallowing combination as obviously revolting as that. Closing his eyes, he shook his head, deeply wondering if Shaolin's pregnancy destroyed her good reasoning along with her taste buds.

"Suddenly…I'm not very hungry." He answered dejectedly, his sentiment mirrored in Senna's expression across the aisle at the notion of trying to keep that down at the dinner table.

Ire inflamed by his words, the woman slammed her elbow into his side, as she called him a jerk. The man tanked the unexpected blow, as best as he could, swallowing the yelp that nearly escaped his throat. Rubbing his ribcage, he did his best to ignore the laughter of some of the onlookers, as his moody wife turned away with a huff, focusing on the red and pink haired ladies up front instead of her fool of a husband.

What did he know about good cooking? Senna, being the world's greatest chef that she was, would obviously agree with her entrée items!

Reaching into her pocket, the short-breasted berserker pulled out a report, before turning to the old man at her side. "Hey! You want me to keep it short and sweet or do you want the blow-by-blow?"

Once again, Yamamoto felt himself caught between the choice of two evils. Did he really want to know what her version of 'short and sweet was' or did he want to hear a no doubt full length report filled with crudeness and vulgarity from the man in Hueco Mundo that wrote the report in her hand?

For a moment, he almost seemed to turn to the captain to pose the question to them. Unfortunately, his more serious minded captains were focused on the wild soul next to him, while the lackadaisical ones were just smiling at him, enjoying his silent plea for help on the matter. Turning to the pugilist, he answered, "The major details only. I…will provide the others with a more completed detailing at a later date."

"Works for me, old man." Yachiru replied, turning away dismissively, while Kusajishi sat on the floor a pout on her face, trying to think of a way to get out of broccoli swallowing duty.

Maybe the iron-stomached Yachiru would get too blitzed to remember?

"So, here's what the big guy said." The red-haired woman started, rotating her arm to work out the kinks for brawl to be had. "He starts off by saying that after two months, the securing of Las Noches has finally been completed. No more random hollows try to enter into the area anymore or attack them, so they've created a secure perimeter."

"Makes sense, the hollows not recruited by Aizen-sama, might have noticed Las Noches is occupied by a powerful hostile force and are avoiding it." Cirucci explained the phenomena better.

"Yeah, probably hollow girl. From what I remember, any hollow outside of the palace was basically some dumb animal or super anti-social." Yachiru agreed, her time spent in the desert world playing into the geography of the area in question.

"Still, it is a good thing all the same." Yamamoto spoke up, genuinely pleased by that piece of information. "With the area cleared, the hollows residing in that area have no foreseeable back up, should they try to fight back against the eleventh division."

Yachiru grunted, before looking at the next couple sentences. "He also said that the southwest wing was pretty damaged and that someone should be sent to repair it. Otherwise they won't be able to full ensure no one tries to escape, unless they extend the perimeter by putting people in the desert."

Everyone's eyes darted towards Cirucci, who was deep in thought, trying to recall what was in the that direction. The pale woman tapped her foot impatiently, the answer on the tip of her tongue. Finally, with a snap of her finger, she got it. "That would be where the Diez Espada, Szayelaporro Granz resided."

"That Espada, did he have a laboratory?" Nemu inquired, causing the ambassador to turn around. When the fraccion nodded, the android looked to her captain and said, "Uryu-kun and Abarai-Fukutaichō were reported to have fought against an Espada in a lab." She was about to continue, before a silent alert went off in her memory banks. The actual events of Uryu killing her creator and his opponent recorded in her head at odds with the footage of the lie she told to the captains to protect Uryu from retribution. "My father, the late Mayuri Kurotsuchi, and I arrived on location shortly thereafter. That was the laboratory that was blown up in the Espada's desperate attempt to defeat us." She parroted, the same lie from before to maintain continuation.

Sometimes it paid to be a robotic construct with a pretty face and working anatomy than an 'inferior organic' female as Mayuri would say.

"So, the reason for the hole is because a part of the facility is missing. Got it." Kisuke finished, as he made a quick note to jut that down. Once he finished marking it, he looked to the captain commander and spoke, "Permission to send a scouting party at later time to assess the damage and begin repairs?"

"Granted." The commander replied automatically, before turning to the envoy, "Please inform the Central forty-six of this request, as well as ask for their input on what should be done about the facility known as Las Noche. I would like to have a plethora of consideration at the ready."

The man nodded resolutely with the order, before jutting it down.

With that done and out of the way, the aged captain turned back to the lady in rags and gave her the go ahead. Skipping down a couple of sentences, she got to the meat and potatoes of her earlier dissension. "Here's the part Yachiru-chan was talking about earlier. Kenpachi mentions having to put down a few rebellious Arrancar in Las Noche."

"Oh?" Byakuya intoned softly, "Are we sure we aren't speculating? Even just a little bit?" he asked softly, though his eyes did drift over to Unohana, who kept her chipper smile despite seeing the jab that was directed at her.

Retsu chuckled to herself, before giving the man an appropriate rebuttal, "I'm sure we'll know for certain after hearing her report, Kuchiki-Taichō." The woman chided tactfully.

Remembering the earlier exchange, Yachiru's body rocked with mirth, "Heh! And here I was thinking you lot didn't have a sense of humor." The woman said with a devilish grin on her face, before turning back to the report. "Anyway, Kenpachi says that some of the Arrancar are a little rowdy, but it might be because they are so far away from Soul Society that they thought they could do as they please."

"So, are you -or I guess Zaraki- saying that the Arrancar cannot be trusted on their own, or that the 'rebellious Arrancar', as you put it are isolated incidents?" Sajin pressed the woman for better insight to her and by extension, Zaraki's view on things.

Rolling her shoulders over, she said, "Eh, probably a bit of both. From what I was told: the hollows over at las Noche are a mix between the low and middle ranked Arrancars to prevent a critical mass of Hollows over on this end." Glancing back to the paper in hand, she continued, "Anyway the hollows could have been feelin' cocky since they were on their turf and thought they could take us. But it's also possible that the knuckleheads in Zaraki and my division got bored and wanted to kill some time and the hollows were just the perfect excuse for a good old fashion fight."

"So, long story short: you and Zaraki don't know." Yoruichi summarized nicely for everyone.

The woman scoffed, as she dropped her arms to her side, uncaringly. "Course not. We want to fight, not be PR liaisons." She declared proudly.

Toshiro rolled his eyes at the understatement of the century. "I'm surprised you know the word liaison."

The red-haired brawler snorted at the weak insult, "Ain't you a little young to be a captain?"

An angry tick mark appeared on the back of the youthful captain's head, "Aren't you a little stupid to be a messenger?"

Yamamoto looked over at the young man surprised by his behavior. He was about to reprimand him, for acting in a way unbefitting a captain, but was cut off by a fit of roaring laughter from both Yachiru's at his side.

"Ahahah! Shit kid, that was good!" the woman applauded, "I like you already!"

Yamamoto sighed beside himself. This was not how he envisioned this entire preceding to go. "Yachiru…san." He had to force himself to add to the uncouth woman's name. "Please remain focused. The longer this meeting goes, the worse the situation becomes." He practically begged, his patience nearing its end.

The thuggish woman waved him off-handedly, "Yeah, yeah. I gotcha gramps."

Taking another peek at the letter, she tried to find the next major part to it. "Let's see…said that. Hollow fight…that's awesome. Dadadadahadah. Skip that. Ahh…yeah. Yeah, nothing major except, if they need his vote on a live or die, he says he doesn't care either way, so Yamamoto can decide for him. If they end up getting the axe his squad volunteers to be the executioner on the grounds that: the Arrancar can fight them to the death."

All around the room everyone sighed, expectant of such a reaction from the ever-bloodthirsty Zaraki.

While Yachiru the warrior was distracted by everyone's exasperation, the eleventh's beloved daughter, Yachiru Kusajishi, saw a small missed item that she secretly hoped, if she reminded big Yachiru about it, would get her off vegetable eating duty and get her even more on Kenny's good side. "Hey, hey, the drink! Don't forget the drink!" the pink haired girl yelped, tugging at her namesake's sleeve.

For a moment, the woman looked at the cheerful girl absolutely perplexed. "Drink?" she repeated, the word almost foreign to her. Following her daughters pointing finger to the report, she scanned through it quickly, before hitting the second to last paragraph. "Ah, good one, kiddo." She thanked, before wheeling around to Yamamoto. "Hey old timer, Kenpachi is requesting some booze, can you send him some?"

Finally hitting his boiling point from her crude attitude and the various antics and informality of everyone else so far, the Shinigami barked back at her. "No. Now get the hell out of my hall!"

While everyone else in the hall shivered, and backed up from the release of the head captain's spiritual power. Yachiru, being an unrestrained soul like Kenpachi Zaraki, simply shrugged uncaringly that most of it was directed at her. "Eh, I tried." She then looked at her adoptive daughter. "Sucks to be Kenny, huh?"

Hearing the older woman insult her Kenny, crossed the line for Yachiru. "Stop making fun of Kenny!" she shouted, cheeks puffing out in anger.

The woman sighed, as she bent over and picked up Yachiru off the ground and sat her on her shoulder blade, so they could leave. "I ain't making fun of him." She stated calmly, drawing the girl in, before smirking cruelly. "I'm just making fun of his situation is all."

"Whaaa!?" Yachiru smattered in surprise. When the woman laughed at her reaction, the young miss started hitting her head with her tiny fists. "Boo! Boo!" she ridiculed, attacking her for crossing the line in the sand not once, but twice.

The berserker's smile grew even wider under the harmless assault, clearly having the time of her life with the little ball of energy. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry. You forgive me?"

The girl stopped pounding, but turned away with a huff because of her incredibly breezy attitude. "Don't wanna!" she replied obstinately.

The older one's smile fell away as she let out a low hum. Considering to herself that perhaps she went just a bit too far. She shrugged to herself, since she'd probably have to pay the piper here, if she still wanted to make the little tyke happy. "Damn and here I was gonna have some ice cream with my cold one." The woman announced in a defeated manner.

Instantly, the girl's neck did a 180-degree turn towards the woman's face. Eyes bulging at what she couldn't believe she was hearing. Satisfied at getting her attention, she continued to dangle the proverbial carrot. "But I guess I'll be eating my cookies and crème ice cream alone." She continued, another dismissive shake of her head.

Color visibly drained from the girl's face, as she realized with horror what her actions had cost her. "C-cookies!? Cream!?" The hungry girl muttered, mouth swishing back and forth, trying to suppress the tsunami of drool threatening to spill out of her mouth and all across the floor.

The smirk returned once again. 'Just a little more.' She concluded, "Yup all of it wrapped up in a delicious sugar cone with sprinkles on top-"

That did it.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" the child loudly whined, her little eyes shedding a waterfall of tears, completely unaware of the trap she'd fallen into.

"Alright, alright, I'm not a demon. If you cut the waterworks, then you've got a deal, kiddo." The woman answered the little girl's prayers, as she placed her hand on the door for them to leave.

"Yay!" the girl cheered triumphantly, glad to have red-chan be her mommy.

The noise of the duo echoed all throughout the captain's hall until the door closed shut with a loud thud, heralding their departure. From the opposite end of the hall, the expectant mother shook her head despondently. "I don't think I'll be asking for parental advice from her…" Shaolin commented.

"Yeah, well, consider my options for advice." Ichigo reminded her, "I've heard the stories of Kenpachi Zaraki."

Shaolin closed her eyes and imagined what would happen, if Ichigo took Zaraki's approach to parenting and parental lifestyle. She shuddered in horror at the image of their child going to bloody corpse-ridden battlefields with her dad or laughing happily at fighting—killing someone in some grisly manner.

In such an event, she might have to divorce Ichigo and file for both a restraining order and sole custody in order to save their child and families' reputation.

Overhearing the conversation as he passed by, Kisuke offered some assurances to them. "I'll be sure to loan you some good books, when you come by later." He said, knowing of Ichigo's lack of proper fatherly role model and Soifon's Darwinist upbringing in the Fon family.

As he reached his designated spot, his assistant Nemu in hers beside him, the impatient old man leaned closer to him. "Do not test my patience, Urahara." He whispered, knowing what this man would do, if left unchecked,

Kisuke smiled widely, "I have no idea what you are talking about!" he played the fool.

"He means to not say, report, or otherwise induce hyperbole, the way you normally report, speak or otherwise talk to people, Urahara-Taichō." Nemu clarified for him. "Basically: Do not speak as if you are Kisuke Urahara, Urahara-Taichō."

"…" Kisuke looked at the serious faced android, deadpanning. 'Thank-you for that riveting analysis…' he thought to himself, wanting to facepalm so hard when it became abundantly clear that the sarcasm went clear over her head. "Uryu and you have too much in common. He needs to show you the Urahara charm." The eccentric genius complained.

When the android blushed, obviously misunderstanding what he meant, Kisuke couldn't resist the urge to slap his hand against his face any longer. "Let's just get this started." He grumbled; hadn't even started yet and he was already exhausted by everyone's loss of humor.

Truly, the real casualty of the fall war.

"Yes. Lets." Yamamoto agreed, finding sick satisfaction at knowing the man felt exactly as he did, when he had to deal with him during his prior tenure.

Taking his trademark hat off his head, the man started his report. "Well, my Hollows have been quiet, unlike everyone else's' apparently. It might be because we have more monitoring and safety measure put in place to prevent these kinds of things."

"So: they aren't more prone to acting out or silently conspiring against you, despite having a relative strength and numerical advantage?" Shaolin asked, inquiring to the validation of her earlier theory.

The genius scratched the back of his head, as he looked up to the ceiling, "I can't prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt, but I can say it seem that they are less likely to do so. I theorize there are three driving factors at work here: the number of Arrancar present, strength in numbers, the relative strength of the Arrancar, aka quality of strength, and lastly the relationship between the Arrancar and Shinigami."

"I get the first two, but is the third factor really that important?" Senna wondered aloud. When everyone turned to her, eager to hear her perspective, she explained, "I mean, if the Arrancar have the numbers and the strength, wouldn't they attack regardless?"

Instead of Kisuke, like most expected, Yoruichi provided the answer for her green lieutenant. "You probably don't get why it's important because you've never been a leader before, but you've lived to see the effects of a rallying leader."

The shapeshifting lady pointed to Ichigo across from them, "During the attack on Soul Society, we lacked in both strength and numbers, remember?"

Remembering the events, Senna nodded, "Right."

"Yet what did we do?"

"We fought." Came the automated response.

"Exactly." Yoruichi replied, watching the cogs begin to turn in the Vizard's head, but still needing that extra little push. "It's because we had a strong leader to rally us to his cause. It's the same with the Arrancar. If relations are bad, it will give them a reason to band together, a reason to resist, a reason to fight back against any odds."

"Oooh." Senna mouthed in awe, understanding things better. "So…does that mean, if everyone is getting along, they won't fight?"

"Objection. Bandwagon approach." Nozomi chimed coldly from the duo's left.

Yoruichi rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah." She droned, at the persistence of Nozomi, before returning to her second-in-command. "Anyway, she is a little right. While they are less likely to attack, you shouldn't take for granted that they won't attack."

When Senna gave her a satisfying okay, to show she understood, the nekomata, turned around to Nozomi, who waited patiently, since Yoruichi always had to have the last word in. "Of course, the opposite is true too."

"I'm well-aware." The kido leader replied, not rising to the obvious teasing.

"Anyway!" Urahara loudly spoke up from the front. "While we can't draw any conclusions about that just yet, I have been observing their behavioral patterns."

In a flash, Nemu pulled out a report from her manila folder. Thanking her for the assist, he took it and adjusted it for a better read. "From what I've observed: they don't appear to be all that different socially from Shinigami."

"What do you mean? Like their social structure?" Toshiro asked pensively.

"I mean that they exhibit similar emotes, interests, and behaviors to us, despite their evident lack of a heart." He paused to let it sink in for everyone, before proceeding to provide the logical conclusion for the slower ones. "That means finding common ground and integration are possible, if we are willing to work at it."

"That's asking for a lot, Urahara-Taichō." Sajin spoke solemnly on the issue. "Would it not be easier to depower the Arrancar using the Hogyoku? There would be little difference between them and the average Shinigami at that point."

"As of this time, data on that subject is unavailable, Komamura-Taichō." Nemu answered, backed up by a nod from the twelfth captain.

"Progress involving the Hogyoku and, by extension, Ichigo and Senna is very slow going, due to the limited amount of time I have with them."

He motioned to Senna, "In case any of you've forgotten, I'll remind you that Senna's heart and body are still quite weak. She might appear to be fine and is able to move around Seireitei with relative ease, but that's because of steady rehabilitation training she's undergone under Unohana-chan's supervision. Overexerting herself is still a very real problem for her, if she pushes herself too hard: it can kill her, if there isn't a skilled doctor nearby to stabilize her."

The once exiled captain shook his head dismally, completely and utterly flabbergasted at the numerous health problems a girl her age had, all because of that idiot Aizen and his Zanpaktou.

"There is also absolutely no guarantee that any experimental procedures I put her through, to better understand the Hogyoku, and the effects Hollowfication has on a person, won't suddenly cause her heart to stop either."

"Kisuke and I agree that medically and ethically it's just too much of a risk." Unohana asserted, utilizing her centuries worth of good medical practice. "We cannot in good conscience have her perform anything more scientifically involved than simple blood tests, DNA tests and body and X-ray examinations."

Everyone in the room nodded or muttered an agreeing sentiment on the matter, acceding to the combined reasonable pragmaticism and scientific genius between the two of them.

With the first player in his experiment explained away, the blonde inventor pointed his thumb over to Ichigo to continue with his report. "Mr. Kurosaki might be strapping enough for the more 'heavy-lifting' activities and experiments that I have planned out for him, but he's always so busy that I don't have much of a chance to get any worthwhile data."

Swinging his thumb just a bit to the side, he continued as he pointed at Soifon, "When he's not doing squad three captain things, he's busy assisting wifey-chan" the man smiled at the near imperceptible death glare 'wifey-chan' sent him over the embarrassing nickname, "with personal things and Onimitsukido things."

He then moved his hand over towards Retsu and Senna, "After that I have to send him to Unohana-chan to make sure he's cleared for more experimentation, if he isn't already visiting Senna-chan or helping with her rehab training. Finally, after all of that, we have to get him back into the labs and hope the Hogyoku want to come out and play for more experiments."

"See if the Hogyoku wants to come out and play?" Kyoraku repeated, confused by the rather odd phrasing. He almost made it sound alive.

"Yeah, the Hogyoku tends to respond more in combat or challenging situations."

Yamamoto shifted in his chair to better look at Kisuke, "I thought you said it was completely under Kurosaki-Taichō's control."

"It is. It's just really hard to tap into it." Ichigo answered for the man, crossing his arms and closing his eyes to think a bit on how to explain it. "It's…(sigh) how do I say this. It's…'easier' to use, if I'm totally focused on one thing."

"Exactly. Our best results occur when he's in the combat simulator. Nothing to focus on except the enemy in front of him." Kisuke explained to the commander, "He's improved on the ability to tap into it and harness its power. As we've dated and graphed it back at our mainframe, his spiritual energy output increases each time we've performed a scanning, and that's just the tip of the iceberg!"

"We've taken to calling the state Ichigo actually achieves full synchronization with the Hogyoku: Mugetsu. Named after the empty state of mind required and his Zanpaktou, Zangetsu." Nemu deigned in.

"What's with the anime-like name? 'Moonless sky', really?" Senna inquired with a frown, as Ichigo turned bright red at the criticism for the 'technique name' that he had no design say in.

"He has a certain flare for odd names." Yoruichi answered, amused at Ichigo embarrassment.

Kisuke crossed his arms, almost offended by the comment. Naming things was serious business and only a genius like him could fully understand the gravity of properly naming things. "That's not true, Yo-chan. Everything I name bears the Urahara name to it: It must be majestic, it must be functional, it must be awe-inspiring, it must have the Urahara charm!"

"Super. Armor. Of. Kinkiness." Senna punctuated for him, all traces of mirth gone from her voice and body language.

The feigned annoyance on his face immediately changed to alarm at hearing her words. He was speechless for a solid second, before breaking eye contact with her, an overt attempt to save face, as the majority of the captains in the room looked at each other puzzled by both her words and his reaction to them.

Unfortunately for the genius, the others in the know weren't going to let him off just like that, especially the K.A.T club members.

"The device requires the user to be completely naked, save the areas the device covers." Shaolin hatefully spat next. The man found an insatiable fascination with his shoes, as both Nozomi and Byakuya shot him a look of pure unadulterated disgust at just learning that they were in the same room as him, the subtler implication that he was their peer, their EQUAL, not too far from the back of their mind.

"Activation sequence is triggered by groping oneself in their breast or groin areas while yelling out the armor's name." Yoruichi chimed in happily.

"Ahaha…" Kisuke laughed nervously, unable to wipe the forced smile off his face as he wilted under the full force of nearly everyone's glares levelled at him. "It was…uhh sciencey stuff…y-yeah." He weakly tried to justify.

"I bet." Shinji said, the lone smile amongst the captain's, clearly enjoying this as much as Yoruichi.

"Traitor." He muttered under his breath, silently crying on the inside.

"Per data currently available, neither the device or technique ever worked." Nemu quietly added, unknowingly dogpiling and making things that much worse. When her captain wheeled around to her wide-eyed, the android recoiled, reminded of her late father Mayuri, who only looked like that when she did something wrong. But from her analysis she couldn't see what she had done wrong, she was just being as inclusive and relevant as her designer prioritized.

"Moving on." The disgusted head captain barked, unsympathetic for the sulking man.

"You're all horrible people." Kisuke cried, wiping the tears that had started falling from his eyes. Straightening his back, he sucked in a big gulp of air, before smiling ever brightly, "Oh, well, so it goes!" he said nonchalantly.

"Crocodile tears?" Nozomi sneered, face still scrunched up.

"You'll get used to it." Senna, Yoruichi and Soifon answered at the same time, alarming the spell caster by both how casual they said it and how it seemed to be a common thing with this man.

"Let's see…anything else?" the blonde genius asked himself, scanning the documents thoroughly. "Nah, that's all I got for this meeting."

Yamamoto nodded, "Very well." He then worked his gaze to the waiting ambassador in the center. "Thank-you for your patience, Sanderwhicc-san."

The purple-haired woman shook her head, "No problem." She answered, quite alright about how things had proceeded so far.

"Let us begin with your account. How is your experience with the Shinigami you've met?"

"La Shinigami de la Segundo division y Onimitsukido treat me quite well. Senna-sama and I are not harassed as we move around the grounds." She looked over to Senna, who nodded in agreement, before turning back to the head captain. "The most hostility we have ever received is slight distrust y apprehension, but they do not try to harm us and seem to treat us as one of their own."

"Well, there are those rules regarding you and Senna at the second division." Byakuya reminded, as he looked over to Ichigo and Soifon.

"That's true. I don't think we can really say that quite unbiased behavior." Kyoraku reluctantly agreed, "How is everyone else treating you ladies?"

"We avoid the 11th, because we don't want to fight." The fraccion commented.

All around the room, everyone shuffled uneasily, since they did expect the fight happy eleventh to want to challenge the two hybrids first chance they got. "I will discuss this at length with Zaraki-Taichō and Yachiru-san." Promised the Sotaichō

"You don't have to bother on that one." Senna replied softly, "She said she already told them not to fight us, but also told us that they're probably going to ignore her and only really get the message to leave us alone after we beat it into their heads to leave us alone."

"And, unfortunately, Ichigo and I can't be there to escort them all the time, and make sure no one tries to harm them, and constantly diverting Onimitsukido personnel to look out for them isn't a viable option." Shaolin expressed her concern, reinforcing the need for intervention by all Shinigami, not just the pro-hollow side.

Yamamoto nodded, he'd have to see what he could do about the situation first. This went above and beyond opinion or attitude, this was a direct threat in defiance to orders. "I see. I will see if I can…'persuade' them in some manner. Do continue with your account."

"Si, señor. The twelfth division is very cordial and even excited to see us, so we have no problem with them. The fourth division is cordial too, although they seem to be accommodating because they seem to be fearful of us, like we'll hurt them if they say something we don't like."

Unohana nodded wearily, since she knew it was true, but seemed rather unexpectant for the other commanders. "While I have given my assurance to my division that Senna and Cirucci mean them no harm, we must remember: my division by and large are not skilled in combat and have a history of being bullied by stronger individuals, Squad 11 everyone?"

"I get ya. They're worried that the hollow half might overpower their 'normal' Shinigami half and cause them to attack." Kyoraku said, seeing the obvious problem.

"Makes sense." Byakuya added, "Most of them have never seen a Arrancar before, much less an Vizard. I doubt they could tell the difference, if asked."

"But wouldn't Senna's obviously human appearance ease relations a bit?" Hisagi asked looking to the teenager in question. "I mean look at her: She doesn't have mask-fragments, unusual quirks, or odd facial and body markings. She looks like she couldn't hurt a fly."

"For someone that 'couldn't hurt a fly' she certainly beat down several Arrancar and was set to banish Sosuke Aizen into another dimension or something." Nozomi quipped, mind still boggled long after war's end, by the strange magic seal she possessed.

"Quite. From the summarized field report, the girl not only defeat the fraccion, but she also killed the second Espada as well as Gin Ichimaru, two incredibly dangerous individuals, by herself with no assistance." Byakuya chided Hisagi softly, "Looks can be deceiving."

Senna stared at her sandals miserably. While she didn't 'kill them' in the traditional sense, and most certainly not alone she reminisced mournfully, correcting them by saying: She burned away their physical flesh from this plane of existence, before sealing away the essence of their souls and the power it contained inside of her own body, probably would have sounded much, much, worse; especially considering, that it held some eerie similarities to the Hollows and souls they housed in their bodies.

Toshiro scratched the back of his head absentmindedly, "I'm still wondering what kind what kind of power that was. I've never seen anything like it…"

Senna didn't get a chance to face her asker, before Yamamoto spoke out. "It was an ability of her Zanpaktou. Her weapon is clearly a kido type; though since most of the captains are physical types, her abilities might seem strange in comparison." The man turned to the kido commander, "I'm sure your Zanpaktou allows you to do magical arts and skills to varying degrees."

"Well…that's true." Nozomi admitted, since Zanpaktou were known to grant new abilities or augment old ones depending on the release state.

"Oh, that makes sense." Toshiro and some of the younger captains agreed with the explanation, differing to the man's vast experience and knowledge of powerful individuals in ages past. However, what went unnoticed by them, were those that shifted awkwardly at hearing the convenient lie instead of the true reason.

Unohana, Kyoraku, and Kisuke's eyes shifted to each other, before going to Senna, who was doing her best to be invisible to the probing stares.

"We're getting off topic." Ichigo interjected, trying to keep Senna, his, and his mother's lineage in the dark for as long as possible.

The man's wife was in full agreement as well. "Absolutely. This is about Cirucci's report. Not Senna's powers." She reinforced, eager to get them off Senna's case, which judging by the girl's playful smile was much appreciated.

"Agreed. Let us remain on topic." The old man concurred with the motion. His desire to keep the questions to a minimum lest they go to his reminder of the spell and by extension the person who used a spell just like it, Ichigo's mother, Masaki Kurosaki.

Not missing a beat, the fraccion in the white stealth uniform continued, "Well, your division has been…" Cirucci tilted to one side, wracking her brain for the right words, "Como se…cold?"

"Cold?" Yamamoto repeated. Not entirely sure what she meant, since he made sure to inform his squad about the ladies that may occasionally visit and his expectations as members of his squad.

Closing her eyes, the Arrancar shook her head with frustration. Looking over at Senna, she requested back up, "Senna, you understand, right? They are professional, but…cold."

Senna nodded understanding what she was trying to convey. "What Cirucci means is that they are kind of passive-aggressive, Yamamoto-san."

"Sotaichō." He corrected her.

"Right. Sotaichō." She repeated, unused to it, but going to have to learn it, since he was her leader now.

Appeased, he returned to her prior statement, "Are the members of my squad acting out against you?"

"Well…no." Senna answered hesitantly, "It's more like…they really don't care too much for us."

To their displeasure, the commander shook his head dismissively. "There is nothing I can do. They have not disobeyed me. I cannot punish them for their opinions and attitudes towards hybrids."

"Isn't…that what they are talking about?" Retsu asked, since that seemed to be an almost acknowledgment of their concern.

"May I ask the difference between ignoring purposefully and ignoring them to focus on one's job?" Yamamoto posed in return.

"Does it really matter? The result is the same: They are ignored." Retsu replied sagely, her wisdom on full display.

Sensing the slight rise in tension, Shaolin intervened, sadly on the side of the Sotaichō. "The head captain is right though. That would be like punishing Squad four personnel for being afraid of them."

"Yeah, I have to concur with her." Kisuke reluctantly agreed, playing devils' advocate. "We weren't there and nothing has happened. As philosophical as this subject is, there is no victim based on the evidence, or lack thereof in this case." He then motioned to the ladies to prove his point. "Take a good look at them, I don't see two women afraid for their safety. They seem more perplexed and put-off, if anything."

Seeing his reasoning, everyone nodded, some more reluctant than others. "That said," he extended, turning his attention to the captain commander, "you should keep a closer eye on things when they must go your way, Sotaichō."

The old man nodded appeased, "Very well."

Seeing that the subject of squad one was finished, the ambassador moved on to the next logical division, her Espada: Master Ichigo. "Traveling through Ichigo-sama's division is a bit of the same as both the first and fourth division." Cirucci reported candidly.

"Well…" Senna started, glancing over to Ichigo worried about how people were going to take that assessment. "I think a Vizard they've barely met suddenly being made their leader has something to do with it too."

"Have you actually even adjusted to leading an entire division, Ichigo?" Shaolin asked worriedly, since it was a huge responsibility thrusted upon him.

Ichigo groaned dismally, "Sad to say, I still rely on Izuru a lot more than I should be." He admitted, knowing full well that without the gloomy lieutenant's assistance, he would have been swallowed under the tidal wave of people and issues pulling him in all directions.

He now had a significantly healthier respect for both Toshiro and Soifon for going for so long without a reliably decent lieutenant to ease the burden.

Surprisingly, Byakuya addressed his concerns, "Understandable. You've only lead small strike-forces in the past, and while I'm sure you've gained some experience in performing the necessary procedures to allow the squad to function, being the second in command is quite different than being the regiment's leader."

Yoruichi looked to the dignified nobleman with a smile, intrigued by his altruism. "Wow, Byakuya-chan. That's really nice of you. I thought you were on the anti-Hollow side."

"I am." He stated firmly, his inner flames of anger reflecting in his eyes, "I would execute them all myself for their…actions."

The room went quiet, as they knew his personal stake in things. The only reason that he wasn't recused because of it was again due to another personal reason counterbalancing it. "That said." The man continued, cheek slightly flush, "My…fiancé would be most 'displeased', if she heard that I didn't offer Kurosaki support when he desperately needed it."

Yoruichi's smile returned in full force, "Kukaku is really sweet and loving…" she paused to consider her words, before adding with a shrug, "you know…when she isn't in your face or busting your balls."

"I'm sure she's busting his balls alright." Kisuke quietly snickered to himself, "Almost as much as he's stuff her rocket."

"Reminds me of someone else I know." Senna said aloud, looking over to Shaolin, who, like Byakuya, reddened intensely, when she realized who the teenager was referring to, the true meaning of her words unbeknownst to everyone else.

"Everyone is fallin' in love, except for me." Shinji complained, as he glanced over to Kisuke. "It's gotta be a blonde thing, right?"

Urahara gave an obligatory nod, "Probably." The shameless pervert agreed

"As fascinating as this topic is…" Nozomi interrupted with an intense glare to the others, prickly about the subject of love, considering she lost it because of the stupid war. "Aren't we getting a little off track?" she asked rhetorically, arm motioning between Espada and Fraccion.

"I agree. The frivolities and levity is nice now and again, but one shouldn't take it too far." Sajin agreed with her motion.

"Agreed. Let us return to Kurosaki-Taichō's account of his troops and their behavior." Yamamoto reminded.

"Cirucci-chan, you said it was a mix of the fourth and first division, could you elaborate a bit more?" Kyoraku asked the fraccion.

"Si." she replied with a nod, before cupping her hand against her chin, trying to find the words to best describe the sensation. "It feels like they're scared of us, but ignore us to not seem uneasy to the unobservant eye."

"Yeah, it's not as bad as Yamamoto's division, but they certainly don't want to interact with us anymore than necessary." Senna highlighted the crux of things.

From across the aisle, Unohana directed a question to the girl's brother, "How are your troop with you, Ichigo-kun?" she asked, trying to discern where the problem might lie.

"Well…" Ichigo said slowly, thinking back to how the people at the new division were at the beginning when he first took control of the reins. "I'd say that they are slow to trust." The man turned his hand up to his chest, "The previous captain Gin Ichimaru and his sudden betrayal, me, a Vizard, suddenly taking over the division instead of someone they know or trust, and now an Arrancar occasionally popping up at their home. It's a lot to take in all at once."

The man held his arms up, not entirely sure what to do. "Even after all that I've done, it's only natural that they'd hesitate about my intentions, since I'm the outsider with Hollow powers and I've got an enemy of the last great war occasionally walking through my office doors like she owns the place. I'm just really not sure how I'm supposed to lead them or get them to think that I am doing what's best for everyone…"

"If I may suggest, Kurosaki-Taichō, you should reflect back on the leadership styles and procedures of your past commanders: Toshiro Hitsugaya and Soifon." Yamamoto advised, the young man. "Barring some…indiscretions" he said, glancing to Shaolin, who looked away innocently, "and the eccentrics of certain officers," Toshiro immediately found something interesting on the ceiling, as the commander looked his way, before turning back to the orange haired man. "the soldiers of the second and tenth adhere to their commander's orders faithfully."

"The Sotaichō is absolutely correct." Byakuya agreed with their leaders' summation, "You will eventually need to tailor your leadership style to your personal strengths and the attitude you wish to foster, but taking the best of prior leaders and adding it to you own is a solid step to being both a good leader and captain."

Ichigo nodded slowly, taking in their encouraging words, "Got it." He replied, resolution hardening.

"Just keep doing what you're doing, Ichigo." Yoruichi said amicably, hand resting on her hip as she smiled. "You've got plenty of time to grow into the role, so don't sweat it too much if you make a couple mistakes here or there."

As Ichigo muttered his thanks to the ebony woman, Hirako decided to pick up where the conversation had been left off, "So basically the threes are just startled." He surmised succinctly, before shrugging to himself. "Makes sense, some of my guys remember me, before Aizen took over, so that might be why they ain't acting out on my end."

"Noted." The counsel's envoy said from the back of the room, "Sanderwhicc-san, please continue." He implored gently.

Cirucci shifted her balance, as she tried to remember how the next few division treated her. "La division Cinco y Seis aren't terribly fond of us." She answered calmly. When the captains looked at each other confused about the division she was talking about, Senna dinged in and translated for division captain's five and six.

Understanding her words now, Shinji leaned to one side, slack-jawed expression on his face. "Ehh, considering my soldier know what my crew went through and the number of failed Vizards there were. That's pretty much a given."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Senna said sadly, empathizing with the victims' families and friends. "Have a friend or loved one forcibly undergo Hollowfication, before your eyes, before going insane and having to put them down…" the teenager shuddered reflexively at the thought. "Horrible."

"THAT is why Hollow powers are dangerous and why I outlawed it in ages past." Yamamoto stated solemnly. Turning to Shinji, the man asked, "What was the survival rate for Hollowfication, Hirako? One in twenty-five? One in fifty?" he asked rhetorically.

Shinji sucked on his cheek, knowing it was pointed at him for a reason, to undermine the continuation of this experiment. "…Something like that." He replied reluctantly.

Seeing the ebb and flow of this train of thought, Kisuke stepped in, "The success, or I guess in this case failure, rate is completely irrelevant to the current discussion." He motioned with his left arm to Kurosaki, on the far end. "Unless Ichigo is planning to run around hollowifying everyone he runs into, I seriously doubt we'll be seeing a sudden surge in death by Hollowfication."

"…" the Sotaichō closed his mouth at the hard counter Kisuke provided Shinji. Just as he started to glance over to Ichigo, Yoruichi ran interference.

"You wouldn't do something like that would you, Ichigo-chan?" Yoruichi teased with a knowing smile.

The man closed his eyes and sighed, "I feel that even trying to answer that is no different than jumping into a hole that I'll never get out of…" he replied with a sweat drop, while Yoruichi stuck out her tongue at the spoilsport her little bee hitched herself to.

Oh well, she'd get her fun elsewhere.

"Just as well." Unohana spoke, steering the conversation back to the main topic. "What may I ask is going in Kuchiki-Taichō's division?" she asked the regal young man.

"We are exemplifying the conduct dictated by law." He calmly answered the healer's question.

Yoruichi quirked her eyebrow, amused, "That's such a…Byakuya-ish answer."

The man crossed his arms and bowed his head thoughtfully, "I cannot tell if you have a problem with the answer or me." He stated, getting a smirk from Ichigo.

"I have a problem with the non-responsiveness to the answer." Toshiro chimed, cutting short the inevitable teasing that would occur in favor of answers.

Byakuya turned to the small captain, a look of passive indifference on his face. "I apologize, if my answer was too vague. My soldiers are abiding by the law and not persecuting or harassing either Senna or Cirucci."

"Well…" Senna spoke up, her tone clearly stating she was taking issue on that statement.

"How does the saying go?" Cirucci wondered aloud, "They push the letter? Or was it the envelope? It was definitely a piece of paper."

The noble captain raised a brow, challenging of their claim. "If that is so, perhaps, you should bring it to my attention."

"They are passive aggressive…"

"I reiterate: how so?" he repeated his query.

"Do you know where Abarai-fukutaichō's office is? We have a delivery for him." Senna spoke unusually loudly. She then dropped her voice to a much lower, gruffer, manlier tone. "It's on the 'go fuck yourself floor', besides 'leave us alone training field', next to the exit that has a habit of hitting people on the ass on the way out. I'm sure you'll figure it out yourself Hollows." She then returned to her natural voice, a clear frown on her face. "Is that model behavior to allies?"

"You shouldn't judge the whole by the one." Kuchiki chided her, ignoring some of the looks from the pro-hollow side.

Senna placed a hand on her hip, as she released a frustrated sigh. Ichigo decided to pick up the slack. "You've got a point." He responded casually, though it ironically sounded like a passive-aggressive 'go fuck yourself'. "We shouldn't judge everyone by the actions of one idiot, but aren't we supposed to be gracious and magnanimous hosts? Prisoner or not, Cirucci and especially Senna are our guests."

Kuchiki paused to better temper his words. It wouldn't do to disgrace himself by acting belligerent or heedless of his allies' concern, but he couldn't afford to back down either as a member discussing this issue or leader of his division, "Senna is a Shinigami now, Kurosaki-san." He stated carefully, "Her prior status does not warrant her any kind of special privilege or attention. As for Cirucci-san, the Hollows are lucky we didn't just put them to the sword during the war. It was within our rights to kill them all, as the respective winners of that contest."

Ichigo closed his mouth, stopping the automatic response of him and technically Senna being the ones majorly responsible for making such a victory even feasible, considering Aizen was the greatest obstacle of the war respectively. It wouldn't have helped the situation in the slightest, he'd have to approach this a different way, this battlefield was different than the ones he was used to.

"Well…isn't it noble to show mercy and restraint against those that can no longer hurt you or fight back?" he asked, playing on the man's sense of duty and ideals of nobility, which judging by the amused smirk on his face, he clearly picked up on.

"Yes. Yes, it is." He admitted freely, mildly surprised by the boy's unpredictability, he wouldn't underestimate him again. "But." He stated more loudly, "Laws are set in place to defend the many. One must be willing to look at the bigger picture."

At this point, Yoruichi butted in, "Well, considering how that would have ended…" she shot down, as her pointer finger swiveled between her little bee and her strawberry, underlining their action against the Sotaichō's standing orders that did in fact end up saving Soul Society.

The man went silent at the gesture, before closing his eyes and turning towards the fraccion of Ichigo. "Cirucci-san," he began, opening his eyes and meeting her gaze to convey his seriousness on the matter, "I will take to investigating these indiscretions that have been brought up."

The rest of the room fell silent, each taking Kuchiki's word by their own personal merits, but none quite willing to speak up and ask about the particulars out of fear of being accusative and insulting in the face of ambiguity.

"That is all we can ask, I suppose." Spoke Sajin, easing the tension in the room to safer levels to prevent stubborn headbutting and ego-induced gridlock. Raising a hand against his helmet, his golden eyes turned to the ambassador in black, "Tell me, Sanderwhicc-san, Senna-san, are all of your non-homebased division encounters negative?"

Senna looked her friend, who turned back to her as well. Finally, the Vizard shook her head, "No, the thirteenth division are very friendly, Komamura-Taichō."

Cirucci nodded her head as well, although much more cautiously, "Yes, pero, I do not know if they know of our status, and simply think we are regular Shinigami."

Ichigo frowned after hearing that one. "I…can't tell if that's a good thing or not." He stated, the girl's response exemplifying the dangers of the saying: Ignorance is bliss.

"It is an interesting sign." Yamamoto answered, the current representative for the thirteenth, at least until Amagi completed a few more requirements to become lieutenant and then Captain. "I've been so busy, that I may have forgotten to inform them of the experiment."

After hearing that tidbit, Senna instantly snapped her attention to the old man, truly alarmed, "W-wait. Wait! Are you saying that we could have had the same kind of hostile reaction, as we get from the ninth division!?"

Immediately, everyone's looked towards Hisagi, who buried his head under the intense stares. "One thing at a time! Let's focus on the current issue!" he sputtered frantically, not prepared to explain his division so suddenly.

The pressured man held his breath nervously, as the others continued to gaze at him, before turning away back to the trio involved at the current topic. As Hisagi breathed a visible sigh of relief, Yamamoto answered the question on everyone else's mind. "I will have to object on grounds of speculation."

Kyoraku tipped his hat back, "Sounds borderline reckless Yama-jiji." The flamboyant man pointed out, knowing that if it was anyone else, he'd like say it wasn't a good enough excuse.

Once again, Soifon had to play devil's advocate, "Maybe. But we must remember, he is running two divisions as well as performing his duties as head captain." She said with a frown, as she motioned to her mentor Yoruichi, "If Yoruichi hadn't stepped up, Yamamoto would be running three divisions, and without Shinji, possible a third of the Gotei 13."

"I guess." Unohana said, hesitantly, clearly seeing her point. "Although," she paused to change the flow of the topic, "he is right about the situation being interesting." When everyone in the room indicated that they were listening to her words, she revealed the findings, "If he failed to inform them of the experiment that means that they treated you like any other individual despite being part Hollow."

Shunsui sighed deeply, "Well, glad to see Jushiro's generosity and kindness lives on."

"Shunsui…" Retsu muttered sadly, knowing he was still hurting from the loss, despite keeping up his usual attitude in public.

Again, silence fell over the room. Not one person having the courage to speak up, since most had lost someone or something important in the war, the scars from two months ago, far from healed.

"This Ukitake must have been a great man." The Arrancar said, breaking the solemn silence, her tone quiet and sincere. The woman bowed humbly, her purple twin tails nearly touching the floor, as she did so. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"He died fighting the fourth Espada in his Segundo estapa state." The rugged man told her, eyes closed as he remembered that day like it was yesterday. The sweat on their bodies, the encouraging words to each other, the sudden blood erupting from Jushiro's lips, the look of horror as his body refused to move right as Kyoraku expected them to jump away from a green thunder lance…the moment where his face fell and scream erupted from him, just as the white-haired man smiled at him, wordlessly telling him goodbye, before disappearing in the flash of lightning and rumble of rolling thunder. "His illness flared up at the worst possible moment."

The man bowed his head and sighed deeply, before giving her a sad sideways smile. "That said…I think…I think he would have liked to meet you Cirucci-chan."

Bending her back to let her up, the woman could see and feel the sadness within him. "Gracias por tus palabras, Kyoraku-san."

"I suppose that resolves that division, which brings us to Hisagi-Taichō." Soifon spoke out, returning everyone to the one that was labelled the worst so far.

To his credit, Shuhei didn't look like he was taking pleasure in what was occurring to the girls, instead he was quite embarrassed. "I apologize for my division's behavior." He blurted apologetically.

Nozomi tilted her head to the side, still a little fuzzy on things. "So, what exactly IS going on?

"They hate us." The fraccion stated concisely, before turning a bit to look to Senna. "Senna and I have had a few close calls."

"They try to pick fights with them. We were honestly quite surprised when they first told us. We only thought the eleventh would act with that much open hostility." Ichigo informed the group, "Soifon and I have had to tail them a few times just to provide over-watch support."

Shaolin continued, where her husband left off. "We've spoken to Hisagi-Taichō about this as mediators for the second division. We've made it a point to ensure Cirucci and Senna aren't sent that way as part of delivery missions or other activities, but they do occasionally have to travel through the area to get to other locations."

With the stage set up a bit for discussion, Komamura turned to his friend and nicely prodded him, "Do you wish to respond, Hisagi?"

"Y-yeah," the tattooed man replied, before stepping forward to the center of the congregation. "It is as they say, they do give them a hard time. My Shinigami respect me, but they are really questioning my judgment."

The muscular man glanced to Ichigo, "They are still sore about Tosen's betrayal as well, so they are trying to make up for his failings."

A giant question mark appeared above the hollow girl's head, "I don't understand. What does that have to do with us?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Yeah, I'm kinda lost too." Senna expressed her confusion as well.

Shuhei closed his eyes tightly and nodded, it made sense. "You may not know him Senna," he then opened his eyes and raised his hand to Sanderwhicc, "But I think you have Cirucci. He had dark skin, dreads, was blind and usually spoke of walking the path of justice."

It took a moment, but her eyes lit up quickly. "Ah, si! I remember the blind man with Aizen."

Now also recalling, the man in question and more importantly his fate, Senna was even more perplexed, "But didn't he get executed by the re-forged Sokyoku, a little while ago?"

"Yes…he did." Hisagi answered, sparing a small glance back to the masked captain whom was silently expressing his sorrow at the reminder. "But the problem is: he instructed us to pursue justice to it's absolute. Tosen's betrayal has left many of my fellow soul reapers seeking redemption as penance for his action, but the only way they know how to achieve it is by pursuing Justice and upholding the law."

"They see the hollows as part of the reason and reminder of Kaname's fall from grace." Sajin corroborated solemnly.

"Dicey." Kyoraku stated aloud what he thought of the situation, "I get why they are doing it, but it's still not right."

"I agree." Yoruichi spoke up next, her demeanor serious, "Senna and Cirucci could get seriously hurt, if we don't reduce tension somehow."

From beside Yoruichi, Nozomi raised a hand to speak, "May I ask what the proper course of action might be? This is a delicate situation."

"I agree with Commander Kujo. Alienating an entire division is not going to end well." Byakuya threw in his two yen. "Does everyone recall when the eleventh went rogue during the 'Kurosaki rebellion'? Do we really want a more tactically and skillfully versatile group rioting across Soul Society?"

Yoruichi winced at remembering that little detail, "It was great for us at the time, but it must have been hell for you guys."

"Exactly. I'd suggest having them continue avoiding the area entirely." The nobleman suggested.

"That doesn't really resolve the overall problem." Ichigo pointed out, before shrugging noncommittally, "Besides, what the heck is supposed to be stopping a member of squad nine from bumping into them or worse, actively seeking them out."

"I concur. We are avoiding the 9ths behavior and ways to remedy tension."

"We can't forcibly change their minds, Commander Soifon." Nozomi replied

"But doing nothing could cause their attitude to spread to other divisions. We'll be sending a message that this kind of behavior is acceptable." She calmly countered, before looking to Cirucci and Senna with obvious concern. "If we allow integration, but don't nip this bud now, are you going to take responsibility, if someone gets hurt?"

From the Taichō's side, the envoy cleared his throat getting the group's attention, "Not to undermine your point Soifon-san, Ichigo-san, but lets us remember that the average Vizard or Arrancar is several times stronger than the average Shinigami. They aren't exactly helpless."

Now it was Retsu's turn to speak out, "This is assuming that they are willing to defend themselves in a court martial after no doubt being accused of provocating the conflict in the first place. I'm willing to wager some of the Shinigami will call for the death sentence immediately, regardless of the level of the offense."

"Well, if we come down too hard, they could just pretend to obey and it could lead to an unexpected retaliation." Toshiro responded, verily divided on the complex issue. "Perhaps a warning?"

"I'd kind of like a warning when they stop us with all of their buddies surrounding us." Senna complained loudly, as Cirucci directed her gaze to the floor, distressed at remembering that incident.

"Learning your reason for visitation is part of the duty of a Shinigami belonging to said division." Byakuya informed the woman.

Shinji snorted at the way he tried to downplay the encounter, "I'll be sure to let everyone in my squad know to stop you and ask for your business whenever you come visit."

As captain Kuchiki glared at the Vizard commander across from him, Hisagi, the captain leading the cause of all of this, spoke up, "I understand this is a hard issue, but I plan to talk with my soldiers. I'm asking for some advice on how to best tackle the issue." He said firmly, trying to have the congregation better understand his case.

The prior arguments going around the room silenced, as all turned to Shuhei. The captains looked to each other, seeing who would speak up first. Finally, after gathering his courage, Toshiro spoke up, "We understand that, but we aren't discussing so much the actions to be taken, rather the consequences of both action and inaction."

"Well…everyone except Ichigo that is." Kisuke underhandedly ball-busted the youth, his face turning red at the showing of his inexperience with this kind of thing. The genius smiled at the red-faced hero, "Don't be shy. You kept perspective, it's something."

Kurosaki bowed his head as he scratched his cheek, "Thanks…"

"If you are going to talk to them, I would suggest trying to use their sense of justice to persuade them." Unohana advised the new captain.

"However, take no drastic measure yet. Not until you have a back-up plan." Yamamoto added on, "If peace doesn't work, you must resort to force, but we don't know what is the appropriate 'force' required for this situation."

Hisagi nodded slowly, taking their words to heart. "Understood. Thank-you, captains."

As the captains nodded in return, Yamamoto banged his cane against the floor. "Cirucci Sanderwhicc, do you have anything more to add to your account?"

The purple haired Arrancar crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. "No, I have not travelled to any other divisions, or at least often enough to get an idea of them."

The head captain nodded, "Very well." Turning to the emissary, he asked, "Any further input?"

"No sir." The man answered quickly, before pulling out a pen from his pocket and better adjusting the clipboard in his arm. "You may begin the voting process."

Around the room, everyone became deathly focused as they thought about their choices and the reasoning behind their choice. "Very well." Yamamoto said as he turned back to the row of his armies finest. "Captains," he stated firmly, ensuring they were listening intently. "Let us begin the voting process."

"Yes sir!" the captain echoed as one.

---

Author's response to the unknown reviews:

To Unknown reviewer known as: Spartan DJB

We live to serve, unfortunately, it will probably be a while before I get the next big one out. I am currently in a minefield. But If I get out of this, it should be smooth sailing ahead.

From Guest of chapter 8.

I don't have much to say other than, I'm actually genuinely surprised to be talking to someone that can confirm the isle of man is a real place. Maybe Themyscira isn't too far off. Sorry to hear about your internet, or lack thereof, in this case.

To Guest from chapter 18:

Absolutely. I screw them up a lot. The problem is two-fold. I know what the heck I mean when I'm writing it, so I don't initially pick up on it, and they are spelled almost the exact same way (it's basically a letter and usage difference). I've been trying to get better on that front, hopefully it's improved a bit as you've read on.

To guest from chapter 43

I forgot the word/classification of mullatto. Although I don't think that really applies, a Mullatto is someone with Spaniard and Indian blood in them, I believe (and to be fair the Spaniards were as white as the British), it wouldn't really translate well or correctly, and explaining the concept would get odd looks, but I do see what you were going for, and I admit it was very clever, I like the way you think.

Guest from chapter 9:

You'd be surprised. Getting a review, especially an encouraging one, is one of the greatest feelings you will ever get. Seriously, I want to jump for joy and do cartwheels, because it means than not only did I succeed in setting out what I wanted to do, but it's appreciated. It really gets me and other writers fired up. Granted, the more elaborate and better expressed ones do more for us than simple: 'good chapter' but it's the thought that counts. Believe me, you'd be surprised how fired up we can get by that. Anyway, back to you, thanks, and I'm really happy to hear you loved the interaction, it's all up hill from here for you.

(End fic banter)

Blackout2010: So I guess you guys have been wondering where I've been. Well, I work a 12hr job 5-6 days a week, but it basically eats up 16 hours of the day, so my writing is nearly nonexistent, plus, considering the delicate nature of things in fic, I need to make sure it's perfect, or close enough, since I can't go back and re-work things. Like I said, this is going to be the true trial, can't let it fizz out here near the end.

Blackout2010: So far, it looks like it should be relatively smooth sailing to go in the direction I need it to properly end the fic. Anyway, it's going to hopefully only be a couple more chapter, no more than 10 at max, depending on length. I apologize for the inconveniences my slow writing has caused, and thank and love you all for all the support you give. Till next time!