Hello everyone :)

Here it is – Chapter III.

I have to admit I too am getting more and more excited. By the time I finish a chapter, I want to write another one.

SPECIAL WARNING: Spoiler alert for anyone who is not up to date with the manga and only watched the anime!

Friendly reminder: this story will be slightly AU and some characters might be OOC. For anyone who is not into YAOI, please do not go or read any further, this is not going to be your cup of tea :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters, they all belong to Tite Kubo-Sensei etc., etc.

WARNINGS: Somewhere along the way might contain but is not limited to include dark themes, suicidal thoughts, heavy sexual contest, yaoi (again xD) and some other themes not suitable for under-age reader. Read at your own risk and discretion! Please don't hate too much if you don't like.

This Chapter is dedicated to Adelene900 – your excitement inspired me to type so fast that my poor keyboard nearly took off. Thank you :)

Chapter III

"Seriously, what the hell?!"

To say both males were in shock would be the understatement of the century, or better yet, of their existence. For what awaited them beyond the intricate barrier was not the beautiful western-style mansion it used to be at some point. No, the sight in front of them was beyond maddening. The once enchanting gardens and stone paths that lead to the mansion were now reduced to naught but burned ground and the occasional pebble. The bushes were nothing but ashes, what remained of the path was charcoal and some of the trees were still in flames. But the mansion! The mansion, once an extraordinary masterpiece, was demolished, ruined, brought down to the ground!

Before the destruction, the mansion was star shaped in the form of a Quincy Zeichen. The walls were a light cream color adorned by marble stone and statutes. The whole mansion was a blend of baroque and renaissance.

Each wing represented a different aspect of the manor. The first and closest was, naturally, the entry. This part included the breathtaking garden and pathway as well as intricate and exceedingly decorated hallways which lead to the center of the building. The center was the point where all aisles came together and was considered the Heart of the mansion. The Heart consisted of a vast living room from which all paths opened to the rest of the house. The Heart was also the one place where everyone would gather for meetings, reunions or other events. The left side of the property was divided in two segments. The same applied to the right extension. The two left sections were separated into the living rooms of the family members and the many playrooms, studies and training rooms. The right was similarly divided and shared among the many servants in charge of the estate: the living quarters and the storage rooms for various supplies. Each storage room was dedicated for one specific need: carpentry, food storage, tools etc.

To come and discover it is such a state. You could see scattered around bits and pieces of whatever remained, though there was not much left aside from some tidbits of furniture and glass shards.

Shirosaki was speechless. He had not witnessed such devastation since the earthquake in that little Republic in 1667. What was the name again? Du… Dub…nik*? Something with a nik at the end! Not that he witnessed many disasters in Europe. After all, since Ossan was in charge of where they went, they somehow always managed to avoid places and locations where and when bad things happened. It was like Ossan had a sixth sense for that. They always moved before things went south. If he was in shocked, Shirosaki dreaded to think how Ossan was taking the view.

Speaking of Ossan. Enraged… Fuming… Furious… Nope, none of those were even remotely close to just how ticked off he looked. Oh boy. Ossan was absolutely livid! If circumstances were any different, Shirosaki would be overjoyed to see such a strong reaction. However, this was no time to joke at Ossans' predicament. This was serious.

Ossan continued to silently look at what remained of the manor. He may not outwardly react to what was in front of him. But on the inside, he was pissed-off to no ends. The only indication to his inner mayhem was the fire in his eyes. Hell, if the place was not already in shambles, it would be self-combusting from his heated glare.

They both looked at one another. Both understood without words that the perpetrator or culprits might be still lingering around.

Finally, Ossan softly spoke. "I'll search for survivors, you explore the premises and check for any intruders. Anything that does not feel human is fair game. Don't go overboard, if there are any trespassers I want to question them and their actions."

A slightly psychotic grin stretched on Shirosaki's pale features. "Very well, see you in a bit." With that he was gone, a faint buzzing sound accompanying his departure.

Ossan took a deep breath and exhaled. Concentrating he used his senses in hopes to find anyone alive. He soon realized that his efforts were in vain. No one was spared, not even the servants who were mostly humans and a few Gemischt*. The whole situation was heartbreaking. To think that just a few years ago this same place was filled with delight and joy at her rebirth… Whoever was behind this would be punished. He would chase those responsible and once he got a hold of them he would make sure they begged for death. Last time he felt such rage was when he was murdered. Suddenly pain overwhelmed him. His last remaining family members… all gone. Ossan removed his sunglasses and closed his eyes, silently mourning the death of innocent lives.

Shirosaki was diligently searching the area which was just a few minutes ago surrounded by the barrier. Though Ossan did not say anything, he was no fool. Whoever was responsible must have found a way to enter and leave the barrier intact. Which lead to only two conclusions. Either this was an inside job; the criminal could have been a servant with access to the mansion. The second and more disturbing assumption was that this was done by other Quincies. So much about the whole only four Quincies in the manor!

Knowing Ossan, he already searched for both survivors and intruders when he said he would check if anyone made it out with their lives. He probably asked Shirosaki to inspect the surrounding area so he could pay his respects. Shirosaki felt for him. He did, really. He would give him space.

Looking around and using his senses he could tell that the incident happened several hours ago. He would guess about six or seven hours before they arrived. That was another detail to consider. Whoever did this, must have known about their planned visit or got really lucky. 'Yeah right!' He took note to mention his deductions to his partner. As he was walking in a random direction, Shirosaki stumbled and nearly fell face first to the ground. He looked back to see what nearly made him trip. There was a piece of stone. Che, he should really start looking where he was walking. He was about to leave, but another thing caught his eyes. The stone was atop a weird patch of dirt.

'For the love of…! It's just a patch of dirt and a rock, nothing else!'

Though he kept telling himself that, his instincts were compelling him to examine both items closely. Nothing happened.

'Like something was supposed to happen, idiot.'

He chided himself. Still observing the objects of his ire. He felt as though the two innocent looking things were mocking him. 'Wait, objects? Things? Why would I think dirt is an object? I can understand thinking of the stone as a thing, but the ground? Hmm, something's fishy. It's like I'm being deceived. Wait, that's it!'

"Oi, Ossan! Get your gloomy self in here! You may wanna check this thing out!"

His shout was not disregarded. Using Hirenkyaku Ossan stood next to Shirosaki in seconds. Glasses back on, as usual.

"What is it?" came the expected stoic question.

Shirosaki rolled his eyes and pointed to the two irritating things.

"Care to check the ground? It gives me the creeps."

Ossan ignored Shirosaki's rambling as he was enveloped in a familiar reiatsu, his own.

"Step back. On second thought, get behind me. I'm about to open the latch to the underground passage."

"Wait, what? You're telling me you have a secret room down there?" Asked Shirosaki, while moving away as instructed.

"You could say a hidden route. Secret passages were and are a passion of mine. I took the liberty to create at least one on all my properties. Path that could lead inside and outside. I found it intriguing and fascinating. I refused to share the knowledge of their existence. Only a handful of relatives were ever bestowed with the information on how to open the paths and their locations. Hayate*, the lady of this house, was one of them. I had completely forgotten about this one."

Ossan slowly lifted his hand, simultaneously gathering the reishi surrounding the stone and patch of dirt. Soon both dissipated into blue particles revealing a stony staircase leading, obviously, down in the direction of the ruined mansion.

"Well, would you look at that. You don't do things half-heatedly, do you? Why don't you lead the way then? With you knowing the route and all, plus I am willing to bet good money there are traps or something alike."

There was a twitch on Ossan's lips, as thought he was fighting a smile.

"You would be correct. Make sure you don't touch anything and stay as quiet as possible. Or better yet, you may want to stay here and keep guard, just in case."

"You don't fool me Ossan. Besides what would be the point? There is not one single spiritually aware being for miles and we both know it! Let's just get going, less talking and more walking."

Shaking his head Ossan took the first step down the path, Shirosaki right behind him. He had no desire to test his luck, especially not with traps. No, sir.

The corridor was rather plain. An occasional picture framed bare walls. Ossan played with several of them as well as with random non-suspicious looking objects. Or so they appeared, but were obviously something more. Shirosaki was bored, but made no comments or complaints. He kept all his senses on high alert as a precaution. After all, there was much to be discussed with Ossan once they would be back on the way.

A sturdy double door awaited them at the end of the path. Ossan once again did whatever it is he had been doing and the doors opened revealing a quaint round room. Nothing special to say about this one. There was a large picture of a seaside castle on the right wall, underneath it stood a small light maroon cabinet. The left side was dominated by a large closet of the same color. In front was a smaller door leading to who knows where. For some reason Ossan seemed immersed in the closet. Shirosaki was curious to know what was beyond the door in front of him rather than what he could find in a closet. Since Ossan seemed lost in thoughts he just asked.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Ok, he didn't ask about the door, he would… later.

"Oh, just searching for a button. We are literally below the Heart of the house. That door leads to the upper level. I am inspecting the closet because I can feel someone used it lately. The closet works as a secret resting room, basically if you can open the door correctly you will end up in a room equipped for emergency situations. It has a bathroom, bed a small kitchenette and cabinets with supplies. If the attempt fails, you'll find yourself outside the manor. Another feature to the correct room is its reiatsu proof quality. Once inside you would not be detected by anyone outside. If you were inside, even I, who knows the existence of the room, would be unable to feel your presence. The only way to know if someone is inside, is to enter. Ah. Here."

As those words left full lips, the closet doors opened to reveal yet another door in the middle.

"Let's be ready for anything."

Shirosaki only nodded and both prepared to enter. Once the door opened, the room Ossan talked about revealed itself. Everything was exactly as he described. Except for the small body hidden under a black blanket on the bed if the tuft of light brown hair was any indication.

Ossan silently approached the bed to inspect the covered figure. He was soon proven the person was breathing, apparently deep asleep, which in turn made him feel as though a great weight was removed from his shoulders.

'At least one survivor.'

Upon closer inspection the individual was a young slender girl, probably a teenager. Ossan was weighing his options: should he wake her or let her sleep? His decision was made for him when the girl stirred from her slumber. Brown eyes blinked a few times and soon hands joined them in an effort to remove the last indication of sleep. Once their gazes met the girl made a startled sound and nearly fell from the bed. She would have met the floor had it not been for Ossans' quick reflexes. His arms enveloped the girl in a strong and warm hold. Realizing she would not be harmed, the girl finally stopped fidgeting and moved away from the cozy embrace.

"Ah. Sorry, you startled me. Hehe, I think I might have overreacted which is totally awkward. Better yet, it will be even weirder if you were one of those who attacked. Which should probably mean I'm still in danger and should fight back. But, you don't feel like a threat. So, I really hope you are not a foe or worst…"

The girls' incessant babble was stopped by an annoyed Shirosaki. "Oh, will you just shut up?! If we were enemies you would not be here. In fact, you'd be dead by now. Heck! You think we would wait till you woke-up before striking? Hell no! Now, why don't you do something useful and introduce yourself?"

Both Ossan and the girl sweat dropped at Shirosaki's outburst, but for two different reasons. Ossan completely forgot he was behind him, while the girl did not even see him. Once she did she became even more agitated and pointed her finger at Shirosaki stuttering: "You…you… you're… a Hollow."

Just like that, she resumed her blathering, further irritating the already fuming Hollow. Ossan, being the closest to the girl, decided to quiet her up by placing his hand over her mouth and spoke with his deep voice in a soothing manner.

"Yes, he is a Hollow. No, he is not dangerous. Yes, he is relatively harmless unless provoked…"

Shirosaki's outraged cry of: "Hey! I may not be that bad, but I'm not harmless either!" fell on deaf ears.

He continued on, like there had been no interruptions: "…And no, we are not enemies or the ones who made the assault. In fact, your parents were expecting us." Once he finished he removed his hand from the girls' mouth, trying to reassure the little one of his good intentions.

The girl took everything in strides and soon her worried expression was replaced with one of excitement.

"Oh, then everything is fine! Yay! I'm so glad! That means you are not bad guys. It would have been a shame if you were, since you're both kind of cool and nice and weird and it would be really sad if we were on opposite sides. I'm Masaki. Who are you? Are you a Quincy? Oh, are you the Heika* I've been told so much about? And what about that Hollow? Is it docile? Did you find him on the streets and adopted him… like a lost kitten? What about…"

The whole room was suddenly encased in a dark and heavy reiatsu. Compliments of the Hollow, who was trying really hard not to lash out at the innocent soul. He may not want to harm her, but he was not far from teaching her a lesson. He took several breaths and gradually the heaviness in the room was lifted.

"I'm no pet, I am my own person. Name's Shirosaki and that over there is Ossan, at least that's what I call him. Weather he gives you his name or not, it's none of my concern. We've been traveling for over 24 hours without pause. Now, I may be partly Hollow, but I'm getting hungry, sleepy and all in all we need a damn break before I decide to blow up whatever is left of this place."

Ossan was astonished. Thinking about Shirosaki's words, they did ring true. They are both early risers, waking mostly around 6:00. It took Shirosaki about an hour to pack, he had no need to since he prepared the prior night. The drive to the airport, check-in, then the security, the wait for the flight… Hmm, the flight was at 11:30, the duration was a little over 11 hours and 10 minutes, so, they landed approximately around 23:40-50 Frankfurt time, 7:40-50 local time. The drive to Yokohama and here about another hour, then they did the search… He took the liberty to quickly glance at his watch.

'Wow, would you look at that, it's already 10:00. We truly did not have any breaks along the way. Shirosaki is correct, it's been a while since we had anything to eat and after everything that occurred we could all use some rest.'

"I fully agree a break is in order. Masaki, care to join us? I regret to tell you this, but the mansion is no more. It's not an adequate place to stay. I know you've been hiding your anxiety behind your joyful way and I understand the whole situation must be hard for you. Though, now is not the time to shed tears or to feel regretful for what transpired. We should move forward and locate an appropriate place to rest and regain strength."

Masaki was amazed by the elder male. She could not grasp how this stranger got to know her so easily. As though reading her mind, Ossan spoke up again. "I am very close to all who share my blood and are Quincy descendants. If you needed any proof, I believe I may have just now provided you with one."

Masaki only nodded her head in acknowledgement and agreement. Still at the back of the room, Shirosaki stood proudly, while on the inside he was dancing. He was complimented and would be getting his hands on some food. Ossan better let him drive and find something good. Where had been that restaurant again?

"If you guys are done with all the mushy crap, could we get going?"

They all looked at each other. Seeing no one wanted to make the first move, Shirosaki sneered at the other two and made his way to the car. Once he left Masaki took the opportunity to whisper: "Is he really not dangerous?"

An exasperated sigh left the remaining male. "I know he did not leave a good impression, but you can trust me when I say he likes you. Don't expect him to show he cares. I've known him for some time, we tend to read each other's emotions rather well. There is nothing to fear."

"Ok. I guess that's alright. Where are we going to go? I… there is nobody left." Sadness was evident on her face.

"You are incorrect. I am here, am I not? And Shirosaki is here too. Just to let you know in advance, we tend to travel around a lot. In case you would feel uncomfortable with too much traveling, I can take you to your cousins. You know, there may not be any more of our family members by name, but we are not the last Quincies. Do you know about the Ishida's? They are a very powerful family. If you so desire, I can arrange for them to take care of you. What do you say?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure."

"Take you time. You don't have to decide right away. In the meantime, I believe a hotel and brunch are in order. Come. Let us go before Shirosaki returns demanding of us to make haste."

Masaki visibly relaxed with the knowledge that she was not alone and the off chance of meeting more relatives. When suddenly another question popped on her mind.

"Oh! May I ask one more question? What does Shirosaki-san eat? I mean… him being a hollow and all…"

A content smirk stretched on Ossan's face. "Believe it or not, he can eat regular food just like us. Also, for as long as I've known him, he had no desire or urge to devour souls. You'll see he is not as he may seem. At times he feels more like family rather than a Hollow. Hmm. Can you do me a favor and not tell him what I just said? We wouldn't want to raise his spirits further than necessary, his overjoy might blind us."

A giggle burst out from Masaki. Both feeling better, they made their way to follow Shirosaki. Food and rest at the top of their priorities.

Chapter III done ^.^

Hope you like and are enjoying so far.

*The city Shirosaki is trying to recall is Dubrovnik, a nice little city in Europe, more specifically in Croatia. Visited it while working on ships and it left such an impression on me that I really had to add it in my story. For the curious ones: Dubrovnik has lots of art, culture and history :)

*Gemischt = German word meaning mixed – in this case mixed blood. In some countries you can find Gemischt as a drink (mixture of sparkling water and wine).

*Hayate = Japanese name meaning sudden, sound of the wind. I found it appropriate as I was looking for a name that could have "permission" to pass through hidden passages just like the wind. Wind can go as it pleases and when passing narrow areas, it makes sudden noises.

*Heika is used in Japanese for sovereign royalty. It can be used as a direct term of address like "Your Majesty".

Looking forward to any and all criticism, just please don't hate :3

Quick recap: English is not my mother language so if I made any mistakes or any errors, please let me know. Also, I am the writer and the spellcheck person all in one.

Wishing everyone a great day/night ahead :)