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But Gin's thoughts were wrenched from that piece of information, as he clutched on tight to the scrap of red fabric he had wrapped around his free hand. It was hard to see against the colour, but there was a tiny smear of blood on one of the edges that stained the pale skin of his palm, burning into it like a brand.

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado number thirty-one. Shakkahō" Matsumoto's voice cried out in unison with a group of other officers as a powerful blast of red energy burst forth from behind Gin.

He barely even flinched as the kido flashed past both his shoulders, barely missing him by inches but incinerating three hollows in front of him and turning them all to powder with shrieks of terror and pain.

Serves them right! he thought with savage pleasure as he released Shinso once more upon them. There was a flash of white and several hollows fell and disintegrated before his blade. And yet more just kept coming.

There was a flutter of material beside him and Gin's sneer widened.

"Ah, Captain Aizen, Captain Shiraki, Lieutenant Hibiki how nice of ya to join us on this fine day" he grunted as he sliced through another hollow.

"Forgive us Gin we came as fast as we could." Aizen puffed, but his brown eyes were cold and sardonic behind his glasses "Don't worry the Head Captain is sending more reinforcements as we speak. It would appear our situation is direr than we thought-"

"Less talk more action, Aizen." A voice barked angrily.

Aizen quickly and calmly stepped out of the way as Captain Shiraki flash-stepped past him to cut down a particularly large hollow, steel-grey eyes flashing with fury as his whole body glowed white with his spiritual pressure as he cried:

"Float! Tetsu-no-Hane!"

There was a flash of dark grey energy around the Captain's blade which quickly transformed into a long nagamaki with a black hilt and a silver guard shaped like a bird's talon. As it did so, a long cloak of dark metallic silvery-black crows' feathers formed over the top of his white haori, rustling slightly as their owner whipped it in front of him to shield himself from a clawed attack.

The appendage of the hollow bounced off like rain on a tin roof and its owner recoiled, screaming in agony as with a flicker of silver, the blade whirled and slashed through its face destroying it.

But Shiraki was no through yet as several hollows, noticing the fall of their brethren, charged for him. There were flashes of silver and black as the Shinigami captain flash-stepped swiftly in and amongst the attacking horde, closely followed by Lieutenant Hibiki who snarled as he unleashed his own Zanpakuto.

"Jump! Satsuiki-Usagi" he cried and at once in a flash of pale blue his slightly shorter katana transformed into a white mortar shaped tetsubo with silver spikes and a black wrapping on the guard.

Despite being the smallest in physique amongst the four men, the short brunette was quick to smash his large weapon through the head of several hollows in quick succession before landing beside Gin as he unleashed Shinso again.

"Where is she?! You promised us you would look out for her! Now what the hell happened?" he shouted above all the hubbub, his typically happy brown eyes flashing dangerously as he grabbed at his fellow Lieutenant by the scruff of his uniform.

"I don't know!" Gin growled, swatting him off so they could continue slashing and smashing through the waves of Hollows that kept crashing down upon them like waves on a beach.

"You don't know?!"

"Look Hibiki-kun I felt something happen and I came as fast as I could I swear!" Gin grunted, grabbing his comrade by the elbow and swiftly flash-stepping with him away as Aizen rallied Matsumoto and the officers behind them to chant another Kido.

"We'll try to form a perimeter Shiraki-san! See if you three can cut down as many as you can!" He called out to Captain Shiraki who nodded silently, nostrils flaring and feathered cape billowing as he moved like a whirlwind through the mass of hollows.

However, behind the stoic mask, terror flooded through every vein and artery in his body.

When he felt her spiritual pressure spike that violently he had nearly had a heart attack then and there. It had taken Hibiki several minutes to get him to calm himself down enough to stop his hands shaking. Even now he could feel his heart hammer in his chest like a frantic war drum.

Where was she? Where the hell was his daughter?! Was she alright? Was she hurt? Was she alone? Oh god if something had happened to her…No. No, he dared not finish that horrible thought.

Come on master focus. You cannot let your fear cloud your mind. You won't be able to help your child if you are unable to act.

The raspy throaty croaking voice of his Zanpakuto said steadily in his mind.

He steadied himself as he breathed evenly with every stroke of his blade. No. This was not the time

He could still feel the buzzing crackling spiritual pressure somewhere faint in the distance. His daughter was alive, somewhere, but where?!

Hollows did not usually take prisoners, and if they did it did not bode well for those they had captured.

Don't worry Kokoro, I'll find you by hell or high water just hold on!

Kokoro shivered as she followed Hitsugaya, Renji, Kira and Obata through the frigid cold sewers. With her sharp ears she could hear, very faintly in the distance, the sounds of many feet slamming and smashing over their heads, the clanging of weapons and many monstrous roars.

The hollows must have broken out from the hall.

She mused biting her lip as she glanced around their surroundings. Despite the cacophony she knew must be happening above, everything was quiet down here.

However, it was not the peaceful, thoughtful quiet she often enjoyed on her days off work.

No this was a strange bone-chilling silence, the kind that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. The kind where you know something evil and vile is following your every move with malicious eyes that you cannot see.

She was grateful Obata and Kira were using their kido to light their way through this dark, icy labyrinth. Twice they had nearly slipped on the icy ground, or in Renji's case, narrowly avoided walking into a frozen stalactite that hung low before them.

However, despite the dire situation they at least had a path to follow. It was not a pleasant one for it was marked with a long seemingly endless streak of crimson blood that flowed in front of them along the stone wall.

It had first appeared after they had walked a few dark tunnels away from Masuya's corpse. They had stopped behind a corner to hide as they heard a hollow scuttling in the shadows only to peek around and see that it was dragging itself along the wall, smearing its amputated arm against it as it did so.

They had contemplated killing it for a moment but decided against it in a strange silent act of unity.

They had no clue how to get back up to the surface and that hollow seemed to have a sense of purpose as it headed further through the tunnels. So, they followed it at a distance, being careful not to make any noise that would startle it or alert it to their presence.

Kokoro could never recall a time in her life when her heart thudded this hard in her chest. It felt like it was going to leap out her throat and into her palm even as she did her best to stifle a small ragged cough that unexpectedly crept up on her.

She tried to stifle the sound as best as she could with her elbow, but it still made the others jump in surprise.

"Sorry" she whispered her voice raspy as she quickly covered her mouth again to cough.

Hitsugaya glanced back in his spot right in front of her and his startled expression softened a touch as he watched her breath rise in a warm mist before her.

She was not the only one. Renji, Kira and Obata were all looking deathly pale in the blue-white light of the balls of Kido that lit their way, the lattermost both looking weary from holding that energy. Hitsugaya, however, looked as if he were taking a normal everyday stroll throughout the barracks.

We'll freeze to death down here if we don't find a way out. Wait what's that?

He stopped before a sharp turn in the tunnel and peered around the edge.

An eerie dim greenish light seemed to be emanating from somewhere in the distance, illuminating the form of the hollow that led their grim path.

It was average in size for its kind, bipedal, though it had a long tail and spines on its back like a porcupine. It breathed in long rattling breaths from its goat-like mask from which Hitsugaya could make out two glowing yellow eyes.

Glowing? But hollow's eyes did not usually glow that bright, or did they?

Hitsugaya remembered vaguely that the hollows that had dragged them to this frozen hellhole also had glowing yellow eyes. But why? What could possibly connect so many hollows together?

He pushed the thought from his mind as he watched the hollow suddenly drop out of sight at the end of the tunnel where the green light seemed to be a lot brighter.

"What the hell?" Renji whispered. He and the others had silently drawn themselves up to peer over the shorter boy's head. As he did so, Kira and Obata both extinguished their balls of kido, no longer needing them to see by.

Hitsugaya stiffened slightly as Kokoro peered around his shoulder, sniffing lightly at the air through her cold red-tipped nose.

"More hollows?" he asked and almost snorted when she blushed in embarrassment at their close proximity.

"Yeah." She mumbled scowling as she tried shutting her eyes to focus on more scents. The smell of the hollow was obvious enough. She did not know whether it was bad or not that she was getting so used to the smell of the monsters so quickly.

Then there were the smells of her other companions that squashed in around and behind her. Beneath the cold, blood, and grime of the sewers, she was beginning to differentiate between them quite easily.

Renji was the most pungent, what with the bold, musky, slightly sweaty odour he gave off with a tinge of something earthy like sandalwood underneath. Obata was similar though his scent was a little less sweaty and more citrusy, like a lemon. Kira, in contrast, was quite clean and smelled of soap and green tea leaves. Hitsugaya was an odd mixture of both. His scent was clean, fresh, and musky, with something slightly sweet like…watermelon? Now that was surprising.

Then there was her own scent. Kokoro barely managed to sense it most times, but now that she was focusing hard, she could discern the combination of rain, orange blossom and sage amidst the masculine scents around her.

And there! There it was, cutting through all the scents that surrounded her, something chemical and sharp…and horribly familiar.

"Shiraki-san are you alright?" Kira asked as they all looked down at the girl. Upon catching the last scent her face had gone deathly white.

"I…I don't know. S-s-something's wrong." She stammered through chattering teeth. "There's something bad down there…something…chemical, sharp… I-I don't know what it is b-but it smells like something from Twelfth Division"

"Twelfth Division?" Hitsugaya frowned at her, remembering her words from earlier that day.

"L-look I'm not saying it is them." she gulped putting her hands up defensively "but it-it smells like something they usually have in one of their labs. S-sorry. I-I just don't know how else to describe it..." she mumbled trailing off as she pulled her cloak tighter about her shoulders.

"A lab eh?" Renji grunted and before anyone could stop him he flash stepped around the corner drawing his sword.

"Shit" Obata cursed, quickly grabbing hold of Kira who hissed as quietly as he could:

"Renji! Wait!"

"Dammit, Abarai!" Hitsugaya growled under his breath. Of all the times the red head's recklessness had to rear its head it had to be now. "Come on. Get your swords out and follow him."

"Not like we have a choice." Obata rolled his eyes, but nonetheless he and the others followed suit and unsheathed their swords.

Kokoro shivered, her usually steady hands trembling slightly as she gripped her twin blades so tight in her hands that her knuckles were white as the bone beneath her skin.

Luckily for them, Renji had paused, pressing himself against the side of the wall to hide from view as he peered out over the end of the tunnel. His eyes were narrowed warily as the green light hit his face from below.

"You were right, kid" he murmured lowly as the rest of the troupe approached him. "This definitely looks like some twisted shit from the Twelfth Division"

Despite her mounting horror welling up in her gut, Kokoro forced herself to take Renji's place and look out over the edge.

They appeared to be standing at the edge of a very long drop into a vast pit, the bottom of which was brightly illuminated by some strange glowing capsules in the centre, surrounding a giant glass pillar that stretched all the way from the floor to the very high vaulted stone ceiling.

Within the glass pillar, something liquid bubbled and swirled ominously as a giant shadowy mass moved about somewhere towards its base, around which seemed to be a white platform with stairs and many mechanical and chemical stations with screens and buttons. At the base of the stairs on the roughly hewn ground surrounding the machinery in a rough doughnut, many hollows milled about, illuminated by the light in the capsules surrounding the glass pillar and the horrible yellow glow in their eyes.

Then suddenly there was a loud grinding noise from down below.

"Get back!" Renji quickly grabbed Kokoro and pushed her behind his back as a platform suddenly zoomed up towards them from over the edge, a lone figure standing still on it.

It was a middle-aged man, tall and thin, with a sickly appearance what with his gaunt, skull-like face and sunken yellow eyes magnified horribly behind a pair of thick circular goggles. His hair, which was tied back in a low ponytail, was long lank and a strange shade of dark eggplant purple.

Purple? Kokoro could not help but blink. How in the world did such a shade exist?

He wore a black shihakuso like them and bore a short katana on his hip, but it was obscured by the large lab coat that he wore over the top. Over his forehead, there was a strange thick band of white with small flashing green and yellow lights on the sides that he adjusted quickly with pasty thin hands with gnarled yellow fingernails. As he did this, a second pair of arms appeared from behind his back, mechanical but strangely fluid in their movements as they made to pick into a pocket and take out a crisp fresh cigarette and light it quickly with a silver lighter.

Kokoro winced as the smell of tobacco hit her nose, mingling nastily with the smell of the frozen sewer behind her and the hollows down below as the strange man took a long drag.

"Ah," he sighed his voice a terrible mixture of something nasally and slimy. It did not help that he had dark smoke billowing out of his mouth and nose like the mocking travesty of a dragon. "That's much better"

He stared at the small group of Shinigami with great interest, his eyes roving particularly hard over Hitsugaya's face as he said:

"So you're the four new subjects Goat-face decided to bring to me. I must admit I'm surprised. With the amount of reiryoku, you all seem to collectively possess I figured there must be at least one lieutenant with you."

"Who the hell are you?" Hitsugaya growled softly, still holding his sword defensively in front of him.

"Akito Akui, the sixth seat of the Twelfth Division and currently the head of the Hollow Anthropology department for the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, at your service." the strange man bowed mockingly at him, lips curling to reveal a pair of uneven, yellowing teeth as he sneered.

"And, ah yes now I remember. Toushiro Hitsugaya, this year's child prodigy from the Shino Academy. Yes, I saw your file. They say you might bear one of the strongest ice Zanpakuto in the Gotei Thirteen. Most impressive. And you three," he glanced piercingly at Renji, Kira and Obata.

"Renji Abarai and Izuru Kira, both Fifth Squad, and Daisuke Obata from squad Ten. Well…I suppose you three are a fair bit above average, though not by much." He muttered disappointedly, though his yellow eyes glimmered as he looked at the shadow on the wall behind Renji. "Now boy why don't you move aside so I can see your sweet little friend you keep trying to shield from me. Come out dear don't be shy. I won't bite-"

He reached out with one of the long mechanical arms that extended from his back, only to have it blocked by Renji's blade.

"Oh no, you don't!" Renji growled but the damage was done.

By moving to block the arm he had accidentally lunged out of the way of the girl he defended, leaving her face open for Akito to see.

Kokoro felt all the blood freeze inside her when she felt the man's unnaturally magnified eyes roam over her pale hair and scarred face. She shivered. She knew she of all people should not comment on others appearances, but this man was just creepy beyond all hell.

"OH-ho!" he chuckled, a wide grin of pleasure spreading over his face as he looked Kokoro's scar up and down "Oh ho, now what have we here. Kokoro Shiraki, now aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

"You know this guy Shiraki-san?" Kira gulped nervously as he stepped forward to stand beside the terrified girl who shook her head vigorously, looking so pale they all worried if she would faint.

"N-no. I-I've never seen this man in my life!"

"No, I don't suppose you would have" Akito snorted as he took another lazy puff of his cigarette "But I've seen you many times when you used to come to Squad Twelve for your appointments with Captain Kurotsuchi as a little girl. Of course, the Captain never did let any of us interfere with his private work, but I would be lying if I didn't admit that we all itched to analyze you at least once for ourselves."

It took all Hitsugaya he had not to throw up with disgust as he and the rest of the men all collectively drew closer to the blonde girl to form a protective shield on all sides.

They all knew that if there was one thing worse than having a hollow sizing you up it was having one of the creepers from the Twelfth Division leering at you like you were their dessert.

"Now, now gentlemen, there is no need for such measures" Akito chuckled at the younger men with disdainful amusement. "I assure you I mean no harm to your charming little friend. If you would all just step aside so I can take a moment to examine her-"

"The only thing you will examine is the ends of my swords if you take one step closer to me you creep!" Kokoro snapped, though it was clear to see that she was deathly afraid.

It did not help when the mad scientist before them licked his teeth hungrily as he caught sight of Kokoro's shaking hands on both blades of her daisho.

"A twin Zanpakuto. My-my, now that is a surprise. You really are a rare one aren't you, you sweet thing-"

"Back off Akui!" Hitsugaya snarled his reiatsu spiking in warning, making his body glow a faint icy blue even as Kira piped up behind him.

"Shiraki-san's a person, not some lab rat for you to poke and torment with one of your needles."

"Tch! You, other squads, don't have any respect whatsoever." Akito rolled his eyes behind his goggles "Is it really such a crime for a humble scientist to show his appreciation for such a beautiful and worthy specimen"

"When it makes you sound like a child-snatching creep then yes. It is" Obata muttered and Renji snarled:

"Yeah, touch one hair on her head and you're dead you sicko."

"Such a shame. I was hoping we could settle this without violence" he tapped one of his tobacco-stained fingernails to the side of the strange white band he wore on his head. A few of its lights flickered as a single circular yellow light glowed brightly in the centre of his forehead.

There was the thudding of many feet and all five young Shinigami turned to see a mass wall of hollows blocking the pathway they had arrived through, their eyes glowing yellow in their masks.

They quickly backed away from it only to find themselves edging closer to the floating platform where Akito Akui stood, both sets of arms open and waiting for them in welcome.

"So it's you" Hitsugaya's eyes flashed angrily as he felt the hollows push them onto the platform. "You're the one manipulating the hollows in the First District"

"Manipulating is such a foul word Hitsugaya-kun" Akito sneered with pleasure as all five of his prisoners stepped onto his platform, unable to move anywhere as the hollows blocked off their only path to escape.

"I prefer to think of it as…what is that word? Ah yes, reforming. Now if you all wouldn't mind squishing in a little away from the edge, thank you."

He tapped the sides of his headband again and the platform slowly began to descend along the side of the pit.

As they drew closer to the ground, Kokoro became steadily aware of many eyes that not only stared up at them from below but down at them from above.

"Holy crap" Kira gasped; his blue-grey eyes wide with terror.

There had to be at least a thousand masked faces, watching them from every single angle in many holes and tunnels carved into the rocky walls, like buzzards waiting for their prey to die in a desert.

What was worse though was the bizarre lack of noise in the chamber. Barely any of the hollows made a sound save for the shuffling of their feet or the occasional chitter or rumble here and there. Apart from that, they were as docile as dolls on a shelf, albeit very gruesome ugly dolls.

They did not even move a muscle as the platform rolled to a stop at the bottom of the pit, allowing Akito to step off lightly.

His prisoners would have stayed where they were had it not been for the sight of their captor reaching for his headgear once more.

"There see. Isn't it much better when we co-operate with one another?" he grinned as they scrambled off the platform. "Come, come, I shall explain everything"

"Do as he says." Hitsugaya grunted. "but stick close together"

"Like we have a choice" Obata murmured darkly as they all drew closer to one another, warily eyeing the Hollows that closed in around them on all sides.

Kokoro could feel herself getting lightheaded as the rancid odour of the masked monsters pressed in all around her. Quickly she clamped a hand over her sensitive nose, much to Akito's amusement.

"Yes the smell is quite terrible at first, but you'll get used to it after a few minutes."

"What the hell are you doing with these hollows Akui?" Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes as he desperately searched for an unguarded exit.

"Hollows are a rather primitive race when it comes to social structures." Akito sighed in exasperation at the youth's impatience "They see displays of power and dominance as the only means to attain a higher status. In order to grow to a Menos class, they must devour an incredible amount of souls with high reiatsu and even then, they only end up being mere grunts and foot soldiers in comparison to their more powerful betters."

Kokoro was glad Renji was still in front of her because it gave her an excuse to hide behind his broad back as Akito tried once again to leer at her.

"Such power. Yes, Shiraki-chan, you and Hitsugaya-kun will be the most valuable assets to my cause yet."

"Why? Are you going to feed us to your pets?" Hitsugaya glared at the older man as Kira and Obata carefully stepped up from behind him to flank him defensively.

"Feed you?" Akito raised his hairless brows. "Oh-no-no-no! I won't feed you. I just merely require your assistance."

He gestured grandly to the computer stations at the base of the giant glass pillar.

"Behold the great Queen of the Hollows."

And there we have it Chapter 5, and perhaps one of the darkest chapters I've written thus far for this. I know I leave it on a cliffhanger but all will be explained next chapter.

As for this chapter, it was fun to write from the perspective of Kokoro's "parents". I hadn't originally intended for Captain Shiraki and Hibiki to be together romantically but the more I wrote them together it just seemed so natural.

I also had a lot of fun creating for their Zanpakutos.

- Hibiki Hamada - Satsuiki-Usagi (Roughly translated into - Swift Moon Rabbit) - a powerful tetsubo (traditional Japanese club with spikes)

- Kenji Shiraki - Tetsu-no-Hane (roughly translated to - Iron Feather) - a nagamaki (a special traditional Japanese long sword with an extra-long handle) and a super-strong cloak made from iron feathers that can be used as a shield.

I particularly enjoyed writing Kokoro's zanpakuto spirit. It was a challenge to think of how her spirit was going to appear to her before she finds its name.

Anyways i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please review if you have any thoughts or want to see more :)

Cheers

Fuzzybeta