I do NOT own Bleach or the characters/places/things in it. Only the OC.

"I heard that last night one of the Seven Holes to the other world was opened," Urahara clarified. There was an ominous, yet stern strain in his low voice.

"Seven Holes?" Orihime questioned.

He nodded. "Soul Society has the capability of sending Hollows from Hueco Mundo to their demise. They also have the ability in sending those who have departed to the spirit world. Consequently, seven portals were created. They believed that it was the doing of a man called Yukio…"

"…But what does this all mean?" Aneko finally asked. "What's the connection with this battle you speak of?"

Urahara looked to her, not quite ready to answer her question. "…He placed the portals in seven Hollows he thought were the strongest. A curse to be exact,"

Orihime frowned. "How'd he do that? Was he some sort of Shinigami?"

"Not exactly—more like a human who discovered his spiritual powers much like you, Chad, and Aneko. This was long ago when I was still in Soul Society. From what I recall, Yukio made a deal with the Hollows… If they allowed him to place seven portals within seven of them, he'd permit those Hollows to acquire all his divine powers contained within him. In other words, eat him alive…"

"That sounds pointless!" Uryu impulsively stated. "It's only natural to assume that this man's motives were to stay alive, right? So then why kill yourself in the process?"

"He was a lonely man… He considered that because the way life turned out for him…others should share the same suffering he endured…" Urahara explicated with a slight frown. "Thus, the seven holes were created."

"But still… Why would the Hollows even do such a negotiation…? It doesn't seem like any Hollow would take the time to listen to a human, let alone allow one to put curses on them…" Aneko gripped with eagerness—hands subconsciously gripping her cup.

Uryu adjusted his glasses. "Exactly, which also makes me wonder…how did a human manage to gather enough energy to create seven powerful holes? Surely he wasn't just a human."

"No, Yukio wasn't just any ordinary human…he studied magic after his parents were killed when he was about 9 years old. He knew magic that would've been banned in Seireitei if ever exposed. This man even skilled in Kido," Urahara took a brief moment to collect his thoughts. "The Hollows knew his heart was filled with hatred and wicked thoughts…and to them the curse wasn't really a curse but just a new weapon to use as last resort."

It grew quiet until the Quincy spoke, "You're aware that…it was us who opened it, right?" He kept his strong gaze on the older man.

Urahara nodded, quite aware of the truth. "Chad told me. He also informed me of Ichigo and how he was taken in…"

"Will he be ok?" Orihime then asked apprehensively.

He looked at her momentarily. Soon enough, his eyes glanced elsewhere. "I'm not entirely positive… It depends how well he can trust himself. If memory serves me right, Yukio was able to generate these holes with his own abilities—his power within. There were also rumors that said this man actually belonged to an ancient clan, much like the Quinces. Of course, they were nothing but rumors at the time. I always believed this man was much more when studying about him."

"If this Yuki has been around for so long, how come Soul Society hasn't done anything to capture him or the Hollows he cursed long ago?" Chad questioned. All eyes looked to Urahara attentively.

"We couldn't," Urahara replied instantly. "Once news got out about the Hollows' alliance with Yukio, it was too late. We assumed Yukio was dead and the Hollows fled."

"Well…isn't there anything we can do?" Aneko asked with deep anticipation. "And once again, what's this about a war?"

"Well…that's sort of why I brought Chad here too…" Gripped the shopkeeper. He then got up, approaching toward a large chest. It was dusty and had an aged Japanese scroll on top it. He slowly took the chest and brought it to the group.

Uryu arched a brow. "What's this?"

"Inside this chest are seven jars," He swiftly pulled a small fan out, fanning himself with it. "I furtively created these long ago in case our seven lucky Hollows decided to make a move. You will each get them… Your task is to throw theses jars into all seven holes. Are you up for it?"

"I'm in!" Aneko abruptly raised her hand. "There's no way I'm going to let stupid Hollows hurt anyone else!"

Orihime nodded, "Me too!"

Uryu effortlessly nodded, along with Chad.

At that moment, Urahara grabbed the jars and placed them on top of the floor in a row. "Good. Now, I'm going to depend on you guys to follow through with this task. Since the first portal was open, it's to be expected that it'll send a reaction to the other portals, bringing those Hollows here."

"That means…!" Uryu comprehended it all—which wasn't a good thing.

The shop owner simply nodded. "They're reactive chains. One is activated signaling to the other Hollows that they were defeated in battle. That means the next six Hollows will be even stronger…"

Everyone sputtered, all completely taken aback. Aneko and Orihime gulped at the thought. "W-what happens…if these seven portals are opened—all at once?" Aneko forced herself to ask—lips quivering.

That was when his jaw grew tense, eyes hiding under the shadow of his hat. "We've never actually gotten to that point yet to answer that. From what I gather…all of Karakura will parish in one clean sweep."

They all reflected on it. If they screw up the mission…it would be the end of all they knew. Urahara took the moment to stand up. He immediately pointed his slim finger at Uryu. "Uryu…you will go with Aneko. I'm sure the both of you will be able to combine your distinct abilities." He assured. "Chad will go with Orihime,"

All four of them nodded obediently. Urahara took the time to glance at Tessai. "Please go and pack the jars for them. It's a race against time. The Hollows could be arriving in town as we speak."

"Yes sir!" The large man promptly left.

Aneko looked a bit baffled. "Umm…what about Ichigo?" She reminded. "I prefer we got Ichigo out first…"

"Ichigo will be fine," Urahara assured. "Just leave him to me. You all should just worry about these Jars."

Uryu asked, "What exactly are these jars?"

"They are filled with enough force to corrupt the holes and dissolve them into particles. This type of spiritual power was used to break Kido spells long before the academy for Shinigami existed, and used against curses. It's simple; once you defeat a Hollow the portal will open. Throw the proper jar in its hole. Once that is done, the gateway should close."

Uryu couldn't help but perk at his words. "…What do you mean by 'proper jar'?"

"Each of the seven holes were built with different fundamentals," Urahara briefly explained. Once he took in the perplexed look in their youthful eyes, he continued, "Water, fire, earth, wind, electricity, heaven, and hell."

The Quincy reached his fingers to his chin. "I see… Then these jars are to be used on the suitable elements…"

On cue, Tessai returned with two boxes wrapped in packages. He handed Orihime a blue box and then passed Uryu a red box. "The red box holds three jars and the blue holds two." Urahara promptly clarified.

Orihime looked to Chad, tightly keeping the box in her hold. "…Let's go Chad!" With one quick nod, Chad and Orihime made their way to the door. "We'll be off then…! Please be careful,"

Aneko nodded to Orihime. "You too, alright? Don't try to push it out there…"

Orihime smiled. "Don't worry, we will."

With a sigh, Aneko watched as they ran out of sight. "Aneko," She casually glanced back to their mentor: Urahara. "Yeah…?"

"Where's your weapon?"

She blinked. "Home,"

Uryu sighed. "Well… I guess we should get it then…"

"No need."

All three jerked their heads towards the entrance, becoming aware of Yoruichi standing there with Aneko's weapon in her grasp.

"Yoruichi…!" Aneko exclaimed. She was definitely not expecting to see her. No one was. Yoruichi stared at her with exotic eyes and smirked. "Looks like you forgot something,"

Aneko walked up to her, graciously receiving her weapon. "Thanks, you're amazing…"

"Good thinking, Yoruichi," Kisuke praised, walking up to them.

"Well, I figured she'd be enforced with this entire mess." Her brilliant golden eyes then looked to Aneko. "Thought I'd find you and give you word of warning but by the time I arrived to your home I couldn't detect your presence. It was long gone. That's when I noticed your weapon in your room,"

Aneko looked at her and smiled. "Thank you. Yeah, I'm already aware of what's going on."

"No need for thanking," She gave an approving nod. "Then you two should hurry and go…"

Uryu and Aneko gave each other one sudden glance before departing from the shop.

Uryu and Aneko scurried off as quickly as they possibly could, all the way through the city. They knew that if more Hollows were to come out then they'd emerge from the city like last time.

"I don't sense any form of presence…" Uryu stated as they finally came to a stop. Aneko glanced around. "Same, let's just keep looking,"

They ran all over Karakura Town. Up and down streets, hills, and alleys. They even went so far as to ask random spirits if they'd seen unusual creatures around. Naturally, none responded so unproblematic.

They never found one Hollow.

"Maybe Urahara got his facts wrong…" Aneko came to the conclusion as she reluctantly followed behind the tolerant Quincy.

With one deep breath, Uryu turned to her. "I'm starting to think that myself…"

Aneko aimlessly stared to the side and caught site of the plum-colored dress she had wanted so badly. It was still on display, this time ten percent off. She gasped at the sight and hastily stopped to admire it.

Uryu made his way to the display window. "What is it?"

"My dream summer dress!" She announced animatedly—fingers pressed against the glass. The teenage boy almost immediately arched an eyebrow. "Dream summer dress?"

She nodded, turning her attention back at him. "Yep, that's right! One day I'm gonna buy it!"

"Although I admit it's nice, what's wrong with what you have now? Is it really necessary to purchase a dress for so much?"

"What…?!" She glanced down at herself soon staring back to him like he was incredibly dense. "Can't you tell? I'm running out of clothes to wear, man! I need to feel fresh with new material on me!"

He blinked at her for a couple of seconds before examining the clothing she wore. She dressed in a white blouse and black shorts. Clearly the outfit wasn't expensive altogether, but it was still perfectly acceptable to wear in society…

"I don't see anything wrong with it," He said openly. "You look casual…"

"But you sew for goodness sakes! You off all people should know that that dress is much cuter than what I'm wearing now!"

"Alright, I suppose…" He shrugged, wanting the mind splitting whining to stop. "Can we continue on now, please?"

She smiled satisfied, but found herself looking back at it. No matter how hard she tried, Aneko couldn't possibly tear her eyes away. She finally looked to the Quincy and very gently asked, "Mind if we go in for a second? I wanna…try it on—it won't take me more than five minutes, I swear!"

Uryu narrowed his eyes, thinking otherwise. "Aneko, we don't have time. We still have to find the Hollows, remember?"

As expected, the girl pouted to his answer. "Aww, please?"

"No,"

"P'wease?"

"No, I'm sorry but we don't have time to waste. Plus, I'd rather you go on your own time."

She faced him fully. "Pretty Please?"

He grew irritated by her persistence. "You're not listening…"

"Oh, please…?" She begged once more.

He watched as the determined Kurosaki dropped to her knees, deeply frowning. Uryu nearly frowned himself. He hated to see a girl so upset, especially one as intolerant. He sighed heavily, already regretting his decision. Slapping his hand over his face he said, "Fine. You're such a stubborn girl…"

Expecting a response, Uryu was surprised to witness her already walking into the store. "H-hey…!"

'Why'd I say yes…?' Uryu anxiously sat in the changing lobby. 'I'm an idiot…' He was more than just uncomfortable with the fact that he was in a Women's store, which sold Women's clothing, and only contained Women in it. Attempting to keep his mind off of it, he quickly looked to the side. He caught sight of a tall manikin. With nothing else to entertain himself with, Uryu Ishida began to move its arms up and down. He knew all self-respect he had was officially gone down the drain and was to never be seen again…

Eventually, Uryu became aggravated. "Aneko," He called, "are you almost finished?"

"Yeah," The booth Aneko was in steadily began opening. He became aware and glanced at it. "Aneko?" He asked hopeful. Another minute of this and he would have gone crazy…

Abruptly, she sauntered on out, approaching him barefoot as it was more comfortable. Locking his eyes on her, Uryu became still. She began walking towards the mirror, followed by a twirl as she checked herself out.

"What do you think?" She finally asked. "It's a nice color, huh?"

The Quincy couldn't help but smile towards the visibly open girl and her innocent attitude. He had to admit…the dress wasn't such an eyesore either.

She smiled. "You really like it?"

"Yes, it's quite suiting on you," He replied, maintaining his smile. "You should wear dresses more often; they really show your beautiful side."

Her eyes shot open. "A-aw, I wouldn't go that far…!" She began to timidly giggle. Her eyes dropped to the floor as she unexpectedly grew tongue-tied. "N'ways, I—I should change outta this dress!"

Uryu nodded. "Alright, I will just—" Already at her changing room, she shut the door, leaving the archer alone. "…Aneko?"

I got to calm down, she thought. She leaned against the wall feeling her heart pump harder than ever. Running her hands though her hair, she took notice that her face heated up. '…Aneko, what's with you? It was only a compliment…!'

"Aneko, are you alright in there?"

His voice caught her off guard. "A-aha, yes…! Gimme' a second!"

Whatever it was that overcame her earlier, she promised herself it wouldn't ever happen again. She won't let it.

And review Plz!