A/N: Isame Kuroda: Nope, never watched it, but it sounds interesting. Hmm, interesting idea about Kaiyo, but I have different plans. There certainly wasn't much trust between Kokuto and everyone else, but they weren't enemies. I'll get to it in a chapter or two.

general zargon: That's exactly what I was planning, although rewatching (okay, clicking through) the Fullbringer arc gave me a slightly different idea for this chapter. Yeah, at some point I'll have to go through all chapters with fine comb and fix all the typos and mistakes.

Krazyfanfiction1: Thanks!

Cute Kirby: They were kinda supposed to be distracting - the hard to follow thoughts of a person sliding into madness. Besides, leaving the key words as normal text made them almost unnoticable, at least for me. But thanks for letting me know! Now I won't use any more segments with text like this.

Catcrazzed: You're welcome.

Moon6Shadow: Canon has a nasty habit of introducing new powers then removing them - Hollow form, Final Getsuga, Fullbring... And now that canon Ichigo has real Zanpakuto, what does it mean for his Hollow and Quincy powers? (If it turns out he's just a Shinigami now, I'm going to scream). Though I am kinda curious about his new Bankai.

Interlude 13: Enslaved

Worried. She was always worried, ever since she lost her powers, and the task of protecting her family fell on her son's shoulders. And she always, always wished she could help.

"You wish to have your powers back?" a voice asked from everywhere and nowhere, resonating within her mind, and Masaki gasped looking around yet seeing no one. The voice was familiar, but the spirit calling himself Zangetsu had never sounded so malicious. "Wish granted."

Masaki didn't have the time to comprehend what it meant, before a sudden weakness made her almost keel over as the old scars within her soul were ripped open, the meager amounts of reiryoku she still possessed pouring out, the darkness swallowing her mind.

…Was she going to die?

Masaki couldn't finish the thought when something bright and crisp poured onto the bleeding fragments of her soul, mending the fractures that never quite healed. The world came sharply into focus and the almost forgotten feeling of power flooded her body. She could once again sense the reishi permeating her surroundings, almost begging to be used, the familiar sensation she never thought she'd experience again.

Some things were too good to be true.

With horror she felt her body move on its own accord, the ancient malicious will sinking its claws into her mind and soul, jerking her around like a puppet on strings.

"Masaki? What happened?"

Somebody was there. Electric blue eyes glowing with power focused on a man before her. Shinigami. Enemy! Her arm jerked up, bow and arrow forming around it, as the pattern of Blut Vene spread underneath her skin.

She hesitated.

The voice urged her to let the arrow loose but something within her protested vehemently.

"…Mom?"

Another voice, another person. Slowly she lowered her arm struggling to dismiss her bow. "Yu- Yuzu…?"

"Mom?" the girl repeated stepping closer but the Shinigami – Isshin – stopped her.

"Run…" Masaki whispered when the voice in her head became louder, drowning out the outside world. "Run!" she screamed as the glowing wings opened behind her back. She grasped the sharp edges, forcing the constructs into dormancy, fighting to control the power that was no longer hers. "Run run run runrunrunRUN!"

The steady beeping of heart monitor and the barely audible breathing were the only things breaking the quiet of the hospital room. The woman lying on the bed looked asleep – as she did for the last nine years.

The rhythm broke suddenly, her heart beating faster, and with the sharp inhale she opened her eyes – inhumanly blue and glowing brightly.

Her fingers twitched, the atrophied muscles unable to do much else, before the thin strands of Ransotengai wrapped around her emaciated body. She threw off her covers and ripped off the various tubes and wires of medical equipment finally standing up.

The arriving medical personnel were met with a blank stare, their voices fading into background noise, their touches having no effect on her immovable form. They weren't who she was waiting for.

She cast her senses around pinpointing the bright flare of a pureblood Quincy moving towards her and felt her dry lips curl into a smile. The traitor was coming.

The door burst open nearly falling off its hinges, Ryuken running in and stopping in his tracks. "Kanae…?" he whispered in disbelief taking a shaky step towards her.

"Traitor," she rasped and obeying the voice in her head raised her arm forming a bow. "Die."

Chapter 13: Fake

"Good morning!" Inoue cheered waving her hand.

Rukia blinked in confusion but knew better than to ask what her friend was doing hanging from a branch like that. The Shinigami rubbed her eyes waking up completely, "Did you remember anything?"

Orihime shook her head sadly, fingers trailing over her hair clips. She could reject and reshape physical world any way she pleased, though spiritual was a bit trickier – reishi obeying without question, reiryoku sliding like water through her fingers, unchanged. But minds and souls were beyond her reach. Otherwise, so many problems could have been averted.

Inoue growled quietly, the unwanted memories unfolding before her eyes.

If only she could reject the false memories Tsukishima gave her. If only she was capable of destroying the paralyzing bonds the shattered Hogyoku placed on Ichigo leaving him powerless. If only.

So much heartache could have been avoided.

Orihime flipped off the branch, standing on air with a scowl fixed on her usually kind face. She couldn't lay the blame completely on her powers though. She should have been more vigilant, not letting her guard down, even if she thought that Chad's friend was simply showing off his Fullbring. And, of course, it became impossible to separate friends from enemies afterwards.

/"Why… why are you attacking Tsukishima-kun?" Inoue cried, her shield protecting them both from a barrage of arrows. "Why are you siding with Ichigo?"

Why, why, why? Wasn't Tsukishima their friend? Wasn't he the one who saved Rukia and defeated Aizen? Wasn't he ready to break into Las Noches when she was kidnapped? Wasn't he always there to help and protect them…?

…Protect?

"He is playing you, Inoue!" Ishida yelled in desperation. "It's his Fullbring!"

…Protect? Her mind latched onto the word, something nagging at her.

"It can create fake memories!"

Fake? No, no, it couldn't be! Her memories weren't fake, she remembered everything…!

Yet something was wrong, wrong, wrong! Tsukishima was her friend, but Uryu was her friend too, and it made no sense!

"Ayame, Shun'o!" she cried, silently begging her Shun Shun Rikka for help, trying to make sense of what was happening, yet receiving nothing but the horrendous feeling of wrongness.

"Inoue, please, listen to me!"

"Trust me, Inoue."

Two voices vying for attention, two people dear to her. What was she supposed to do?!

Ishida's expression changed, hardened with resolve, as he reached for the Sanrei Glove, "If you don't listen, then I'll make you!"

Blazing wings opened widely, the edges cutting into her shield and absorbing all reiatsu put into it before another barrage of Licht Regen slammed into her. Orihime skidded on the ground, Tsukishima's sword falling beside her while the Fullbringer himself was flung farther away. She crawled back to her feet and grasped the weapon, intent on throwing it back to its owner, but was stopped by Ishida flash-stepping closer and grabbing her hand.

"Cut yourself," he said. "Cut yourself and your real memories will come back."

She stared at him, confused, when Tsukishima yelled, "No, don't! Just throw it back to me!"

The wings, dormant but ready to activate at a moment's notice, wrapped around her, and another arrow sent the Fullbringer slamming into a tree.

Her fingers tightened around the hilt. Why not? After all, if Ishida was lying, nothing would happen, right?

With a swift movement Inoue sliced her hand open.

The world seemed to tilt on its axis, foggy memories blazing with startling clarity, like an abstract painting resolving itself into an understandable image if you only looked at it the right way.

Slowly Orihime turned around to look at Tsukishima, and for the first time in her life there was nothing but hatred in her eyes./

Inoue shivered trying to shake off the old anger. That fiasco was long over – Tsukishima was dead, Ichigo was back at full power, thanks to the Shinigami, Visored, and Arrancar donating their reiatsu, and all was forgiven.

Thankfully, right now her memories were missing, not replaced, and if her Shun Shun Rikka were right – and they always were – she would remember them in time.

"Hanase, Sode no Shirayuki," Rukia said, the whiteness lifting off her skin and clothes in a flurry of snowflakes and reforming into the shape of her Zanpakuto. At the questioning look from Orihime she scowled, "There's nothing to fight here." And it was always better to conserve power, no matter how paranoid she felt.

Something flickered on the edge of her perception and Rukia snapped into attention, glancing around. Inoue seemed to be picking out something as well, her stance tense and ready for a fight.

The forest seemed to darken, shadows coming alive, and both women relaxed at the somewhat familiar sight.

"Found you," a voice sounded, overlaid by the hissing whispers of living shadows, and the white-haired Demon stepped out of the darkness.

Rukia arched her eyebrows, "And you were looking for us why exactly?"

Kokuto crossed his arms, "Does the name 'Hikami' sound familiar?" Seeing her blanch, he nodded, "Thought so. Now c'mon, I'll bring you to the others."

The shadows obediently slinked forward spreading beneath their feet, the three of them sinking quickly into the pool of darkness.

The Shinigami nervously laid her hand on the hilt of her sword. It seemed like she was right in deciding to conserve power. The disjointed memories of Hell made little sense, but the name of Sun Goddess resonated with danger.

"Wasn't this place noisier?" Rukia frowned, her words swallowed by the nothingness of the Shadow Realm.

The Demon heard her nonetheless. "It was," he responded. "No idea what happened. It's like all the shadows are just… gone. Only those that were inside me are left."

"We… travelled like this before, right?" Orihime asked, her halting voice sounding muted and faraway. "Back- back when-"

"When we were in Hell!" Rukia gasped. "Ichigo! It was Ichigo! He led us to- to-"

"To Hikami," Kokuto finished. "Yeah, I remember it now too."

"…Did we defeat her?" Rukia asked with a slightest tremble in her voice.

The answer she got was not particularly reassuring. "I don't know."

A/N: Why, yes, I am very evil, thanks for asking. But hey, getting possessed by an evil douche and trying to kill your family is better then dying, right? ...Right?

Anyway, if you think that 9-year coma is too long, I checked, and while it's certainly unusual, it's not impossible.

If Tsukishima presented himself as an enemy, Orihime would've wiped the floor with him, so he pretended to be Chad's friend instead.