Hello, my wonderful readers. I'm back with a new chapter, and it's the longest yet in 'Moment of Truth in a Time of Darkness'. I am so excited to unveil this chapter and I hope that you enjoy it. I'm on a roll so hopefully I will have a new chapter up for you in the next month or so. In the meantime, on with the new chapter!

Chapter Seven: Trapped

I emerged through the opening of the Garganta, Asura hot on my feet. As I gulped down the cold air my body began to stiffen as I shook from the sudden feeling of cold, though it was nothing compared to the shaking from my trepidation. The Hollow portal closed behind us like a giant dimensional zipper. Asura peeled off his coat and placed it around me.

"Let's go to Urahara's, Miss Raine." he said. I didn't move. Asura repeated himself. Instead, I listened for a moment; something was calling for me. Immediately I turned away from him, listening intently. Asura followed, clearly concerned. I turned out onto the street, into the busy flow of human traffic. Again I listened hard. There, I heard it again. I marched across the street and straight down an alleyway. By the time I arrived, all was silent. "Miss Raine?" he asked. I gave him a light 'shhh', holding my hand up, my brow furrowed. I reached for a rusty old bin and began moving things aside, listening intently. Something was here, I felt it. My hands moved rapidly through the detritus, tossing it aside and pushing aside crates and tarps.

Finally I found it. There, amidst all the junk in the alley, was a long, dark-colored strip of fabric with two silver fasteners at either end. Despite the fact that it was dirty and tattered and the fasteners were tarnished, I pulled it to my chest.

'I'm here.' I murmured. 'Can you hear me? Please respond.'

'Who's there?' a young voice, a child's voice asked. 'How'd you find us?'

'Us?' I asked. 'I only heard you, calling out to me.'

'You heard me? How?'

'I don't know.' I answered honestly. 'Lately I've been able to hear a lot of things.'

'That's not exactly healthy, you know.'came another voice- older, male.

'Starrk, you moron, don't insult the lady who just found us!' the younger voice shouted. 'I don't want to be at the bottom of the garbage pile again.'

'I wouldn't do that to you.' I promised, again listening to the maternal instincts that were kicking in. 'What's your name?' I asked gently.

'Lilynette Gingerback.' she replied.

'It's very nice to meet you, Lilynette. My name is Raine.' In the background, I heard a yawn.

'Don't go back to sleep on her, Starrk!'

'I already know what's coming. I had you call out to her because I could feel Ulquiorra and Nnoitra's spiritual pressure, remember? By the way, onna,' At that instant, I knew he was referring to me. 'If you're going to try and gather all of the Espada again, I have to say that I'm not overly fond of the idea of serving another Aizen.' As I was about to protest, Lilynette intervened.

'Raine's not like that!" she piped. 'She's way better than that ugly jerkface Aizen.'

'I'm guessing then that you must be Coyote Starrk, the Primera Espada.' I concluded.

'I am.'he affirmed. 'Why are you hunting down Espada?'

'I promised Ulquiorra a favor, and I stumbled across Nnoitra in the desert of Hueco Mundo. With you and Lilynette, I heard her call.'

'That spiritual pressure… it's like theirs.'

'Whose?' I asked.

'Those two men- not Hollow, but not Soul Reaper. An odd pair…' At the mention that they were odd, I had a good feeling as to whom he was speaking about.

'That definitely sounds like them.' I murmured.

'If you're not here to gather Espada, then what are you here for?'

Again, I found myself explaining my purpose for escaping to Hueco Mundo, my meeting with Hallibel, everything. Lilynette interjected every once in a while, but Starrk kept silent, and part of me had wondered if he had gone back to sleep. I had paused after one sentence, though and he urged me to continue, alerting me that he was indeed paying attention. When I was finished, I waited for him to say something. The air was thick with tension as both me and Lilynette waited for an answer. Finally, Starrk sighed.

'Better than waiting for the end at the bottom of a garbage heap.' he muttered. 'I guess whatever you've got in mind for us… we're in.' I smiled and nodded to them. Much to Asura's puzzlement, I stowed the strange apparatus in my jacket pocket. I looked to him and smiled as if to reassure him.

"Let's go, Asura." I said. The Mod Soul, and when I was sure he had gotten a head start, I turned back. Not too far from where I had found Starrk and Lilynette's fragment, there was something else that had caught my eye. With great care, I took a tattered old tarp and wrapped it. Making sure it was secure on my person, I then executed a great Shunpo in the hopes of catching up with Asura.

Normal Point of View

Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu checked her charts once more. All of the vital signs were there, but they were incredibly weak. So why wouldn't Captain Kawagari awaken? Her eyes drifted down to her patient and friend. She had only started what had begun to look like quite a promising career. With Lieutenant Shuuhei Hisagi's help, she had put the Ninth Division back on its feet, restoring morale within its ranks. This was nothing, though, compared to the future with Captain Komamura that lay before her. The Shinigami Women's Association was enthralled and fully approved, a majority of the members- herself included- finding it incredibly romantic.

Looking at her now, though, it was tough to see her and believe that this young woman had healed anything. She looked even worse than the last time, when she had truly very nearly died, when she had had hideous markings carved into her skin. Captain Komamura- after he had awoken, had stayed by her side until she herself awoke. This, however… this was much worse. This was like Captain Tosen all over again; it almost seemed like he had lost himself in the despair. Merely watching her took its toll on him, but he sat patiently and quietly to wait for her awakening. Truly she pitied anyone who would have to tell him should the worst happen, to have to see that giant, gentle heart break again.

Gently, she leaned down and grasped her friend's hand and then proceeded to her other duties. Had she stayed a little longer, she would have noticed the silvery eyes beginning to open…

Raine's Point of View

We arrived at Kisuke's house just as I saw Orihime approach the door. Her initial look of worry changed to that of surprise and then she flashed a smile at me as she approached.

"Raine, you're here." she said warmly. "Where have you been?"

"I was trying to settle some business for Kisuke in Hueco Mundo." Orihime's smile faltered, and at length, she looked a little fearful.

"You were in Hueco Mundo?" she asked, her voice a little shaken.

"Only for a little while." I assured her. Feeling around in my pockets, I recovered Ulquiorra's fragment and showed it to her. "Do you recognize this?" I asked. Her gray eyes went wide and slowly, she reached for it, holding it like it was the most precious and fragile thing in the world. Looking at her, she looked like she was about to cry. "I'm sorry," I said suddenly, "I didn't mean to-" I didn't get to finish my sentence, however, because she chose at that moment to wrap her arms tightly around my shoulders and hold me close. At first I was a little stunned and clueless, but I then hugged her back.

"Ladies," Asura interjected, "as much as I hate to break this up, may I ask that we move this inside?"

"Of course, Mod Soul-san." Orihime said, once again her bubbly self. She wiped away her tears and held the fragment close to her heart as she allowed herself within the Urahara household. I took a quick look over my shoulder and then also made my way inside. My jaw dropped as soon as I entered, though. There stood Grimmjow, with not even a scratch on him.

"Oh there you are." Kisuke said casually. "I expected you slightly earlier."

"We were caught up, Urahara-san." Asura explained, his tone apologetic.

"Ah, no matter." Kisuke replied. "We're all here, safe and sound, and that's all that matters." I approached Grimmjow, whose answer to my amazed gape was an amused smirk.

"How did you…?" I asked.

"You honestly think that that little shadowy freak stood a chance against me?" he asked, his voice a playful growl. "Then again you didn't get to stick around for the main show."

I turned to Kisuke, suddenly feeling guilty for returning empty-handed. I opened my mouth to say something when Kisuke waved his hand dismissively. "No need to worry, Raine-chan. I didn't expect Tia Hallibel to change her mind. I do, however, appreciate the effort." The sincere smile he gave me comforted me somewhat, but then I had to think about what he had just said. "Then why'd you go with it?" I asked.

Kisuke smirked. "Because, Raine-chan, you have a special power that may have greatly helped us in gaining new allies."

Normal Point of View

Panting and wheezing from his wounds and from exertion, Sombreado materialized himself before his lord and master. Sosuke sat in his throne like a bored king, his eyes closed. After a few moments, he opened his eyes to gaze down at his single and most potent creation.

"What happened, Sombreado?" he asked quietly.

"The… the Espada—Jaegerjaquez. I almost had her and then he interfered. I tried to fight him off, Master, but he was much too fast for me. I was lucky I got away with all my limbs."

"I created you, Sombreado," Aizen said. He didn't move; he didn't have to. All it took was a cold cruel stare and the shadowy creature was on the ground writhing in pain, holding his throat to try and ease the choking pain he felt. "I created you not to fail me. You had one job- to bring Lorraine to me, and you failed." Not once did Aizen raise his voice, yet still the thing cringed. "Surely you could have distracted them, thrown them off long enough to grab her and leave unharmed."

"I tried, my Lord." Sombreado pleaded, his voice now wheezy, pain-filled. "Something protected the girl though." Aizen paused, and for once, his brow furrowed slightly. Slightly did he release the pressure so that his servant could breathe. The shadowy creature let out a gasp of relief, now practically lying in a fetal position on the floor.

"Urahara," he murmured. Sombreado shook his head, his mouth agape.

"No, no, it was something else… something deep and dark. For a moment, I felt nothing but… cold emptiness." Aizen's brow furrowed.

"It would seem that Urahara has discovered then what Lorraine truly is, and he is utilizing her power." Sombreado's curiosity was now fully piqued.

"What is she?" he asked. Aizen smiled in the short pause and waited a moment before turning to his creation.

"Tell me, Sombreado, have you ever heard of a yōiku?"

"A… fosterer?"

"Yes. Basically, the yōiku can sense troubled souls- souls that have not fully passed on, especially like those of the Espada who apparently still hold a grudge against me. When she meets them, she has the choice then on whether or not to allow her soul to carry them with her, during which time, she is also allowed, if the 'tenant' so chooses, to use their abilities for her protection. It is how she met her Zanpakuto."

"Is that the real reason why you're after her?" Sombreado asked, "to gain a second way to gather others' abilities?"

"It's not merely that simple, Sombreado. It must be of her own free will, and Lorraine is a little too willful to do that and simply too honorable to succumb to verbal force. I cannot explain what exactly it was that brought her to my dungeon that night, but I was able to sample that ability from afar. I thought that I could utilize it to quicken my escape, but I was proven wrong. I knew that spiritual force was required for what I had in mind with her, hence why I forced part of myself within her. Besides, a good king needs a proper queen." He turned fully to his servant. "I think now that Lorraine is ready, I can make another move, Sombreado. I need you, though, to do something for me."

"Anything, my Lord."

"I need Lorraine alone. As long as Urahara and those Soul Society fools keep getting in the way, I cannot hope to overtake Lorraine's soul."

Sombreado smiled a wicked smile and then sank back into the shadows. "I understand, Lord Aizen."

"Good. I will not have you fail me again, Sombreado."

Raine's Point of View

"So you mean to tell me that I'm one of these…"

"Yōiku." Kisuke concluded for me with a nod. "It occurred to me when I heard the tale of Otome Fūdo, how you allowed her within your soul. Needless to say, I did a lot of research. Apparently, they are very rare within the World of the Living and the Spirit World."

"So she can accept a person's soul within her own so they can feed off her like a parasite?" Grimmjow concluded with a raised brow. "Doesn't that seem a little dangerous to you?"

"It's not necessarily dangerous as long as the tenants aren't within her for extended periods of time, and as long as the tenant soul does not mean the host soul any harm, otherwise the bond is null. Otome Fūdo is one such example; she had no wish to harm you, but cherished your decision to keep her. I've also learned that either or both parties can sever the bond if they so choose. Granted, there are a few risks, but I figured that Raine-chan would make it out of there in time. Lo and behold, here she is, and with her, she carries the fragments of three of the Espada with her. Bravo." he said, lightly applauding me.

"What I have to wonder," Grimmjow murmured, "is why she had to carry their remains?"

"Ah, that my friend is why our dear Orihime is here." he stated lightly. Suddenly, our attention was diverted to the young woman, who was still gazing at Ulquiorra's piece. I could only then imagine how grateful Ulquiorra was, to again be with someone who made such an impact on an existence thought once to be meaningless. I couldn't even fathom it, and I smiled when I realized that Kisuke really was right. My ability- my gift was meant to be one that helped heal, to guide the lost. That's where Otome Fūdo's release command came from. It's where the kind stubborn nature I had been blessed with came from.

My reverie had been broken when I remembered the object strapped to my back. I reached for it. "Kisuke," I said quietly, "I have something to show you." I had to admit, my friend was intrigued, and I was grateful that he caught on early my wish to speak to him in private. He spoke briefly to Tessai and then followed me into the back room. There, on his table, I opened the tarp. Were it not for the shadow caused the brim of his hat, I probably would've been able to see the look of alarm on Kisuke's face that came with the surprised gasp on his face. Slowly, he reached for it and then turned his head in regard to me.

"Raine-chan, where'd you get this?" he gasped.

I smiled and pulled out a chair, hoping that it would be a very fruitful conversation.

Normal Point of View

Despite her best efforts to keep calm, Orihime couldn't stop her heart from beating so quickly. This was a very tricky process, and she didn't want to mess this up. Two years of mourning and yearning, she finally found hope again and this time she wasn't going to let it go.

"Are you ready, Inoue-san?" Tessai asked, sitting cross-legged opposite her on a giant, round platform on the floor. The mentioned platform was hooked up to very bizarre-looking machinery. Orihime nodded and, as directed by the former Kido Corps Captain, she laid the tsuba of Murciélago in the very center of the mat. With a satisfied smile, she breathed and sat back.

"I reject." she said quietly. From her hairpins came an almost blinding light. Tessai then chose to engage, allowing his reiatsu to further enable Orihime's abilities. He watched carefully; this process would take quite a bit of time and energy and he was ready at the first sign of exhaustion. He was surprised though when, after fifteen minutes straight, Orihime didn't even look like she had broken a sweat. He had to remember that she had taken time even with her studies to train her abilities to something that the Fourth Division would kill for.

Another hour later and Orihime's brow furrowed, and Tessai could tell that it was beginning to strain her. He wished that he could encourage her to rest, but it would make no point to stop when they were so close now. What had started as a simple, sand-scuffed tsuba had formed into a pale body with black hair. Almost immediately did Orihime recognize the half-helmet piece, and she felt then like her heart was beating at a hundred miles per hour.

"Do not speed the process, Inoue-san. You leave plenty of room for mistakes."

"Right," she said bashfully. "Sorry Tsukabishi-san."

Finally, they were finished. Tessai covered Ulquiorra's indecency with a blanket. It took the Arrancar a few moments to awaken, and in that time, a million things that could've gone wrong flashed in Orihime's mind. She bit her lip, trying to keep the negative thoughts at bay.

Finally, viridian green eyes slowly began to blink open. With a blank expression, the former Fourth Espada came to. His eyes remained focused on the ceiling for a long moment, and then they found the grey eyes of the girl kneeling next to him. She looked apprehensive, hopeful, happy, and afraid at the same time. Slowly, he sat up, his eyes never leaving hers, even if that meant that he slowly turned his body towards her. No words were spoken. Orihime couldn't believe it; after having to watch him fade, there he was, exchanging unspoken words. It was too much for her. Her eyes burned and her throat constricted. Before she could stop herself, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

Needless to say, this was not what Ulquiorra had expected when facing Orihime again. The surprise was evident in his widened eyes. "Girl…" he began.

"Welcome back." she replied tearfully, pulling back to look at him. Her hand, which had remained on his bared shoulder, moved upward to touch his face. She relished in this, the ability to be close to him without the barriers they had placed before one another. He watched her perplexedly. "How do you feel?" At this, he closed his eyes.

"Girl, do not ask foolish questions." he said quietly. "I am better now than when I fought Kurosaki, if that is what you are asking. It seems like everything is where it belongs."

"That's good." she replied sadly.

"I have upset you." he noted aloud.

"No," she replied again with a shake of her head, "I'm just… I'm happy that you're here again, with me… I mean, I-"

She was cut off when he held up his hand. He was reaching for her, like he tried to do before he disappeared. She smiled and obliged him, sliding her small, gentle hand into his.

Raine's Point of View

"Well, Kisuke?" I asked, looking at him hopefully.

"It's a brilliant plan, without a doubt- well thought through. I'm just concerned about any risks we might face should Aizen find a loophole." he said. I could tell that he was choosing his words carefully. "Still, it's nice to know that someone can come up with a plan. I'll hang onto this," he said, gesturing to the tarp-wrapped object he now held, "until it's apparent that we need it."

Tessai knocked at the door and told us that Ulquiorra's resurrection was a success. I sighed in relief and then followed Kisuke out of the room, only to find Orihime sitting next to a very, very pale young man with dark hair. His top lip was colored black and running all the way down both cheeks were small, tear-stream-like lines. I recognized the viridian eyes almost immediately and smiled in welcome.

"I owe you a debt of gratitude, Hirako." Ulquiorra said quietly.

"No." I said with a slight shake of my head. "You protected me in Hueco Mundo. I consider that debt already paid."

Kisuke arrived with a small bundle of clothing to give to Ulquiorra. Slowly, the Arrancar took them. Orihime helped him get up and directed him to the bathroom. No sooner had that happened, my cell phone began to ring. I had failed to realize that I had left it here. My heart lifted as I opened the phone to answer.

"Shinji," I sighed with relief.

"Raine," he said, his voice on the other line deadly serious, "do you mind explaining to me why Mayuri's radar is picking up on Hollow activity in Kisuke's house?" I cringed, thankful that my husband couldn't be here to see it. My frantic mind couldn't come up with a single excuse. I groaned. "That would be a few Arrancar- more specifically a few Espada- that I've helped Kisuke enlist to aid us."

There was silence on my husband's end of the line. "Put Kisuke on the phone, Raine." he said. I grimaced and then handed my phone to my friend, apologizing silently. Kisuke answered, and I could tell without the shouting from the receiver of the phone that he was getting an earful. My husband was usually a sedate person, however zealous he was about my safety, yet I clearly heard words that brought a blush to my face. Kisuke looked horrified; it didn't even sound like Shinji was going to give him a chance to speak for himself. It was like that for a few moments and then Kisuke swallowed. "Right," he said quietly. He handed the phone back to me.

"Shinji," I began. The other end was silent. "Babe, I know you're mad-"

"Mad?" Shinji asked. "Mad doesn't even begin to cover what I feel right now, Raine. I asked Kisuke to keep you safe. I told yato stay safe, and then ya go and ya do this to me."

"I know, and I'm sorry, Shinji. I know that you're probably hurt and frustrated now and worried out of your mind. I just want you to know, though, that I didn't do this with the intention of hurting you or making you worry more than you already are."

"You did a splendid job with that, Raine." His biting sarcastic retort felt like a kick to the gut, but I breathed it back, exhaling in a loud sigh.

"I told you, I'm going to do whatever I can to throw wrenches in Aizen's operations, too, even if I can't physically fight him. If it's any consolation, I got in and out of there in once piece."

"You shouldn't have even been in there in the first place." he growled. I sighed again, this time to move a stray strand of hair from my face. I could hear him breathing on the other end, harshly- trying to calm himself, I'd imagine. "Ya scared me so bad, darlin'. I didn't know what to think… and I wasn't there to protect ya." The use of my pet name had indicated that he wasn't mad at me anymore, just incredibly upset.

"I didn't go alone." I tried to say. "Kisuke was responsible enough to send me with a rather powerful bodyguard, actually."

"And the baby?" he asked, a very tense edge to his already shaken voice.

"Fine." I answered. "Otome Fūdo has taken every measure into protecting them. Either than that, the only move Aizen's tried to make against me is sending his little shadow after me."

There was silence on the other end and then Shinji could be heard protesting amidst the other noise.

"Lorraine, this is Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi." As if I needed the notification to recognize that creepily nasal voice. "Is Urahara with you?"

"Yeah, he's right here." I answered, looking in Kisuke's direction.

"Put your cellular device on speaker mode." he ordered. I did as I was told.

"To what do we owe the pleasure, Mayuri?" Kisuke asked.

"Regarding the piece of her soul that you sent to me for analysis, I noticed something unusual. I need her in my lab immediately." I heard more background noise and knew that I was again speaking with Shinji.

"Well, I guess it can't be helped." Kisuke said with a shrug. He set off towards his lab. "We'll keep working to resurrect the others here, Raine-chan. I'm sending Asura with you as well, in case something should happen."

"Right." I answered. "Shinji," I spoke finally into the phone, "I'll meet you at the Twelfth Division after meeting with Captain Kurotsuchi." Shinji grudgingly agreed.

The night was oddly cool and calm when Asura and I arrived at the Soul Society, especially when we were on the brink of battle. I held Asura close, sensing something amiss. I was right to. No sooner had I taken two steps onto the ground of the Seiretei, I found myself surrounded by at least thirty black-clad members of the Stealth Force. Breaking the wave were Captain Soi Fon and Lieutenant Omaeda.

"Good evening, Captain," I greeted, though my greeting was a little more on the tense side. No one stirred, not even a little.

"Lorraine Hirako, you are under arrest for conspiracy to aid Hollows." the petite Captain announced. I opened my mouth to retort and defend myself. "Don't speak! I have it on very reliable grounds how you went into Hueco Mundo and consorted with Arrancar!"

I was silent for a moment. "I can't deny that I did, Captain Soi Fon;" I began quietly, my hand settling on the handle of Otome Fūdo, "even so, I did it with the greatest of intentions."

"I sincerely doubt that." she retorted quietly. "You criminals all say that, twisting around your little minds that your actions will benefit the world, when in reality, the only ones who share the benefit are yourselves."

"Believe what you will, Captain, but I am telling you the truth." I noticed, as I raised my voice to defend myself, the men surrounding me tensed. "I will go peacefully, if that is what you wish, but do not think that even for one second that I ever sought to bring harm to the Soul Society." At this, Soi Fon smiled, and I realized with her normally indifferent nature that it didn't look right on her. She approached me, businesslike as usual, and withdrew from me Otome Fūdo. It was while the moonlight glinted off my sword that I knew something was horribly wrong. With the reflective light creating a strip of light across her eyes that I saw brown eyes instead of the usual steely grey I had gotten used to seeing in the Captain's gaze.

"Take her to the Maggot's Nest, Marechiyo." 'she' ordered. I was suddenly seized by the shoulders. Had I not been taken by surprise, I would have fought him off.

I don't know how long I had been carried by Lieutenant Omaeda, but it was not gently. Once in the Maggot's Nest, a series of caves that must've extended miles beneath the Soul Society, I was forced into a simple white robe. He and a team of Omnitsukido members then escorted me down long, winding passageways, until I found myself in a dark, shallow cell block. One masked member unlocked a barred door and I found myself roughly shoved in by Omaeda.

"Hope you enjoy your new home." he chortled as my knees hit the concrete block that served as my bench. My hands braced themselves against the far wall as I heard the door slam shut. Slowly, I slid down until I sat down fully, rubbing out the pain inflicted on my knees.

"Raine?" a voice in the dimness gently asked. After a moment, I realized that it was coming from the cell next door. "Raine is that you?" My eyes widened as I recognized Momo Hinamori's voice. That night… it already seemed so long ago- Ichigo had been yelling at Captain Soi Fon- the real Captain Soi Fon- about something involving the Maggot's Nest.

"Momo," I began, a little relief in my voice that I wasn't the only one left in the dimness. In the horrible light, I could still see a small hand appear in the barred doorway. Quickly I knelt to the floor and reached through the bars to grasp it. It was cold to the touch, but I welcomed a familiar presence.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Why did they bring you here?"

"I don't know, but I don't think it bodes well for me, Momo." I answered.

"What do you mean?"

I then explained to her the argument that I had had with Shinji, volunteering to go into Hueco Mundo to enlist the aid of the Arrancar, the unlikely ally I had found in Grimmjow when the shadow tried to abduct me, my abilities as a yōiku, and now my personal war against Aizen's soul portion within me. Immediately I began to fear what would become my fate, here. I felt myself yearning for my husband, wanting him to be close. As if Momo could sense my distress, I felt her lightly squeeze my hand as a means of comfort. I smiled in spite of myself and returned the gesture in gratitude. My other hand drifted down to my abdomen and began to rub it soothingly.

Normal Point of View

Asura looked about, checking to see that the coast was clear. With a huge sigh of relief, he thanked his lucky stars that in this form, he had only a small amount of spiritual pressure. While he couldn't do much in terms of fighting, he could still get around almost completely unnoticed. He had to get to Ichigo Kurosaki and Shinji, quickly. So far he had made it out of the Maggot's Nest without much trouble. He lifted his head to sniff the air around him. Once on a proper trail, he moved quickly- another benefit of being a plush.

Finally, he made it to the Fifth Division barracks. Looking around, he realized that the best place to start looking for Ichigo Kurosaki would be his office, so that's where his little feet carried him. Little did he know, though, that when he opened the door, he would have a blade pointing right at him. Looking up, he saw the violet eyes of Rukia Kurosaki. Relief filled him though as she recognized him to be one of Kisuke's modified soul creations.

"State your business, Mod Soul." she said.

"Lieutenant Kurosaki," he addressed with a slight nod, "I can't explain everything at the moment, but I need you to escort me to Captain Kurosaki and Hirako-san immediately. It's urgent." Rukia looked him straight in the silver-button eyes, and when he stared back, somehow she knew he was telling the truth. She consented and picked up the little wolf plush, allowing him to perch on her shoulder. With a simple shunpo, they were gone.

Shinji and Ichigo were amongst the many greeting the search party. According to the report, while they didn't find Aizen or his shadowy little accomplice, they had found the remains of a manufactory of sorts. It was evident that here they were creating shadowy clones of those whom had fallen to the blades of the Soul Society.

"How's he doing it?" Ichigo asked, fatigue and frustration obvious in his voice. Sensing then that his wife's spiritual pressure was nearby, he glanced over his shoulder to see her sure enough standing there, accompanied by a strange Mod Soul on her shoulder. "Rukia," he addressed, his voice softened slightly. "What is it?"

"He said it was urgent, and that he needed to speak to you and Hirako-san immediately." she replied, nudging her head toward Asura on her shoulder. The mentioned Mod Soul leapt off and transformed into the teenager.

"I think it only fair to warn you that Raine-san has been taken and locked within the Maggot's Nest." At this, both Shinji and Ichigo's eyes widened. For a moment, neither of them knew what to say or do. Ichigo was struck with confusion, Shinji with fear. Then the Visored leader felt his blood boil with rage equivalent to a forest fire. Ichigo, sensing his former teacher's anger, followed immediately, equal to him in the speed of his Shunpo, rushing for the Second Division. At the entrance stood Captain Soi Fon, speaking with Lieutenant Marechiyo Omaeda. Nearly forgetting himself, Shinji marched up to the small Captain with an almost killing intent in his eyes. The small woman stiffened as she felt his blazing spiritual pressure, but held her ground fast.

"What do you mean by approaching me like this, Hirako?" she asked, voice tense.

"What do you mean by placing my wife in the Maggot's Nest?" he asked, the spiritual pressure was rising through the roof. Omaeda attempted to stop him, but then cowered in fear of the former Captain's crushing pressure.

"I've done no such thing." she replied nonchalantly. Omaeda looked at her blankly.

"Um, with all due respect, Captain, we arrested her for mingling with those Arrancar, remember?" he asked. Soi Fon looked at him with blank disbelief and then closed her eyes.

"It wasn't me who arrested her, but an imposter." she answered after a moment.

"Ya sound like yer familiar with this." Shinji pointed out.

"While we were exploring the manufactory, the shadowy creature that accompanied Aizen attacked us. It nearly fooled us by morphing into Captain Abarai. Luckily for me, his attacks were way too slow. I was able to avoid them with some ease. By the time I got to the Hollow, though, it was gone." She sighed, moving aside some of her bangs. "I only just got here, and I'm going to guess that you were trying to say something, Marechiyo, not that I don't think we can figure it out by now." Omaeda blushed sheepishly.

"Soi Fon," Ichigo interjected, "we have to get Raine out of there." he pleaded. "Her Zanpakuto is the only thing protecting her from Aizen's hold. If we don't get it…" He didn't bother to finish; he didn't need to. At that moment, the Second Division Captain shoved past both men and turned to them.

"Then you'd better keep up, because I'll not show you a second time." she replied before taking off. Both Ichigo and Shinji shook their heads, taking off right behind her.

"Tell me what happened, Momo." Raine said softly. The former Lieutenant stiffened and her eyes lowered. Her grip loosened on her friend's hand, but she didn't let go. If she did, nothing would ground her from the guilt that she felt.

"I… I don't know how to describe it. That… that thing, it got inside my head, played at my worst fears. At first I tried to laugh it off, saying that it was just the stress of work. It'd happened to me many times before; but I was wrong. Every night when I went to sleep, the voice… the voice; it would tell me some of the worst things, things my heart knew to be lies. I tried to shake them off but… that voice wouldn't stop. It sounded so much like him." Her voice broke and instantly she started to shake with sobs. "I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what had become of me, where my feet were even carrying me anymore.

"When I finally did know, I was in his cell, and my blood was written in symbols on the walls that held him. He 'congratulated' me and then I blacked out again. When I awoke, I was in this cell." Her grip tightened. "I'm so sorry, about everything. Please, Lorraine, please, please, please don't hate me."

"I don't, Momo. This wasn't your fault. I just wish that…" Suddenly the hand enclosing Momo's stiffened and tightened painfully. The former Lieutenant winced.

"Raine, you're hurting me," she said with a hiss of pain. There was an immediate sound then of something pounding against the floor. Next thing Momo knew, the hand gripping hers was shaking. Immediately Momo knew something was wrong. There was a sound of her gasping and retching. In seconds the sounds became louder and faster and Momo knew that she had to get help- fast. Swallowing to keep her voice from shaking, she cried out until her mouth dried, banging her palm on the bars of her cell in the hope that someone could hear her.

Someone did hear her- two people to be exact. Immediately, she heard voices approaching along with quickened footsteps. She kept calling to them until she was sure that they knew where her voice was coming from. Not long after that, Ichigo Kurosaki and Shinji Hirako arrived at the cell. She sighed with relief.

After nearly threatening Omaeda with the promise of a painful death, Shinji shoved his way past to where the love of his life lie on the floor, seizing uncontrollably, foaming at the mouth. Her pupils rolled up into her eye sockets, the sclera showing. He seized his wife by her shoulders, shaking her gently.

"Raine," he said desperately. A frantic hand gently cupped her head, fingers weaving amongst her beautiful dark red lock. She did not respond to the gentle pleas. "Raine- please, darlin', wake up, please…"

"Thank goodness," Momo murmured, leaning against the barred door. "If you hadn't come, I didn't know what I would do." Ichigo turned to his former Lieutenant and knelt to her level.

"What happened?" he asked.

"She… just started shaking. I knew that I had to get help and…" At the moment she began hyperventilating. It took a moment for Ichigo to calm her down and breathe normally.

At that moment, while Shinji still held his wife, she began to stir. The Visored leader heaved a sigh of relief, but then took in another deep breath when his wife opened her eyes. Instead of being relieved to look into his wife's beautiful china blue eyes, he looked into two different-colored eyes- one blue and one a malicious shade of brown.

I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. As I said, I will work hard to upload another chapter in the next month or so. Until then, I bid all of my wonderful readers 'adieu'.