I do not own Bleach.

"What the hell is happening to me?" Rukia asked.

"What do you mean?" Hayato questioned, as if he didn't already know.

Rukia gritted her teeth and tried moving her muscles. She desperately wanted to blast this man away. He was being deliberately evasive and she didn't know why. She couldn't do anything, or tell anyone, whatever he chose to tell her. She was still being held captive by the after effects of the Shiryoku. She had thought that with time she would be able to handle it, but the strength was always sapped out of her when she awakened.

"I was the recipient of a one-sided conversation. Held by Aizen. Are you still going to pretend like you know nothing?" she snapped.

"Aizen," Hayato murmured. "So he does initiate his escape when I destroy Seireitei. How fortunate for him. He's someone you would want to have on your side. Pity Seireitei didn't get to him before I did."

"Why would you want to destroy Seireitei? What do you have to gain by such a lowly act?"

Hayato clicked his tongue. "Come now, little one, simply destroying Seireitei would serve no purpose. It would just be rebuilt again. I want to make it so that the entire Soul Society would cease to exist. Then there will be nothing to rebuild it from."

Rukia was stunned into silence at the way such a chilling statement was delivered without the least bit of emotion. He was talking about murdering everyone in Soul Society. If he did that chaos would reign in the real world. Hollow would start increasing in numbers, devouring any soul they came across. There would be no one to stop such an act.

"And you plan to do that by using the Unseen Ones," Rukia retorted angrily. "How cowardly. If you plan to face us then do it on your own, and not behind something else."

Her anger was making words fly out of her faster than she could grasp them. How could he suddenly decide to destroy everything and everyone she loved without giving it a second thought? Once he had been a part of Seireitei, a part of Soul Society. He must have someone he cared about, so why? Was this all to get back at the Captain-Commander?

"Why would I want to risk my life when I could use others for my benefit? I'm not stupid, little one. Do you think I don't know I don't stand a chance against my grandfather? All of you, I could easily destroy, but that man…I need something stronger to take him down, and that hideous experiment gone wrong is the perfect way to do it," Hayato said, his voice lowering an octave.

"Is that what they are to you? Just tools to use to further your own personal gain? And if you succeed in taking out everyone in Seireitei then what? What will you do?"

"Yes, that's what they are. They aren't Shinigami anymore, little one. That changed the day they sacrificed themselves for science. I'm using them for what they were created to do."

His ominous words gave her pause. "What do you mean? I thought you said it was an experiment."

"It was. It was a test to see if we could create something stronger than we originally were for the sole purpose of battle. That's the function of the Unseen Ones. They were too volatile when released, too uncaring of what they wanted to destroy, and that's why my grandfather had them sealed away. Even he couldn't destroy them."

"And you were banished for wanting to control them."

"I could have! I have the power to do so," Hayato said angrily.

"Do you? Or do you just hope that when the time comes you can get them to do what you want?" Rukia asked, deliberately bating him.

She admitted to herself it wasn't a very wise decision, considering how volatile Hayato himself seemed, but she knew he wouldn't do anything to risk harming her. He needed her, and that made him vulnerable.

"And what's your plan for after? What will you do with the Unseen Ones after they have committed your deed? Do you have enough power to seal them back up or would you let them run wild in the real world?" she taunted.

"Silence!" Hayato roared. "I do not have to listen to the likes of you casting doubts on my carefully thought out plan. I will make use of the Unseen Ones and when I am done with them I will destroy them. They will have served their purpose."

"If your plans are so carefully thought out then why is there doubt in your eyes?" she countered in a low voice. "You yourself must be unsure about the success of this plan. If that is the case then why go through with it at all?"

"You would never understand," he hissed, turning his back on her. "Someone like you, who has never walked in the shadow of someone as great as my grandfather."

"Actually, I do understand," Rukia said softly, sadness entering her voice. "I probably understand better than you realise. I live in the shadow of my sister. I am a part of the Kuchiki house and yet I am not. It hasn't been hidden from me that the only reason why I am here right now is because of my sister. Without her interference I would just be another Shinigami."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"No, it isn't."

"Then you have no business claiming you know what I speak of. The degradation, the humiliation, is something you can never hope to imagine. Living in the shadow of your sister has gotten you a better life than I ever had."

"And that warrants the destruction of millions of innocent Shinigami and people alike? Help me out here," Rukia said, her voice holding a patronizing tone.

"Don't you dare look down your nose at me," he snarled. "I have my reasons for what I'm doing. At least I'm not conforming to societal protocol and obeying the orders of a man who has far reached his limits."

"Without the Captain-Commander there will be no order," she countered.

"Exactly," Hayato said softly, his eyes taking on a dark glow.

Rukia jerked back, one of her previous visions coming back to her. The one where Seireitei burned. Hitsugaya had mentioned that the Captain-Commander had gone missing. Had he already been taken care of in that time period? A cold shiver passed through her. She couldn't let Hayato murder the Captain-Commander. And she would risk her life to do it.

"You won't get away with this," she hissed. "I will stop you, no matter what I do."

Hayato laughed. "Your function, little one, is slightly different. I've given you enough of a respite, haven't I? It's time for you to continue with what you were brought here for."

"No, don't do that," Rukia rushed out, cursed fear racing through her body, fear she hated with absolute certainty.

"But I must. If I don't my plan will fail before it even begins. And I can't let that happen."

Hayato moved forward, an injection in his hand. Rukia scooted backward as much as she could until her head hit the headboard. Her arms still lacked the strength to allow her to sit up. She couldn't even use kido. She gritted her teeth, glaring at Hayato as he cleared the hair from her neck and pushed the needle into her skin. He pushed down on the handle, injecting the clear liquid into her system. She felt its effects start to take place almost immediately and briefly wondered how he had managed to get his hands on something so powerful without anyone's knowledge. It was right before she fell unconscious though, that she realised he wasn't working alone.

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