Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Chapter 9

As she fell asleep her mind drifted off to a dark place somewhere buried inside her mind.

Though Yuzu did not remember much of anything, she still felt like she had never dreamt this lucidly before.

Yes, as she stood there she could feel the cold seeping into the souls of her feet from the damp rocks beneath them. A shiver ran through her, and without thought she wrapped her arms around herself in a feeble attempt to warm up.

Her attire wasn't really made for her environment. It was a thin slip of a dress which was white in color and stopped just above her knees. The material reminded her of cheap bedsheets, but at least the material wasn't itchy or uncomfortable. She supposed she could chalk that up to a bit of good fortune in her otherwise unlucky day thus far.

The caramel haired girl decided to start moving. It very well could warm her up, and she might find something of value here. Even if it was just a dream.

The sound of her footsteps echoing off the damp cavernous tunnel sent shocks of nervous energy up and down her spine. Would she be able to hear another person's footsteps in time?

The logical part of the brain wondered why that even mattered if this was all just a dream.

The not so logical part of her mind was the part that made her think "if" this was a dream.

The preteen shook her head and continued. Her gait quickening slightly when a gentle light appeared in the distance.

A cold gust nearly stole her breath away and she stopped for a moment to wrap her arms tighter around herself. She chewed on her lip and glanced up.

The light had not moved. It glowed faintly at her almost as if it where beckoning her.

She bet it was warm next to the light.

A second cold gust had her jogging forward her eyes trained on the rocky surface beneath her feet. The rocks stung the bottom of her feet, and no doubt she would have some wounds to tend to. Nevertheless, she continued. The quicker she got to the light the quicker…well, she wasn't sure what would happen when she got to the light.

Perhaps nothing at all.

Perhaps something terrible…

That thought halted her progress.

I have no idea what that light is…

Her heart thundered in her chest. The preteen worked up the nerve as another sharp gust of wind caused her to shiver and made her way toward the light. Good or bad she was not going to find out by just standing around.

The Hollow fizzled into nothing. The pure soul beneath being revealed, that of a middle-aged man with slicked back hair and glasses. He smiled weakly at Ichigo.

"Thank you…"

Then, just like that, the soul disappeared, on his way to soul society.

Not exactly the fight he had been hoping for as he slung Zangetsu over his shoulder with a huff. Though the hollow had attempted to devour an unsuspecting couple who were out on a date the soul beneath was that of your average family man. Hadn't done a terrible thing in his life.

The one time he wanted a serial killer or some other terrible soul to take his frustration out on and of course his wish won't be granted. Typical.

Oh well, he should just be glad that it was an easy fight and that nobody had been seriously injured. The man hadn't been a hollow for long. Hadn't even devoured one soul yet, and at least Ichigo wouldn't have that on his conscience.

Now it was time to head back home and make sure that everything was still running smoothly. Well, about as smoothly as things could go right now. A nagging worry settled in his gut as he put Zangetsu back on his back and took off running back to his family's clinic.

A familiar spiritual pressure had Ichigo slow down, but not stop.

"You're a little late, Ishida," he said, glancing down at the Quincy from the roof top he was currently crossing. The dark-haired teen followed the light-haired teen's pace easily from the street.

"Really?" that almost smug look on his face pissing Ichigo off instantly. "You can't sense that?"

"Sense wha-Shit!" he whipped his head to the northern section of Karakura with an angry grimace. One…no two hollows had just appeared. One pressure was faint, negligible, weak, but the other was a little more problematic. Nothing Ichigo couldn't handle, especially with Ishida tagging along, but-

"Oh, Ishida-kun, Kurosaki-kun," the familiar bubbly voice of Inoue had his attention snapping toward the other side of the street. Inoue was waving before looking left and right as she crossed the street to join Ishida. "Did you guys sense that too?"

"Naturally, unlike some," Ishida goaded. Ichigo gave the Quincy an annoyed look, but did not retort.

In normal circumstances, he would have risen to the prodding, but he just wasn't in the mood. He needed to kill the two hollows and get back home. He had told Karin he would take the first watch, if she woke up and he wasn't there…

It had not been lost on him that his youngest sister was upset with him. She was worried sick, hell they all were about Yuzu's declining condition, but somehow along the way Ichigo had begun to lose her trust. The teen almost winced at the thought. How long had he been lying to them now? Why was he still trying to lie?

Karin knew what he did. It was obvious, but some stubborn part of him still thought that hiding the truth was the best way to protect his siblings.

Yuzu's mind is gone, and Karin probably won't believe a word I say anymore.

He had tried to push them away, to keep them safe, and now…

"Kurosaki-kun?" that snapped him out of his self-destructive thoughts. Inoue's face was nothing but worried as their eyes met.

He turned, no longer able to keep eye contact, but tried to play it off.

"Let's go take care of those hollows," he said, taking off toward the hollows location. Both Inoue and Ishida exchanged a look, but followed their friend nonetheless.

"This was a bad idea," Yuzu murmured to herself, as she stood in darkness, the light now gone. She had been just steps from the gentle glow when the light fizzled out.

The light was her only way to see in this place, and now that it was gone she wasn't sure where to head next.

A cold chill ran up her spine from the soles of her feet as a hot breeze wafted across her neck. The barely audible sound of someone breathing next to her ear.

She took off. Blindly ran in the opposite direction of whatever that thing was.

That was a mistake.

She something caught her foot. Whether it was a rock or perhaps a hand she wasn't sure. The preteen had no time to think and just barely caught herself, her nose scant millimeters away from smacking headlong into the earth beneath. Her palms and knees stung where they met the jagged earth and she gasped in pain.

Dreams didn't feel like this. She was sure of that.

The brunette was hit by a blast of cold air that very nearly stole her breath away.

Right. She needed to get up, and by some miracle she managed to do just that.

Move. Her hand shot out blindly, and found purchase on one of the walls of the tunnel. More jagged rocks dug into her palm, it was as if the rocks had grown sharper, like the maw of a beast. She ignored it as she took several careful steps.

Whatever was behind her made no move to attack her, and she began to wonder if it could even see in this tunnel devoid of light.

Or perhaps it was toying with her?

A shiver not caused by the cold wind shook her slight frame as she took a few more tentative steps.

Her hand smoothed across something that was no jagged. In fact, it was rather smooth. Tentative fingers brushed across and she pushed on it. There was a groan.

A...door?

She squinted against a new light that appeared right in front of her from inside the doorway. The shape was boxy, and it clicked in her mind seconds later, a lantern. The person-no, creature holding it in a gnarled hand was tall. Very tall.

The beast before her was bipedal. The lantern illuminated their equally gnarled torso which was covered in patches of fur that were slicked back and oily.

A drowned rat came to mind.

She looked up higher to take in the rest of its form.

The thing's eyes were glowing dully and had a silver film over the top, and at first, she believed it was blind. That notion was soon proven false as it's eyes met hers. Pupils focused intently on her.

It stooped low, and she took an automatic step backwards.

"Greetings," they spoke, and the voice was masculine.

She kept her mouth shut, and a deep rumble was heard.

"Smart girl," they complimented. "Someone taught you not to speak to strangers I presume."

It wasn't a question. Just an observation.

She had questions herself, but more than anything she wanted to put as much distance between her and the creature as soon as possible.

"Hm, dedicated, aren't we?" they chuckled.

Somehow, she worked up the courage to speak.

"W…who and what are you?"

They remained where they were, and blinked slowly.

"What I am is easy enough to say."

A sweltering heat stole her breath away and she almost fell backwards. Then, just as soon as the heat had been there, suffocating her, it was gone. The cold air returned, and she shivered. Though she was not certain that the cold was solely to blame.

"A demon, my dear," came a purr.

She gagged at the sudden smell of rot and decay that followed the sweltering heat, her hand coming up to cup over her mouth and nose. It was a feeble attempt to ward off the stench.

"A-and y-your name?"

They clicked their tongue, or at least that's what came to mind as the noise emitted from the hunched over figure. She was doing her best not to look them directly in the face.

"Now that," their tone was grave. "Is something I cannot say."

They placed the lantern on the ground and began scribbling in the dirt within the perimeter of the light. Whatever they were doing was finished quickly.

They motioned for her to look, and the girl stepped forward nervously. What was she doing listening to this thing? She should be running!

Yes, every instinct was telling her to turn around and take off in the opposite direction.

But…

The possibility of answers was too good to pass up, and she was not sure that running headlong into the darkness would get her any better results then just listening to what this demon had to say.

Looking at what they had scribbled onto the ground she noticed it was the kanji for her name. She blinked rabidly before her eyes moved up to meet the demon's.

Their smile grew feral and she took a shaky step backwards. Pointy teeth that could easily rend the flesh from her bones greeted her.

Answers and darkness be damned.

"Now, now," they murmured in a voice that was supposed to be placating, but only served to unnerve her further with its timbre. "You asked me my name, did you not?"

She nodded her head.

"But that's my name," she noted, confused.

"Indeed," they agreed. "But I want to show you something about names."

They beckoned her forward, but she remained glued to the spot and craned her neck to see what they were doing with her name. She was not an idiot. The more distance she kept between them the better chance she had of living through this encounter. The demon did not press her further, and simply brought their claws across her name, scratching a shallow line through it.

She felt a jolt in her chest, and clutched the fabric of her dress where her heart was. The girl's knees almost buckled, but she remained on her trembling feet with some effort. A fine sheen of sweat appeared on her forehead as their claw raked through another section of her name and she bit her lip at the pain.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you my name. Names," they said, eyes boring into hers as they took another niche out of her name. Her legs buckled finally, and she found herself brought to her knees, scrapping them against the jagged stones beneath. Yuzu's eyes never left the demon's and they swiped their palm across her name, destroying it completely which caused the pain to ebb away. "Have power."

She stood shakily as they did. The beast picked up the lantern as they stood.

Yuzu's legs felt like jelly now, and she wasn't sure she would be able to run even if she wanted to, and right now she was beginning to really want to as the monster towered over her.

The girl managed another shaky step backward, and thanked her lucky stars that she did not fall.

"It won't be long now," the demon murmured. They said no more on the subject, but she had a good idea of what wouldn't take much longer. Their face twitched and they seemed to contemplate something. "Though now that I have you here…"

They took a step forward.

She took a step back in turn.

Once more she was reminded that they were tall. Incredibly tall. There was no ceiling here, but there was no doubt in her mind that they would easily hit their head in a doorway back at the clinic.

Silver eyes gleamed dully, and a toothy grin spread across their face.

"Worried?" they questioned, and she glared though it lacked any real force behind it as she trembled there. "Wondering what will become of you once I'm finished?"

She gritted her teeth, and turned to make a break for it. As she expected a clawed hand lunged out and grabbed her arm, and though she expected it she still flinched. The demon's hand was like brimstone and molten fire. She bit back a cry and could do nothing as she was lifted into the air.

She tried to wriggle free, but their strength was too great. Her next desperate action was to claw at the hand, and she even contemplated biting down on the disgusting flesh to get free, but just like her previous efforts of escape that yielded nothing.

"Thank you for the meal, Kurosaki Yuzu."

Hot breath ghosted across her face and she flinched.

"Geez, this guy doesn't know how to treat little kids, does he?" a snide voice piped up and for a moment everything froze.

"No, he doesn't, does he?" an older woman's voice joined the first.

"Thinking we should teach 'em some manners?"

"I think for once we agree on something, Timothy, my dear."

Author's Note: Uh, here's another chapter. I should probably go back once this whole fic is complete and redo it, but I suppose I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Things are escalating quickly.