Title: BLEACHed Elements

Author(s): SanadaSayuri & Deragonmaji

Disclaimer: No money is made off this work of fiction. Bleach is does not belong to either me or Deragonmaji. If it did belong to us, we would be ridiculously wealthy and we wouldn't be writing this, now would we?

Summary: Four months after the events of BLEACHed Blitzkrieg, the Winter War against Aizen is at a standstill. Serieitei is on constant alert and stretched thin as the Shinigami work to repel attacks from Hueco Mundo in both Soul Society and in the Human world. In the meantime, the fragile threads of peace in the human world are unraveling, while humans with high spiritual awareness are getting killed off. Is Aizen the mastermind behind all of this conflict? Only Ichigo can get to the bottom of this mystery, but the actual question remains, can the combined efforts of the Spiritually Aware humans and the Shinigami keep Ichigo alive long enough for him to get to the bottom of everything and hopefully end the conflicts?AU

Pairing: Byakuya/Ichigo

Note: Sequel to BLEACHed Blitzkrieg

Chapter Summary: Wars are won by three things, Allies, Resources, and Information. Unfortunately for his Enemy, Kurosaki Ichigo has all three and reasonable people are more than happy to help keep his hands clean.

SanadaSayuri: Ug… It's been a while…

Deragonmaji: No fear! At least there's something new up! FINALLY.

SanadaSayuri: No excuses from either of us. As things stand, we would like to thank everyone for their patience.

Deragonmaji: Here's chapter 9!

Chapter 9

"It was an Arrancar."

It was strange, Ichigo mused, how four simple words could cause a group of highly trained shinigami to fall into chaos. Very calmly and deliberately, he knocked a half full cup off the side table. The meeting room fell silent at the sound of shattering glass. No one seemed to notice the water creeping across the hospital room's linoleum floor.

"Thank you," Ichigo said coolly. "As I was saying, I was attacked by an Arrancar, which lends credence to the belief that Aizen has a vested interest in the outcome of the humans' war. I have evidence which indicates that for as long as the war in the living world is slow in terms of widespread destruction and deaths, fewer spiritually aware humans are abducted. Surveys conducted by the Elements show that immediately after the panic that ensued after my injury, the numbers of spiritually aware humans that were abducted went up by five percent, and immediately after my mother's recovery, dropped by two percent. On a related note, former shinigami currently in the employ of the Kurosaki Business and serving as civilian consultants with the Elements have reported a ten percent increase in the number of hollows materializing in the living plane. Those numbers have since dropped, but not as much as we would have hoped."

"And what exactly do you want us to do about it?" Soi Fong asked defensively.

Ichigo smiled calmly, "Nothing beyond increasing your vigilance, Soi Fong Taicho. Elements will take care of our own, and with a spiritually aware human on the political scene, Quincy who have lain low since the Massacre three hundred years ago are coming out of the woodwork. I personally have no fear of Hollows, no more than the average spiritually aware human, but exorcising Hollows is not our specialty. Eradicating them from all existences we can do though." Ichigo's smile was mirthless, "But we all know how well that went."

"You speak as if you no longer have shinigami powers," Kurotsuchi said.

Ichigo's face hardened, "You talk as if I have the luxury of jumping in and out of my body at a moment's notice, Kurotsuchi-taicho," the teen's voice was mild. "I should point out that with the eyes of the world upon me, my actions are limited. Before this war began, I could afford to wander around and leave my body whenever I liked to perform shinigami duties. Now I cannot. The peace of the world depends on my presence behind my mother's."

When the hospital room was empty of shinigami, Ichigo slumped back against the pillows. "So what do you think, Inoue?"

"I think that we may have to put the Quincy into action regardless of the shinigami's decision," the orange haired teen slithered out from under Ichigo's bed and primly dusted off her cream colored pant suit. "Soul Society cares nothing for the lives of common humans. We breed quickly, and balance can always be restored by killing off a small country's worth, and with Kurotsuchi Mayuri's zanpakuto, that can be easily arranged."

"You know, I hate dealing with reasonable people."

"Don't you mean unreasonable, Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue smiled humorlessly, "after all, as far as anyone knows, no shinigami has ever investigated something before charging in and killing it."

Ichigo's smile was grim, "And Aizen knew it. He used it to his advantage even. How are negotiations going?"

Inoue huffed. "Negotiations aren't going at all. Our people keep getting killed before coming within a stone's throw of the enemy base. We'll have to change our methods to lower the chances of death for this particular mission."

"Or find someone capable of moving through the enemy ranks without being detected."

"You don't mean… The refugees?"

"If they are willing."

Inoue looked pensive, "It might work. I'll send them a message right away."

"Do me a favor, Inoue."

"Yes?"

"Contact Tousen. I'd like to speak with him."

She gave the other orange haired teen an inscrutable look and nodded. "Alright. But I insist on being present when you speak with him."

Ichigo smirked, "I wouldn't dream of not having you there. There's a reason why I decided not to go looking for him myself, after all."

Inoue smiled sweetly, "How kind of you. I'll go send that message now. You concentrate on your recovery. If I recall, you still have a question from your husband to answer."

Ichigo frowned as he prodded the blue gelatin on the tray with his spoon before setting the utensil down and looking out the window. He'd never admit it, but he was the sort who did not like having his routine changed, although in his line of work, routine was a luxury he couldn't afford. It didn't mean, however, that he wasn't allowed to cherish what little constancy that existed when his world changed moment by moment based off the decisions of Generals and the Politicians he found himself working with on a day to day basis, especially with that damned war. It was why he valued so much the continued presence of the Shinigami in his life. The Death Gods, due to their inherent nature, were essentially immortal, and therefore resisted change, adapting only when it was clear that there was no choice. And then one of them had to go and change everything.

'Slow down, Ichigo,' Zangetsu murmured, 'You are a reasonable person, think this through.'

'Ha! Not like there's anything to think on, King! Do you want to jump him or not? That's what matters!'

'A rash decision at this point could get him killed,' Zangetsu scolded the hollow.

'Or it could stop the rain. I'm tired of rain.'

Ichigo sighed. People in arranged marriages didn't necessarily have to like each other so long as an heir was produced, in fact, shinigami males could become pregnant, though the marriage contract between Ichigo and Byakuya stated on no uncertain terms that Ichigo would not be forced to carry a child until his twenty first birthday. As for their emotional relationship, for the longest time, he was sure that there was a mutual antipathy between himself and Byakuya. The only reason they'd gotten along initially was the mutual respect for each other's abilities and their mutual concern over the well being of Kuchiki Rukia. They were civil to each other during the brief months of their engagement and found that they had more in common than they had initially believed. They'd both gone through the motions of matrimony and performed their duties to one another as husband and spouse and found that over time, they had developed something akin to a friendship. So when did all of this start? When had this new warmth bloomed, soft and tender, under his breastbone at the mere sight or mention of the man?

'It has many names,' Zangetsu said calmly, 'But only you can place a name to what you feel.'

'And it's more simple than you might think, King!'

"I hate when people suddenly change everything on me without warning!" Ichigo growled, "At least reasonable people have the decency to warn someone when the rules of the game begin to change!"

'Don't mention our allies too lightly, Ichigo,' Zangetsu warned. 'Your life and career depends on keeping your hands clean.'

'Don't worry about that! Reasonable People will be more than happy to keep his hands clean for him! Look at the Manic Orangette!'

"Ok. That's it," Ichigo sighed and reached for his cell phone, "I'm calling Ryuuken. I need something to do before I go insane." He studiously ignored the laughter of his Zanpakuto Spirit and his Inner Hollow as he speed dialed Ryuuken and put the phone to his ear.

TBC…

SanadaSayuri: Feedback? Please?