Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. I got the idea for this story after reading that Wonderweiss impaled Ukitake in a battle. I decided to take that idea and start running with it, and the result is what you are reading now. I hope you enjoy! NOTE (for anyone who had read this story before): I'm re-editing the story, picking up mistakes, cleaning up wording and grammar, in other words, I'm giving it a face lift. And who knows, maybe there might be some extra little scenes that I stuck in here and there...

Prologue:

Aizen Sosuke had to make a decision. He had seen what damage the Arrancars had taken, with both Barragan and Starrk brought down by his former colleagues of the Gotei 13. And Hogyoku wasn't ready, not just yet. Would he be able to salvage the situation if he could not depend upon the Hogyoku?

"Enough, Gin. Let's put an end to this," he said calmly. After all, Sosuke was the master of the situation, despite what it might look like to others. He simply made a decision that this battle was not really worth the effort and Hollow-power being spent on it. There are other ways to gain what I wish. He nearly allowed himself a small smile. No one here knows of it, not yet. But they soon will. With shunpo, Sosuke appeared beside Harribel Tia, Tres Espada, still valiantly fighting off a trio of enemies...

She was stunned. Hell, probably even Gin was stunned. As Kyoka Suigetsu, Sosuke's dreaded zanpakuto, sliced her just under her breasts, the feeling of electric shock cut through the c late December sky.

"Wha?" Tia gasped.

"You are no longer of any use to me," Sosuke announced, his words even colder than the air. "It appears that none of you are worthy of fighting under me. Gin, Kaname, let's go!" He turned his back on Tia. "I never would've imagined that the power of the Espada that I so painstakingly assembled would be less than mine alone!"

Tia managed to eke out enough strength to lash out at her killer. "Aizen!" she shouted, running him with her blade Tiberon, and it had seemed to strike him.

"How troublesome," Sosuke sighed, then drew Kyoka Suigetsu once more. He'd already been behind her, had already convinced her that she had been striking in the right direction, when he had been behind her all along, and sliced into her back once more. "That's twice now that you've made me swing my sword!" In unfathomable silence, she descended.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Ukitake Jushiro hacked up a glob of blood. He was badly injured, having been impaled by an Arrancar's bare hand and then having fallen a good distance to the concrete street surface of one of the fake town's broad main streets. He looked up, and saw that the fighting had come to a standstill. "Come on Aizen," Jushiro murmured as he watched Arrancars fall to the ground, "you know you can't keep up. You know you've got to go to Plan B..."

And then, he heard Sosuke announce, "Gin, Kaname, round up everyone. I've had enough of this fake town!"

Jushiro didn't bother hiding his smile. He propped himself up on his forearms and looked around him. The vacant lilac eyes of a young Arrancar who appeared...special caught his interest. As it turned out, he had one of his hands covered in blood. Jushiro figured out right away who had impaled him.

"Come here. Are you the one who did this?" Jushiro asked him, just as though he was any other small child.

Wonderweiss nodded shyly and then said, "Uh-huh."

"This battle is ending. Do you know something?" Jushiro asked him, slowly gripping his zanpakuto, Sogyo no Katawari. Wonderweiss put his sleeve in his mouth and chewed on it a bit nervously. "You are absolutely perfect!" Jushiro said with a smile in spite of his pain.

Once the battle was completely over, Tosen Kaname was gathering up the last of any remaining Arrancars too injured to make it back on their own. He finally found Wonderweiss, smiling up at the sky, sitting next to a badly injured, seemingly unconscious captain. "What have you found there?" Kaname asked him.

"Ooohaaahuuuaaah!" Wonderweiss answered happily.

Chapter 1

Aizen Sosuke's deep sepia eyes were fairly gleaming when he saw what prize the seemingly unfortunate Arrancar Wonderweiss had brought him; a captain of the Gotei 13. And it wasn't just any captain, either. It was Ukitake Jushiro, captain of the Thirteeth Squad and one of the oldest captains. A surprise, indeed, that he was even allowed to go to battle in the fake town, considering his sickness. The Shinigami looked like hell, but that might have been because of the wound in his chest put there by Wonderweiss, who had apparently impaled him. Arrancars surrounded him where he was thrown to the hard marble floor of the fifth tower of Las Noches. Jushiro's long alabaster hair fell around his face, hiding his expression.

"Well, I wonder why it is that Wonderweiss, who you all consider far beneath you, has managed to take down one of the captains, while none of you others have managed this so far?" Sosuke asked mildly, not really expecting an answer. How fortunate, I have a captive captain, and I still have Orihime! It may seem like I've been defeated, but I'm simply regrouping. I cannot be defeated. When will the Soul Society understand this? Once I've unlocked the dimension to the Royal Family? How I shall revel in my final triumph!

"Maybe he had one of his coughing spells, and Wonderweiss found him?" Ichimaru Gin cracked as he loomed over Jushiro.

"Put the Shinigami captain right there!" Sosuke ordered his lackeys, who pulled Jushiro up by his arms and then tossed him into a rather maleficent-looking stone chair.

Tight leather bands caught Jushiro by his wrists and his neck, effectively pulling his head upright to rest against the back of the chair. For a few seconds, Jushiro stared at the bonds on his hands, his deep hazel eyes considering them. Then, he became vey relaxed, which seemed rather odd to the rest of the former Shingami and the Arrancars. He even had a slight smile on his face. "This is quite sinister looking, you know," he commented lightly.

This annoyed Sosuke. "You are without a doubt the most arrogant of the entire Gotei, Ukitake! I used to think it was a contest between you and Kuchiki, but I know now that you make Kuchiki seem humble!"

"I'm arrogant? I beg to differ! Unlike you, I've never claimed to be God!" Jushiro countered.

"Look at you, with a hole blown through your already weakened lungs, bound to a device that will bring your miserable existence to an end within a few hours! You still have this all-knowing, smug look on your pale, bloody face! This makes you either arrogant, delusional, or maybe both!" Sosuke complained.

"Why how delightful how this seems to bother you, Aizen! Tell me, how will this chair I sit in bring my existence to an end?" Jushiro asked, in an almost amused tone.

"Perhaps I shall have Szayel, my Octava Espada, explain it to you, Ukitake!" Sosuke growled. Why does Ukitake insist on insulting me even when he is in such a predicament?

A bespectacled Arrancar stepped forward, with a nasty, proud grin on his face. "That chair is made of deathstone. I'm sure you know of it, it's the very same type of stone that had been used in the past for executing Shinigami, before it was banned because it was considered too cruel and barbaric. And, I'm sure you know what it does. It will drain you of your reiatsu, and with your present injury, this will surely bring about your demise. I expect you to turn into a pile of dust within a day, maybe two."

"Oh? Is that what this odd sort of tickle is?" Jushiro asked in a very serene voice.

Szayel's eyes widened considerably. "Tickle? What are you talking about? Having your reiatsu drained from you has got to be one of the most excruciatingly painful processes a spirit form, especially one of a level such as a Soul Society captain, can ever endure!"

"In other words, I'm supposed to be screaming in pain by now while you all watch? Charming," Jushiro sighed.

"I don't understand what's going on here," Szayel muttered, then he strode up the chair and put his hand on the side. After a few seconds, the Arrancar began to shake with the pain. His fuschia hair seemed to stand on end as he pulled his hand away. "Aizen-sama! It's working!" Szayel nearly sobbed. "I swear it is!"

"Of course it is! We've already drained hundreds of spirits of their energy this way!" Sosuke scoffed.

This got Jushiro's attention. "So, you hope that capturing another captain or two might give you enough reiatsu so that you might be able to make yourself the King's Key after all? Will nothing stop you from your detestable goals, Aizen?"

Sosuke smiled unpleasantly. "I think it's fitting that the first of the captains to die this way be you, Ukitake, don't you? After all, you are the one who figured out what my plan was from the moment I left Soul Society. The days of the Soul Society thwarting my plans are coming to an end, starting with your execution. Perhaps the next person I capture will be the Kurosaki boy. Could you just imagine how much reiatsu will fill my reservoir then?" Sosuke grinned wider at the very thought.

Jushiro noticed a movement and heard a small cry from beyond the Arrancars in front of him. He saw a familiar face, one that reminded him of the elysian peace that he had so desired not long ago. "Inoue-san, is that you?"

"Oh, Ukitake-taicho!" the young redhead girl called out. She was being held by one arm by an Arrancar with startling malachite eyes who had to be Ulquiorra. It was just as my reports had said it was; she's now even dressed like she's one of them.

"There are too many of us in here, it's time we dispersed. Gin, if you would please escort everyone out of here," Sosuke said.

"Alright..." Gin gestured. The slow-witted Wonderweiss was a bit hesitant. He looked at his hand, which still had some of Jushiro's blood on it. Then, Wonderwiess' lilac eyes looked up. Gin followed his focus to Jushiro, who was returning his look and had a slight smile on his face. For all the world, it's as though the retarded Arrancar is just another child to him, Gin thought irritably.

"Ulquiorra, take Orihime to her chamber. Grimmjow, you will start the rotation of guarding the esteemed Ukitake-taicho. Every six hours, another Arrancar, except Ulquiorra, of course, will come to relieve the last one. I don't expect that he will last long enough for you to have to guard him again."

"Oh, but Ulquiorra was one of the Arrancar that I was most interested in meeting," Jushiro said in an almost teasing tone.

"Why would you want to meet him?" Grimmjow scoffed. "He's the most boring of all of us!"

"That's enough, Grimmjow! Ulquiorra is Inoue Orihime's full-time bodyguard. You will not be seeing her again, Ukitake, so whatever your little scheme is, it's time to give it up now!" Sosuke warned the captain.

"Inoue-san! Shall I tell Rukia that you are alright?" Jushiro called to her. Orihime whirled back around, and therefore, so did Ulquiorra. Her persistent bodyguard, Jushiro mused.

"Tell her...Tell her she shouldn't keep trying to rescue me," Orihime cried.

"Orihime, you must come with me," Ulquiorra urged her. "He will never be able to tell any of your former friends anything, as he will soon turn to ashes. You heard that trash Szayel. There is no arguing this." This statement made Orihime start to cry. With Arrancars surrounding them on their way out the doors, moving back around was proving difficult. But suddenly, Grimmjow caught up to them.

"Hey, before you take the woman back, can you get me something to eat and bring it back here? Please? I'm starving!" he asked of them, followed by a wink.

Ulquiorra bared his fangs, as he always did lately when Grimmjow made one of his moves on Orihime. However, he didn't growl. Orihime wiped her eyes and responded, "Won't you get in trouble?"

"Sure, but at least I'll get to eat before that happens. And the woman won't get in trouble now, she's got full access to Las Noches lately," Grimmjow replied.

"Listen to me, Trash! Aizen-sama said…" Ulquiorra began

"Ulquiorra, you don't want Grimmjow to starve, do you? Besides...Ukitake-taicho wanted to meet you," Orihime whispered to him.

Now, Ulquiorra did growl, but only a little. "Why is that important, when he will turn into ashes soon?"

"Well, if you don't go, you won't find out," Orihime concluded in the simple way she always concluded things. "Ulquiorra, don't be afraid of meeting him. Ukitake is very kind!" she added.

"I fear no Shinigami! Fine. Five minutes," Ulquiorra seethed. Then, his bleak green eyes met Grimmjow's electric blue ones. No more words were exchanged, and Orihime left with Ulquiorra right behind her.

By all means, leave me a review if you liked this, or if you have suggestions! Thanks!