Author's Note:

To my readers,

I apologize for the unintended hiatus. I would like to say that something exciting and noteworthy happened in my life to have caused such a long break, but that would be a lie. Unfortunately, I got hit with a bad case of writer's block as well as a lack of motivation and plain ol' laziness. I'm hoping with the stay-at-home order in place, I might be able to get back into the groove of writing again, fingers cross. Anyhoot, without further ado, shall we begin?

Chapter 30

Kaname stood aside; observing those in the infirmary as they went about their business. Near where the Tzitzimentl laid, Kaname knew Coyote Starrk was keeping his usual vigil over the sleeping boy. If rumors were to be believed then the boy might be living kin of the old Espada, which was a strange concept for the former Captain. Conceptually, he knew living kin of Hollows – even of Shinigami – existed but to have actual proof that was something else. Kaname quickly shifted his focus on the other patient in the infirmary; noting that the human girl was still in a healing sleep but was slowly improving. He estimated that in another six solar cycles the girl would show signs of waking.

However, it was not the patients that he was truly observing. No; he was observing Szayelaporro's little assistant, Kurosaki Yuzu.

For several days, there was a barely discernible hint of anxiety, confusion, and downright abject fear in the air. At first, the former Shinigami Captain thought this unsettling feeling was an indication of the "birth" of a new Hollow, but he quickly dismissed that thought. Ever since Aizen's ascension to power in Hueco Mundo, Aizen had been adamant that no Hollow should be "birthed" alone. It had been difficult at first; ensuring that someone was always present to the "birth" of a new Hollow. A few had slipped through the proverbial cracks, but those were rare instances these days.

Since it was not a new Hollow being "birthed", Kaname mentally went over any events that might have been out of the norm. Aside from Captain Shiba's arrival with his daughters and the ryoka, there was not much that had happened in Hueco Mundo which meant that it was quite possible that they were the source of this feeling. Not wanting to basely accuse the new arrivals of causing unrest, Kaname quietly observed each new arrival, especially Captain Shiba's youngest daughter.

While the girls appeared "normal", Kaname knew that with Captain Shiba for a father and Kurosaki for a brother, those girls were anything but "normal". The eldest, Karin, was very much like the Quincy in presence even though she had yet to display any of their gifts. She currently stood on the precipice; she could bloom into a full-fledged Archer or not. And then there was the youngest, Yuzu, whose presence was so bright that Kaname often had to leave or else suffer a raging migraine that would have left him crippled for days. He had experienced that once already when the group had first arrived.

After observing the eldest for a day, Kaname immediately realized the subtle air of unease was coming from the youngest.

And so, Kaname spent his day observing Yuzu in the infirmary. He soon noticed something amiss with Yuzu's meinful presence; it had dimmed. While Kaname may not have been around Shiba's youngest much, even he knew that if her bright presence had dimmed then something was terribly wrong. Now, the question was how was he going to address the problem? True, Yuzu's presence may have dimmed, but even dimmed, it was still too bright for him to be around her for too long to really identify the cause of the dimness.

Quietly, Kaname slipped out of the infirmary to seek out the budding Quincy. If anyone would know what caused Yuzu's unease, then it should be her sister. He easily found the girl's spiritual ribbon and followed it out of the palace halls. He was not at all surprised to find Shiba's eldest daughter out in the training grounds nor was he surprised to find the other two resident Quincies with her. Kaname did, however, find it interesting that the father-son pair were teaching the girl archery.

"Why are you teaching her archery?" The former Captain asked the younger Ishida, startling the recovering human a bit.

"Just because we can manifest a bow and arrows, it doesn't mean we know how to actually wield a bow." The younger Ishida remarked once he settled his heartbeat, "I mean, what about you Shinigami? Did you know how to properly wield your sword when it first manifested?"

Kaname nodded; conceding that the younger Archer had a point.

"Beside this is a good distraction for her." The teen continued, "Something is troubling her; something beyond Ichigo's disappearance."

"I believe it has to do with her sister."

"Yuzu?" The young man asked in surprise, "I haven't heard anything wrong. Is she alright?"

"Physically, Shiba's youngest is well."

"I hear a 'but'."

Kaname arched a brow at the causal turn of phrase coming from the usually formal Quincy.

"Her presence has dimmed in its brilliance."

"What do you mean?"

"I do not see in the same manner as you and the others with sight."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with Yuzu's presence?"

"That is how I see. I see one's presence as shifting shades of formless color." Kaname stated, not sure why he was so forthcoming with the young Quincy.

"Formless color?"

"Hmm… the colors rarely stay the same from day-to-day, hour-to-hour, or even minute-to-minute."

"If they do not 'stay the same' then how do you know if you're talking to the same person?"

"Perhaps 'stay the same' is not the correct description… while the colors do shift, they also remain… unless ill or a traumatic event has occurred…" Kaname trailed off, deep in thought. He knew the girl was not ill, and both girls did suffer several traumatic experiences – first being Kurosaki's kidnapping followed by the attack on their persons in their own home. And then there was the unsettling discovery of the girls' names being written down twice…

"It sounds like you're talking about auras." Karin's voice cut in; breaking Kaname's chain of thought.

Kaname made a thoughtful hum.

"You wanna talk about Yuzu." The female Quincy stated.

"Yes." The blind Shinigami replied as he tried to recapture his thoughts.

"Maybe we should be speaking with your Father." The older Ishida interjected, causing the young girl to scoff, and catching Kaname's attention.

The former Captain tilted his head to the side. While her tone was dismissal, her presence seemed to be relieved and accepting of the idea.

"I believe he is in a meeting with Aizen."

"Lead the way." Karin commanded.

~o.O.o~

Isshin stared out to the vast white spans of Hueco Mundo's desert landscape; not really seeing anything nor hearing the debate that was going on between his two best friends. He mentally noted that his cousin-in-law had the right idea of taking a break from said debate. Although he did not know how he felt about Ryuuken training his eldest daughter, but the older Quincy did have a point when the topic was first broached. Even if Karin did not manifest the Quincy Bow, it was important for her to know how to defend herself. The attack on her and Yuzu certainly drove the point home.

Unaware of his presence turning ominous, the former Tenth Captain's mind returned to the attack on his daughters and Yuroichi's discovery of the girls' names written twice. He agreed with Kisuke's theory that the duplication of the girls' names meant a gigai was involved, but did that mean these gigai have a spark that was so intrinsic to being alive? They must have, especially if whoever attacked his family intended to use these duplicates to coerce his son to do whatever they wanted. Uryuu was correct in that if his son were willing to invade Soul Society for a friend then there was nothing Ichigo would not do for his sisters.

So deep in thought, Isshin did not sense the presence of Ryuuken, Uryuu, Karin or Kaname until he felt a teacup shatter against his skull. The sudden assault startled him from his thoughts, which also had the effect of diminishing his spiritual pressure within the room. Turning around to see who had attacked him, Isshin immediately looked surprised at seeing the others in various stages of distress; save for his daughter, who looked ready to physically throttle him.

"You back with us, Goat-face?" Karin demanded.

Guilt instantly ate at him as he realized that he had lost control of himself, which resulted in his friends and family to suffer. Relaxing his posture, Isshin knew he would have to tread carefully; act too casually and goofy would certainly have his daughter trying to throttle him.

"I'm sorry." He confessed, "I wasn't paying attention."

Karin blinked in surprise at her father's admission but relaxed all the same.

"Whatever." She replied, causing Isshin to grin. "Anyway, something's wrong with Yuzu. I dunno what, but I do know there's something wrong with her. Dreadlocks agree with me."

Immediately, any relaxed posture Isshin assumed disappeared as he stared at Karin and Kaname. Of all his children, Yuzu was surprisingly the best at hiding whatever was troubling her. The former Captain believed it was due in part to her empathic abilities; a sub-conscious defensive mechanism to protect her from being overwhelmed by everything around her. The fact that Karin was sensing something wrong with her sister meant that Yuzu had come to a point where she could no longer hide the problem. What caught his attention, however, was that Kaname also sensed something amiss with his youngest daughter.

"I'm surprised you noticed anything, Kaname," Isshin started, "Considering you're rarely around Yuzu for any extended amount of time."

"That would be due to her presence is too bright."

In the background, the group heard Aizen's quiet exclamation of surprise. Isshin just arched a brow.

"Apparently, Dreadlocks sees auras rather than normal sight." Karin explained.

"Hunh… that explains a few things…" Kisuke muttered.

"And being able to see auras has to do with your sister how?" Isshin asked, not sure where this conversation was going.

"Her presence has dimmed as if in…" Kaname paused for a moment; unsure on how to phrase his next thoughts.

"Dimmed?" Aizen prompted, "How so?"

"It could be accumulation of any number of reasons: pain, fear, anxiety, worry, illness… and so forth, but I think the most likely cause is – especially given what is happening…" Kaname took a deep breathe, "I believe her presence may have been halved."

The silence within the room was oppressing.

"What the fuck!?" Karin shrieked in horror, "Why didn't you say something earlier!"

"I was not truly certain." Kaname replied.

Translations:

meinful (Middle English) – shining, light; having much brightness