The two days following Ulquiorra heading to the World of the Living had been interesting, as Haineko, who had gone to Hueco Mundo with Muramasa to deliver another Arrancar to their kingdom, had discovered that Ulquiorra, inside the gigai that he had been given by Urahara, was spending time with Orihime. She could tell that, despite the Espada's former insistence that he had no emotions and was simply studying the Humans around him, Ulquiorra definitely had feelings for Orihime and was only acting upon what he was feeling because their Lord was in love with a Shinigami, something that had been strange when she discovered it and had accepted it in no time. It wasn't hard for her to see that an Arrancar could fall in love with a Human, if another Arrancar did the same to a Shinigami, nor was she surprised when she saw the look on Rukia's face when she was spending time with Ichigo, as it seemed to be the same situation that Ulquiorra was in. She found it interesting and sort of humorous, as it seemed like Ichigo had no idea what Rukia was feeling, but since he was able to figure out that Zangetsu had been his Zanpakuto partner, though it would take some time before he figured out what was going on and came to terms with what he discovered.
What she wasn't expecting to find, when she actually returned to Hueco Mundo, was a humanoid looking Arrancar that was called Kyoko Haida, who she discovered was a Human that had been rejected by so many people in her life until she eventually gave up on humanity, allowing her heart to merge with the Toju that she had found. As it turned out Muramasa had tried to separate the two of them, since he didn't want Kyoko to disappear as a Human, but the Human girl had given up entirely, so he had told them what was waiting for them if they opened their true hearts, resulting in the being that Haineko met when she returned to Las Noches. From what she heard the new Arrancar's Resurreccion was a naga, just like Sora and Sung Sun's transformed states were, making her wonder just how many naga there were in Hueco Mundo, or at least how many of them there would be if more snake-like Hollows became Arrancar as well. Kyoko, from what Haineko saw, was already adapting to her new life, as she joined the other new recruits in learning what it meant to be an Arrancar in service to Lord Sombra, as well as determining what sort of powers she possessed in her sealed state, something that came as a surprise to her when she first found out about that, before nodding her head and doing her best to make her instructors proud.
Personally, Haineko didn't know the Tres Bestias, the three Arrancar that worked like a team and had served under Harribel until Sombra came along, as well as she should have, but from what she could see the three of them were quite effective in their teachings, especially since some of the more powerful Arrancar, like Grimmjow and Zangetsu, were busy saving the rest of the Toju and the others didn't want to train the new recruits. Fortunately Sombra had been planning ahead when he was remaking Las Noches, as there were plenty of houses and buildings for all the Arrancar that were being brought to Hueco Mundo, so much so that it almost looked like he was copying Soul Society's layout, only improving it so no one got confused as to where everything was. This meant that all of the new Arrancar would have a place to live and do whatever they wanted when they weren't on duty or hanging out with whatever friends they made, and there were even a few civilized Hollows that happened to be moving around Las Noches as well, as they wanted to experience what the Arrancar were experiencing for themselves. It also showed that Hollows, given the right circumstances, weren't just the mindless or aggressive monsters that the Shinigami had been protecting the souls of the dead from, once more breaking the notions that Soul Society had labeled them with when they were first discovered.
Hueco Mundo wasn't the same world that it had been nearly a month ago, as she knew that Captain Mayuri wasn't too pleased with what Sombra was doing to this world, but there wasn't much he could do to stop him, meaning that all he could do was sit on the sidelines and watch what happened.
"Ah, Haineko, this is a pleasant surprise." a voice said, to which Haineko stopped in her tracks and bowed her head slightly as her Lord landed on the walkway behind her, because thanks to the fact that no one could feel his reiatsu it was hard to keep track of him, which was only made somewhat easier thanks to Hueco Mundo telling her and the others were he was at any given moment, "I thought you'd be back in Soul Society, having a good time with Zangetsu, thanks to the training he's been giving you and the fact that he's managed to improve your life to the point where you're smiling more often when you're near Shinigami."
"I was just dropping off a Toju that Muramasa and I found," Haineko replied, though at the same time she raised her head, as Sombra was fine with the initial bowing of their heads and made them stop doing so after a certain period of time, so they could look at him while they talked and not feel like an underling all the time, "I'm actually heading back to Soul Society right now, as it appears that Matsumoto and some of the Tenth Division's Shinigami will be heading out on their patrol soon, to continue the hunt for the remaining Toju that haven't been found, since the majority of them are still in hiding at the moment, and Muramasa will be joining us in case we do find some Toju."
"That is good to hear." Sombra said, because while they were running out of time, since there were more than two hundred Toju running around unchecked at the moment, he was glad that they were saving as many of the Toju as they possibly could, but finding the hiding place of a group would speed things along at an unbelievable pace, before he turned towards Haineko for a moment, "I'm actually on my way to speak to the remaining Espada that are in Las Noches at the moment, as I just came from a brief meeting with one of the other remaining Vasto Lorde ranked Hollows that have been minding their own business since I defeated Aizen and claimed this world as my kingdom. She's asked if she could move into an area near Las Noches, to be around more of her kind and learn how to control her power so she doesn't crush those that are near them, and while I could have easily denied the request I decided to be nice and told her that we'd find a spot for her new cave in no time... at least this dragon is easier to deal with than the ones back home."
"Right." Haineko stated, as she knew that her Lord could check the surrounding area and determine where the best spot was on his own, but asking the other Espada meant that he was being sure they weren't planning on putting a new building or something in whatever area he came up with, before part of his statement clicked in her mind, "What, you mean the Vasto Lorde you talked to was a dragon?!"
"Indeed, and a polite dragon at that." Sombra replied, because while he had seen a number of creatures wandering Hueco Mundo, and learned about a number of them from the records that Szayelaporro had been building since he became an Arrancar, discovering a dragon Hollow had been an interesting part of his day, "Either way, I shall speak with the others and figure out where we can put her new home... but you, on the other hand, should return to Soul Society as soon as possible, before Matsumoto and her team are ready to depart and start their search for some of the remaining Toju. Who knows, maybe you and Muramasa will find the key to the location of one of the larger groups that we're looking for while you're helping them scout the area out."
Haineko knew that Sombra had the feeling that they'd find one of the groups at some point in time, something that many of the Arrancar believed in since their Lord was never wrong and he was rarely surprised by anything, and even she had a hard time thinking that he'd be wrong in his thoughts, to which she nodded her head and bid him farewell. After that she headed for the gateway between worlds, where she found Muramasa waiting for her, to which the two of them said nothing as they returned to the World of the Living and headed out for the area that they had come out in when they used a Senkaimon to leave Soul Society with the latest Toju they had saved. It didn't take the two of them very long to reach the area in question, nor did it take very long for a pair of Jigokucho to come out and accompany the two of them as they opened the way to their destination, meaning that they would arrive unharmed and could return to their duties without any sort of delays. Thanks to the Shinigami assisting them, since that was the reason they and the other Arrancar could travel between the realms so quickly, Haineko and Muramasa were able to return to Soul Society quite easily, where they nodded their heads to the guards that were guarding the Senkaimon and headed out for the area that they would be working in for the rest of the day.
It wasn't long before they reached the Tenth Division's barracks and found the group of Shinigami that Matsumoto would be leading during their mission, though while Muramasa turned down the offer of a brown cloak, since he didn't need it, Haineko only took one in case she needed it for something else.
From there the two of them headed out with the Shinigami that were making their way towards the forest, where they found Matsumoto, wearing her own brown cloak, waiting for them, but since everyone knew the mission she simply nodded her head and they moved out into the forest in front of them. The only good thing that came with stopping the other Toju, and freeing them, was that the attacks on the various districts of Rukongai had stopped, meaning that the Toju that remained had grown smart as to what was happening and were trying to stop it, which was bad since they needed to find them. Their only option was to scour the forest and see if they couldn't find any Toju that hadn't fallen in line with what the rest of their kind were doing, which might make it easier for them to discover where the others were hiding, but for now they had to be careful and see what awaited them in the forest. Haineko would have preferred if it was just her, Muramasa, and Zangetsu doing this, since they could stun the Toju long enough for Muramasa to do his job, but she wasn't about to argue with the Shinigami in charge at the moment, not since they were running out of time before the Toju started to disappear forever.
They followed the small group for around thirty minutes, keeping their eyes on the area around them as they looked for the Toju that were supposed to be in the area, before Matsumoto came to a stop on a nearby rock platform and glanced at the area they were in, causing Haineko, Muramasa, and the four Shinigami to stop as well.
"I sense a faint reiatsu nearby." Matsumoto stated, to which Haineko and Muramasa focused their senses as well and found what she was talking about, which meant that a Toju, weaker than most of the ones they had encountered in the past couple of days, was somewhere near their current position, "We should split up and look for it."
"Matsumoto, leave this to me." Haineko spoke up, causing her former partner to glance at her for a moment, almost as if she didn't trust her at all, something that she was used to feeling since the day she gave Matsumoto the ability to use her Shikai, before she glanced at the area they had been heading towards, "You guys should continue to survey the area and see if you can't find any other reiatsu signatures... maybe there will be more than just this one."
"Can you handle this on your own?" Matsumoto asked, because while she had come to accept that Haineko was no longer tied to her, leaving her with a permanently useless Zanpakuto, she still felt that there were times where the cat got in over her head and was worried that this was one of those moments.
"I appreciate the concern, but I've got this under control." Haineko replied, though it was odd to see that there had been the slightest bit of worry in her former partner's eyes, showing that having their souls separated from each other, and learning why the separation had occurred in the first place, had shown Matsumoto that she had been terrible to her over the years and was trying to make up for it.
Haineko waited for a moment, giving Matsumoto a chance to nod her head before she and the others flashed out of the area to continue their survey of the rest of the area, before she jumped into the air and followed the faint reiatsu that her former partner had discovered. Fortunately it didn't take her long to find where the source of the reiatsu was coming from, as she landed on a rock pillar and stared down at a field of red flowers that she didn't recall ever having seen before this point in time, but that wasn't what she was focused on. What she was actually staring at was the sleeping figure of a light-skinned, lean and haggard looking young man with shaggy indigo colored hair, which fell down over his face in several long bangs while also being cut very short on the backside of his head. The young man was wearing an ornate, gold-white pauldron on his left shoulder that happened to cover the left side of his neck and his left pectoral as well, though he also had a black, snake-like bracelet on his left forearm, and wore a red sash wrapped around his waist while an exomis, which was just a tunic of sorts, was tied to his left shoulder. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that the young man was a Toju, as his reiatsu had a familiar edge to it that only belonged to the other Toju that were still at large, to which she held one hand close to her blade, because if this was a trick, and he was just faking being asleep to lure someone in so he could sneak attack them, she wanted to be ready.
As she flashed down into the area and approached the young man, however, the sound of her feet moving the flowers caused the young Toju to stir, as when she got close her target pushed himself into a sitting position and faced her, but at the speed he was going Haineko knew that he wasn't a threat to anyone, especially when he stared at her with his violet innocent eyes, showing that there was more to him than she originally thought. Before she could even ask him anything, to see if he knew where the other Toju were, he doubled over in pain and collapsed once more, showing that he must have been hurt recently and that he wasn't going to be able to move for some time, not on his own and not without the pain coming back. In that moment Haineko was glad that she had thought to bring the cloak with her, as she unfurled it and spread it out as gently as she could, where she made sure to place the clearly wounded Toju on the cloak before bundling him up, to which she picked him up and headed off in the direction that Matsumoto and the others had gone in. It also didn't take her long to find where the others had wandered off to, as her former partner and the other Shinigami were standing near five trapped Toju as Muramasa worked his power on them, though they did turn their heads when she landed and were surprised when they found that she was carrying another spirit.
"I found him resting in a field of red flowers, not far from here," Haineko said, though at the same time two of the Shinigami approached her and gently took the spirit from her arms, where the young man briefly opened his eyes and smiled at her for a few seconds, before losing consciousness once more, "I'm not sure what hurt him, but he's definitely wounded and needs attention before Muramasa can attempt to awaken his true heart... I don't think he would survive the transformation into an Arrancar until he's fully healed, or at least close to that point."
"Captain Unohana or one of the Fourth Division healers can tend to him until he's ready." Matsumoto replied, but she was surprised by the fact that the Toju in question seemed to have a pretty face and that Haineko didn't even stop to consider what else she had been seeing, but then decided that Zangetsu was who she was focused on and didn't want to annoy the powerful Arrancar in some manner, before she turned her head a little, "Hey, Muramasa, how long do you think you need to help them awaken their true hearts?"
"Give me ten minutes and I'll be done." Muramasa answered, where he closed his eyes and focused on his part of their mission, as he delved into the inner world of the Toju in front of him and searched for the soul of the being that he was trying to save.
"You know, I honestly didn't think this plan was going to work as well as it did." Matsumoto said, though she kept her voice low so she didn't disturb Muramasa as he worked, but while she did blame him for the destruction he caused, and creating the scenario that made her lose Haineko, she had to admit that he was a nice person to work with and was doing everything in his power to make his reputation better than it had been a few days ago, "I guess I should have known that the Toju couldn't resist attacking a group of Shinigami that were just passing through their territory... though playing the bait, while being a little silly, did work like a charm."
The plan had been for Haineko and Muramasa to hang back and let the Shinigami pull the Toju out of hiding, using them as bait for the Shinigami hating Toju, but that had changed a little thanks to the discovery of the young man that was being taken to the Fourth Division's Relief Station, despite the fact that the original plan worked like a charm and none of the Shinigami had been hurt in the process.
"Captain Hitsugaya agreed with the plan, so he'll be happy to see that it worked." Haineko replied, to which she leaned against one of the trees and stared at the small group of Toju that they had been able to find while they were out here, as while it was a small number it was better than nothing, "Hopefully one of these guys know where the other Toju are hiding out, so we can capture all of them and end this before it gets too serious."
Matsumoto nodded her head in agreement, because while the reports of the Toju attacking had been decreasing over the last few days, since those that were saved were never seen by the rest of their kind again, until they were saved as well, they still knew that there were a lot of Toju missing, meaning they couldn't lower their guard at all. The two of them stood there for a few moments, watching Muramasa work as he freed the five Toju in front of them from their madness and transformed them into Arrancar, where they seemed surprised by the changes they had just gone through and were willing to listen to what he had to tell them about being an Arrancar. Once they got the basic idea of what they were and what their duties would be, something that Sombra or one of the other senior Arrancar would tell them about, the five new Arrancar followed Muramasa as he moved back towards the Seireitei, so he could get them adjusted to their new lives and see if they knew anything that might help them save the others. As they moved out of the area Matsumoto and Haineko followed as well, because Haineko was going to make sure the young Toju rested and recovered from his injuries, so he could go through the process as well and join someone before he disappeared entirely.
It took them a few minutes to retrace their steps and return to the Seireitei, though upon arriving Muramasa's group headed back to the area that the Arrancar were staying in, while Matsumoto and two of the Shinigami headed back to the Tenth Division's barracks to give Captain Hitsugaya the good news, leaving Haineko and the remaining two Shinigami to carry the wounded Toju to the Relief Station and get him taken care of.
Fortunately when they arrived it wasn't hard for them to find someone that would help them, as one of the healers noticed that the Toju was wounded and understood that forcing him to awaken his true heart would only kill him in his weakened state, which was why they had them carry the Toju to an empty room. From there Haineko remained near the window, watching as one Shinigami tended to the various wounds that there on the young man's body and made sure that they were set up to heal in time, before nodding her head and departed from the area, leaving both Haineko and the wounded Toju alone. She knew that it would take some time for the young man to heal, and awaken from his slumber for that matter, so Haineko moved a seat over to the window and positioned herself so she could keep an eye on the Toju and stare out at the Seireitei if she got bored of doing that. She also knew that she didn't have to stay here, that a messenger would be sent when the young man woke up so they could figure out what had happened to him, and if he knew anything that might help them, but she felt better waiting here and being the first one to see him, just in case he was in need of more aid or if he needed something.
She sat there for a minute, staring at the wounded Toju while she did so, and she only looked away from him when she heard a knock on the doorway, where she found Matsumoto standing there, making her wonder why her former partner was even here, since she should be reporting the success of their operation to her Captain.
"Matsumoto, what are you doing here?" Haineko asked, though at the same time she watched as Matsumoto pulled out another chair and took a seat near her, where she pulled out the container of sweets that she usually kept hidden in the Tenth Division's barracks, but that was when Matsumoto surprised her by offering some to her, to which she actually took some, despite the fact that she didn't need to eat anything, "Shouldn't you be reporting the success of our operation to your Captain?"
"I decided to keep you company, until the young man recovers." Matsumoto replied, but she smiled for a moment, as she was surprised that Haineko had taken some of the sweets that she kept hidden from everyone else, though that told her that maybe, just maybe, they could restore a fraction of their former bond at long last, "Besides, the Shinigami that were with us could easily tell the Captain that the operation was successful, and then spread the word on how we can ambush them in the future, since the Toju will be after us and not you, Muramasa, or the other Arrancar if one of them decided to come assist us."
Haineko knew that most of the other Arrancar were busy looking for the remaining Toju, using different plans than what she and Matsumoto had used, while one or two remained at their building so they could assist the newly born Arrancar that were delivered to them, until Lord Sombra or Muramasa came to take them to Hueco Mundo. She knew that they were lucky that awakening a Toju's true heart made their anger go away, so they didn't tear up the area around them after their transformation, otherwise she was sure that the Shinigami would have ordered the death of the Toju, instead of working so hard to capture them. She was also surprised by the fact that Soul Society was allowing them to do this, that they were okay with Sombra claiming the Toju as Arrancar and adding them to his empire, but at the same time they hadn't raised their objections towards her Lord, so she guessed it was fine. She then wondered if the Shinigami knew about Kyoko, what happened to hear in the World of the Living and the choice both she and the spirit that had merged with her body, had made, though she decided that she wouldn't mention it, in case they didn't know, as she didn't want to start an argument between them and Soul Society until the Toju were captured.
As she thought about all of this she opened her mouth and tossed the bits of the steamed buns, Matsumoto's favorite snack in the entire world and one she kept hidden for times when she needed to truly relax, to forget about the problems that she was facing, into her mouth, where she chewed on them for a few seconds and swallowed, though her mind was focused on what she was doing and who she was watching.
"Oh, did you hear what happened yesterday?" Matsumoto asked, causing Haineko's ears to twitch for a moment, as she wasn't expecting them to have some idle conversation while they were waiting for the young man to recover from his injuries, but at the same time it gave her something else to do.
"Yesterday?" Haineko inquired in return, though as her former partner nodded her head she thought about what she had learned earlier, because she had heard a rumor about something, or someone, destroying one of Captain Mayuri's main labs, as he always kept a pair at the ready in case he accidentally blew up his main one, "Well, from what Muramasa told me he was able to free a hammer wielding Toju with the assistance of both Senbonzakura and both spirits that make up Zabimaru, though the Shinigami around them were more willing to praise Captain Byakuya's Zanpakuto spirit and do nothing of the sort for either Saru and Hebi. According to what I heard both of them were supposed to write letters of apology to the Shinigami, as it had to do with their time under Muramasa's control or something like that, and in the end the two of them defied Renji's orders and wrote insults towards their partner before heading out into the Seireitei. From what little I heard after that it seems like someone snuck into Captain Mayuri's barracks, messed around with some of the controls for the entire place, and ended up blowing the entire research station to pieces while the Captain was off collecting information for whatever he was researching at the time."
"You know more than I thought you did," Matsumoto said, though this time around she wasn't insulting Haineko at all, because she was curious as to whether or not her former partner was keeping track of what happened in the Seireitei while she and the other Arrancar were here, before deciding to continue with her statement, "though it wasn't 'someone' that broke into the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, or the SRDI for short, rather the culprits were Saru, Hebi, and Senbonzakura. From what I've heard both of Renji's spirits headed there to see if they could figure out if Captain Mayuri knew more about the whereabouts of the Toju than he was letting on, since his absences lately made them think that he was trying to get some research done on the beings that Sombra wouldn't let him study at all. When no one appeared at the door, to let them in, they pulled some of the bars on one of the windows apart and broke into the Twelfth Division's barracks, though I also heard that Saru's hide rear got stuck between two of the bars and she nearly chocked Hebi to death, since he was chained to her and was dangling in the air for a few moments... and it wasn't until Senbonzakura walked by them that they were freed from their current predicament."
"Really?" Haineko said, though at the same time it was easy to imagine such a thing happening, especially with how the two spirits of Zabimaru acted towards each other and whatever scenario they happened to be in at a given moment, before she turned back towards Matsumoto and gave her former partner most of her attention, "So, what happened after the two of them were freed? I take it there was a reason that Senbonzakura broke into the SRDI's building at the same time Saru and Hebi did?"
"Apparently looking for information on the other Toju as well," Matsumoto replied, answering the second question first, as it was the easiest of the two to answer without disrupting the flow of the tale that she was telling Haineko, before she continued with something else that was interesting, "According to what I heard, and this is a rumor so it may not even be true, Senbonzakura actually punched a hole into the side of the building so he could get in, which strikes me as odd considering whose Zanpakuto spirit he's supposed to be. Anyway, from there the three of them wandered around the SRDI, looking for anything and everything that might help them uncover where the rest of the Toju were hiding, and, by some terrible luck on their part, they got trapped inside one of the large test tubes that Captain Mayuri had set aside when he learned that Sombra wasn't going to let him experiment on the defeated Arrancar or any of the larger Hollows that he had seen in his brief time in Hueco Mundo. I'm not entirely sure what the three of them did, but I did hear Saru and Hebi telling Renji that they had refrained from attacking the glass of their container, even though Senbonzakura released his Shikai and failed to damage the glass, as it had been made to contain a Toju, if Captain Mayuri was lucky to find one without Sombra finding out.
After that, and before Senbonzakura destroyed the container before the Shinigami of the Twlelfth Division arrived to see what the problem was, Ashisogi Jizo showed himself and attempted to assist the trapped spirits, though apparently he tried to give them a banana and that failed... and, when he did get the remote that controlled the container they were trapped in, both Saru and Hebi swear that Ashisogi Jizo broke the device and left them behind."
"I bet Senbonzakura hated that." Haineko commented, as right now she was learning that there was more to Byakuya Kuchiki than she originally thought, especially if his Zanpakuto, which should have been a mirror image of his uncaring persona, was willing to attack the glass container and possibly even Ashisogi Jizo.
"From what I heard, he activated his Bankai and destroyed the container." Matsumoto said, though she was pleased to see what Haineko was following along and not interrupting her all the time, meaning that she was interested in what she was hearing, even if she wasn't sure how much of it was true and how much was fabricated, "From there the story gets strange and hard to piece together, but from what I've been able to figure out the three spirits ran through the building and arrived at a room that was designed to spy on the entirety of the Seireitei, and that one building couldn't be watched, no doubt because Sombra smashed whatever device Captain Mayuri put there, to watch your movements and see what Sombra did when something interesting happened. After that things got crazy, as it appears that, in an effort to shut down the alarm that came from Senbonzakura breaking their container, the trio started pressing buttons on the computer they found and, well, let's just say that their actions caused some minor explosions all over the Seireitei, hence why a few Shinigami are here in the Relief Station being treated for explosion injuries.
Once that happened, well, that was when Ashisogi Jizo made himself known and appeared in his Bankai state, which only prompted Senbonzakura to challenge him to a battle, in the middle of the SRDI no less, and that, in turn, caused Saru to turn Hebi into their own Bankai and loose a Hikotsu Taiho at the pair... which only resulted in stopping the battle before it began, and destroyed the SRDI in the process."
"Ah yes, I heard that Captain Mayuri wasn't too pleased about that." Haineko said, though as she revealed that she had actually heard most of what Matsumoto had told her, save for some of the more interesting bits, her former partner smiled, showing that she liked the fact that Haineko had actually let her talk and not interrupt the story that she had been trying to tell her.
"Oh, he was horrified to find that it had been destroyed upon his return," Matsumoto stated, to which she grinned for a moment, because while she had actually been on one of the exercise machines during the time the spirits had been messing with the controls, and had been thrown off of it as a result, she was fine with the outcome, "though personally I'm kind of glad they did that, since the destruction of the computer means that whatever personal information Captain Mayuri was able to gain on everyone in Soul Society has been erased, and I'm sure he never thought to back any of it up on his spare computer."
Haineko had the feeling that Senbonzakura had a problem with his temper, meaning that it must have come from Byakuya when he was younger, showing that everyone changed with time and that a Zanpakuto spirit mirrored whatever personality their partner had, even though a spirit didn't change to match a new personality, much like how she didn't take to Matsumoto's lazy nature, which was different from what she was in the past. At the same time she noticed that her former partner seemed to be thinking about something as well, maybe even the same thing that she had been thinking about just now, before she turned her mind towards what had happened so far, because she was still trying to figure out how they could do Sombra's will and find the larger groups.
"You know, this isn't as exciting as the destruction of the SRDI, but something else happened yesterday," Matsumoto added, causing Haineko to turn towards her once more, as she was curious as to what else she might want to talk about while they were waiting for the young man to wake up, "I heard that Lieutenant Ise was spending the afternoon with one of the spirits of Katen Kyokotsu, the spirits that belonged to Captain Shunsui's Zanpakuto, though she was seen walking around the Seireitei with the young girl, Kyokotsu. From what I heard Ise had to interrupt her Captain's relaxation to remind him that they were still in the middle of capturing the remaining Toju, though instead of heading out and helping us find the Toju, like he's supposed to, Captain Shunsui and Katen stayed behind, leaving Ise and Kyokotsu to head out and continue the work that Shunsui was supposed to be doing."
"Really?" Haineko asked, as that was interesting as well, because if she was right about what Matsumoto was talking about she might know the Toju that happened to be at the end of this story, as she had met a strange one that Muramasa had brought in before last night and he had claimed to have been bested by a little girl.
"Yeah, and I even saw Kyokotsu attack Ise when the Lieutenant touched her shoulder," Matsumoto replied, showing that there had been something wrong with one of Captain Shunsui's Zanpakuto spirits, something that only the Captain could have fixed or told Ise about if he had thought to warn her ahead of time, "Ise said that everything was fine and ran off to find Kyokotsu, who apparently found the reiatsu of the Toju that they had been sent out to find, though from what I heard it was a man in a strange uniform, with some oddly styled hair and a beard of sorts. From what I heard the pair didn't get off on the right foot, since Ise had to stop Kyokotsu from toying with the Toju, as they're supposed to capture them and await Muramasa's arrival to help them awaken their true heart, and at some point while the two were 'fighting' with each other the Toju managed to get away from them. Captain Shunsui was surprised by some of the events that happened while the two were together, even more so when Ise told him that she and Kyokotsu could work together, as if she was disregarding what happened earlier, and she became determined to get her 'partner' to open up to her."
"Captain Shunsui has some interesting Zanpakuto as his partners," Haineko stated, as she had seen the pair of Katen Kyokotsu when they were in the middle of the rebellion, back when they were all under Muramasa's control, but she really found it hard to believe that the two ladies were Shunsui's Zanpakuto spirits, since Katen seemed to be close to his lifestyle and Kyokotsu was the opposite.
"You're telling me." Matsumoto said, to which he popped another piece of her treat into her mouth, as she recalled her failed attempts to get Kyokotsu to open up to Ise, since she promised to help her, and in the end it had been the small suggestion of Captain Shunsui, to relax and watch the cherry blossoms, before shaking her head, "Long story short, since most of this happened while I was busy doing something else, Captain Shunsui and his Zanpakuto were able to contain the Toju that had attacked Ise and Kyokotsu, allowing Muramasa to free him from his maddened state and created a new Arrancar to serve Sombra."
"Yeah, I saw him arrive last night." Haineko spoke up, causing Matsumoto to raise an eyebrow for a moment, like she wasn't expecting her to have seen the former Toju in question and had been hoping to surprise her with a light tale about a new addition she'd have to meet in the future, before she sighed, "I know we're doing a good job, rounding up as many of the Toju as we can, but there are still roughly two hundred and forty of them out there, and with each day that passes they draw ever closer to fading away and never being able to do anything else. I just wish that we could find where the others are hiding, to end this madness before we actually lose one of them to the terrible fate we're trying to prevent, but they're really good at hiding from us, which makes this more difficult than it already is."
Haineko was considering saying something to that, as she felt that there was more to the story than what Matsumoto was telling her, but before she could say anything a sound caused both of them to stall, as the young man that was resting in the nearby bed had moaned and he was starting to stir, causing her to get up and move to his side, so she could ease him into a sitting position and not inflict more harm to his body.
"Hey, take it easy." Haineko said, though at the same time, as the young man started to awaken from his slumber and move his body, she did what she had been thinking and gently moved him into a sitting position, while at the same time Matsumoto moved out of the room so she could get a healer and send a message to Muramasa, "You're still hurt, but we're doing everything in our power to make sure your wounds are treated and that no harm comes to you while you were recovering from whatever happened to you."
"Th... Thank you very much." the young man replied, to which he did nothing as Haineko moved his body into a sitting position and made sure that a pillow was behind his back, allowing him to have some better support while he got used to his new surroundings, before he looked at her, "So, um, why are you helping me?"
"It's like I said, you were hurt and needed attention," Haineko stated, where she made sure that his bandages were still intact and that there wasn't anything wrong with him, but since she wasn't well versed in the art of healing there wasn't much she could do at the moment, "Why do you ask?"
"I'm one of the people that you're chasing after, aren't I?" the young man asked, showing that he understood that she and the Shinigami were chasing after the Toju that were attacking the Seireitei and the districts of Rukongai, meaning that he was smarter than the other Toju that she and the others had found so far, "And instead, you've been kind enough to heal my wounds and bring me someplace safe, even though the home of the people that are chasing me and the others isn't my idea of safe. Aren't the Shinigami hunting down and killing beings like me?"
"Actually, we're trying to save all of you." Haineko replied, though as the young man raised his eyebrows in surprise, showing that he had no idea that the situation was different than what he thought it was, she gently undid her collar and lowered the part of her top to reveal her Hollow hole, before returning everything to normal once more, "We refer to masterless Zanpakuto as Toju, but while many of your kind are angry and lash out at the Shinigami, all in an effort to find your partners and a normal existence, that's not the only path you guys can take. Look at me, I used to be a Zanpakuto spirit as well, but due to some extreme circumstances, not like what you guys are going through, I awakened my true heart and became an Arrancar, and I've been helping save as many Toju as we could find, because there is someone that you guys can serve, while losing your anger as well."
"Toju... that's what the Shinigami have been calling us," the young man said, to which he started to think about what he had been through since he first materialized outside his master's Zanpakuto, before dooming him to the existence that was now his life, causing him to look at Haineko, "but personally, I think I'm just a normal Zanpakuto that has lost his master. Look, my master was a cowardly Shinigami and I share that same trait, so I knew that in order to survive being on my own I had to join the group of Toju that was forming, since the Shinigami were hunting for us and I thought that they'd kill me if they found me... but now, knowing that they were trying to save beings like us, makes me feel sort of ashamed that none of us even considered such a thing and kept hiding from you."
"You were part of a larger group?" Haineko inquired, as that was an interesting piece of information that she wasn't expecting to hear, especially since she and the other Arrancar had been tasked with finding the larger groups of Toju that were hiding from them, to which the young man nodded his head, "How many Toju were in your group?"
"Two hundred... maybe two hundred and thirty." the young man replied, though at the same time he noticed that a strange look appeared on Haineko's face for a moment, something that made him wonder if he had said something that he shouldn't have said, "Um, is something wrong?"
"Wrong? No, everything is right!" Haineko said, because this was what she and the others were waiting for, as the young man was the key to locating the remaining Toju and saving the majority of them in a single instance, even if that would leave a few individual strays for them to hunt down in the future, "We've been trying to locate the larger groups of Toju that have been hiding in the area around the Seireitei, to free them from the fate that they are currently facing if they keep going down the path they're walking, and now we've finally found someone that can actually show us where they're hiding, so we can free them and prevent a single Toju from dying. Don't you see? You're the only one we've saved that knows where the others are hiding, you're the only one that can help us save all of them and let them continue living in an existence that's vastly different from what they're currently experiencing... you'd be a hero to all of them and the other Arrancar of Hueco Mundo once we've saved the others from their painful existence."
"Indeed." a voice said, to which Haineko turned her head and found Muramasa standing in the doorway, along with Matsumoto standing behind him, though the looks on their faces told Haineko that they had heard the fact that the young man knew where the majority of the missing Toju were hiding, before he walked into the room, "Young man, if you would allow me to peer into your inner world, and share some truths with you, you'll awaken as an Arrancar and leave your existence as a Toju behind... and then, with Lord Sombra on your side, we can head to where the others are hiding and save them before something happens to them."
"Young man?" the young man inquired, though that was before he realized that Muramasa was talking to him and not someone else, which was when a weak smile appeared on his face for a moment, leading Haineko to believe that he was going to share his name with them, "I guess it would make sense for you to call me that, since you don't actually know what my name is, so allow me to correct that mistake; I am Narunosuke, and... and I would be honored to help you guys save the others from the path they are following."
Muramasa nodded his head as he approached Narunosuke and held his hand out, allowing him to delve into the spirit's inner world like he always did, though this time around it was a quick process as he came back out not even a few seconds later, and Narunosuke followed him, baring his own Hollow hole in the middle of his chest and a mask fragment that looked like a curved snake emblem appeared on the right side of his face. With the deed done Narunosuke climbed out of the bed, slipped his scabbard into his belt, and turned towards them, stating that he was ready to get underway and show them where the other Toju were hiding, which was when Muramasa took them to the Thirteenth Division's barracks, as there was something there that they needed to use first. It was there, in front of Captain Ukitake, that Muramasa used the special sphere that Sombra gave to Soul Society to contact Hueco Mundo, since that was where their Lord was last seen, and sure enough he appeared on the other end in no time, showing that he was prompt about answering a message that was supposed to be for him. Haineko was happy when a smile appeared on their Lord's face, as it meant that he was pleased with their work and that he was happy that this entire event would be behind them soon enough, before telling them that he was bringing in the cavalry, meaning that he was going to bring every Arrancar in his service to Soul Society and prevent any of the Toju from running away... and, at the same time, use some of their powers in unison with the ability that Muramasa possessed, meaning that he intended to free all of them at the same time.
Ukitake was shocked by the news, more so by the fact that Sombra was coming with his entire army than the fact that they had finally found the Toju's hiding spot, and not even an hour later he, along with the rest of the Shinigami, stood in front of the large Senkaimon as a force of sixty, if not seventy, Arrancar marched through the gateway with Sombra leading all of them.
Once they were present, and the rest of the Arrancar joined them, Sombra had Narunosuke lead them right to the cave system that the rest of the Toju were hiding out in, which was some distance away from the cave system that had been Muramasa's hideout during the rebellion. Like Muramasa's hideout the Toju had chosen one that had a number of entrances and exits, but this time around they were ready for something like that, as Sombra had them all separate and form small groups at each entry point, though their orders were to make sure that the Toju were pushed into the central cavern, where they would begin the ceremony. Haineko joined Zangetsu near one of the passages, and they were also accompanied by Kyoko, who seemed utterly surprised by what they were doing and the fact that there were more realms to their world than what she had known about, though Haineko assured her that they'd make sure she wasn't harmed at all while they did this. She seemed to believe them, either because she felt safe or the fact that she knew she could trust them since they were also Arrancar, but regardless of the reason why she stood beside them as they waited for Sombra's signal to begin the operation, while the Toju were unaware of what was coming their way.
The moment everyone was in position, and Sombra was sure of it, each of the groups felt a silent command be issued to all of them, to which Haineko, Zangetsu, and Kyoko delved into the passage in front of them at the same time the other groups did the same, where they drew their blades and prepared themselves. The Toju were clearly not expecting an attacking force to find their hideout and strike out at them, as the first few that the trio found retreated immediately, as if thinking that greater numbers meant something, and even then the larger groups that they encountered could only hold them back for a few moments, not when the power of Zangetsu's swings was enough to send his targets onto their backs and both Haineko and Kyoko prevented the others from fleeing. Based on the layout of the passages it wasn't long before they found Grimmjow's group, where the Toju joined forces and immediately retreated again, showing that, despite the intense anger they were all feeling, the masterless Zanpakuto were still smart and knew that they needed more firepower to deal with the enemies in front of them. Little did they know that they were running into a trap, as the closer they got to the central cavern the more the number of Toju in the group they were chasing grew, but so did the number of Arrancar that were chasing them, ultimately preventing their targets from doing anything in face of the overwhelming force that had found their hideout.
It was like the Toju knew they were outmatched, that no matter what they tried the Arrancars would keep coming until they were cornered, and the unlucky few that actually tried to push them back were knocked to the floor, hard enough to make them stop attacking while also being light enough to avoid killing or wounding them.
A few minutes later Haineko, Zangetsu, and Kyoko pushed their group into the central cavern of the cave system that all the Toju had been hiding in, where they stood guard at the entrance they had come through while the rest of their group made sure that the Toju were standing in the middle of the area. As they stood there the three of them watched as the rest of the groups started pouring into the cavern that they were in, with the Arrancar standing in front of every exit that could possibly be used to escape the area, showing the Toju that they were trapped. It wasn't long before Sombra stepped out of one of the passages, in his Resurreccion state no less, and waved his hand, where Haineko watched as the shadows of the Toju were connected together, revealing that Sombra really did intend to use some of their powers to speak to all of the beings in front of them and not take a couple minutes for each of the Toju. Once that was done he nodded his head and Muramasa stepped forward, where he extended his hand and focused his mind on the one Toju, who was a green skinned creature, what Humans would call an 'orc', that had some metallic armor and a deadly looking weapon, indicating that he must have been the leader of the group, before he got to work and started talking to the beings that were in front of them.
It didn't take long for the first Toju to transform into an Arrancar, starting with the leader and spread out like a tidal wave of sorts, as when one changed those around them did so a few seconds later, until Haineko was watching a sea of changes take place as the number of angry Toju was replaced by newly born Arrancar. It took about five minutes for them to transform the Toju into Arrancar, leaving none of them behind, and while a number of them were still confused by what was going on they all bowed their heads and knelt towards Sombra, showing that they were acknowledging him as their new Lord and master. As that happened Sombra retracted his shadow powers, separating the shadows of the new Arrancar from each other, before returning to his base state and raised his fist into the air, where the Arrancar stood up and saluted him, to which he smiled before he walked back through the passage he had taken to get to the central cavern that they were all in, only this time the army he had formed followed after him. When he emerged from the cave system he could see that the Captains that had followed him to this area were a little surprised when they found out that he had succeeded in saving all of the Toju that had been inside the cave, but at the same time the fact that he had turned all of the Toju into Arrancar meant that the after effects of Muramasa's rebellion had been dealt with.
The rest of the Shinigami, however, were shocked by the sudden arrival of an Arrancar army that emerged from the forest near the Seireitei, but that didn't stop Sombra from leading them to the area that the Senkaimon was in, where he waved his hand and tore open a temporary King's Garganta to Hueco Mundo, allowing Ulquiorra and the others to take the army back to their kingdom and get them settled in.
"It seems that the Toju are finally finished," Shunsui commented, though at the same time he and some of the other Captains stood near Sombra, who was making sure that the gateway stayed open and that his subjects returned to Hueco Mundo without harm coming to them.
"No, there are still seven of them out there." Sombra remarked, causing the Captains to look at him for a few seconds, as if he had said something that none of them were happy with, since they wanted this to be over and didn't want to worry about any rogue Zanpakuto spirits anymore, before he turned towards them, "Don't worry, once we're done getting everyone settled into their new homes in Hueco Mundo I'll send a few Arrancar back to help you find and capture the remaining Toju... and then, at long last, you'll be free to return to your normal operations."
Sombra knew that many of the Shinigami had been hoping for a swift end to the Toju incident, and had been hoping for the finding of all of these new Arrancar to be the end of the Toju, so hearing that he calculated that seven more were still out there wasn't something they wanted to hear, but right now they would be able to breath easier now that the vast majority of the Toju had been taken care of... and, as he promised the Captains, he'd send a few Arrancar back once everyone was situated and finish this incident off at last.