FicWad

Careless Wonder

Chapter Eight: Confinement

"Her body took more damage than what should have been necessary. She's still in her human body, she didn't separate from her body before she came here or before she transformed."

Shinji thought back to what Unohana had told him when he left the fourth division barracks. That – was a problem. How was it even possible for her to access her powers while she was still in her human body? It was unheard of. Even when he had a Gigai on, it was almost impossible to draw on his soul reapers powers.

He tried to come up with an explanation on the matter, but came up empty. If she could draw her powers through her human body which was supposed to act as an inhibitor for spiritual pressure, he wondered how much more powerful she actually was. The damage she did, even in her human body, was exponential. Imagining her in her shikai would only bring more devastation. Even Shuuhei couldn't handle the power when she hollowfied in her normal state.

'This will be – problematic…' Shinji thought to himself. 'I may have to ask for help, much to my own dismay, but I highly doubt the normal group, even including Ichigo, will find this task not easy. One on one was definitely out of the question.' Shinji sighed, his hand pressed to his head to scratch it hesitantly. 'This will be a total drag, asking for help is outside my comfort zone.'

Again, another sigh. He reached forward to the knob of his office, turning it and walking in while closing the door behind him. He knew he was going to have a lot of paper work after the day's wonderful events.

Still, one thing was still bothering him, even when Ichigo asked the question he didn't know the answer. And to his own knowledge, no one else knew the answer as well.

Why didn't The Department of Research and Development, (decided to take the English dub version of it since I'm currently re-watching everything in the dubbed version instead of subbed), catch the Garganta tear?

The department was only informed when the spike of Aria's hollowfication took place.

Nothing made sense, but there was no use pondering over it. He would know eventually. He had to be patient.

He sat down at his desk, his eyes scanning over the paperwork in front of him. There were at least one-hundred different reports on his desk. He sighed yet again. This was something he definitely did not miss.

Something moved in her peripheral vision, his head twisting to see a hell butterfly flying through his open window and over to where he was sitting.

Looked like he didn't have to wait long to get his answers.

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Yamamoto had called a captain's only meeting. Surprisingly, all the captains attended, which was rare that they didn't have to wait a day or two for captains that were sent off a faraway mission to arrive.

Shinji took his place in the meeting room. All the captains made it on time, not one lingering behind. Yamamoto didn't waste any time as he appeared in front of the room, his squinting, old eyes looking through the captains' one face at a time.

"You may all know why I've called you here at a moment's notice." Yamamoto paused, again his eyes scanning the captains. "Today's events were troublesome. The reason why we weren't aware of the Garganta tear was because The Department of Research and Development's machines suddenly shut down. The reason is still unknown for the moment…"

All the captains seemed surprised and nervous. Their eyes shifting from one another almost like they wanted someone to speak up and give an explanation. No such thing happened.

"It has also come to my attention," Yamamoto paused yet again, like he was trying to search for the right words. Something that was not like him, and it only made some of the captains more nervous, including Shinji. "That Aria holds an item, or Zanpakuto that has caused problems in the past. Problems I do not wish to repeat again."

Unahana stepped forward to speak, her usual happy smile not present. "What do you mean? One of her Zanpakuto's was…"

"Locked away after the owner was dealt with, but the Zanpakuto stayed, waiting for its next master to arrive. For these reasons, and these reasons alone, she will be forced to give up her Zanpakuto, and if she refuses, then I order an immediate execution."

"You can't be serious," Shinji spoke up, his voice holding one of annoyance and anger. "You can't just expect someone to just give up their Zanpakuto! It's like giving up a part of their soul, you can't expect her to agree to this."

Yamamoto opened his eyes to look over at Shinji. "My decision is final. Whichever captain happens upon her first will bring her into custody. There will be no more questions of the matter. This meeting is dismissed."

Everyone walked out, some solemnly and others with non-caring attitude. Shinji had his head down in thought, not quite believing what he had heard. The worst part about the matter was if she refuses, Ichigo would no doubt ably try to protect her, that same way he protected Rukia. But unlike last time, Ichigo wouldn't have a choice, this was something completely different. Yamamoto found her to be a threat if she didn't give up her Zanpakuto, and if she fought back… he really didn't know what her choice would be.

"What do you think about this matter?" Toshiro appeared next to Shinji outside of the meeting room, his arms crossed and his face set in his usual serious scowl. Toshiro knew Shinji was one, (not including Sajin because Toshiro didn't know those two conversed), of the only captains whom talked to Aria. He wanted to know his opinion about her and the current situation.

Shinji sighed and shook his head. "I think head captain Yamamoto is taking this too far. From what I've noticed, Aria is a good kid, she just needs help with her hollowfication issue." He glanced down at Toshiro, not knowing his reaction would be to the news, but he didn't seemed fazed. "To tell you the truth, I don't think Aria will give up her Zanpakuto so easily, and I don't think she'll go down without a fight… and then there's Ichigo…"

"Yes," Toshiro began as he looked down to contemplate. "I was thinking that same thing, and if she did fight back she'll probably hollowfy again. I believe she'll cause a lot of damage unless we incarcerate her first…"

Shinji tried his best not to flinch. He remembered now Toshiro was there when Aria lost control. He saw what she was capable of. This wasn't good, and the way he was talking made Shinji believe Toshiro agreed without question with Yamamoto's choice. Actually, it didn't really surprise him.

"Hirako," someone else called. He looked over and saw Captain Komamura walking over to them. He also seemed… worried like Shinji was. "Will you be one of the captains to attain Aria?" he glanced over at Toshiro wondering if he was going as well.

"It would probably be best if I'm the one to break the news to her. I just hope she comes without a fight, but I'm more worried about Ichigo causing problems than Aria."

Captain Komamura nodded, agreeing completely. "If you don't mind, I wish to come along as well. Maybe if things get out of hand, my words might help defuse the situation."

"That's probably a good idea, if I don't get through Ichigo's thick skull then maybe two captains word might help knock some sense into him."

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Aria watched the nurse come into the room wheeling in something she found very displeasing to see. The nurse turned her attention to her, her smile warm and welcoming. Aria glared, not liking her attitude toward the upcoming situation she was going to find herself in.

"How are you doing, Aria? Any pain?" she asked, her smile not leaving her too happy face.

Aria's glare deepened. "Fine," she replied sharply.

The nurse nodded, ignoring Aria's attitude completely. She turned her attention back to the cart, her hand moving over the contents causing Aria's eyes to grow with nervousness. When the nurse turned back around Aria was cowering in the far end of the bed away from her as she only stared at the needle in the nurses' hand.

This caused Ichigo to snicker. Aria gave him a death glare over to where he was sitting next to the bed. "Didn't know you were such a baby when it came to a little needle?" Ichigo mocked, his snicker growing into a laugh as he watch Aria open her mouth to make a snide comeback but stopped short when she saw the nurse advancing on her with the needle.

"Get that pointy thing away from me!" She yelled. She was still cowering in the corner as the nurse squeezed the liquid out a little to make sure it was flowing correctly. She gave Aria another warm smile.

"I wouldn't have to give you a shot if you kept the IV in, now hold still I don't want to accidently poke you in the wrong spot."

The nurse had the needle poised for her arm, but Aria dodged at the last minute and moved over to the other side of the bed near Ichigo. "Like that makes me feel any better! Now go away you she-devil!"

The nurses' eyebrow twitched as she tried her best to keep a smiling face, but Aria and Ichigo could see the fire behind her hazel eyes. "Will you stop being a baby and just take the shot already. You need it just in case you get an infection…" she said through gritted teeth.

Again, she advanced on Aria, her arm flying forward as she tried to stab Aria in the arm but she continued to invade the needled.

Finally, the nurse felt the needle hit flesh, but…

"What the hell!" Ichigo yelled as he looked at the needle protruding from his arm. At the last second before the needle made contact with her arm Aria grabbed Ichigo's and used his arm as a shield, pulling it in front of her and smiling wickedly as the needle punctured his skin. Ichigo glared at the supposed red head below him. She gave him a victory smile and that only pissed him off further. "Don't you want to get better?"

"I am better. I could leave now if I wanted to," Aria snickered at the glowering face Ichigo was giving her.

"That's good to hear…" Aria turned her head toward the voice to see the door opening with Shinji walking into the room. There was – something wrong, Aria could see it instantly. Behind him were two more captains, Sajin and the short white haired one… If she remembered correctly Ichigo called him Toshiro back at the festival.

"What's going on?" Ichigo asked, noticing the same thing Aria had. He stood up from his seat and stood in front of Aria. He knew it had something to do with her.

Shinji hesitated then sighed, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to come up with the best way to say their predicament without Ichigo going overboard. "Head Captain Yamamoto," he hesitated again to sigh while crossing his arms. "Look, I really don't want to do this but he left me no choice. Aria, you're under confinement for harboring an illegal Zanpakuto. You have to come with us immediately. If you resist… if you resist we have no choice but to terminate you."

"What the hell, Shinji!" Ichigo swung his arm in front of his body, his eyes wide with rage. "Why does-"

Before he could finish his sentence a hand reached out and grabbed Ichigo's shoulder. "Ichigo…" Aria said, getting his attention. He turned his head to look at her, his eyes were still wide but more from surprise than anger. She was now standing, he didn't even hear her get up. "It's all right. I figured something like this may happen if he saw my white Zanpakuto." When he turned to look at her she crossed her arms and looked away from him, not wanting to meet his eyes. "I tried my best to not bring them out while we were around these soul reapers… but that didn't happen."

"This is stupid," Ichigo began his rant again. "How the hell can a Zanpakuto be illegal?..." Then he stopped as he thought over her words. His eyes searched her face, trying to find something, anything, to help make sense of the situation. "What do you mean you knew something like this happened if…" he trailed off, he didn't have to repeat her words.

Aria looked back at him, seeing his eyes scrutinizing hers. "It's a long story… but I'll try my best to shorten it for someone like you to understand." Even during their current situation, she still found the time to make fun of him. Of course, he wasn't fazed, he was too serious to really care at the moment. "My white Zanpakuto was sealed away because some bad guy in the past tried to use it for no good, obviously. So, Yamamoto sealed it away after he found out that this certain Zanpakuto didn't just disappear with its master like normal Zanpakuto's, instead it was already searching for another master. He was afraid something like what happened in the past would occur again. Anyways, my mom, before she became a human for whatever reason, stole the Zanpakuto before she left. Don't ask, I don't know why, I was too young to understand that stuff back then. Now since it's in my possession and I'm its new master, Yamamoto is afraid that I'll repeat the past and this time he may not have the strength to stop it."

"Wait a minute, so you're telling me this Zanpakuto is so powerful that even Yamamoto is afraid of it?" Ichigo was scratching the side of his head as he thought it over. He was confused. "Still, why does he have to arrest you because it's in your possession? He doesn't even know you. He just making wild assumptions."

"You're right, he doesn't know me." She looked away from Ichigo and stared at the three captains, but she still continued to address her next words to Ichigo. "You're wrong about one thing, my white Zanpakuto isn't powerful. In fact, in its released state it can't even cut through I flies wings, even if I tried."

"I'm confused…"

Aria sighed. "Of course you are. The reason why he's afraid of my Zanpakuto is because it can create… portals to anywhere without any restriction. That also includes a portal to the Soul King's domain." She said the last part quietly, but everyone still heard her nonetheless.

Shinji stepped forward, the shock clear on his face. "So that's why Head Captain is determined to recapture your Zanpakuto. If your power fell into the wrong hands-"

Aria cut him off, seemed like she was in the mood for it. "That's why I ran away. I'm pretty sure that's why Aizen was after me. I knew what would happen if someone was able to manipulate me. That… and because I was afraid of killing people I cared for, for reason you all know already."

When she mentioned Aizen's name everyone's face grew from shock to stern. Seemed the wound still hadn't healed from their battle. Aria watched all their faces, even Ichigo eyes furrowed when she said his name. "But, Sukui won't give me up so easily. He's actually really grumpy and hates it when other people touch him, which I can understand completely after being left locked up for over a thousand years."

Sajin stepped forward, everyone's eyes turned toward him and his towering form. "Sukui is the name of the Zanpakuto you were referring to?" Aria nodded. "What do you mean he won't give you up so easily?"

"When he's taken away he reappears at my side instantly. He's a weird Zanpakuto by the way, he likes to defy logic." Aria noticed the change in the wolf captain before her. He seemed distraught about something. "Why?"

"Head Captain Yamamoto strictly said that if you are not willing to give up your Zanpakuto, you will be executed immediately…"

Aria noticed Ichigo stiffen next to her, she gave him a sideways glance and watched the emotions run through his face; namely anger. "Well then," Aria shrugged, looking away from Ichigo and putting her attention back to the three captains. "Looks like I'm going to be executed on the spot."

Ichigo turned toward her, she saw the all too familiar flame in his eyes. "How can you even say that? Don't you care if you live or die?"

Aria stared back at him, she kept her face firm, not breaking eye contact. "I'm not like you Ichigo," she began slowly. "There's not a lot for me to live for. If it's my time to die then I'll accept that."

Ichigo growled. "You're a bigger idiot than I thought! You're just willing to give up your life just like that? Without caring what other people may feel?"

Aria glared up at him, shifting from one foot to the other turning her body toward him. "You're not going to make this easy, are you? Who said that it's absolute? Maybe luck will be on my side, you never know."

"Yeah, but-"

"Ichigo," that was the second time she cut him off, but this time her eyes softened. "Let's just see what happens. I don't want any unnecessary violence, especially something over someone like me. I won't allow it." Then she began to glare at him again. "And if you continue to try and fight back I'll take you down myself." She turned around ignoring whatever Ichigo had to say next. "Anyways, I'm ready to go once I'm out of this stupid white robe." She tugged on the collar of her robe with distaste. "Feels like I'm wearing a dress and I hate dresses."

The nurse that everyone forgot about took a step forward, from the movement everyone looked over toward her with question. "Your clothes that you had on earlier were torn and useless, so we threw them away. But I am more than happy to get you a new Shihakusho for you to wear."

Aria rolled her eyes. "It's better than wearing a robe. Don't want to feel a breeze in uncomfortable places."

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The men left the room for Aria to get dressed. She slowly put on the black Shinigami outfit as she thought about what just occurred. If she could reach Sukui would he let her go? Was that even possible? She hadn't talked to him since she was ten. Every time she went to her inner world her hollow was the only one there. Even though it's been awhile she still remembered his personality. He was stern, strict, non-outgoing, and always talked about how weak she was. She also remembered him saying that he didn't give a damn if she lived or died. If she died he'll find a more suitable master.

But Hakai, her black Zanpakuto, was almost the opposite. He was outgoing, fun, energetic, and playful all around. Of course he was stern when he had to be, but at least he acted like he cared about her.

She tightened the white sash around her hips and sighed. Would today be the day her life would end? She knew it actually didn't end, she would be reborn as a soul without any memory of her human life. Ichigo acted like it was the end of the world if she died, she didn't understand why he was acting the way he was. Would he really risk his life to save hers? They've only been friends for one day…

He was a dumbass.

She nodded her head in agreement. She turned around and walked to the door and opening it to see everyone was waiting for her outside. She nodded to them and they began to escort her out of the fourth division barracks.

Suddenly, she remembered something. "Wait," she said and stopped walking. "There's one more thing I have to do. It'll be quick, I promise."

Sajin was the first to nod his head. "What is it?"

"Um," she looked away, she could feel her facial expression change to something she hated others to see. Regret and sadness. "Where's Hisagi's room? I needed to say… I need to tell him…"

"I understand, he's right down the hallway, but you don't need to tell him you're sorry. I can guarantee you that he understands and has already forgave you." The wolf captain gave her a knowing look, when she looked up at him she could see the truth in his eyes. She smiled warily toward him, but continued to walk down the hallway toward Hisagi's room.

His door was closed. She stood in front of it and her hand went up to open the door but stopped… was she scared? Nervous? She looked down at her hand to find it shaking. This wasn't like her… of course, how was she supposed to act in this sort of situation? She never been in this predicament before. She's been alone for so long…

She looked over at Ichigo, she didn't know why but she guessed it was for encouragement. She could just walk away, leave things how they were… no, she had to do this.

When her eyes meet Ichigo, he nodded his head and a light smile played on his lips. She nodded to and turned her head back toward the door. She took a deep breath and opened it, walking in and shutting it behind her.

She looked over at the bed where Hisagi was at. He was sitting up with his feet hanging over the edge. He still had his black shinigami bottoms on, but his upper body was bear with bandages covering almost every inch of his upper skin.

Hisagi looked over from rotating his right shoulder to the now shutting door.

"Aria?" His gruff voice called out, he was more than surprised to see her, but he knew why she was there. Aria could see it in his eyes when his surprise was gone and was replaced with a knowing… smile.

"You shouldn't be smiling," she mumbled, but Hisagi sill heard her.

"Why not, it wasn't your fault you know. Shit happens."

Aria looked away as emotions began to bubble up inside her. She was missing her hoodie right about then. She could easily hide her face in it. "I'm sorry," she said lamely causing her to grimace at her own tone of voice. She coughed into her hand and continued with a stronger one. "I'm sorry for what I did to you, I shouldn't had let myself lose control. I could have easily deflected that stupid attack, but I was being careless and stupid and…"

"Hey now," this time it was Hisagi who cut her off. He was now sitting up straight with his arm crossed and an amused smile on his lips. "Don't go insulting yourself for something you couldn't help. Does it look like I'm mad or even care about what happened? I don't want your apology, you got that?"

When she looked away unconvinced by his words, he sighed and stood up ignoring the slight pain in his chest. He walked over to her and placed both palms on her shoulders. He leaned down slightly to look her in the face. "Don't look like I'm lying, 'cause I'm not. Things happen that can be out of your control. It happens to everyone, including me. I know it's hard to forgive yourself for something that plagued your past and decided to resurface out of nowhere, but if you don't forgive yourself you are unable to move forward and get on with your life." She looked up at him and he gave her a goofy grin. "Now stop being all grumpy and let's see that smile."

She blushed slightly from the proximity and gave him a small smile. When he seemed satisfied she shoed his hands away from her shoulders and turned sideways to cross her arms. "Well, at least I got that off my chest." She looked back up at him and saw he still had that same smile on. "By the way, I don't like to be touch. Next time your balls will be on the line."