11 Future witholding

Koga was rushed back to the squad 4 hospital, where in he was immediately sent into surgery by the captain of squad 4, Retsu Unohana.

" Damn! Damn! Damn!" Kensei was cursing up a storm, while waiting outside the captain's operating room. 

All of the captains were waiting. Sitting carefully, as if they were treading on thin ice. 

But none of them, were more a wreck, than the captain of squad 3, Makoto Shirahashi. 

The poor woman was a nervous wreck. Her hair was mangled with dirt, her robes were soaked, and her eyes red from crying. She was the clearest picture of a mess. 

" I can't believe it. Koga, was beaten by a Hollow? I never thought it was possible." Jushiro muttered softly. 

Jushiro was always considered the captain with the weakest constitution, but that did not disparage his combat skills, and even he had to acknowledge how impressive of a captain Koga Kirigane was. 

And yet.

" To see him, like this. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

" Never underestimate a Hollow, Jushiro. You should know better." Yamamoto muttered. " Unpredictability is their nature."

" I know." Jushiro replied.

Shunsui stepped up and patted Jushiro on the shoulder, showing his support. " It's fine, Jushiro. What I want to know is, what was that form? Don't think, I've ever seen a Hollow looks so closely to a human before."

" I had not expected to see one, so brazenly march into the soul society. A Vasto Lorde, that is." Yamamoto spoke.

" What? You mean that thing was a Vasto Lorde?" 

" Correct, Shunsui. It is clear from the way the body and mask have transformed into a more humanoid shape, that this was indeed a Vasto Lorde, the highest breed of Menos, and among the most powerful of Hollows. A rare sight. A rare sight, and a deadly one." Yamamoto explained.

"" But how? We would have sensed something like that breaking into the soul society... How could we have missed something so large and utterly evil?" Yoruichi asked.

" Never mind that. For now, we must continue to offer our presence to Captain Kirigane." Yamamoto spoke. 

Time continued to pass on, and on and on. It was painful waiting in silence, wondering whether or not one of their friends was going to die or not. And for others it was even worse. 

The surgery went well into the night. 

However, as the sun began to come up, signaling the beginning of a new day, news finally came. 

Captain Unohana stepped out of the operating room, along with her helpers, covered in blood.

Makoto was the first to approach the woman, worry written all over her face. " Captain?"

Unohana removed the bloody garment, she used, and handed it to one of her assistants before turning to face the other captains in the room. 

" Captain Kirigane suffered numerous injuries in his battle. A crushed lung, multiple burns, severe blood loss, and multiple deep gashes to his torso. Not to mention the loss of his left arm.... Needless to say.... His days as a Captain, are over." Unohana spoke. She took a deep breath and sighed.

Makoto shuddered as the captain hung on her words in silence.

" However."

A moment of hope came to Makoto, as Unohana's sullen frown, slowly turned into a smile. 

" He will live." Unohana muttered.

Those three words lifted the weight of the world off of Makoto's shoulders, and a dam that had been holding back the river of tears in her eyes, suddenly gave way. 

" Alright!" Kensei Exclaimed.

" That is most fortunate news." Yamamoto stated. 

" Thank you, Captain Unohana." Makoto rubbed her eyes and thanked the older captain with all her heart. 

" Of course." Unohana replied. " He's sleeping right now. But if you want you can go inside and wait for him to wake up." 

Makoto nodded her head.

Unohana took Makoto's gentle hand and led her into the room, while the others celebrated quietly. 

............

Elsewhere- in the Soul Society.

Aizen sat in front of his monitor, rewatching the events that had just transpired.

" Hm... It would appear that Captain Kirigane is going to live. This was a waste of time, Lord Aizen. That Hollow failed." Tosen muttered.

" Not exactly, Kaname." Aizen replied. His voice was laced with curiosity and excitement, an unusual for a man as calm and composed as he was. 

" What do you mean?" Tosen asked.

" That Hollow, exceeded my expectations, Kaname." Aizen told the man. " Originally, I had planned on taking the Hollows corpse, before Koga could destroy it, in order to study it closely...." Aizen spoke. " But this is far more interesting and helps feed to my theory on Hollows and evolution. I had not expected to see a Hollow evolve into a Vasto Lorde up close and personal... That experience was far more valuable than anything a corpse could provide. Truly, a remarkable specimen. This knowledge will go towards testing my thesis."

" I see. And when do you think, you'll be ready?" Tosen asked.

" I still need time to make preparations. But... I believe it will be sometime soon. That we can move ahead...." Aizen smiled and stood up from his seat before leaving Tosen to ponder in his thoughts. 

......................

Hueco Mundo-

Bikou stood in the sands of Hueco Mundo, taking in his new power. The feeling was immeasurable. But there was something off about it...

" It feels like there's an even bigger hole..." Bikou spoke. " Here." He placed his hand right where his Hollow Hole was and sighed. " What the hell, man?"

" My, my... I'm impressed... "

Bikou turned around, to meet his mysterious benefactor once more.

" Oh, it's you?" Bikou muttered. " What do you want?" He asked.

" I wanted to see how you were doing? Undergoing a change like that... I must say, it is quite impressive." 

" I'm doing just fine... I have to thank you though. Turning your back on your own people... Well, it allowed me to get this far, so thanks." Bikou spoke.

" Of course. Though, I must ask something... Why did you spare the Soul Reaper? Surely with your power, killing him would be easy." 

" Eh? Oh, that... Well, I didn't mean to spare him or anything... I just didn't think it would be entirely fair. Or something? I don't know." Bikou muttered. " Truthfully, while I did win. It doesn't feel like it."

" What do you mean?"

" My transformation... It pretty much healed all of my wounds." Bikou stated. " Kirigane, didn't have that luxury. I guess, you could say I'm unsatisfied. Because now, I don't really know if I am stronger than he was. He was still pretty damn powerful. If we were to fight again, there's no telling how that would turn out." He said.

" I see. Unfortunately, Koga Kirigane is no longer Captain of Squad 9. He's been forced into retirement due to the severity of his injuries."

" I see." Bikou sighed and looked up at the moon.

The glaring white light signified the hollowness within his heart. Hearing that Koga wasn't able to fight should have filled him with pride, like before. But for some reason, he just wasn't feeling it.

" Well, that's too bad." He muttered solemnly. His eyes told the story of a man, filled with depression. Longing of some kind. But what that was, he still struggled to understand. 

" Well, then-"

" Hey, I got a question for you..." Bikou spoke up, interrupting the man in the middle of his sentence. " Who are you?"

" Who am I?" He asked. " My name is Sosuke Aizen. And you are?"

" Bikou is my name."

" Well, then Bikou, how would you feel about joining me?" Aizen asked. " I have need for many powerful comrades, and I think.... You can someday rise above those limits placed on you. So, what do you say?"

" I'd say hell no. You... Heh! You turned your back on the Soul Reapers. Your own kind. You expect me to believe that you'd work with a Hollow? Without any ulterior motive? You must be crazy. I'm grateful for the opportunity to settle the score. But that's it." Bikou told the man.

" I see. That is wise. Of all the people in this world, I am the last person you should trust." Aizen explained. " But I'm also the one you should fear the most. As a thanks for showing me something truly amazing, I'll let you live... For now. But someday, you will become a stepping stone to raise me to an even higher level-"

Bikou swung his staff at Aizen, and Aizen blocked it with his sword.

The collision caused a mass of sand to explode into the air.

" You didn't let me finish." Aizen muttered.

Bikou scoffed and smiled at Aizen. " Sorry. It sounded like you were saying I should kill you now." Bikou told the man. 

Aizen returned the favor, scoffing in Bikou's face, before smiling back. " I was going to say, until then we should continue to be friendly with one another. At least until we are both ready to kill each other."

" Heh! That works for me." Bikou told the man. " I'll get stronger, Aizen. And one day, you and I are gonna fight."

Aizen withdrew his sword, and Bikou stood down. 

" I see. Well then, make sure to take care until then, Bikou of the Sand. Until we meet again." Aizen sheathed his Zanpakuto and walked away, leaving Bikou to resume his wandering in Hueco Mundo, alone... Once again.