[i]When he eventually woke, the darkness had returned to him once again. The man that had entered before was now long gone, and so too were the voices. But Jinzo just continued to lay there, weak and exhausted from the most recent torture and abuse he had been subjected to. After nearly a decade, you'd think they'd have gotten bored with him by now. But life as a Soul passed by slower than life as a Human. These men could afford to take their time with him. The thought of them keeping him prisoner for hundreds of years suddenly hit him. It was a harsh realization, one that he would have no control over if they so decided to do it. 'Unacceptable. Impossible. We won't allow it. We shall destroy them. Destroy them all. We shall rip them to pieces. Feast on their blood!' The voices had returned again. With every thought they spoke. Detailing exactly how they would harm each and every one of his captors. They vowed to protect him, over and over. By now Jinzo was writhing on the floor in agony. The voices burned at his mind, every spoken word was a piercing screech that echoed through him. His eyes were squeezed shut and his teeth bared as he grimaced and moaned due to the pain. The voices continued, however. Even bringing his hands to his ears did nothing to stave them off. Soon, he could take it no longer. He sat up on his knees a screamed.

[b]"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!"[/b] 

Then everything was silent. Even the rats, who he had long forgotten about, stopped their incessant squeaks and scurrying. The only thing he could hear was the ragged sound of each breath. Sweat trickled down his barely covered body. A body that had been severely battered and bruised over the years. It was full of old scars and fresh wounds. His skin was a sickly white that stretched over his over his bones. His flesh looked as if it had been sucked right out of him. Crawling over to one of the two buckets that were used as toilets, he peered into the one that was full of his own piss. A foul smell barraged his senses and his face contorted in disgust. Then, he simply stopped. He stopped moving, stopped reacting and, for a few seconds, even stopped breathing.

He could see his own reflection. In the over-spilling bucket full of his urine he could see the mirrored image of his own gaunt face, his shaggy hair and dark eyes. He was stunned. Now only one voice came to him, his own. [b]"H-How?"[/b] He uttered. Jinzo sat back on his knees and raised his hands up to his face. He could see them as clear as day. But that was impossible, the room he had been imprisoned within was built not to let in any outside light. He spun around, scouring the room for a light source but there was none. The darkness had gone. The veil that had haunted him for so long and been peeled away. Now everything was in grayscale. Now, he could see within the darkness.[/i]

[b]11th Squad Barracks[/b]

It was the three consecutive knocks at his door that stirred Jinzo from his daydream, followed by another three that made him realize where he was and what he was doing. Which currently happened to be; holding a small carving knife and a block of wood. Shavings were littered all over his desk. He'd been wood-crafting and daydreaming at the same time. He stared slowly at the block of wood, when another three knocks came at the door followed by a voice. [i]"Lieutenant Iaori, Are you in there?"[/i]

[b]"Shit!"[/b] He said out loud, before hurriedly stashing the block and the knife in the drawer of his desk. He then proceeded to brush all of the wooden shavings on to the floor frantically. 

[i]"Lieutenant Iaori?"[/i] Came the voice again. A female voice from what he could tell, despite it being muffled by the door.

[b]"Yes, Yes. Come in!"[/b] He replied, sitting down quickly and pretending to be relaxed as the heavy wooden door swung open. Stood within the doorway was a rather young looking girl, the equivalent of a teenager in the Human World. He doubted she was older than 180. It was the Squad's 4th Seat; Tetsuki Yodama, more commonly referred to as Suki. The girl walked into the room and bowed before him. Just as she began to speak, Suki noticed what seemed to be wood shavings all over the rug in front of Jinzo's desk.

[i]"Why are there wood shavings all over the floor?"[/i] She inquired, a perplexed look dominating her expression. Jinzo said nothing and continued to stare at her, a blank look on his face. The room was silent for a while, however, before things could get awkward, Jinzo responded.

[b]"Is that all you came here to ask?"[/b] He continued to stare at Suki, his expression unchanging as he acted as if he knew nothing about the shavings. 

[i]"Oh! Errm...No. I actually came to inform you that Captain Ueru is attending the tournament and will not be returning to the barracks right now."[/i]

[b]"Is that so?"[/b] He said, still trying to act cool. Before realizing that Kenpachi had failed to keep him informed yet again and grew slightly annoyed. [b]"Well it's nice of him to let me know, eh?"[/b]

[i]"You're fortunate that one of the lower ranks saw him near the 7th Squad's Barracks. They told me and, in turn, I ran all the way here to tell you."[/i] It was only now that he could see how red her cheeks were, she'd obviously been using Shunpo.

[b]"Well then, I suppose I owe you my thanks, Suki."[/b] Jinzo began to rise up out of his seat, a few wood chippings falling from his lap as he did so.

[i]"Please don't mention it, Sir."[/i] She replied, her cheeks growing slightly redder than before, though Jinzo failed to notice. [i]"If there's anyt-"[/i]

[b]"There is, actually."[/b] He interrupted and began to walk around the side of his desk, his shoes crunching over the chippings. As he drew closer to her, his height towered above hers, to the point that she had to physically look up to him. He soon walked past her and stood in the doorway. Turning back, he said, [b]"First of all, I need you to get someone to tidy up the mess on my floor. People have obviously been playing pranks again, [i]for which I shall be punishing the entire Squad in training tomorrow![/i]"[/b] He said that loud enough to be heard by all of the Shinigami still left cleaning up, most had already gone to the tournament. There were a few groans in reply but nothing much else. [b]"And second..."[/b] He continued, [b]"I need you to accompany me to the tournament."[/b]

Suki let out a short gasp before controlling herself. [i]"W-W-What? I..err...I-I mean...Really, Sir? Are you sure?"[/i] She had by now spun around to face Jinzo but he was already striding across the dojo area.

[b]"Of course I'm sure."[/b] He said, pausing momentarily. [b]"I wouldn't say it for no reason now, would I?"[/b] He then began walking away from her again. Suki, however, bounded a few steps toward him to catch up. She walked to his left and gazed up at his hard-set face.

[i]"Does that mean th-"[/i]

[b]"Oh of course not, don't be ridiculous."[/b] Jinzo cut her off again, only this time he was waving a dismissive hand at what was going to be her question. Just the idea of fighting in that tournament repulsed him. But Suki's face showed that maybe she wasn't going to ask if he was taking part. [b]"Now come on. Or we're going to be late."[/b] The pair then disappeared in an instant, headed for the 7th Squad Barracks.