Soul Society – Twenty Years After Aizen's Defeat
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Ichigo Kurosaki opened his eyes, his orange hair now long enough to nearly completely cover his eyes. Orihime rustled in the bed next to him. They had been married nearly ten years now. Both of them had given up their lives as normal humans to become Shinigami in order to live eternally together. While Ichigo, the newly promoted 5th Division Captain, had no time for children of his own, he and Orihime still loved eachother with all of their hearts, and even though Ichigo had much work to do, they were still thinking about making a family. But now was not the time. This ominous banging outside was the signal of an intruder. The Captain-Commander would no doubt call a Captain's Meeting soon to discuss the nature of this so-called interloper.
"Is something wrong, Ichigo?" Orihime muttered over to Ichigo, her eyes still closed.
"I wish I knew. Even so, this is the intruder alarm. I must get to the Captain-Commander at once," he replied as he got out of bed. "Don't worry about it – it's probably nothing." he continued as he saw Orihime opened her eyes, a look of concern covering her expression. He kissed her on the forehead to reassure her, picked up Zangetsu from his bedside, and was off.
The morning sunlight blinded him for a moment as his eyes adjusted to the change in lighting as Ichigo stepped outside, but even while he couldn't see, he could definitely sense something was amiss. He didn't know quite what, but something in his gut told him this wasn't any normal intrusion. Throwing aside the disconcerting thought so as to keep his concentration, he made his way to the center tower for the inevitable Captain's Meeting.
It seems that the other Captains were thinking the same thing as he. Most of them were already lined up formally, while a select few others were chatting among themselves. He greeted them as he walked by.
"Morning, Urahara-san," he said as he nodded in his direction. Urahara was the Captain of the 12th Division again – his exile forgiven for his help during the war against Aizen.
"Ah, Kurosaki-san. Good to see you could get on your feet this early. If I might have a word with you?"
"Of course. Actually, I was about to ask the same thing to you. Morning, Hisagi-san, Ikkaku, Renji," he replied to Urahara as he named the Captains he walked by on his way to Urahara. Approaching the former exile, he whispered "Do you know what this is all about?"
Urahara frowned. "Actually, no. And that's what disturbs me the most. As the head of the Technological Institute, I'd know better than anyone that it would take someone of Captain-level or higher to walk undetected through the reiatsu sensors I've set up throughout the city. It is most... interesting."
Ichigo opened his mouth to ask another question, but was interrupted by a cheerful shout that echoed throughout the room.
"Good morning, everybody!" Captain-Commander Shunsui yelled, making his presence noticeable. All heads turned in his direction as the Captains hustled to get into their formal lines. Shunsui merely shook his head. "Now, now, people, there's no reason to be so formal. I'm not THAT strict." The Captains all seemed to relax a small bit, but out of habit, they remained in their lines. The Captain-Commander sighed. "Alright. Have it your way." he said as he walked to the head of the room. Once there, he turned around. "Now then. Does anyone have any idea what might be going on here?"
Urahara spoke out. "Yes, Captain-Commander. Though I don't know the exact nature of who this intruder is, my reiatsu detectors seem to not to detect him. To be able to bypass the sensors, you'd need a captain-class level reiatsu or higher.
"Hmm...," Shunsui said, stroking his beard. "Anything else, Urahara? Witnesses?"
"No, Captain-Commander. From what I've been told, a patrol came across a number of dead Shinigami in a secluded corridor, and then gave the word to sound the alarm. I was given the bodies to determine the nature of their death. It looked like their skulls were completely shattered from an outside force. This could just be brute force or whatever weapon he's carrying, but it may be an invaluable detail in determining the way this intruder fights."
"Very interesting." Shunsui turned to Yoruichi Shihouin, appointed Captain of the 2nd Squad. "Yoruichi, I want you to scout out Seireitei for any clues as to the intruder's whereabouts. Report back to me if you find anything."
"Yes, Captain-Commander." Yoruichi replied, and with that, she Shunpoed away to carry out her orders.
'The rest of you are to keep your eyes open. If you see anything suspicious, you have my express permission to investigate."
"Yes, Captain-Commander!" the Captains said in unison, and they all disappeared from the room in a blink of an eye.
Shunsui let out a long sigh and sat down in his chair. "Sheesh, I'm not cut out for this."