So, I'm in a bit of a Bleach mood right now (meaning that my inspiration to write suddenly switched over from Fairy Tail), so I thought that I'd put up a story, just to test the waters of this fandom's fanfiction world. This is a story that I've had in my back pocket for a while, so I thought 'Hey, why not? I'm in the mood to watch Bleach, so why don't I work on it and post it?'. After all, I did spend about a month posting fifty chapters to my Fairy Tail fic. Maybe it needs a short break. So, Bleach.
So, even though I'm not entirely sure if I want to follow the canon story past Aizen's big mess (though I do kinda want to cover the anime fillers, since a good fanfiction can make even the most disappointing filler episodes bearable), I have to admit…last month's chapters really helped to stir my creativity. Because let's face it, Kubo just gave a big chunk of the fandom some much needed fanservice.
Thank you, Kubo.
Anyhow, please enjoy this first chapter. I'll be doing the story from two first person P.O.V.s, and it's an O.C. insert, just a head's up. Italics are for butterfly messages (these have quotation marks) and thoughts (no quotation marks), bold for author's notes.
The story begins just before Rukia meets Ichigo.
Toshiro's P.O.V.
My morning started out hard enough when I saw the work piled up on my desk. But I guess that I should have expected something to happen to make it worse. Somehow, there's always something there to make my day worse. And today will no doubt be no exception.
Right on cue, a hell butterfly flies in the window of my office, an office that I worked hard to get. And despite the mountains of paperwork, the useless lieutenant, and most of the other captains looking down on me, I'm determined to prove just how effective a captain I can be. And as it lands on my hand, I listen to the recorded message.
"Attention, this message is addressed to all captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Head-Captain Yamamoto commands your presence in the Squad One barracks immediately. I repeat. Head-Captain Yamamoto commands your presence in Squad One immediately."
The message starts to repeat itself over again, so I shake the hell butterfly off my finger. He commands our presence? What exactly is this about? This doesn't happen often. In fact, it only ever happens when there is a serious threat to address.
Rangiku finally saunters into the office, looking more than a little tipsy this morning. "Oh, Captain! I'm sorry I'm late, I got caught up-"
"Enough!" I cut her off and get up from my desk, having no patience for dealing with her drunken antics. "The Head-Captain has called for a meeting. Stay here and get to work on the paperwork that you've been putting off all morning." I walk straight towards the door, barely glancing at Rangiku. "I'm going to Squad One."
I slam the doors shut behind me. More than once, I've been tempted to freeze this dimension's entire store of alcohol just to get her to put it down and do some work for once. But knowing my lieutenant, she would go through hell and back to find a way to thaw it out. Or worse, she might just skip over to the World of the Living in order to satisfy her craving for alcohol. And there, I might never find her.
Making my way quickly to Squad One's barracks, I mull over the many possible reasons that could cause the Head-Captain to call for a mandatory meeting at such short notice. Because this definitely isn't normal. There's usually a lot more warning when a meeting is mandatory, because it takes a while to get all the captains rounded up.
Surprisingly, it looks like attendance isn't going to be a problem today. In the meeting hall, all of the other captains have started to gather, including Ukitake, whose health seems to be better lately. We wait patiently for the head captain to arrive and start the meeting. And the atmosphere is tense, which means that the other captains know that something is definitely up. That's good, I thought I was the only one on edge.
Next to me, Kyoraku tips his hat down over his eyes. "So…I wonder what it is this time…" He glances at me for a moment. "Any guesses?"
He's asking me? "I don't know. But whatever it is, it's got to be important. There's never been a summons this last minute."
"Hm…" There's a slight smile on his face. "Then I think that our day is about to get rather interesting."
"You say that like it's a good thing…" I honestly have a hard time understanding Kyoraku sometimes. He may be one of the captains who doesn't give me any condescending looks, or hassle over my inexperience, but that doesn't mean that he's particularly open about what goes on in that head of his. Most of the time, he's just lounging around, drinking sake and lying in the sun, while leaving most of the paperwork to his lieutenant. Sometimes, I wish that we could trade lieutenants…
Finally, the elderly captain of Squad One enters the meeting room, and all conversation around the room ceases. Now we can finally figure out exactly why we're here in the first place. He takes his place at the head of the room, and the tension only becomes stiffer.
Yamamoto strikes his cane against the ground, a call for attention. "As you all know, this meeting is to discuss matters of great importance."
It takes all my willpower not to roll my eyes, as that would be disrespectful to the Head-Captain. Yes…we know that, now what is it? I've had a bad enough morning dealing with a backlog of paperwork. And getting pulled away from that when I really need to deal with it is not helping my mood.
The Head-Captain continues, after a moment of silence. "It has come to my attention that the fluctuations of spiritual pressure that have been running rampant all over the World of the Living for the last twenty years have begun to strengthen as of late. These fluctuations are now confirmed to originate from a single source. However, this powerful being has been causing disturbances worldwide. It is not a soul reaper, nor any kind of hollow. But, as it has been causing these problems across the globe, the time has come to put an end to it. After twenty years, this being has shown itself despite the broken trails." The explanation is all well and good. Then, he turns to the captain of Squad Twelve. "Captain Kurotsuchi! Your analysis, please."
Kurotsuchi starts waving his hands, something he does when excited. "The Department of Research and Development has concluded that based on our readings, this being has levels of spiritual power at least equal to those of most of the captains present. And it would appear to have some kind of space-time ability, seeing as it manages to move over the planet at unheard of speeds, as well as jumping from continent to continent. Now, given how inconsistent the readings are, I've concluded that the entity likely uses other dimensions as buffers for moving across oceans. In addition, this being has powers that don't match any of the supernatural species on record. It isn't a soul reaper, or a hollow, a Quincy, an arrancar, or a human with any kind of special power. This is an unknown entity." Once's he's ruled out all of the usual, and unusual suspects, he gets rather serious. "The closest signature we've analyzed to this unknown entity is that of the Sokyoku. But it's still not an exact match, which is why this entity is classified as unknown."
Now that throws a serious twist on this. Whatever this thing is, it has energy similar to our ultimate execution tool. Does that make it a zanpakuto that's running loose? That's impossible...
"Does that mean that this is a zanpakuto running loose?" Captain Komomura's growling voice echoes from behind his helmet. "Or is this something never seen before?
"Both are good questions, however I am not entirely sure what the source is, whether it comes from the entity itself, or from a weapon that it carries. I would suspect, however, that rather than it belonging to one or the other, that they share the same energy signature. Or something to that effect. In any case, it is quite fascinating, and I would enjoy the chance to study it." Kurotsuchi rubs his hands together, as though he's already imagining the plethora of inhumane experiments that he could conduct on this force.
Rapping his cane against the floor once more, Yamamoto brings order to the room. "In any case, the source of the power has returned to Japan, which is the closest part of the World of the Living to the Soul Society, and that power seems to be moving quickly. Be ready to leave immediately. This mission will be first to capture, and if that is not possible, then the source of the power must be brought down by any means necessary. Everyone must keep their guard up, no matter what they find, this entity could be portraying itself as harmless and innocent. Proceed with caution. You are dismissed."
With that abrupt end, the meeting dissolves, and I make my way out of the room. An unknown entity…with as much power as a captain? That shouldn't be possible…unless it's a Menos level hollow. But they said it wasn't a hollow. So what is it?
A large hand claps me on the shoulder, and I look up to see Ukitake smiling down at me. "It's good to see you, Toshiro."
I nod slightly. "You too. I'm sorry, I'm just a little focused on this new development…"
"That makes sense…" Ukitake frowns a little. "But I can't imagine anything that would warrant sending all of the captains to apprehend it."
"Neither can I…" And that's exactly what has me worried. "Excuse me, I need to report back to my squad and inform my lieutenant that I'll be gone for today."
"Of course." Ukitake releases me with a smile. He's always so gentle and carefree that sometimes it's hard to believe that he's one of the oldest and most powerful captains.
With no more obstructions, I return to my office, half-expecting there to be bottles strewn all over, and the smell of sake hanging in the air. And although the smell of sake doesn't smash into me this time, seeing Rangiku sprawled out on the couch is hardly a surprise.
"Rangiku!"
She shoots up into a sitting position and looks around. "Captain! I wasn't sleeping, I was-"
I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh. "I don't care…I just came to tell you that I'm heading to the World of the Living shortly."
That has her on her feet in an instant. "Oh, where are we going?"
"We aren't going anywhere." I point to the pile of paperwork on Rangiku's desk. "You are going to sit there and do some work, while I accompany the other captains on a capture assignment."
"The other captains…?" Her eyes go wide. "What could possibly merit sending more than one captain?"
"I don't know…" And that's what bothers me the most. "But it's an order from the Head-Captain. I'll be leaving immediately. The information we were given indicates that the target, an unknown power, has at least as much spiritual power as a captain. That is the reason that twelve of the thirteen squad captains are going to the World of the Living."
Her eyes widen further. "Twelve? Head-Captain believes that it will take twelve captains to bring in one spirit!?"
"We don't know if it's a spirit, just that it's powerful, and that it's been jumping all over the world. Our first order is to capture it. And if that's not possible, we're to destroy it." I glance at her desk again. "I don't know how long this will take, but I'm expecting that pile to be gone by the time I get back."
"Uh…yes captain…" I feel her eyes on my back as I exit the office. Usually, I've got a little more patience for her antics, though not much. But it sounds like today, she's not going to fight me on this. Well, I suppose that's one less headache for me to deal with.
I report to the center plaza, where several of the captains have gathered. And predictably, Kurotsuchi is being creepy. The painted scientist is wringing his hands in excitement. Sometimes, I wish that I could put him on ice, permanently.
Sidling over to Kyoraku, who is suspiciously relaxed about all of this, I lower my voice to just louder than a whisper. "There's something that's not right about this…"
Kyoraku fiddles with the edge of his hat again. "Hm…maybe…" But he goes quiet, refusing to elaborate.
He knows something… Of course, that's nothing new. He always knows something.
But I don't have the opportunity to think on it further, because as Komomura and Soi Fon arrive, filling out the last of our ranks, Kurotsuchi walks through the group, towards the opening Senkaimon. He fingers the device in his hands, which is letting off a quiet, low tone. "Now, this sensor will allow us to track the source of the energy within a hundred miles. Once we have it's location, we can move out from there."
There's silence, but a general nodding of agreement. There's no point in delaying just to debate the fact that Kurotsuchi seems to be trying to take over this operation. He's the one with the sensor, so there's no much choice but to leave it up to him.
One by one, we approach and pass through the Senkaimon, the gate that connects the Soul Society to the World of the Living. Usually, it doesn't see this much traffic. And it's also highly unusual for this many captains to be going to the World of the Living all at once. But our orders are very clear.
This is a capture or kill mission.