Prologue to War
The Captains of the Gotei 13 stood assembled within the First Division barracks, inside the office of Captain Commander Shunsui Kyoraku. A slight tension was held in the atmosphere of the room as an emergency meeting had been called. Many eyes fell upon Kyoraku, who stood at the head of the room. A solemn smile was spread across his face. This made it apparent that he did not have good news.
"I'm glad you all could make it on such short notice," he began. "You must be having questions about why you're even here. Allow me to explain." Kyoraku paused, as if deciding what to say next. "We may have a civil war on our hands."
A few of the younger Captains looked at their leader with shock. Meanwhile, others only listened with indifference.
Toshiro Hitsugaya (Tenth Division Captain) was among the former. "Are you saying that there is dissonance within the Gotei 13?" the white haired boy asked. "Or have the Rukongai districts revolted? What of the Noble Houses?"
Kyoraku was taken off guard by this. "Oh, sorry everyone! I should have figured you would think I was talking about Soul Society," he apologized cheerily, rubbing the back of his head. "I meant a civil war within the Three Lynchpins. Hueco Mundo, specifically."
Relief filled the room. The Three Lynchpins referred to the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the Vandenreich; who formed an alliance after the Fall of Yhwach three years earlier. Since then, Uryu Ishida became the Kaiser of the Quincy, and Tia Halibel regained her rule over Hueco Mundo.
Byakuya Kuchiki (Sixth Division Captain) noticed how Kyoraku became upbeat again. "Judging from your calm demeanor, it would appear that Lady Halibel has not betrayed. Meaning the civil war you refer to is between her own subjects. Am I incorrect?"
Kyoraku eyed the Noble, impressed. "How perceptive of you, Captain Kuchiki. You're right on the mark. A few days ago, I had been informed of a Separatist group of Arrancars who operate under the name of 'The Black Sun'. They seem to renounce Lady Halibel's reign."
"And 'cause of the truce we have, we gotta go an' help," Shinji Hirako (Fifth Division Captain) guessed. "Would ya look at that. We have to deal with another war now."
"Well, it would be polite," Kyoraku said to the blonde man. "We have some footage of the damage the Black Sun has caused. Captain Kurotsuchi, if you will."
The Captain of the Twelfth Division walked to the opposite end of the room. It wasn't hard for him to draw attention. Once again, he'd recently changed his appearance. The upper half of his face was painted white (except for his nose) with a black stripe over each eye, connecting the black bottom half to his forehead. Atop his head was a tuft of blue hair styled into a Mohawk.
He took out a small orb. And pressed a button. A large translucent screen was then projected into the air. On it was the crest of the Twelfth Division.
"I invented this device for the purpose of inter-dimensional communication. With a sample of Reiatsu from a certain place, we can receive and relay footage from said place to another." Mayuri moved a dial on the orb.
The Captains now watched as destroyed structures and sand burning with red flames of Reishi.
"Isn't Reishi supposed t'be blue?" Shinji commented.
Kensei Muguruma (Ninth Division Captain), who'd been watching intently, also noticed something odd. "Hold up, Kurotsuchi." The silver haired Captain gestured to a crumbling wall tucked into the corner of the screen. "It looks like someone painted a message there."
Mayuri zoomed in on what he was talking about. Sure enough, a message in black paint under the picture of a Black Sun was on the wall. On it read: 'Die Schwarze Sonne Des Quincy ist auf such.'
"Call me crazy, but I think that's German," Jushiro Ukitake (Thirteenth Division Captain) observed.
Across from the white haired man, Sui-Feng (Second Division Captain) narrowed her eyes as she read it aloud. " 'The Black Sun of the Quincy is upon you.' This definitely deserves some explanation from the Vandenreich," the petite woman said in a dangerous tone.
Hitsugaya had some ideas of his own. "An explanation? More like a confession to an act of treachery, if you ask me."
Shuhei Hisagi, Captain of the Eighth Division, was a bit more skeptical. "How can we be sure the Vandenreich has anything to do with this? It could easily be framing. I wouldn't if all this turned out to be the work of another group of Quincies. I mean, we didn't know that an entire empire was right under our noses for a thousand years."
"Hisagi is right," Ukitake sided. "We should at least give Lord Ishida a chance to explain first before outright accusing him. He might not even be aware of any of this."
Kyoraku nodded. "I agree. I will discuss this matter with Lord Ishida and see what he has to say on the matter. Until we get answers, I do not want to hear any word of this outside of here. Dismissed."
Vandenreich (1 Hour Later)
The pale light of the moon shone over the Silbern, dimly illuminating the fortress of a palace. Uryu Ishida, Kaiser of the Quincy, sat upon his throne and gazed at the darkening sky. As dusk turned to night, lights were turned on and lamps were lit across the vast, maze-like city.
"My lord," came a voice from beside his throne.
Maximilian Steiner (Sternritter 'R') stood next to his king patiently. He was a place man with unruly, long brown hair. A pair of blue tinted goggles sat on the blind man's face, concealing his eyes. Out of all the Sternritter, he was one of the few who wore the standard uniform.
"How has your conference gone
with Commander Kyoraku?" he asked with curiosity.
"I have given him the answers he needed," Uryu answered. "Things are going as you predicted. 'The dawn of a black sun shall overtake Hueco Mundo. The Angels of Death will then come forth and seek aid from the Star Cross.' I must commend you. Your visions are becoming increasingly accurate."
Maximilian bowed his head in respect. "It is only because my visions are a power His Majesty has granted me. If I may, I would like to know what you plan to do next."
Uryu sat up and walked to the edge of the throne room balcony. Maximilian followed close behind. "I sense a great conflict on the rise," Uryu hummed. "To survive it, I'm afraid we require all the help were can get. I shall call upon an old friend; we will seek out Ichigo Kurosaki.
