Chapter One
Seconds after the casting of Forbidden Kido 96: Ittō Kasō by Commander-General Yamamoto.
Aizen paused as he neared the edge of the scorching conflagration, tilting his head back towards his defeated opponent. "Hmm?"
The words rang forth, ringing with a power that only the most powerful of kido masters could produce: "Forbidden Kido: Halt Time."
All movement around them stopped, encased in a faint glow. Turning back to his opponent, Aizen smiled faintly, "You still have the power to fight? You have truly exceeded all my expectations, Commander."
Yamamoto breathed heavily as he struggled to his feet, but anger did not enter his expression. "Combat is impossible in this place, outside of time."
Tilting his head slightly to the side, Aizen pondered the statement, "Then what could you hope to achieve? If 'Outside of Time', as you say, nothing can effect that which takes place 'within time'. Perhaps you think to simply out-wait me? Hope that perhaps I will age and die as we remain here? You have lived for 2000 years, General. I shall live for far longer than that."
"Silence, insolent pup!" The general barked, glaring at the former captain, "All that has taken place has served a specific purpose. It led you to this specific moment. There was no other way to make you understand the truth of what it is you are attempting."
Aizen chuckled mildly, "Perhaps I was not clear enough? I intend to sit atop heaven. I will sit in the vacant throne of the Spirit King. Do not take me for a fool, General; I know the truth. I have seen the seal, I know of the bindings. I know everything."
"You know nothing!" The general yelled, anger flashing to his face, "Do you really believe you can defeat the spirit king with such a paltry amount of power! I have led the shinigami for two thousand years, and nothing has been more powerful than I...save for the Spirit King!"
"And you follow its orders like a blind minion, mindlessly doing what it commands?" Aizen frowned, "Does that not seem to be...unfair?"
The General growled, "Once again, you prove your lack of understanding. Do you want to know what the spirit king is? Do you truly want to know?"
Aizen's eyes narrowed.
Across the frozen blaze, the General grunted, "Very well. To see the Spirit King is the easiest thing in the entire world." The general glanced to the ball of kido held in his remaining hand, squeezing it for a moment into an elongated shape, before collapsing back into a sphere; outside, a few brief seconds passed, and in the center of the pillar of fire, a hole was punched straight up, letting the light of the sun shine through onto the both of them. The General's face fell into shadow as the sun's light fell upon it, bringing into high relief the countless scars and marks of battle that covered his body.
"To see the Spirit King...all one must do is...look up."
Slowly, Aizen raised his head, focusing on the flaming orb, incredibly high in the sky. "What..." his words faded as he understood. No... he thought, that's...that's impossible. Impossible.
His expression changed only a tiny fraction, but it was enough.
The General grunted, disgusted, "Did you really believe that we would sacrifice one hundred thousand of the souls we strive so hard to protect merely to enshroud our 'King' in mystery?"
For the first time perhaps in recorded memory, he began to laugh; a bleak, ominous sound. "At last, you finally understand. Now, perhaps, you can make your choice with true freedom. Finally you know what peril we move beneath every day." he raised his eyes to the sky, staring at his ancient nemesis for a long moment. Finally, he lowered them again, staring at Aizen full on. "I hope," he said, voice beginning to shake with weariness, "I hope...for the sake of Soul Society...that you make the...correct...choice..."
The General toppled to the ground, his kido disappearing into a flash of harmless light. And all that Aizen could do was walk forward, stunned, from the blaze.
That was the moment that had changed everything, of course. All of his vast plans, discarded in an instant. He had needed time to think, in a place where he could rest with the dignity he deserved.
Now, with years to think over what had happened, he realized that he had gone a touch insane as he attempted to deal with the revelation. The screaming and wanton destruction had probably been unnecessary.
But now he had a plan. For every being in the universe, there existed a counterpart. For him, there existed Ichigo Kurasaki. For the Spirit King...
Deep in the bowels of the Seireitei, Aizen began to laugh. A new plan was already in motion, and this time no power in heaven or earth would stop him.
Three Months Later
"I have never been so proud as I am on this day." On a platform extending out above the crowd of anxiously waiting Soul Reapers, the Dean of the Shino Institute smiled widely, "And every other graduation day, of course. But that doesn't really matter, does it? Just... go out! Into the world! Forwards and onwards, never stopping, you will meet your fate, and find your destiny! I think. I therefore, henceforth and henceforward, hereforeafterwards and henceafterforthwards...uh...where was I?" A dark-robed individual hurried to the Dean's side, whispering in his ear quickly, and he turned back to his audience "Ah, of course! So following this, your graduation, go out into the world! Make Soul Society proud, and you will make me proud, and also my cat Poodles, and my..." again the soul reaper whispered in his ear for a few seconds, then the dean waved him away irritably, "Fine, Fine! With no further ado, I declare your training complete! Congratulations…Soul Reapers!"
A wave of cheers broke across the huge room, echoing hundreds of feet up to the rafters, and from one side of the building to the other. Windows shattered, hats and small animals were thrown, and all semblance of decorum went out the window in an instant.
After all, this was the worst graduating class of them all.
The Dean smiled a wide smile , and then trailed off into noisy snores as his aide wheeled him off the stage. Pausing for a brief moment, hundreds of soul reapers began to applaud their venerable teacher, who was always understanding, and always willing to give a second chance. Without him, half of them would not be here.
And when he was finally clear of the room, the real party began.
Insanity Ensued.
Dozens of kegs of sake were uncovered from where they had been hidden all around the room, some discovered left over from graduations years past. For the Third-Class, chaos was a tradition that was joyously upheld.
Friends and enemies pounded one another on the back, Men and Women, Allies and Rivals, Even some of the teachers joined the excitement! Almost all barriers temporarily vanished in the madness. The newest class of shinigami had finally graduated!
The Third-Class were the worst of the graduating soul reapers, the ones that barely passed, later to be assigned to only the most basic of hollows(if they were unlucky!) Everyone knew it, but nobody cared what happened to them, especially not this night.
And in their increasingly inebriated state, anything seemed possible. On the stage where the dean had spoken, they had commandeered the recently installed audio system, and a half dozen graduates sang karaoke at each other, getting more and more red-faced as their singing became ever more slurred, before eventually collapsing into a pile. A dozen feet away, a group of girls practiced kissing on a young man, his bespectacled face growing redder and redder with each kiss until finally he passed out cold on one of the couches that folded out of the walls(Installed by the graduating Third-Class some 75 years before!). The girls skipped away through an intricate game of sake-go, the players too inebriated to give chace, their tumultuous giggling penetrating the turmoil that now filled the room, sending the sounds of laughter, as always, as the predominant signal of this graduating class.
Except, if you watched carefully, you would notice one girl, alone in the crowd. For a brief few minutes, she walked about the room, trying to talk to random people in the crowd...who treated her like a ghost, hurrying away into the chaos. Minutes later, she rushed from the room, unnoticed, and again the crowd swelled with noise.
High above the crowd, above even the stage from which the dean had given his speech, the vice dean watched the rampant inebriation below with cold disapproval. Watching the revelry unfold unrestrained felt like grinding salt into a wound in his soul. To say that it displeased him would be like saying the sun was kind of warm. He ground his teeth impotently; unfortunately, the elderly Dean had specifically ordered him not to disrupt it this year. Again and again, he reminded himself that to disobey the Dean would damage his reputation forever. He would never be able to prepare another student for what they would face In the real world. He would be an outcast, he told himself. Below, a student fell from a table, smashing his face into the ground as those watching laughed uproariously, and the vice-dean's hand twitched towards his zanpakuto. He grimaced in annoyance.
The roar of the crowd was suddenly punctuated by the sound of glass breaking, and he drew himself back to reality as he reminded himself of the reason he was here. Straightening his collar, he walked out onto the high platform, a strict frown forming on his face. He would make his speech and be done, and maybe teach a few of these children a lesson, he thought. But only if they really deserved it. Before his frown could fully take shape however, he found himself interrupted by presence of a well-endowed woman, her robes left open to highlight her considerable tracts of land. Instantly he glanced over, ready to deliver a stiff reprimand to whoever would be so careless as to get into his way, but before he could form the sentence, he realized who it was, and froze. The woman who stood there chuckled, her drawled words filled with sympathetic humor.
"Aww, don't be like that, 'Tano."
What is she doing here? He thought, furiously. However, he merely turned aside and frowned down at the party evolving below him. His frown deepened as he realized that she must have been concealing her presence for him not to have felt her presence. This won't be any easier... he thought, annoyed, Better to go on the offensive. "Don't be like what, 'Miko?" he said with forced lightness, using his nickname for his fellow teacher, hoping it would distract her. No such luck.
"Don't be so hard on them. You can't fool me, I know that look. You shouldn't be so hard on them."
He turned to the side to appreciate her face; she was beautiful, he sometimes thought. Beautiful… in an infuriating manner, anyway. A small, understanding smile was currently crossing her full lips, and he felt a flash of desire... He glanced away again, grinding his teeth. No matter how many times he told her, she always—he growled, a low, dangerous noise.
"They have no idea of what is coming for them. If they…knew… they wouldn't be celebrating like this."
"Oh, now, Tano…not everyone will have a first year like you. Most have a grand ole' time in the 13 court guard squads. Even you can't—" She rested her hand on his shoulder, but he shook it off, impatient.
"I know— what they will be facing. You don't need to practice your travelogue on me. I know well enough." He grimaced, Why does she always make this as hard as possible? He shook his head, frustrated, "Now, I just need to get this bloody announcement out of the way while they still might remember it, and get back to my office. Some of us have work to do, you know." He glanced back at her; the annoying smile was still on her face, fairly glowing with sympathy.
He grunted and turned away again, forcing himself to change his focus. How to best get the attention of an almost raving mob…hmm. Taking a deep breath and clearing his mind, he decided on the Dean's traditional approach.
Pointing his bare finger towards the ceiling high above, he muttered to himself:
"Hado 4; Byakurai".
Still filled with anger, the kido was stronger than he intended; A bolt of blue lightning burst from his hand, flying high into the sky and shattering the skylight above, shooting into the sky, and causing screams from some and smiles from the others. From the back of the room, a joker shouted out, "Do a back flip!", sending a ripple of laughter across the crowd. Forcing his face into a small smile that didn't reach his eyes, he changed his voice to one that reverberated with command, and projected out over the now quieter crowd;
"As most of you should still remember, I am the Vice Dean in charge of personnel...and assignment."
Worried frowns broke out across the crowd. As many said, he literally held their lives in his hands, should he so choose to abuse his authority. He continued, "I am only here to remind you all that any person applying to a specific one of the 13 court guard squads should have done so by now." Around the class, some of the faces paled, and he knew that, like always, some had forgotten to apply. He continued, reassuring the forgetful ones,
"If you have not shown such a preference, we, your teachers, will endeavor to advocate the squad that will suit you best." The fearful ones calmed. What did they think would happen, they'd just toss them away if they didn't apply? Soul reapers were too important to Soul Society to do something ridiculous like that. I should know... he ground his teeth, and then jumped as 'Miko rested her hand on his shoulder again. Sighing, he left it there and continued,
"Additionally, I would like to remind you that in the upcoming week, you will meet with one of the planning advisers, graduates from last year who have kindly volunteered to fulfill the ancient and traditional process of assigning you to your respective squads. You should know that as per tradition, while we teachers may strongly suggest to then which squad you belong in, they have the ultimate authority when it comes to your future." Such a stupid tradition, he thought, but it's important to the Dean, for some reason. "In any case, I strongly advise you be kind to them. No need for undue worry, however; Abuse of the position is the single thing that I will not tolerate. If they take advantage of their power, I will take advantage of them, personally."
His wolf grin after this statement sent half the crowd into a frightened silence; nobody knew for sure, but everyone had heard the stories about the Vice-Dean...after sweeping his eyes over the crowd of graduates, he eventually continued,
"Other than that, you have nothing to do for the next two weeks. I suggest you enjoy yourselves." If any of them noticed the sarcasm present in his voice, they were smart enough not to show it in their faces. "Live long, Shinigami!"
Finished, he turned away, and the crowd once again broke out into happy cheers. He turned and walked off the stage, his false smiles already long gone. He felt 'Miko's hand fall reluctantly from his shoulder, but forced himself to continue walking. He only stopped once, just as he was about to leave the room, he glanced back at the surging mob of happy shinigami. 'Miko was watching them dance with a smile; the Vice Dean turned away.
Happy lives. Wouldn't that be a treat?
"Idiots…"
Shaking his head, he strode out of the room. He had more serious matters to attend to.
The party he left behind lasted for four days and became a legend in itself, not the least of which being the very special people had been a part of that crowd. Or at least, some claimed they were.
Several Days Later
Deep inside the Squad Six Barracks
From outside, a quavering knock rang, reverberating throughout the room.
The knocker spoke, his voice as shaky as the knock had been. "A-Amaya? I have—are you there?" For a moment, it was silent, and then a second knock sounded, as the fearful person spoke again;
"Amaya? Hello? Are you there?"
Suddenly, a new voice cut in, louder than the first one, but rough and bored.
"Oh, come on, you moron. You outrank her now, use your authority! If you want to enter…" He grunted, and with a violent burst of energy, he sent the door flying off its hinges with a massive kick.
"…ENTER!"
He boldly strode into the quiet room, his brows drawn together as he darted his gaze around the spartan room. Finally they settled on the girl, still sitting in the lotus position, ice-blue eyes impassively fixed on him. Then they darted around the room.
Quickly and intelligently, those eyes took stock of the room, taking in the tall man, the smaller man fearfully peeking out from behind him, and finally the splintered door now lying on the ground. Again, her eyes flashed to the tall man's face.
Her expression didn't change all all, but he had the strangest feeling that room temperature had dropped about 5 degrees.
She watched, seemingly without emotion, as a single drop of sweat slowly dripped down his forehead. Eventually, she closed her eyes, and spoke, her words quiet and controlled.
"What are you here for, Miyaka?"
He stared at her until the big man stamped his foot impatiently,
"Get on with it, man! Spit it out!"
Finally, stuttering, he brought his fearful gaze up to meet Amaya's cold eyes, and he straightened himself. He did outrank her now, he reminded himself. That had to mean something. He hoped.
"Amaya Ekairi, you have been ordered to report to the 14th Court Guard Squad, otherwise known as the Shinigami Reserves, for service as combat healer"
Amaya and Miyaka stared at each other for a long moment.
The tall man glanced between the two, before his eyes clouded with confusion.
"Wait a minute…the '14th squad'? What the hell is that?"
Meanwhile,
Assignment Room J, Shinigami Class Three
"…and congratulations on your assignment into the 11th squad! Just as a tip, I suggest you keep your zanpakuto handy when you meet those guys, they can be a bit…ah, rambunctious."
The tall man smirked up from his desk at the muscled man in front of him, who clearly hadn't noticed the sarcasm that had colored his voice.
"Very well, you're dismissed. NEXT!" The burly man proudly strutted out the door, while behind him, the quiet man smiled a twisted little smile, and murmured to himself,
"Heh, heh, heh…that guy's just like the rest of those morons in the 11th. I bet he lasts…two weeks? Three? Nah, he might be a keeper, actually. Hmm, time to start the betting." He wrote down the man's name carefully in his notebook, making sure to write down all the procedural stuff, but also including his bet. Finishing that, he relaxed back into his chair.
"Ah, I love this job! Pruning all this trash out of soul society, doing 'good works'" He laughed mockingly, then craned his neck to look down the hallway, "…where is that damn next graduate? NEEEEEEXT!" he bellowed.
"Oh! Sorry! Sorry sir, I'm coming, coming, com-oompf!" the quiet man watched with mild amusement as the candidate stumbled through the door and finally fell flat on her face. Before she could stand, he re-arranged his face into an impassive look, trying to look as scholarly as any of the teachers.
"Sorry! Sorry, sir, I'm just a little clumsy, but I'll do ok, I promise!" Popping up from the ground, she pushed her large glasses up her nose and smiled bravely, trying to make up for her earlier blunder.
"Hinoko Miako, reporting for duty SIR!"
He glanced down at the paper showing her scores and test results, and then extended his spiritual power, gauging her reiatsu, her muscle mass, and the zanpakuto that he saw slung loosely at her side.
Huh? That's weird...
Slightly confused, he checked her reiatsu again, closing his eyes as he gauged her power level to the full extent of his ability.
Finished with his second check, he leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers in front of him, staring at her with a perturbed expression.
"Uhh…sir? Is there a problem?"
Pondering what he had sensed, he glanced down at his ledger and asked, "…'Hinoko Miako'…how have you survived in the Shinō Academy?"
Sucking on her pinky, she drew her eyebrows together in confusion.
"Survived? What do you mean, sir?" she looked at him for an answer. Unfortunately, no answer was forthcoming, so she responded simply, " Well, I don't know…just lucky, I guess!" She said, smiling, "Why do you ask, sir?"
"I simply ask, because, to be honest, your reiatsu is barely recognizable. Can you even cast kido?"
Her eyes widened.
"Of-of course, sir! I can…I can cast kido! You saw my grades, didn't you?
He glanced at the ledger again, and looked at her with a disbelieving look on his face.
"Yes, yes, your grades...but teachers have been known to make mistakes."
He slowly smiled. Spinning his chair around, he seized the penknife on his desk, and slashed a light cut across his palm.
"Well then...if you can cast kido...then heal this," he said, slightly menacing smile growing larger.
"Sir?" she said with confusion,
He repeated, "If you can cast kido, you can heal this. Can't you?"
"N-no-I mean yes-I mean...well, I can try..."
5 minutes later
"To be honest, I'm impressed." The tall man looked down at his freshly healed palm, testing his hand as he flexed it. "Being able to cast kido at all with your level of reiatsu is remarkable. Unfortunately, even this," he waved his freshly healed hand around elaborately, "doesn't qualify you for service in even the fourth squad, with the healers. Taking 5 minutes to heal a tiny wound like that is far below the necessary level required for even an unseated position in the divisions. What would you do in a real combat situation? They might grow old and die before you healed their injuries…if they survived at all."
He looked down at her face, where dejection was quickly setting in.
"Please…isn't there anything I can do?" He pondered the question; she didn't have that bad of a body, his scan had told him that, but her face…he didn't think he ignore that face. Those glasses...ugh. In any case, he knew better than to take advantage of one of the graduates; one of his friends had tried last year, and had ended up sans two fingers on his right hand, courtesy of the Vice-Dean. Regrowing fingers was not fun. It was a nice fantasy, but…he quickly decided that the benefits weren't worth the risks. He liked his body well and intact. And who knew if the vice-dean would stop with his fingers…
He leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers before his face. It would be pointless to put her into any of the squads; the girl was completely useless. To put her into any of the squads would only be a detriment to that squad, and would probably end up getting someone killed, and maybe it wouldn't be her! Even he wasn't cruel enough to do that. Well then, fine… he thought, and a tiny smile crept onto his face, There's always...that other option. His smile grew, as he made his decision.
"Very well. I'll break the rules for you for once."
The girl's eyes widened, and he continued, since she clearly didn't recognize sarcasm.
"I am going to do something that has not been done in over two hundred years. Hinoko Mitasuki, report to the Shino Reserves, as its commanding officer!" Her face lit up, and she dashed around his desk and hugged him lightly, with a small blush coloring her face.
"Oh, thank you sir! Thank you thank you thank you thank you you wont regret this I promise thank you thank you thank you thank you!"
She ran from the room, her voice trailing off as she ran down the hall. For a moment, he felt a touch of guilt, but he quickly squashed it.
Oh well. She couldn't have done any good anyway, in the reserves she won't get killed off any faster than she would anywhere else. I'll give her a week, tops.
He turned back to his desk, chuckling as he wrote down his bet. Not many people got to send people to the hell-hole they called the Shino Reserves.
How do they let people like that enter the academy, anyway?
He finished writing his entry, and re-arranged his face back into its scholarly facade. "NEXT!"
Down the hall, Hinoko abruptly skidded to a halt. "Wait a moment…14th court guard squad? Reserves? Commanding Officer! What's going on!" Nobody nearby payed attention to her, like usual.
"Where do I go now? What am I supposed to do!"
This was Impossible.
There was a building in front of her. Sort of. At one point, you might have called it a building; Before the forest completely wrapped it up like a Christmas present. Or before some sort of bomb had apparently gone off inside, blowing all the windows outwards and leaving shards of glass sticking out at jagged angles. Not to mention that even the glass was so old that it had turned opaque.
Resting her hands on her hips, Hinoko glared up at the ancient building accusingly, and hoped deeply that it would collapse sooner instead of later, so she could go back to the Seireitei. She had things she needed to do.
Sadly, it remained standing like it must have for hundreds of years before, and Hinoko was forced to sigh in defeat. Beaten, already...It figured. She forced herself to remember that, assuming her ridiculous orders were not a prank as her advisors had assured her they weren't; she would be in a position to advance her agenda faster than she could possibly have any other way. It was just so strange…Captain. No, it can't be true. But the way he said it…For the dozenth time, she glanced down at the orders she held in her hands. What she saw could not be denied. "Student: Hinoko I. Mitasuki. Assignment: Captain, 14th squad. Effective Immediately."
A head popped out of one of the third floor windows, breaking her train of thought with a new one, Nashiyo? What's she doing here?
"Hinoko? What are you doing here?" The girl said, unconciously echoing Hinoko's thoughts.
Hinoko coughed in amusement, "What are you doing all the way up there?"
"Up here?" Nashiyo looked around, as if surprised at her location, then shrugged, "I sorta woke up up here." Her face flushed, and she continued quickly, "Anyway, get up here already! Everyone else is here, we're only waiting for you!"
"Y…Yes!"
Hinoko stroked her sword for a moment as she made her way towards the building, feeling strength and support soak into her from the hilt. No matter what she found in that room, she knew, at least her zanpakuto would always be there for her. Maybe together, they could change the world for the better.