Prologue
The room was nearly pitch black and the low lighting that hung far above the small group that was gathered for the meeting didn't really help. If anything, the lights made the eerie feeling in the room more concrete, manifesting through the shadowy outlines of figures circled up and discussing their monthly business plans. The center figure sat, hunched over, fingers pressed to his lips in thought. He leaned back and crossed his arms, coming to his silent conclusion. He opened his mouth to speak to the congregation.
"So, we've covered finances, Hollow reports, and every other menial project, program, or cause there is. Did I miss anything?" The sarcasm practically leaked from his tone.
A door on the far wall flew open and all eyes focused on the small figure standing in the light that flooded in. The pool of rays burned the retinas of the members of the small council, who had succumbed to the lull of the darkness. She stepped inside the room, uninvited, and smiled.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," she cocked her pink-haired head to the side, "but we have a sort of problem." The small group remained silent, until one of the figures motioned her forward.
"What is it, Yachiru?" A familiar gruff voice rang throughout the dead silence of the room, followed by the quiet sound of jingling bells when the figure shifted, signaling for her to enter. "And shut that door already!" The figure laughed warmly.
She walked further into the room and turned to shut the door with a soft click, amplified by the lack of upholstery in the room. She turned to face the party again.
"Well, I have some sort of bad news, average bad news, and terrible scary 'Oh my god' this is bad news." Her tone rose with her hands that were now clasping her face. Her mouth hung open in mock fright. A higher pitched voice came from a figure, not much bigger than Yachiru herself.
"Well just go in order then." The small shadow, with visibly white hair, crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
"The bad news is the Espada is trying to reform." Eyes shot around at each other, mumbling. The mutual opinion being that the news was shocking but not really threatening.
"That's not too bad. We've taken them out once before so I'm sure we can do it again." The gruff voice of the man who had invited Yachiru into the room spoke up.
"The regular bad news is someone has infiltrated the Soul Society and has broken into the prison," she said with an ever-present smile on her face.
Voices raised and the murmuring amongst the captains grew louder. Obviously tension had grown in response to the last remark.
"Give us the rest, Yachiru." A low, calm voice spoke up. The figure looked up at her through the long strands of black hair that fell across his face.
"Well, it seems that the group who broke into the prison," she paused, "decided to break Aizen out."
There was a sudden, loud silence that filled the room. No one moved for the longest time. Slowly they turned to one another. The silence was broken by the collective response of the group, "Shit."