"I really, really want to know what just happened."
Renji Abarai was now staring at a blank white hole in the sky far away, on the outskirts of Rukongai. All Lieutenants and Captains were gathered, preparing to handle whatever result could have come from it; Hisagi was shaking his head slightly as he stood beside Renji, and Matsumoto shrugged from her spot leaning against the wall behind them.
"There's no telling; Captain Kurotsuchi's been messing around with his test tubes again, so we haven't got any hint."
Hitsugaya was standing beside her, and glanced over at her for a moment before looking back to the blank white hole in the sky. "It doesn't matter who caused it; we need to ascertain that it wasn't Aizen's doing, and that it's not posing a threat to Soul Society." He held his hand out to catch a Hell Butterfly, staring off into nothing as he listened to the message. As the butterfly fluttered away, Hitsugaya's hand dropped. Byakuya stood off in the corner of the room, letting the butterfly flutter over to land on his chest and deliver the same message, before heading off to the other Captains in the room. Zaraki just swatted the bug away, until it snuck up behind him and landed on his eyepatch.
"Just tell us what the message is, or this'll take forever." Kyoraku looked at Hitsugaya, waiting. The Tenth Captain turned around, looking at everyone in the room and began speaking.
"There are...intruders. Ryoka have apparently come from that...hole. Head Captain Yamamoto suggests that we choose three Captains and their Lieutenants to intercept them. The rest will stay back and protect Seireitei in event that more come and decide to attack." He pointed to Matsumoto, and she moved to his side. "I'll be the first Captain. Since we're missing a few Captains at the moment, I suggest that we have Captain Kuchiki and Captain Zaraki go as well. Captain Kurotsuchi and his Lieutenant are already moving on their own to assess this...hole."
Byakuya gestured to Renji and began walking alongside Hitsugaya; Zaraki followed after with Yachiru perched on his shoulder, as usual. They were quick to leave Seireitei and head to the point where a ruckus was being raised in Rukongai, coming into view to see who was causing the commotion.
"Come on, we're sensible human beings here, aren't we?" A young man looking around his teens was backing up quickly from a group of angry Rukongai peasants wielding farming tools, his long blond hair braided behind him and a deep red coat with some odd snake and cross mark on the back. He was wearing white gloves as well, and was quickly joined by a silver haired man with a ponytail backing up as well.
"Attacking a priest is a rather large sin, sirs..." The tall silver-haired man added, nervously. But the villagers spotted the shinigami and ran off quickly, giving the group of ryoka a tip that these people were dangerous.
"Ryoka." Hitsugaya barked, trying to get their attention. It did, and the silver-haired man looked at them and smiled nervously.
"Well, hello there. I'll thank you for saving us, being beaten isn't really something I'm looking forward to..." He began, before noticing Zaraki and seeming to shrink back. "Oh...hello to you too..." He mumbled, as the blond young man looked apprehensively.
"Hey, who're you? And have you seen a su...a guy in a suit of armor anywhere around here?" He asked, and as he saw Byakuya, looked confused for a moment. Byakuya took the opportunity to speak.
"Ryoka, you are in the Soul Society in Japan. Explain how you arrived, or you will be imprisoned and possibly executed." As soon as he spoke, the blond young man started glaring at him and mumbled something akin to 'Oh great, another Mustang'. The taller silver-haired man took the opportunity to speak.
"Oh, erm...I'm Father Abel Nightroad, from Rome. And I've no idea how I got here, actually. One minute I'm sitting in the cold outside of a very nice inn, the next, I'm laying face-down in a sunny, grassy field not too far from here. Oh yes, and I heard a noise that sounded like cracking glass right before. Now," He put his hands together, smiling without any hint of hidden intent, "Could you please repeat where we are?"
"The afterlife." Zaraki deadpanned, and Abel blinked. He then looked around, curiously.
"Well, if you don't mind me saying...Heaven really isn't what I expected it to be..." He noted the rickety shacks, the poor villagers, and his face seemed to fall moment by moment, before he looked completely depressed. The short blond took the time to speak.
"Edward Elric, from Resem...Central, in Amestris. I was walking down the street a minute before winding up here. And you didn't answer me earlier; did you see a guy in a suit of ar-"
"No." Hitsugaya cut him off, now looking at the others behind him. He had been counting, but one seemed to be gone. "Where is that man in the suit I saw earlier?"
Byakuya stared and kept his appearance as austere as ever. "Man in a suit? I did not see one."
"Me neither." Renji chimed in, and Yachiru shrugged at the same time as Zaraki did. A new person was shoved before them, tripping and landing in the dirt. He had long chocolate brown hair tied back in a long ponytail, wore large glasses with black rims, and had bright green eyes. His hair was done back with a large red bow as well, and his clothes resembled that of a butler's uniform. He raised his head, staring blankly at Zaraki.
"S-sorry!" The young man yelped, back on his feet and now trying to obscure himself behind the tall form of Abel. It didn't work.
"Who are you? It will help us if we know your names, so that we can properly catalogue all of you later on." Matsumoto spoke to him, and the young man moved back into view.
"Erm...sorry...Grell. Grell Sutcliffe. And...erm, what did you mean by 'catalogue'?"
The shinigami surrounded the ryoka, now ushering them towards Seireitei. A tall blond man wearing a large red coat stumbled but got his balance again, walking beside another man wearing a red coat and large red hat, though he was wearing orange-ish glasses and had long black hair. He was also quite eerie.
"We'll explain everything later."