Title: How Coyote Starrk became a Member of the Gotei 13 (On Accident)
Author: darkling59
Fandom: Bleach
Date: 9/30/2013
Disclaimer: Bleach and all associated characters, settings, concepts, etc within this story do not belong to me. Character spellings will attempt to follow those on the Bleach wikia.
Detection
The first concrete, visible sign that the captains were returning to re-take their responsibilities was the appearance of hell-butterflies. It started with a few, greeted with surprise and relief by the higher ranked shinigami present. However, the trickle quickly increased and pretty soon there was a swarm of tiny winged creatures circling the courtyard, whipping up small dust storms as the squads sent reports to their returning leaders and the captains and lieutenants responded.
(Communication via hell-butterfly had halted during the fight; the insects were too slow to carry battle communication, too easily intercepted to use for classified plans, and easily destroyed by high levels of reiatsu.)
Starrk watched the creatures with interest. As soon as they arrived, the number of shinigami begging him for orders immediately decreased and he could tell that the insects were somehow responsible. But they were rather slow and didn't seem to be carrying anything…
His hand darted out, grabbing a butterfly that passed just a little too close to his face, to the consternation of its shinigami target.
"Ah….Instructor? Sir?"
"Hn." Starrk formed a loose cage with his fingers and watched the small creature beat its wings slowly against the 'bars'. It wasn't agitated or anything…he wasn't even sure it was really alive…
"Sir, that hell butterfly is carrying my orders, so if I could just…"
"Your orders?" Starrk flipped his hand over, eying the insect's tiny legs. "It's not holding anything."
"Um…no. That's not-."
He returned it to an upright position and relaxed his fingers, allowing it to crawl out and perch on his thumb.
"It doesn't seem very-."
"Ninth Seat Satou!" Starrk immediately froze, eyebrows kicking up in surprise as a deep male voice emanated from the butterfly. "You are to report to Lieutenant Iba immediately!"
"Yes, Sir!" The small animal's intended target edged up next to Starrk and saluted at the animal, attempting to hear and respond to the message without outright demanding it from the 'higher ranking officer'. The arrancar obligingly extended his hand and allowed it to crawl onto the shinigami's shoulder, from where it latched onto a strand of hair and ascended to the top of his head. Once the message was complete and the shinigami left to obey his new orders, it took flight and fluttered slowly away, weaving lazy spirals around its message-bearing brethren.
Starrk watched as more of the creatures found their targets and the shinigami population decreased. Even the herd of weaklings begging for orders vanished, once again able to submit directly to the heads of their respective divisions.
As soon as Starrk fully understood the purpose of the courier butterflies (although not the practicality. Surely it would be faster and easier to simply deliver the message in person, by way of shunpo? Shinigami were weird.) he directed a casual glance towards the flock circling Unohana. Unlike most of the shinigami who only received one or two, she had at least thirty clinging to her shoulders and haori with dozens circling overhead and more arriving every second. As a result, less and less of her attention was directed towards monitoring the arrancar she'd found.
He didn't want to be too obvious about his burgeoning escape plan, but he surreptitiously straightened his back and planted his feet on the ground, preparing to move as soon as her focus completely slipped. Now that the crowd of minions had dispersed, he should have a much easier time of finding a clear route away from the Fourth.
His opportunity arrived when a single, slow moving butterfly limped its way into the courtyard. It was slightly bigger than the others with frayed wings, a broken antenna, and a reiatsu signature even Starrk could recognize – that of Head-captain Yamamoto. He eyed it dubiously when it hit the dirt only a couple feet into the clearing, uncertain if it would be able to make it the extra dozen meters to the building. After a laborious five minutes, it landed on the railing in front of Unohana with a minute 'thump' and an exhausted flutter.
As soon as she saw it, the captain's serene smile vanished…and so did her focus. Other butterflies, her minions, incoming casualties, the arrancar…none of it mattered next to whatever was held in that message.
Maybe it was a bit self-centered, but Starrk couldn't care less about the contents. He slipped away as soon as she turned her head, skulking through the thinning crowd and mentally congratulating himself on escaping without fighting anyone or throwing the populace into a panic.
Unfortunately, he was forgetting one very important thing.
Well…four things.
"Sir!"
Starrk's shoulders went rigid but he didn't turn around. There was no hitch in his carefully casual stride (perfect for passing unnoticed). Maybe if he ignored them…
"Instructor! Sir!"
At the second, even louder shout from four different voices this time, a few of the remaining shinigami looked up, scanning for the source. Starrk mentally cursed. They were going to spoil his escape!
"What?" He bit out, trying to sound as uninterested as possible. Unfortunately, they were unfazed. Hiku even darted in front of him, face alight with excitement and flushed with pride, completely undaunted that Starrk hadn't even slowed down and was not looking at him.
"We're done!" He enthused, walking backwards to keep up. "All of the seated officers are using our schematics! And there was a seventh seat who said I could track him down with kido questions later on. He said I had potential!"
"Good for you." His deadpan delivery finally got through to the kid and Hiku's expression wilted. Starrk was NOT going to feel remorse for putting that look on his face. He was a hollow; he didn't do emotions.
Besides, there were more important matters to attend to. He could sense at least three captains closing on the fourth division.
"So, uh, Sir…?"
"What?"
"What did you want us to do now?"
He was NOT feeling guilty at the meek, crestfallen tone. NOT!
"Like I've been saying from the beginning, find a shinigami."
Another ten feet and he'd be out of sight.
"Oh. Right." The boy didn't have to sound so lost.
Starrk sighed and massaged the arch of his brow.
"Look, kid….kids." he hadn't noticed before, but the other three were also watching him, varying levels of rejection and demoralization in their expressions. "I'm sure you did a good job. The shinigami seem happy. But now, I-"
"You think we did well?" Were those sparkles in Shuichi's eyes? Hiku, who had slipped to the back of the group for the first time, squared his shoulders and a smile retook his face.
"Erm. Yeah, sure."
"Thank you sir!" They chorused
And…complete emotional turnaround. All four were once again the bouncy kids who'd been on his heels for the past who knew how long.
"Okay. Now Go Away."
He cheated for the last three feet, boosting his speed with a touch of reiatsu and exiting into the ally just in time to avoid the first captain's arrival. The kids chattered in surprise but, to his complete lack of surprise, followed in his wake.
Across the courtyard, the taicho of the third division, Rojiro Otoribashi, came out of sonido at the steps of the fourth, face uncharacteristically grave. He paused for a moment in the doorway, puzzled by the echo of an oddly familiar reiatsu that raised red flags in the back of his mind, but shook off the déjà vu before he could put a name to it. Whatever it was, it wasn't an immediate threat and he had far more pressing matters to attend to. For now, his attention was focused on the enemy still looming on the horizon and the injured comrades he'd come to visit.
Starrk sighed in relief as soon as he was out of sight and relaxed for the first time in hours. As his hurried steps slowed to a more characteristic shuffle, he ran a hand through his hair and stretched, forcing the tension out of his muscles. What he really wanted was to take a time out; forget about the information he'd come to get and postpone escape until things died down. He could find a secluded attic or storeroom, take a well-deserved nap, and Lilynette wouldn't be around to wake him up…
"Where are we going?"
…If he managed to get rid of the kids.
He understood their interest, to an extent. Everything they'd seen so far indicated he was a highly regarded, knowledgeable shinigami. If that had truly been the case, getting in his good graces could help them in their future careers. There was a similar mentality among lesser arrancar in Hueco Mundo – they were constantly currying favor among the espada, trying to increase their own standing. But that was not the case here and it was high time they realized it.
"I'm leaving. YOU should find a shinigami to follow around. You said a seventh seat spoke to you? Find him."
"She already returned to her squad." Hiku mumbled.
"Then find someone else."
"But …"
He scowled. "No."
Miaka came up next to her friend, expression more cautious and demure. "What if we-."
"No."
Starrk turned at the next exit, staring straight ahead and ignoring the pattering of footsteps behind him and repeated questions. He was so focused on ignoring them that he didn't notice the other reiatsu until it was nearly on top of him.
In his defense, it wasn't very impressive.
"Oi! You!"
"Hm?" Jolted back to reality, Starrk raised an eyebrow. The kids clustered behind him, staring at the newcomer with wide eyes. For once, they didn't seem impressed or interested in gawking at the ranked shinigami.
The approaching man was tall and round, wearing a loose uniform that showed off the muscles on his arms, the girth at his waste, and the snack food clutched in his hands. There was a puffy purple…thing… around his neck and his haircut was oddly pointy. He wasn't wearing any squad insignia but his reiatsu was clearly that of a lieutenant.
Starrk cranked his nose slightly and leaned away as the rotund individual tried to eat and speak at the same time, showering the area with cracker crumbs from his mouth with every word.
"Don't I know you from somewhere?"
"I doubt it."
The man pulled back and puffed out his chest, obviously offended by the dismissive tone and gearing up for a tirade. Anticipating a lengthy lecture from another self-important blowhard, Starrk sighed and slouched, yawning irritably and glancing away.
Immediately the other man stopped. His brow furrowed as he thought very hard about something. Nonplussed, Starrk didn't move or speak when shinigami blanched and began to shake. His crackers fell from suddenly nerveless fingers.
"E-e-e-e-es-es-esp-esp….ESPADA!"
He shrieked the last word and turned on his heel, shunpo-ing away and leaving a dust trail in his wake.
"TAI-CHOOOOOOOoooooooo…!"
His wail vanished into the distance.
For a long moment, there was utter silence. The kids and Starrk didn't move, staring after the lieutenant with varying degrees of bafflement and worry.
Then…
"What's espada mean?"
Starrk turned away without answering, shoulders once again tense as he walked at a fast clip towards the next turn, took a right and kept going. He wasn't too worried about the lieutenant – he was far too weak to be a threat and Starrk's deception had already been compromised by Unohana-taicho – but if there were any captains within hearing range of his shout, there could be trouble. Knowing he was in Seireitei was a far cry from knowing his exact location and Starrk was trying to escape.
"Sir? Sensei? Are you…who was that?" One of the girls, sounding confused and just a touch suspicious.
"A lieutenant." He took a left and scowled. The street curved back the way he'd come. The entire place was a giant labyrinth.
"Why did he…?"
"Look, I don't have time for this. Find someone else to follow around."
"But you know what's going on better than anyone!"
"Then find a captain."
"You want us to talk to a captain?" The hushed, intimidated tone prompted Starrk to role his eyes.
"Yeah. Why not? You're talking me, aren't you? They're just shinigami."
"You know," Miaka interjected. "Sometimes it sounds like you're saying you aren't a shinigami."
Imagine that. The retort on the tip of his tongue died before it was born, as he sensed a captain's reiatsu signature rapidly approaching via shunpo, probably drawn by the lieutenant's shriek. It overshot his position but returned before he could relax, coming to a halt far too close for comfort and advancing on foot.
"Excuse me!"
He recognized that voice. One hand strayed to the hilt of Los Lobos. It would be a bad idea to fight, but if he was defending himself…
"Ukitake-taicho!" The kids jumped to attention, snapping into parade rest and taking their eyes away from Starrk as shocked recognition and awe at the captain (most likely their first personal encounter) overshadowed their veneration for the arrancar .
Their target gave a strained chuckle. "Hello, there! What are you doing out here? Isn't the Academy in Lockdown?"
The kids hemmed and hawed, refusing to meet his eyes.
"And who is this?" Starrk could feel eyes on the back of his neck and tensed before sighing and slowly turning around. Ukitake's pleasant expression froze as he realized he knew the 'instructor' and that danger was closer than he'd believed. With a feeling of detached resignation, Starrk watched the shinigami's hand shoot towards his zanpakuto and abruptly made a decision.
To hell with it. Inconspicuousness was overrated.
For the first time, the ex-primera loosened his control on his reiatsu and darted into sonido, vanishing before his opponent could unsheathe his sword.
The students' yelps and exclamations of confusion at his vanishing act were the last thing he registered before three more captain-class presences reacted to his unmasked reiatsu and arrowed in on his position. He managed to make it a respectable distance before a new presence, one even more familiar than the white haired captain, appeared from the street below and blindsided him with a strike to the side of the head, throwing him off balance and knocking him out of sonido.
Starrk was dodging before he'd gathered his bearings, avoiding the shinigami's blade through instinct until he managed to focus, gain his feet standing on air, and face the captain in the pink kimono, the one shinigami he'd wanted to avoid at all costs. For a long moment, the two men stood with their eyes fixed on each other, silent save for the breeze whistling through their hair, soundlessly daring each other to take the first move. All that was missing was ominous music and a rambling tumbleweed.
"There you are!"
And the spell broke.
Starrk actually jumped guiltily at the voice and Shunsui blinked in shock when Unohana flash-stepped next to the primera, dangerous smile in full force. She must have been one of the pursuing reiatsu signatures.
"Ah…Senpai…?"
"Hello Shunsui." She turned the smile on him and he shuffled away. "So good of you to join us. Starrk-san has proven most helpful in organizing the squads in your absence."
"…Really?"
Starrk groaned "No. All I did was tell them what they wanted to hear."
"Oh." Shunsui cocked his head. "Why?"
"I have no idea."
Starrk eyed the be-hatted captain, half-hoping he would act as a shinigami should and attack him, giving him an excuse to flee. Unfortunately, he saw the exact moment the absurdity of the situation overcame the danger; hilarity sparkled in Shunsui's eyes and a teasing grin pulled up the corners of his mouth.
"Well then, if you've been that helpful, you must allow me to thank you!"
"…No. In fact, I'm about to leave, so…"
"No, no!" Starrk stumbled as the other man threw an arm over his shoulders as if they were the best of friends, steering him grudgingly back towards the fourth division.
"I have a sake bottle with our names on it, just waiting to be opened!"
"I'd rather not." He dragged his feet but the shinigami bolstered him up and pulled him along.
The situation was rapidly escaping his control. His deception was obviously at an end but not in any way he would have expected – he'd expected them to attack, not…this.
Starrk gave a moody grumble and pointedly refused to look at his opponent. He tried to inch away, but the arm around his shoulder tightened before he'd moved more than a couple centimeters.
"I must say, espada-san," Shunsui's voice was cautiously amused. "I thought you might show up again. But I never imagined it would be like this!" He laughed.
"You thought I'd be back?" sufficiently interested, Starrk raised his head. "Why?"
"Hm?" he floundered, obviously under the impression that Starrk already knew. But the arrancar could not think of any reason he might have sought out the shinigami after the Winter War. How had he even known Starrk was alive? Had he let him live on purpose? If so, he'd done a damn good job at pretending otherwise!
"You EXPECTED to see me again?"
"We~ell…" Shunsui fiddled with his hat, looking uncomfortable. "It didn't take long for us to realize that arrancar dissolve when they die. And that if we DON'T see them dissolve, they probably don't die. The same thing applies with shinigami – if you don't kill us immediately, we'll bounce back from pretty much any injury."
"I see." Starrk considered. "How long did it take you to realize that?"
"Heh." Shunsui's chuckle was strained. "Too long."
"And…how did you think we were going to meet again?"
"Ah…well…arrancar are known as being particularly vengeful. And considering what happened during the battle…"
"…You thought I'd be trying to kill you." Starrk rocked back on his heels and shrugged. "Makes sense, I guess."
"Just out of curiosity, where is the child that was with you? Lilynette, right?"
Starrk's eyes sharpened. It wasn't a malicious question he could sense a deeper meaning to the words. The potential threat raised his hackles and put him on guard.
"Far away from here, Taicho-san."
"But alive and well, I take it?"
"…Yes..." Why wouldn't she be? If he was alive, so was she. After all, a shinigami's zanpakuto spirit didn't die if it was defeated in battle. Why would Lilynette?
"Good!" The arm around his shoulders relaxed slightly.
"I don't want to fight you…" Starrk protested halfheartedly.
"Then don't."
Starrk frowned and dug in his heels, bringing the two of them to a momentary stop and turning to face the other man. They were closer together than they'd ever been before and he found himself staring directly into the warm brown eyes of his former nemesis. He couldn't find any hostility or deception in their depths and after a moment of contemplation, he sighed and ran one hand through his hair.
"Is that really an option?"
"Why not?"
"Because you're a shinigami. I'm a hollow."
"I don't know…" Kyoraku teased. "You look pretty good in that uniform."
Starrk snorted. "It's fake."
"Eh" Shunsui shrugged. "Customization is normal. That get-up meets more of the dress code rules than most captain uniforms."
"Hn. How is that relevant?"
"Well…" Shunsui steered him towards the street, more relaxed now that he was relatively sure the arrancar wouldn't attack without warning. "There've been some changes in Seireitei recently. Maybe you've heard?"
"No."
"Ah. Well, we've had to…re-assess our policies on hybrids. After Lisa-chan and her friends helped us out against Aizen, Yama-jii and Central decided it might be useful to look at things on a case-by-case basis."
"…And you think a former subordinate of Aizen will be a compelling case."
Shunsui chuckled at the sarcasm. "Maybe not. But the fact that you let your opponents live when you could have killed us might be. And according to Unohana-senpai, you've been running around the city helping us rebuild during our time of need. That will definitely be in your favor."
Starrk furrowed his brow. "I didn't mean to do that. They just kept asking me things."
"And you kept answering. You aren't a shinigami, but you were willing to pretend to be one to keep the divisions from panicking.
"I didn't want to be attacked." He mumbled.
"Mhm." Shunsui's skepticism was well-founded; even if the entire group of shinigami Starrk encountered that morning had chosen to attack him at once, they would not have been a threat. "If I might ask…why are you here in the first place? It seems like an odd choice for an arrancar of your caliber."
Starrk groaned. "All I wanted was to figure out who you're fighting and whether or not they're a threat to me and Lilynette. But once I answered one question, they wouldn't leave me alone!"
"Ah yes, the responsibilities of a captain."
"I'm not a captain."
"Of course not." He winked and nudged the arrancar with his elbow.
Starrk grunted and scowled, ignoring the tiny curl of warmth in his chest at the friendly casual contact, this time without a hint of restraint. The man was a shinigami, not a comrade.
"Can't you just let me go? I'm not a part of this…"
"Really? I figured, after what happened in Hueco Mundo..."
It felt like ice water had been dumped over his head. "What?"
"Haven't been back, eh?" Instead of answering, Shunsui ushered Starrk around the next turn. "And here we are!"
Once again, Starrk found himself at the entrance of the fourth division. This time the courtyard was nearly vacant save for a small cluster of captains and lieutenants in and around the doorway. All five were familiar; Unohana-taicho, the white haired boy that fought Harribel, the …erm…'well-endowed' woman that fought Harribel's fraccion, the musical false-hollow that fought Starrk, and the giant fox-man that fought Tousen. As one, they turned to acknowledge Shunsui.
At the sight of Starrk, there was immediate silence. Some recognized the primera while others took a few beats to sense his reiatsu, but when Starrk shifted uncomfortably at their regard and tried to move away from Shunsui, the sing of blades being released rang from multiple sources.
Before he could respond in kind with sword or cero, Shunsui raised his arms.
"Now, now…! I'm sure most of you remember our friend Mr. Starrk."
"Friend?! That's an espada!" The boy shouted, eyes wide. All of them were tense and there was an undercurrent of fear in his voice. Starrk was honestly surprised he hadn't tried to call on his zanpakuto yet.
"Ex-espada." Shunsui corrected. "And he's proven most helpful in organizing the squads!" He turned his focus to Starrk. "And Starrk-san, I believe you're familiar with Unoahana-taicho, Hitsugaya-taicho, Matsumoto-fukutaicho, Otoribashi-taicho, and Komamura-taicho…?"
Starrk shuffled uncomfortably, thinking longingly of his secluded hamlet in the human world where no one stared at him. "Some of them."
"Have you consulted the Central 46 about this?" The fox's deep voice was demanding, but his keen gaze held no judgment.
"Not yet. But I'm sure we can all appreciate Starrk-san's efforts!"
Uneasy shuffling was his only answer.
"Kyoraku-taicho!"
"Nanao~chan!" Shunsui was all smiles as he turned around. Starrk instinctively mirrored his movements to find the disturbance, leaving room for the newcomer, a young woman devoting most of her attention to the clipboard in her arms, to walk in between them and look up at her captain.
Starrk was shuffled aside as more important issues having to do with the war and state of Seireitei were brought up. He didn't try to run – all of the captains were still devoting quite a lot of attention to him and they looked far too trigger happy for his comfort; it was obvious they were only avoiding attacking because Shunsui told them not to – but he slouched around the area without giving any sign of his disquiet. Eventually he sat down on the steps of a smaller entrance at the far side of the building. It took less than five minutes for him to sprawl into his habitual pose. He wouldn't be able to sleep around so many hostile, powerful shinigami but at least he'd be comfortable.
Ukitake showed up ten minutes later and shot him a wary but friendly smile, approaching cautiously with his empty hands spread in the universal sign of peace, as if approaching a savage…or a wild animal.
"Hello Espada-san."
"Hn."
"I gave your…ah…'friends' directions back to the academy."
Oh, right. The kids.
"Did you tell them who I was?"
"Not exactly." Ukitake raised an eyebrow, humor entering his expression. "Apparently they have quite a good idea of your identity."
Starrk sighed and threw an arm over his eyes. "I never told them anything. Whatever they think, they came up with it."
"I'm sure." Ukitake's expression was thoughtful and curious. "But you went along with it, even when it was inconvenient."
"So?" He didn't move his arm.
"Oh nothing."
He was swiftly drawn into the conversation of the other captains but Starrk could feel his eyes frequently drifting in his direction.
As they grew used to his presence, the sense of tension decreased. Well, so long as he pretended to be asleep. Every time he so much as twitched, at least two of them immediately glared at him.
Other shinigami came and went, most of them lieutenants, and none of them paid any attention to the nondescript brunette 'sleeping' on the steps out of the way. The only bit of excitement that involved him occurred when the fat lieutenant he'd run into in the maze showed up alongside the tiny female captain that took down Barragan. He was blubbering about an arrancar he'd seen but she didn't believe him and eventually shut him up with a fist to his face.
It was a technique Lilynette would definitely appreciate.
At that thought, he frowned. It had been a while since he'd spoken to his other half. And it wasn't like he was actually doing anything…
He fished the walkie-talkie out of his pocket, ignoring the sharpened focus of the closest two captains (Rose and Jushiro), and hit the button.
"Lilynette?"
"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
He flinched and pulled the device further from his face.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"You said you'd be back an hour ago! Did you figure out who they're fighting? Are you still safe?"
He grimaced. "Well…"
"Is that the little girl?" Ukitake eyed him and the small device with interest.
"Who's that?" Her tinny voice was loud enough for the other man to hear.
"Um." Starrk scowled and turned his back on the taicho, ignoring him as he came closer. "No one."
"You're lying!"
He sighed and grimaced. "…I ran into a few captains."
"You…WHAT?! What did they do? Did they hurt you? Did you fight them?"
"No. Actually, the one in pink said he wants us to stay."
"So he can kill us!"
Starrk grunted noncommittally.
"Did they at least tell you who they're fighting?"
"No, but I did learn that their enemy already hit Hueco Mundo."
"What?" Her voice was suddenly hushed. "Like, you mean…what do you mean? They destroyed it? Killed everyone?"
"I'm not-."
"Not exactly." Jushiro leaned over the reclining arrancar so he could speak directly into the receiver. "As far as we know, the desert itself is intact but Las Noches has been destroyed and the other arrancar have mostly been killed."
"YOU…HOW DID YOU EVEN…?!…I'M TALKING TO STARRK, OLD MAN! SHUT UP!"
Starrk ignored her tirade and released the button, cutting off her words in favor of staring up at the captain with a frown.
"How did they manage that?"
"We don't know, but the leader of our science division is looking into it."
"…Are you going to tell me who you're fighting?"
"Well," Jushiro ran one hand through his hair and laughed uncomfortably. "If Shunsui hasn't told you yet, I'm sure he has his reasons."
Starrk grunted in disgust and rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to Lilynette.
"AND THEN I'M GONNA-" She hadn't even paused to take a breath and definitely hadn't realized he'd put her on mute. "USE A CERO TO-."
"Lilynette, stop."
"Hey!"
"No, look…there's a lot going on here. It could be a while before I can get away. Are you safe?"
"I'm fine." Her voice softened nervously. "Are you? Do you need me?"
"I'm alright." He eyed the assembled captains with wary eyes, but took comfort in the lack of attacking that had happened so far. And they weren't treating him as a prisoner…although what that made him, he had no idea. "Just…stay there. Stay safe and let me know if anything happens."
"I will! And if you need me…"
"…Yeah."
He signed off and replaced the walkie-talkie, closing his eyes against the inquisitive expression of the white-haired captain.
"She could come." He suggested softly. "I'm sure she'd be more comfortable here than where she is now."
Starrk gave a dismissive grunt. "Around shinigami? No."
"I agree with Ukitake-taicho." Rose interjected for the first time, peering down at his former foe and shooting him a half-hearted smile somewhat marred by the caution in his eyes. "After all, if the Central 46 can see the benefit of accepting us back into the fold, they must certainly understand that the dichotomy between hollows, shinigami, and hybrids is no longer…
Starrk tuned him out as his monologue continued. The guy sure could talk.
Rose was interrupted by a crackle of static emanating from Starrk's pocket.
The primera bolted upright, suddenly gaining the attention of everyone in the courtyard as he fumbled the device out of his pocket, well aware that Lilynette had promised only to use it in an emergency.
"Lilynette? What happened? Are you okay?"
"Starrk! There's something happening! Those guys fighting the shinigami…something's happening over the city!" She shouted out of the mouthpiece, words fully audible to everyone within twenty feet.
Every eye immediately turned upwards. There was a slight disturbance starting in the far corner of his field of vision, a roiling something in the sky (Possibly a strange Garganta?) that was mostly blocked by buildings. More worrying was the gradual rise of ambient reiatsu accompanying it. So far, the difference was barely noticeable but now that he was looking, he could sense an increasing rate of growing power.
In a flurry of flash-steps and shouts, most of the shinigami were gone. He found himself left behind with only Unohana-taicho, Ukitake-taicho, and the girl Nanao for company.
"Starr-rrk! Did you hear me? What's happening?!"
"I don't know." He responded. "Maybe they're leaving."
"Aw, c'mon!"
"You've got a better view than I do. Why don't YOU tell ME?"
"Fine! I will! Just…give me a minute…"
He laid back and watched the churning clouds with a vague feeling of detachment. It wasn't his battle, after all. Win or lose, his situation would remain unchanged.
Unless Unohana became distracted enough for him to make another escape attempt, that is.
Author's Notes:
WHOA! The response last chapter was AMAZING! You guys are seriously awesome! :)
As for this chapter…Canon characters ahoy! Not as many one-on-one interactions as I'd planned, but I'll save those for next chapter. The shinigami are (understandably) a bit preoccupied at the moment.
And yes, I know hell butterflies are technically called jigokuchō (although I had to look it up), but that was just too much trouble to deal with (I kept misspelling it, and then spellchecker got ahold of it and made it even worse) so…hell butterflies it is!
One more thing…I feel the need to reiterate that my plan for this story only includes 5 chapters and I'm pretty much on track for that. There will only be one or two more installments and maybe an epilogue.
(And there's a new poll on my profile, if you're interested.)
Let me know what you think! Please REVIEW!
And a big 'Thank You' to those of you who reviewed last chapter! Alowl, Lover of all that is Animated, voidblade6, Kage Kurai, twiggy, Guest, Cookie-the-Rookie, Karen Keddle, Guest 2, wolfeclipse25, JustPassingBy, ennui deMorte, Guest 3, luvsanime, Tsume28, FairoNeko, Weasel Fu, Waywardneko, KyuukiTheAnimeFreak, The10Espada99, and LionKingFactsGuy2; You guys are awesome!