Hello to you all, my wonderful readers. I deeply apologize for not updating sooner. I hope that the holidays went well for all. I was distracted by both of my big Christmas gifts: 'Darksiders' and 'Darksiders II' and then I had to work a lot, too. Anyway, enough excuses, now things are getting serious. I will hopefully have playlists up for my three main stories: 'Steadfast Maiden', 'Little Firefly' and 'Moment of Truth in a Time of Darkness' for those of you who are interested. Please let me know. In the meantime, on with the new chapter! And a very Happy Valentine's Day to you all!
Disclaimer: I own only Raine and Asura. The Bleach universe belongs to Tite Kubo and 'All I Ever Needed' belongs to Paul McDonald and Nikki Reed.
Chapter 4: Dispatch
Raine's Point of View
It was Shinji's turn to be silent as we made our way back to the warehouse. I swore I had never seen my husband so pale before. The way he ushered me in was a little more forceful than necessary, as well.
"Shinji?" I said. No answer. "Shinji, please say something."
He fished from the pocket of his overcoat his silver phone which he then tossed to me.
"Call yer dad." he said sternly. I looked at him in confusion. "Tell him you're on the next available flight back to France." My heart jump-started. When I had recovered from my encounter with the Queen, he had held me at his side, stating that it was where I belonged. My heart twisted, yearning for those days again. I set the phone on the table and sat back obstinately on the couch. He shot me a dirty look before picking the phone up himself and dialing. To my horror, I realized as his conversation continued that he was purchasing an airline ticket. Furious, I took the phone from his hands and clamped it shut.
"Raine!" he began, clearly outraged.
"I'm not going back to France, Shinji." I retorted. "You think that Aizen won't think to look for me there? You heard Kisuke as well as I did and if he's right, which we both know he always is, Aizen will track me down through the connection he shares with me now. The only place I'm safe at now is with you."
"I'm not taking that risk with you and the baby, Raine."
"Shinji, nothing is-"
"Don't! Don't you dare say that nothing is going to happen, Raine! This is Aizen we're talking about and he's not here to play games. This is a dangerous man, a killer. Are you really that willing to put our child- our unborn child- in harm's way?"
"Of course not!" I snapped back. "You don't think that I've thought about that since he was let out? You don't think that Otome Fūdo hasn't been exhausting herself to keep that fragment of Aizen's soul at bay, to make sure that nothing happens to the baby?"
"I'm not gonna have ya fighting out there and risk losing ya all over again. I am yer husband, Raine; it's my job to make sure that my family is kept safe."
"And I am your wife, Shinji. On our wedding day, we made vows that no matter what we would stay by each other's side. Don't you remember that?" When he didn't answer me, I gave up and shunpoed to the second level. I heard Shinji groan in frustration and felt his spiritual pressure fluctuate as he shunpoed right behind me.
"You really are the most stubborn woman I've ever met, do ya know that?" he asked.
"I thought we already established that before we even admitted our feelings for each other, Shinji." I retorted. "Not that you have much room to talk. You're just as stubborn as I am, Shinji Hirako, and don't even bother to deny it."
"Raine, I'm serious; I don't want you being involved in these battles. Things're gonna get really ugly, really quick."
"I'm not an idiot, Shinji. You honestly think I don't understand that you'll most likely be labeled amongst the first that Aizen's going to go after? Do you have any comprehension of how much that scares me? Don't you know that you're not the only one who would be lost? I told you, there's no me without you." My voice had lost the fight in it, replaced with recognition of my worst nightmare, but I swallowed back tears as much as I could. I could almost hear the breath catch in his throat. "Don't ask me to part with you like that, because if you do, I might just as well die right here."
No sooner did I say that, Shinji came up to me and kissed me so passionately I felt the room spin about us. "You should know better than that by now, Lorraine Christine Hirako." he murmured against my lips. "I'm not going anywhere- not when I have something to fight for." He picked me up and used his grip on my hair to guide my lips against his. There was something passionate and needy about this kiss, but I could also sense his desperation in it. "No matter how much time and distance try to separate us, I'll find ya and bring ya back home," His hand drifted down to the hem of my blouse and pressed a hand to my ever-growing abdomen, "both of ya." I bit my lip before he assaulted them again, holding my face with needy yet gentle hands. My hands entwined into his hair. The rush of heat occurring between us was smoldering, to say the very least. He hadn't kissed me like this since our honeymoon.
Our foreheads pressed together as he pulled away, our ragged breaths mingling between our lips. When our eyes met again, we could read every emotion relayed between each other. It was something that we had always been able to do. I had always admired the beauty of Shinji's eyes, even now.
My bedsheets feel empty
When you're not home
Your heartbeat
Helps me sleep
Your breath soothes my soul…
Baby you're all
Baby you're all
Baby you're all
I've ever needed
You're all I ever needed.
I don't know how long we had lain in our bed together, with him rubbing his hand up and down my stomach, sometimes shifting down, ducking his head to kiss it and talk to our little joy. I could tell he was excited to become a father, the way he held an affectionate glance at my growing abdomen. I doubted at this point that the baby could hear him, but he kept promising things to it, like how he was going to help develop its taste in really good music and the like. What really got to me, however, was when he leaned in and promised our unborn child with a whisper that no matter what, he was going to always be there to protect them. At that point, I had to cover my mouth with my hand and fight back any tears threatening to fall. He leaned back up and kissed me, holding onto me tight, whispering the same words of promise into my ear. Everything felt so right, like there was no Aizen around to declare war or make threatening demands on me and my baby or any of my family. It felt like how it had been before I had learned about it, before I had received news about Tsoa being in a coma.
I love you
More than I knew
I could ever love someone
And God, it runs so deep
I can barely even breathe
Let me be your shelter from the storm
Baby you're all
Baby you're all
Baby you're all
I've ever needed
Baby you're all
Baby you're all
Baby you're all
I've ever needed
We still had our reservations about certain things pertaining to our lifestyle, I knew this. No relationship was perfect, despite what we were both told, but I knew that part of it would come with practice. Shinji knew that I would fight, no matter how much he would rather I didn't. He would always be at my side in the worst of fights. I was his world, and he made mine complete, and now we both had created something worth protecting- my single greatest creation.
Our reveries were cut short when we felt spiritual pressure enter our warehouse. Shinji groaned and grumbled, but I assuaged him with a simple kiss. He helped me to my feet so we could greet our visitor. Kisuke lifted his bucket hat so as to smile to us.
"I was sent to tell you, Shinji, that they want to see you." he reported. Both of us stilled, with Shinji turning to face me.
"Is he in trouble?" I asked, immediately having a feeling as to who 'they' were.
"What difference does it make?" Shinji grumbled. "If I don't show up, I am. If I do, I get royally chewed out anyway." With a sigh, his gaze flickered to Kisuke. "Can you-?"
"Naturally." Kisuke with a goofy, confident grin. "She'll be safe with me."
Shinji shot Kisuke a look that was somewhere between annoyed and weary before turning to me. I gave him the most comforting glance that I could before reaching for him. He met me halfway, leaning down to kiss me, his right hand brushing away some of my hair.
"I'll be back soon." he promised as he embraced me. "Please be safe."
Every promise I made
has led us up to this day.
Please remember my love
When you've forgotten the way.
And this ache in my heart
Makes me want to stand tall.
I let them take me down,
What if this isn't my fault?
Tell me it's not my fault
I watched him walk away, and immediately my mind took in the image of him as he left the warehouse and disappeared into the light of the morning. Part of me knew that it was wrong to think like that. My husband had proved time and again that he was sturdier than he looked. Almost automatically, my hands drifted to my abdomen, where I could feel that strong little heartbeat. It gave me comfort, even if only for a moment.
Tell me it's not my fault…
Baby you're all
Baby you're all
Baby you're all
I've ever needed
Baby you're all
Baby you're all
Baby you're all
I've ever needed
You're all I've ever needed….
I love you
More than I knew
I could ever love someone
Baby you're all
Baby you're all
Baby you're all
I've ever needed
We arrived at Kisuke's just before a massive downpour began. The sound of the rain hurling itself to the asphalt was almost soothing to me, disabling me from thinking the horrid thoughts of Shinji dying in battle. It didn't last long however. Kisuke, claiming that I wouldn't do anyone any good by getting sick, ushered me inside.
"You've been very quiet, Raine-chan." Kisuke noted aloud.
"Hard to be talkative about anything when you feel so useless, Kisuke." I mumbled. He must've heard me, because the next moment, I felt warm hands of comfort on my shoulders. I don't look back, my feet fixed on the wooden floor.
"It's not like you to lose faith, Raine." I knew when he dropped the affectionate suffix that Kisuke meant for this to be heartfelt and sincere. "I don't know if you know this or not, but a great deal of people adore you merely because you keep the faith. You find strength where many people would give up."
"Shinji calls it my stubbornness." I add. The morose smile only remains for a second.
"Whatever anyone calls it, you're admired for it." Kisuke pointed out. "Not just by the Visoreds, either. I can think of quite a few Captains who say the same about you. Knowing that you pulled through this, knowing that you're alive and safe, that doesn't just matter to Shinji. It matters to those lucky enough to call you a 'friend.'"
My heart felt truly touched by Kisuke's words, but the ache in my heart didn't go away completely. I refused to stand by and watch my friends and husband get hurt, not when there was possibly something I could do to be of help for them. I turned to Kisuke with a hopeful look in my eye.
"Tell me, Kisuke, is there nothing I can do to help them, help him?" I asked. Kisuke's eyes were barely visible beneath the shadow of his hat's rim, but I could tell from the thin line that had formed from his lips that he was testing whether or not I was serious. I deadpanned him.
"Let's not talk about it for right now." Kisuke said. I opened my mouth in protest, but he effectively silenced me with an uncharacteristically stern look. "I need to see what exactly Aizen's trying to do to you, so I can form a counter-plan. Come, Raine-chan." I was wary; Kisuke sounded not at all his cheerful self.
One would think that I would be used to ultrasound, given my condition, but what Kisuke was doing was pushing the concept a little too far. Rather than just the inside of my abdomen, the monitor showed my whole body. As Kisuke filed through the different layers, I was reminded of the different layers a Photoshop document took, how each piece added to the whole. Kisuke had explained to me that what I was looking at was the extent of Aizen's soul within my body. To my relief, there was a reading in light blue, indicating that the essence of Aizen's soul hadn't touched my womb. That was the extent of my happy thoughts, though. When Kisuke had done it the first time, before Shinji and I had left for the Soul Society, it had only spread minutely, starting at the center of my chest. Now, it had surpassed my womb in favor of my legs, reaching down to my mid-thighs in a matter of hours. I felt my breathing become shallow with fear.
Kisuke seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Well that's problematic." he pointed out. I was too frightened to be sardonic with him at the moment. He moved away from the monitor and walked briskly to a cabinet, retrieving a small, intricate green bottle after fumbling away with its siblings for a few moments. He returned with an eye dropper in hand as well and I knew that he was having me take some form of medicine. I froze, my hand automatically drifting to my abdomen as if to protect the little life within me. Kisuke paused, his gaze searching mine.
"I can't guarantee whether or not this will harm the baby, Raine-chan. I need you to take this, though; it'll temporarily put the flow of Aizen's spiritual pressure at a standstill, at least until I can find a way to permanently rid your body of it."
"Kisuke," I paused, my fears taking the breath from my lungs as I searched for the words I wanted to convey, "what will happen to me if…"
His face twisted into a hard frown. "I don't know, Raine. It could be any number of things, none of them any good for you or your child."
I hesitated. "I don't… want to put the baby at risk, Kisuke."
"Otome Fūdo's shield is protecting it, right?" he asked. I nodded. "Then that gives the baby less of a chance of being harmed by this medicine. I wouldn't give this to you if I didn't know what I was doing, Raine-chan." I swallowed, taking Kisuke's words at face value. If there was one person whose judgment I trusted more than anything, it was Kisuke. Doing as he instructed, I opened my mouth, allowing my tongue to hang out over my lips. On the soft bed of taste buds, Kisuke carefully placed two drops. I deeply resisted the urge to spit; the medicine was acidic in flavor and had a horrid aftertaste that left my mouth tingling. I shuddered as I felt it go down my throat.
When Tessai had finished unhooking me from the strange machine, I glanced at Kisuke, who appeared to be going over a letter that had just arrived. His face looked grim.
"What is it, Kisuke?"
"I had hoped to persuade the Arrancar involved in the Winter War to help us. Given everything that Aizen had them go through, I would think that reason enough to stand against him. Wishful thinking, indeed." he mused disappointedly. I blanched at the idea that Kisuke would even consider bringing Arrancar into this. It had been mostly because of a group of rogue Arrancar that I had nearly been killed more than once. It was also because of me that Los Noches was also completely in ruins. Looking at it with reason, though, I realized it wasn't such a crazy idea. 'The enemy of my enemy is my comrade', after all. As for their refusal, Shinji had often told me that I could persuade even the most stubborn people. I tended to disagree, saying that a little bit of politeness went a long way. It's not like that was a supernatural ability, just common sense. I was weary, not having much luck with Arrancars in the past, but I had to try. It was the only thing I could think of.
"Kisuke," I began, stopping only to swallow for a moment. When I had gained his full attention, I looked him dead in the eye. "Let me go to Hueco Mundo."
Normal Point of View
Shinji could feel the arrogance flood around the room before he even fully entered it. Behind him stood the other Visoreds, mostly for backup. Hiyori looked like she was about to snap being here, not that he could blame her about that one. He granted them one last look before turning to the massive annoyance that was the Central 46. The members were frantic, arguing back forth. That was how it had been since the Visored leader had arrived, and he was rather put off at being ignored.
"If we could get a move on with this," Shinji interjected loud enough for the entirety of the hall to hear. Every member of the Central 46 paused and gazed down at him. "I have a wife at home whom I need to get back to."
"That is the matter which brings you to us today, Shinji Hirako." one in the seats toward the top proclaimed. "It has been brought to our attention that Aizen demands your wife and unborn child be handed over to him." Shinji scowled, not liking at all where this was going. "We have decided for the betterment of the Soul Society and all in it that we will follow through with that demand, hoping he will find favor that one of his demands was followed."
"Out of the question." Shinji deadpanned. "She may not matter to you as much; hell, I know that she's at the top of your list. You were angry with her when the Head-Captain overturned our sentence…"
"You are out of line, Hirako!" one voice called out in outrage.
"Am I?" Shinji asked, raising a brow at the faceless entities. "You should know as such, that I would do anything to protect my wife and child, even give my own life. Not that I expect you to understand that."
"You step out of line yet again, Hirako, yet you bring an interesting point to our attention." The Visored leader paused; this is not what he had expected and he liked being here less and less. "You say that you would die for your wife and child, and you would be so willing to endure the threat of war to protect them both, so be it. When this war begins, you will be on the frontlines, awaiting orders." While this didn't faze Shinji- as he had been on the frontlines many times- what was declared next did. "And once your child is born, its fate shall be decided by the Central 46."
The pure outrage leaked not only from Shinji, but from the rest of the Visoreds as well.
"You think you can just…?" he began, but the councilman who made the decree interjected.
"We do, Hirako. You seemed to have delusions of grandeur that we would have let the existence of a pure-born Visored go unnoticed. Allow us to clear those up for you. You and your 'army' of thugs was never meant to exist. If we had it our way, we would have never let you get away with living in the human world; you would have been hunted down like Hollows and dealt with and that would have been the end of everything. Your wife is a newborn Visored, still volatile with her abilities, still incapable of reining in her emotions or her inner Hollow. Now a child carrying your abilities and possible threats to the Soul Society will be born. It is our right to act as we best see fit in protection of the Soul Society and all those who rely on it.
"Your child will be taken into custody and-"
"Like hell they will." a voice interjected. Shinji, who had been trying to rein in his temper and control his inner Hollow, looked with wide eyes over his shoulder to find Ichigo having entered the room. There was an uproar from the seated council members, but the new Captain ignored them, walking up next to Shinji.
"How dare you, Captain Kurosaki?" the council member who had made the decree growled.
"It's not for you guys to decide how a person's life is run." Ichigo declared. "You guys forget that the Visoreds helped out the Soul Society in the past, with the Winter War. They didn't have to."
"They claimed not to want anything to do with the Soul Society! They claimed that you were their ally!" one cried out.
"I guess in a way I was. We shared a common enemy, as we do now. Shinji fights now for the reason I do- because I have something I want to protect, build a future for. I owe the Visoreds a great debt, being that I was one and they helped me overcome one of my greatest fears. If you think that I'm just gonna stand aside and let you ruin that little one's life because they merely exist, you can think again." Ichigo spared a glance at Shinji to find nothing but pure gratitude on the Visored's face. Ichigo nodded, and then turned back to the council before him. "Besides, like you so eloquently put it, Raine is still a newborn Visored, still incapable of controlling her emotions and the powers that come with them. You take that kid away from her and there will be no wall, no protection that will hold her back. This council room may very well end up like the ruins of Los Noches. Take it from me; a mother's love for her child is probably the most powerful and unstoppable force in the world."
The hall was surprisingly silent as Ichigo's threat sunk in. Finally, the council member who had made the decree spoke.
"Very well then. The child will be monitored very closely. Hirako will still be placed on the battlefield when this war begins, but we will not relinquish Lorraine Hirako or her child to Sosuke Aizen."
Ichigo nodded his assent to the matter and held his arms out slightly. "Thank you for your cooperation." With that, he led Shinji out of the room, ignoring the howls of anger and burning glares he could feel from behind the screens the members sat in protection of.
"You-" Shinji began slowly, his mind still trying to wrap around the fact that Ichigo had just stepped and saved his child.
"I don't like loose ends." Ichigo said. His voice was stern, but there was a look in his eyes that told Shinji 'you're welcome'. "Consider any debt I owe you paid now."
Shinji paused and then nodded his assent. "And then some." he commented. "How'd you know?"
"Old Man Yamamoto." Ichigo answered simply. Shinji's head slumped. He should've known; there was nothing that went on that the old geezer didn't know about.
Raine's Point of View
"Raine-chan, I know that you're determined to help out everyone, but don't you think that's taking things a bit far?" Kisuke asked. I was personally amazed that the first words coming out of his mouth were 'no' or 'are you nuts, Raine?', like he was actually considering letting me go in spite of what happened.
"What other choice do I have?" I asked with a shrug. "If things are as bad as they look with Aizen, then there's no way that I'm going to be of any help to anyone by attempting to fight."
"Raine-chan, what you're talking about may be nothing but a wild goose chase. You'd be leaving yourself open for Aizen to attack you- or worse. There's really nowhere for you to hide from him."
"Kisuke, my family will be fighting out there. If you- or Shinji, for that matter- think that I'm just going to sit around and hide, then neither of you know me as well as you believe. I don't care if it's Aizen or the devil himself-"
"One might question that." Kisuke murmured.
"In any case," I said pointedly, "I'll fight him, whether within myself or by convincing the Arrancar to help us."
"And you're sure there's absolutely, unequivocally no way that I can change your mind?" Kisuke asked, all humor in his voice gone.
"None whatsoever." I replied with confidence. Kisuke was silent for a moment, and then he sighed.
"Shinji's not gonna like this." he groaned.
"I'll deal with Shinji when the time comes; but for now, I need you to help me prepare."
"Very well." he sighed once more.
Normal Point of View
Sosuke Aizen gazed into the shadows of his 'throne room', his thoughts gathering into one dark cloud. Urahara and his troublesome meddling… he would have to be one of the first to go. The very idea that he had blocked Aizen's passage into Lorraine's beautiful mind had the traitor shivering with anger. He calmed his will, however, with a memory that had stuck with him for nearly twenty years now- the smell of wildflowers lingered in the air, the mid-afternoon sunshine on his skin and haori, bathing him in warmth.
Most importantly, though, there was the image of a child floating in his mind- a bewitching child with short curls of rose red and hazel eyes. She had seen him, this he knew. After this, he knew that she was the one that he had heard of in that dreaded prophecy. She had spoken to him, her voice soft yet playful, like the tolling of bells he had heard in the distance. A stuffed rabbit drooped in the tiny arms that clasped around it, holding it to her tiny body. He didn't answer her, but she still smiled at him- and it was a smile that put any idea of ending the prophecy out of his mind. She was an angel, still young, but an angel none the less. He had longed to reach out and envelope her in his arms, but then hesitated when he heard the old woman's voice. He went away without even speaking a word to her, to have her believe that what she had seen was merely imaginary.
As he had disappeared far from that meadow, he realized that he had let the impossible happen. That child had bewitched him, and it seemed that now he would never forgive himself if he let that little light die. He longed to hold and protect her from the world and it's cruelties. Part of him was told that she was meant for him and him alone.
He hadn't imagined that he would be defeated. Had he not, he would have tracked her down before Hirako even had a chance and made her his. It didn't matter now, though. Hirako and his fellow creations would be gone, the woman would be his- as would the child. If the child resembled their mother, then there was no way that Aizen could resent the little one, and when it grew up, Aizen would take it upon himself to train the young one. No doubt the powers within a pureborn Visored would be a force to be reckoned with…
"My Lord…" Sombreado addressed, snapping Aizen from his thoughts. Aizen's eyes "slowly opened as he glanced at his shadowy Arrancar servant.
"Good news about the bodies, I hope, Sombreado?" he asked.
"They will be up and running in a matter of hours, My Lord." the thing replied.
"Excellent. I must commend you for your infiltration of the Seiretei, Sombreado."
"I learned from the best, Lord Aizen." Sombreado replied, looking up at his lord and master with eyes that mirrored Aizen's in not only color but malice.
Raine's Point of View
I glanced at the silver-haired teenager, who glanced back at me with attentiveness, silvery-blue eyes cautious. His eyes weren't the only thing that mystified me, though. He had a very rugged appearance about him, from the holes in his grey jeans to his white, fur-trimmed jacket and interesting jewelry- and he had fangs that reminded me of Hiyori.
"Raine-chan, this is Asura." Kisuke introduced. I nodded to the young man, who mirrored my movement respectfully. "I'm going to need you to escort Raine-chan to Las Noches." Asura's eyes didn't widen in alarm, nor did he question why. He merely grunted and nodded at Kisuke slowly.
"Would it be easier if I went in my other form?" the boy added.
"Most likely." Kisuke answered. "Let's not try to draw as much attention to ourselves than we need to." To this, Asura nodded and withdrew from his pocket something that looked like a little plastic candy dispenser that had the head of a grey wolf. Not even a moment after he popped a little candy from it in his mouth, his body was gone, and in its place there was a small grey wolf plush with silver button eyes. He was dressed in a white coat and black trousers from which his fluffy little tail stuck out.
"He's a Mod Soul?" I asked.
"Indeed." Kisuke responded with a slight smile. He handed me a pack and made sure that I was securely strapped into it. Before turning me to him.
"The person you're looking for is Tia Hallibel. She's the one who's governed Hueco Mundo since Aizen's fall. Why she wasn't there while the Queen was trying to do all of this to you, I'll never know."
"Tia Hallibel, got it." I said, making a mental note.
"I want you to keep walking, and if you get attacked, let Asura handle it. Do not use Otome Fūdo unless absolutely necessary, do you understand?"
"Right." I said with a nod.
"Please, for everyone's sake- but especially mine- be careful."
"I promise, Kisuke." I said.
"Good. Take care of her, Asura." he ordered as he opened the Garganta.
"With my very life if I have to, Urahara-san." he replied. With that, we walked into the dark.
That's it for now, my dear readers. I will try not to make it more than a month before I update again. As for the playlists, if you have any songs you could think of that you would like to see featured on the playlists, please PM me and let me know. Until next time, my dear readers, I bid you a fair adieu.