The Red Sun Sets, the Black Sun Rises.
Welcome back one and all, my thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. Out of curiosity, do you feel that the summary I posted reflects positively on the story? Anyway, that's all I wanted to talk about, read on and enjoy.
Disclaimer: All characters are property of their respective creators.
"Normal speech"
'Thoughts'
"Kido/Zanpakuto release"
"Tensa Zangetsu"
XXX
Chapter 7: Echoes of a New Generation.
When Ichigo opened his eyes, he found himself seated at the head of the line of captains, but recognised none of them. As he tried to speak to one of them, he felt his mind go fuzzy as his surroundings transformed around him.
When his vision finally stopped spinning, he found himself in his bed at the Yamamoto estate. Stretching his arms out, he was confused when his hand brushed against a warm body next to him. Jolting upright he was shocked when he could see the outline of a woman in bed next to him, her voice radiating concern as he sat there staring. Before he could say anything though, the door to his room was flung open and a pair of children burst into the room, a boy and a girl from the sound of their voices, and leapt onto his bed as if it was a daily occurrence. Like the woman next to him, their faces were blank.
As he struggled to make sense of it all, his surroundings blurred once again and he found himself in one of the more secluded gardens on the Yamamoto estate. Looking down, he found himself facing three shrines with names he did not recognise, while several other small monuments dotted the area. His heart beating faster in panic, he felt himself falling as the ground gave way below him.
Jolting upright from his bed, Ichigo looked himself over, sighing when he saw that he was covered in sweat. Looking next to him, he found the other side of the bed undisturbed. Holding his head in his hands, he tried to calm himself down, but found the task impossible as his body thrummed with energy. Getting out of bed, he made his way outside, noticing that it was some time, just after midnight. Uncaring as to where his feet were taking him, Ichigo paused when he found that he had made his way to the practice grounds. Walking off into the middle of the grounds, he erected several barriers to protect the mansion and began chain casting Sokatsui at the targets in the distance. After casting at least two dozen spells and not feeling any drain on his energy, Ichigo fell to his knees and pounded his fist into the ground repeatedly, causing it to crack under the strain.
"The ground isn't your enemy Ichigo," Genryusai said, as he whacked the young noble on the back of his head with his cane, "nor has it done anything to hurt you. So I suggest you stop taking out your frustration on it."
"Sorry Jii-san," Ichigo said as he stood, rubbing the back of his head where he was hit. "I just needed to get rid of some energy."
"I see," his grandfather said as he pointed at the targets in the distance. "Did they also earn your ire?"
"No," Ichigo said sheepishly, "but they can withstand the blows far better than others."
"That they do," Genryusai said, nodding his head. "What then brings you out this late, that you feel the need to let loose such power?"
Sighing, Ichigo told him of the dream or nightmare, he wasn't sure what, that he had. When he finished speaking, he watched as his grandfather stroked his beard quietly.
"I'm afraid that I myself have had such dreams Ichigo," Genryusai said with a sigh as he directed his grandson to take a seat. "What you are seeing is the harsh reality others like us face."
"What do you mean Jii-san?" Ichigo asked in confusion.
"I mean the fate of outliving everyone around us Ichigo," Genryusai said as he took a seat in the nearby chair. "The main determinant in a soul reapers life span is their reiatsu. A man like me, who boasts far more reiatsu than almost every other soul reaper in the last thousand years, has lived for over three millennia. Even if my wife and child had not passed away over two millennia ago, there is no guarantee that they would have lived for as long as I have." Genryusai paused to take a breath after his explanation, waiting to see if Ichigo understood.
"I see," Ichigo said with his head bowed. "What you're saying is that I too must prepare to endure similar times. Since I'm even stronger than you, the number of years I live will be even greater than your own and it is unlikely that there will be others that can endure for just as long."
"That is correct Ichigo," Genryusai said with a sigh. "Out of the current captains, I doubt that many will live to see a second millennia. The best advice I can give you is to treasure the time you have with whomever come into possession of your heart, for one day everyone must pass on." Standing Genryusai left the young noble to his thoughts and headed back to bed.
Standing up, Ichigo looked up into the sky and sighed one last time, before heading back and trying to fall back to sleep.
XXX
After a few merciful hours of undisturbed sleep, Ichigo was roused by a knock at his door. Grumbling to himself, he stumbled topless over to the door, yanking it open and startling Umeko.
"Ah forgive me Ichigo-sama," Umeko said with a bow, her face rapidly turning red as images of Ichigo swam in her mind, "but the clan elders would like a word with you before you leave for your division today."
"I'll be there when I can, thank you Umeko-san," Ichigo said as he turned back into his room, oblivious to his effect on her and shut the door behind him.
Bathing quickly, he made his way to the clan's assembly hall, a room hidden deep within the estate. As he walked towards the room, he was greeted by several of the staff as they busied themselves around the estate. When he finally reached the doors, he looked himself over once more, readjusting his shihakusho so that it looked less crumpled. Entering the dimly lit room, he made his way forward stopping in front of an ancient desk, the symbol of the Yamamoto clan, a tree engulfed in flame, carved into it.
"My apologies for keeping you waiting," he said inclining his head as he took a seat.
Before him were the Yamamoto clan elders, Akira, Kano, Kyoko and Tamika, two men and two women. Kano had black hair and pale grey eyes reminding him of Byakuya, except for the fact that this man was far more muscled than the sixth division captain, while Akira had brown hair and eyes. His most startling feature though, was that when he looked at you, it seemed as if he was staring deep into the very recesses of your soul. Satomi and Tamika were identical twins, both with brown hair and blue eyes, but that was where the similarities ended. Satomi was more scholarly than her sister, whereas Tamika was far more social with others. They were all dressed in similar kimonos of black and blue.
"Genryusai-sama said that you might be a bit late, so we were at least expecting it," Tamika said, her features impassive, but her tone was warm.
"We have brought you here today to inform you that the new term at Shino Academy begins soon. As such a captain and their lieutenant are normally sent to welcome the first years as well as attend several of the sixth year classes and see how the graduating class is performing," Kano said as he rested his head on his hand, his boredom clearly showing through.
"We would therefore like for you to attend this year, as it is the Captain Commander's decision of who should attend. It will also help you in the future," Akira said in a low tone that spoke volumes of his wisdom.
"How would this help?" Ichigo asked in confusion. Sharing a look amongst themselves, Satomi was the one to speak up.
"As you are no doubt aware Ichigo-kun, there is some ill-will towards you at the moment. Your recent appointment of Gin Ichimaru has caused some to question whether you truly have the Seireitei's best interests at heart," she said looking at him. "That is why if you make a favourable impression on the younger generation of soon-to-be soul reapers, it will help in the future to turn the people to your side."
Ichigo's eyes narrowed as she finished speaking. Already his leadership was being questioned, but for now it was only amongst the rank and file soul reapers. Unless he quashed it soon though, how many of the higher ranked soul reapers would turn against him.
"Very well," Ichigo said breaking the lingering silence in the room, "I'll attend the opening ceremony at the academy, but I think I will forgo taking Gin with me. It would only serve to complicate matters." He watched as the other elders nodded in approval of his decision.
"The ceremony starts at nine tomorrow morning, I will have one of the servants wake you so that you have time to prepare yourself at the time," Tamika said waving her hand to dismiss him. Standing, Ichigo left the room and flash stepped toward his office in the first division, thinking of what he would say to the new students.
XXX
Within the second division's grounds, Sui-Feng sat in her office, reviewing the Captain Commander's proposal to cut down on the amount of paperwork. The deadline for suggestions or complaints to the proposal was the end of the day and as such she had yet to find fault with it personally. Such a system would grant her more time to train her men and cut down on the time she had to spend reading her buffoon of a lieutenant's scribbles. She guessed that even if there were some that disagreed with such a plan, there were far more captains that would push this plan through all objections. Kyoraku chief among them, as anything to reduce the amount of paperwork for him was a godsend. It would alleviate the strain it placed on Ukitake and thus meant he had more time to rest due to his illness. Kenpachi would welcome anything that would allow him more time to fight and despite Byakuya's penchant for tradition, the noble had better things to do with his time. Truly there could be no opposition to this plan. She was disrupted from her thoughts by a pair of hands being placed over her eyes, the familiar scent of her mentor hanging in the air.
"I don't have time to play at the moment Yoruichi-sama," Sui-Feng said lifting the woman's hands from her eyes and concentrating back on the report before her.
"Oh my god," Yoruichi said with a mock surprise at her former student. "What has happened to my precious bee-chan, so that she no longer leaps to her feet at my presence? Could it be that something happened at the party to make her switch her devotion to someone else?"
Memories of Ichigo flashed through her mind as she remembered their talk at the party and his simple gesture as he left her.
"Y-Yoruichi-sama," she stuttered out and leapt to her feet, the feeling of butterflies in her stomach and a light blush on her cheeks. "Absolutely nothing happened that night, I just have a lot of work to do before the end of the day, that's all."
"Aww, is that all?" Yoruichi said with a pout. "You disappeared for quite a while; one could only imagine what you went and did after all." Sui-Feng turned crimson at what she was implying and began sputtering randomly.
"If you must know, I was just having a private conversation with Ichigo-dono," Sui-Feng said as she regained her composure and sat down again.
"Oh?" Yoruichi said her ears pricking up at that. "What exactly did you talk about?"
"Nothing of consequence, just polite conversation," Sui-Feng said fidgeting slightly.
"Come on now Sui-Feng, what did you and Ichigo talk about?" Yoruichi said with a smirk as she stalked closer to her.
"Really it was nothing Yoruichi-sama," Sui-Feng said as she began to inch away from the flash goddess. There was a sudden crash at the door and both of them looked up at a stuttering Omaeda, who was apologising profusely for disturbing them. What amused Yoruichi the most though, was that he was wearing a frilly white apron over his shihakusho and had a mop and bucket with him. Seeing the glare on his captain's face, he quickly mopped up the mess he'd made and disappeared. Turning to Sui-Feng, Yoruichi cracked an impish grin at her.
"So what brought that about?" she said gesturing in the direction Omaeda had disappeared.
"I just thought he should experience what I would be like if he truly thought I would have anything to do with him, beyond the Gotei 13," Sui-Feng said nonchalantly. She could say no more though as a hell-butterfly fluttered in through her window. Holding out her finger, she listened to the message the small creature carried, standing as it flew from her hand and out the window once again.
"My apologies Yoruichi-sama, but the Captain Commander has requested a meeting with me immediately," Sui-Feng said as she walked over to the window and vanished.
"But I still want to know…" Yoruichi shouted only to fall silent as Sui-Feng was already out of ear-shot. 'Just what were they talking about that night? Oh well if Sui-Feng won't tell me, I know someone else that might,' Yoruichi though as an evil grin spread across her face. Within the first division offices, Ichigo felt a shiver run down his spine causing him to shudder.
"Is there something wrong Captain Commander?" Gin asked as he dropped off a stack of paperwork for Ichigo.
"No Gin, just a random feeling," Ichigo said thanking him with a wave of his hand.
XXX
A few minutes after sending the hell-butterfly, Ichigo looked up as there was a knock at his office door.
"Enter," he said in an even tone, as he continued to sign the documents before him. Once Mayuri and Sui-Feng were in front of his desk, he set his pen down and turned his attention towards them.
"Thank you for coming here on such short notice," Ichigo said leaning back in his chair. "Firstly, Captain Sui-Feng do you have anything to add to the proposed network we will be installing?"
"No Captain Commander," Sui-Feng said in her crisp tone, "I was reviewing it, before you summoned me. I was under the impression though that I had more time to go over it?"
"Yes, my apologies for that," Ichigo said as he removed a stack of papers from his desk drawer, "but the rest of the captains have already sent me their feedback and to save some time I thought I would discuss it with the two of you personally since only one suggestion has been worthwhile." Ichigo paused as his eyes scanned the documents once more.
"We will not take Captain Kyoraku or Kenpachi's advice to have an internet connection to the real world established, as I don't trust their reason of 'research purposes', nor will we be establishing a link with any of the living world TV stations," Ichigo said as his eyes narrowed on Mayuri, who shifted uncomfortably.
"Each unit will already be able to communicate with other units, so Captain Unohana's suggestion falls away as well. Now though we come to the reason I wanted the two of you here," he said as he placed the stack of papers back on his desk.
"Captain Kurotsuchi, I want your division to install several short range reiatsu scanners at each division barracks, when you install the other components of the network. The information collected will be sent back to the main server, as well as to a server that will be installed in the second division," Ichigo said as he stood and gestured for them to follow him to the balcony.
"Why might I ask, are we doing this Captain Commander?" Mayuri asked curiously, Sui-Feng also showing confusion at this plan.
"Look out over the Seireitei," Ichigo said as he gestured at the expansive area before them. "Our methods of patrolling it rely exclusively on the border and on foot patrols within our walls. If we were to simply install one large scanner to cover the city, there would be holes for intruders to exploit and slip through, while if we combine smaller range scanners and our database of reiatsu signatures, we will have a constant picture of the Seireitei."
"And you want the second division to monitor this picture?" Sui-Feng asked, causing Ichigo to turn and look her in the eye.
"Of course Captain Sui-Feng," Ichigo said as he moved back to his desk. "It will allow the Special Forces to be more precise with tracking any intruders, as well as allowing them to effectively capture such threats."
"I see," Sui-Feng said as she held her chin in her hand.
"Am I to assume that my division can move forward and start installing all this equipment Captain Commander?" Mayuri asked his tone indicating his impatience at being held away from his division.
"You may," Ichigo said as he turned to look at the clown-like captain. "You are dismissed, except for you Captain Sui-Feng. I would like your opinion on another matter." After Mayuri had left his office, Ichigo spoke once again, "As you are no doubt aware, the new term at Shino Academy starts tomorrow."
Sui-Feng sighed as she guessed that he wanted her to attend this year and speak to the worms. That thought was quickly shut down though, when his next words hit her.
"That is why I would like for you to accompany me tomorrow as the representative of the Special Forces," Ichigo said as her face looked at him in shock. "I tried to get the Kido Captain to come as well, but he is unfortunately detained tomorrow and cannot be spared."
"What do you mean, when you say you want me there as the representative of the Special Forces Captain Commander?" she asked, her tone even, while her mind was currently reeling at the idea.
"Just that you would be there to answer any questions relating directly to the Special Forces, and to oversee any potential talent for the Special Forces," Ichigo said casually.
"I…" Sui-Feng began, desperately wanting to tell him she was busy, but then again she didn't trust Omaeda to take her place and neither could any of her other officers. "Very well, I will be there Captain Commander," she grumbled.
"Excellent," Ichigo said clapping his hands together, "I'll meet you here at eight-thirty." As he returned to his paperwork, Sui-Feng took it as the sign of her dismissal.
XXX
Sorry that the chapter is so short, but I am struggling a bit with what to do at the moment. I have several plot lines in my head at the moment, but I'm going to need to take some time working them out since they conflict with each other.
This also brings me to my next point; I will no longer be updating each fic one at a time. From now on I'll focus on one fic for about 3-4 chapters, then switching my attention to one of the others. This should help just with the story-flow in my head, as well as provide more entertainment for you in the long-run.
So what parts did you like, love or hate. Let me know please.
PS. The first story to get attention will be Chaos Rising; its rewrite is long overdue.