My eyes shot open.

My muscles were tense and ready to spring.

My rifle was already pointed at the bare ceiling, finger on the trigger.

Seconds passed as I slowed my breathing.

Nothing was on my motion tracker, and only a few hours have passed since I fell asleep.

The internal alarm ceased, allowing me to relax my body slowly. I lowered my arms before resting my weapon in my armored lap, and I leaned my head gently against the wall. I noticed on my HMD that Winter had translated two words a few seconds ago:

"Fish Cake!"

I stared at the words, prompting Winter to say something.

"Just to let you know, I don't know why she said that either." she said softly.

I hesitated before asking "Who?"

"Lieutenant Kotetsu. She must have had a nightmare too, and a strange one at that."

'She must have recognized her voice.'

'And the Lieutenant somehow woke up the same time we did.'

I looked out the small moonlit window on the other side of the room and stared.

"Wanna talk about yours?" asked the curious AI.

"No."

'I can't even remember any of it, except that I was... terrified of something.'

"Well your heartbeat and brain activity didn't just go ballistic for nothing." she said as if I was insulting her.

"I'm fine now."

"Your suit says otherwise."

I sighed. My heart was just starting to slow down and my eyelids had no weight to them at all.

'So what now?'

I controlled my breathing further and enhanced the audio sensors on my helmet. The Lieutenant was walking around her room barefoot, not saying a word. Whatever her nightmare was had her in obvious distress.

'What the hell is fish cake anyway? Some sort of desert?'

'How does one fear fish cake?'

After several seconds of her pacing around her room, I heard a door slide open. The Lieutenant's soft footsteps entered the hallway and passed by my room, pausing for a moment by the door before moving on.

'She's thinking about something involving us.'

'Where's she going?'

...

"Well?" encouraged Winter. "You won't get any answers sitting here."

"Right."

I stood up slowly, making sure my rifle did not make noise by clacking against my armor. With practiced footfalls, I made my way to the door. It slide open with little noise, and I watched the Lieutenant round a corner. She was wearing a bright white robe, making her easy to spot in the dark. I walked out of my room and slid the door closed.

Years of prowling around compounds taught me how to control my steps so that they made no sound, despite being in a several-hundred-kilo suit. The wooden boards not creaking helped out as well. My motion tracker allowed me to keep an eye on the Lieutenant while keeping out of sight myself as she made her way outside.

Her walk ended on a balcony of sorts. The Sereitei was visually quiet, with a few lanterns spread out within the maze, some illuminating the massive wall that encircled the entire complex. I watched the Lieutenant pass another corner before stopping suddenly. Something surprised her and she moved to partially hide herself at the corner.

"Was it... Another nightmare? Isane?"

It was Captain Unohana's voice. Ms. Kotetsu became flustered immediately, and she stuttered out a greeting.

"Wel... Welcome back. Captain Unohana."

There was a pause before the Lieutenant walked around the corner. I snuck to where she was and, in a lowered stance, peeked around.

Ms. Kotetsu had sat herself beside her Captain, who was in a flower-depicting nightgown. Both were sitting on their legs, which didn't look comfortable to me at all. Between them was a small wooden tray holding a thin bottle, most likely containing alcohol, and a couple of blasted-clay cups.

The Captain and her subordinate were silent for a few minutes, looking up at the moonlit sky. Unohana occasionally took a sip of her cup, but the Lieutenant didn't drink anything.

Finally, the Lieutenant spoke up timidly.

"Um... Is Captain Kuchiki...?"

"Yes, he is fine now." answered Unohana. She took another sip from her cup before letting out a soft sigh. "What an eventful day it was...!"

"Yeah..." agreed Kotetsu.

There was another minute of peaceful, natural ambiance before the Captain suggested to the Lieutenant to get some rest once she calmed down. The Lieutenant complied submissively and got up to leave after a couple more minutes.

'Shit, they won't like us out here.'

Suddenly with seconds to spare and my heart accelerating again, I became flush and low to the wall. I listened as the Lieutenant's footsteps came closer, and I held my breath. She rounded the corner, but in a stroke of luck was gently rubbing her eyes as she passed, obscuring me from view until she was well behind me.

I looked over my shoulder and watched her disappear inside the barracks. I let out the air I was holding and inhaled silently. My anxiety turned into relief as I turned to return to my room.

"Did you have a bad dream too, Captain?"

I froze mid-turn.

'Shit.'

'How?'

I heard Unohana let out a small, gentle chuckle.

"You're not in trouble."

...

'Can't get out of this now.'

'But how?'

I stood up and took a step around the corner slowly.

"Sorry ma'am." I told her with my mechanically translated voice lowered considerably.

The Captain gave me a reassuring smile and gestured for me to sit where the Lieutenant did. I hesitated before walking over, lifting my rifle over my shoulder and locking it to my back. Once I was seated beside the woman with my legs crossed and my back straight, I took a moment to look at the object up high. The crescent moon gave a soft glow to the few clouds in the atmosphere and the artificial landscape below us.

"Do you enjoy looking at the night sky, Captain?"

I looked over at the local, who was gazing at the moon.

'Be honest?'

'Yes. Most people respect honesty.'

I looked back up at the satellite. "Yes... When I can."

Seconds ticked slowly by in silence as I thought about what to say next.

'Thank her again for the hospitality. That should get something going.'

"Again, thank you for letting me stay here."

"You're welcome." answered Unohana warmly.

...

Out of the corner of my visor I saw the Captain smile.

"You feel quite out of place here, don't you?" she asked.

I exhaled and lowered my head to my chest. "Yes, ma'am. Very much."

"You shouldn't worry. We are all busy with recent events, so another drifter will not be such big news."

Now curious, I looked over to the Captain, who was still picking out craters on that natural satellite. "What do you mean?"

Now Unohana looked down, her mood faltering slightly. "A lot has happened here. Not just with these Covenant emerging, but events within the Seireitei itself."

'Something they wanna keep hush-hushed?'

'Betrayal?'

"Can you talk about it?"

Another sip of alcohol. "Perhaps tomorrow, once the other Captains discuss what to do next."

I nodded and stared up at the moon for another silent minute, before I remembered something.

"So this is an afterlife?"

"Yes."

"So... That means I am dead?"

"In your case, no. You were just turned into a spirit when you entered this place."

I looked to the smiling Captain. "Are all of you spirits?"

"Yes, though much more powerful than those outside the Seireitei."

'Much more powerful...'

"Considering that you have repelled a Covenant incursion with swords and fireballs, I do not doubt that."

This elicited another soft chuckle from Unohana. "You really don't know who we are, do you?"

"I know you are beings with the ability to perform feats that I see as 'magical spells', though here you call it Kidō."

The warm smile remained. "There is more to it than just Kidō, but you will see what I mean tomorrow. For now, you should follow the advice I gave my Lieutenant."

Not wanting to press the matter further in the middle of the night, I began to stand up, but stopped.

"Before I go, I want to know this: how did you know I was there, around the corner?"

Unohana gave me one last, rather ominous smile with her answer, "Intuition."

'Intuition?'

'Could be a passive Kidō spell she has on her.'

I nodded, and quietly left the Captain alone. Along the way back to my room, Winter gave her observations inside my helmet.

"So there definitely is more going on than what we see." she muttered. I imagined her small avatar with her chin resting on her hand.

"Something has indeed happened here," I agreed aloud, though I had my external speakers muted. "And it isn't the Covenant."

"Right," continued the A.I. "Judging by her mood, these people experienced some sort of tragedy."

I put my two credits in. "It could have something to with this Aizen character the el tee talked about earlier today."

"Possibly, but at any rate we'll find out tomorrow like the Captain said." My visor's edges then gained an electric-blue hue. "For now, I suggest you follow her advice and get some rest. You might not get another night like this again."

I nodded in agreement, and without any more discussion I returned to my room and sat down in my previous spot. I took my rifle from my back and kept it in my arms. Once I fully returned to a relaxed position, I closed my eyes and hoped to get at least a good four hours without another scare.

()()()

I woke up to Winter's urgent voice.

"Spartan, someone's at the door."

The thin slider was already starting to open slowly, and my mind registered Winter's concern and the door opening in a suspicious fashion. Adrenaline surged through me as I aimed my rifle at the door.

The young kid who opened the door and saw me staring right at him promptly made a strange squeaking noise, then threw himself out of view. A commotion erupted in the hallway and I heard many shouts of varying disgruntlement, but I remained still and ready to defend myself. The kid was pushed back into the room and nearly toppled over onto the unused bed with the metal tray he was carrying. As he recovered, I lowered my weapon, convinced this klutz was not a threat.

Once the kid righted himself, he placed the tray on the wooden nightstand beside the bed. He then remembered I was there and spun around wide-eyed. He started to try and form something resembling a sentence.

"Um...Uh, I..."

I stared at him some more before letting out a sigh. After another few seconds of the kid stammering out an apology, I stood up, stretching my legs in the process. As I stretched, I studied the boy. His black, non-regulation hair framed his face with bangs and obstructed part of it. His eyes, which were full of anxiety, were a lively blue.

'FNGs, they never-is that jelly on toast?'

The boy realized I was now looking past him and finally got a hold of himself.

"I-I didn't know what you would eat, or if you eat at all, so I brought something simple."

'And I couldn't ask for anything more.' I carefully pushed the kid aside and took full stock of the welcoming breakfast.

Fresh toast with a thin layer of jelly, a small bowl of soggy grains of some sort, and a tall glass of crystal clear water. While pitiful compared to yesterday's breakfast, I never thought I would have an actual meal in the days ahead.

'We never knew we'd be here in the first place.'

'Forget about that. Do we eat it now while it's all fresh?'

Given how it's been a full day since I last ate, my stomach was understandably empty. I did not know when today's events would pull me away, so I opted to ignore the stranger in the room and eat.

"I-if you don't like it, I-"

"No." I snapped, startling the kid. "It is fine."

I unsealed my helmet and pulled it off before setting it on the bed. The plating on it was scratched in some places, and the high-com uplink appeared to be dented. Quickly moving back to the meal, I first went for the toast. Winter didn't say anything about poisons, so I immediately took as big of a bite as I could. The fresh toast was warm and crunchy, and the high-viscosity jelly was sweet with the flavor of strawberries.

'Mmm. That taste never dulls.'

"Anata wa hontōni ningendearu…"

Not understanding, I looked back down at the kid, who was staring at me with curiosity now.

"You really are human." translated Winter from my helmet in the kid's own voice. Both the kid and I looked over at the piece of armor, surprised.

'Is she trying to get herself discovered?'

To keep the kid's attention away from the AI, I answered. "I am." The helmet spoke again, and the kid began to respond before stopping himself suddenly. He started bowing rapidly and in an apologetic fashion. Winter translated some more, this time with the same emotion as the kid.

"I'm sorry! I don't mean to be nosy or anything! I mean you look like you're from someplace else and I've never seen armor like this before and-AH I'm sorry again!"

In that bout of unnecessary apologizing, I was able to wolf down the rest of the toast. I moved onto the bowl of bland, soupy grains and inhaled all of it in one go. When the kid had finished I was chugging down the water as fast as I could.

He waited patiently (though his small nose began twitching wildly) as I finished and slammed the glass back down on the tray. Thankful the glass didn't break from that, I put my helmet back on, and once it was sealed I turned to him and nodded.

"Thank you."

"Y-you're welcome." responded the kid, bowing slightly. He shuffled around, as if he was building up courage for something.

"So, do you know about what's happened here recently?"

"That depends, how recent?"

"Well, I mean-"

"Spartan."

I looked past the kid and found Captain Unohana and her Lieutenant standing behind him. He looked behind himself and promptly stood at attention, to which the Captain smiled at.

"Thank you for giving our guest something to eat, Yamada." Yamada nodded hesitantly, and then the Captain looked to me. "Are you ready to meet the other Captains?"

"Yes."

"Then follow me."

()()()

The trip to where the Captains met was mostly uneventful, at least for me. Winter was badgering me to look everywhere as we walked. Everything I saw, she recorded and compiled it together into a map of the supernatural metropolis. The AI also wanted me to start asking the Captain and those we walked past questions, but I told her to wait until the Captains would allow us. An actual list began to appear on one side of my HMD.

I followed the two Shinigami to the deep insides of the large structure, in the center of the Sereitei. After many flights of stairs, both outdoor and indoor, we approached a pair of very tall doors made of polished wood. I was told by one of the guards flanking the doors to wait outside with Lieutenant Kotetsu while other matters not involving me were discussed.

I stood tall and straight as the minutes rolled by. To pass the time, I watched the Lieutenant out of the corner of my eye, behind my polarized visor. She was standing rigid, and at times leaned against the wall for a few seconds before pushing herself away. During all that time she did her best not to look in my direction.

'Nervous…'

'Something about last night?'

'Maybe, but let's not dw-'

"Isane!"

I looked down the hall to see a cheerful woman approaching. She was a few dozen centimeters shorter than Ms. Kotetsu, and had wavy blonde hair that was certainly not within regulation. She had a thin pink scarf draped around her neck, and her black uniform was rather loose.

"Well, she's not afraid to flaunt it."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes at the voice in my head, pointless as the gesture would have been, when I noticed the newcomer was approaching me. She stopped in front of me and looked up at my visor. I kept my head facing forward, but I was staring right back down at her. Her large blue eyes tried to see through the black faceplate, but I knew that would be impossible without me depolarizing it.

After a few seconds of this scrutiny, the woman looked to Ms. Kotetsu and asked casually,

"Is he a robot?"

The Lieutenant was surprised by the question and stuttered out, "N-no, he's not." The woman looked at me for another couple of seconds, before turning back to Kotetsu.

"Are you sure?"

"She is sure."

The woman straightened up and backed away, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword. Her eyes had narrowed slightly, making up the same cautious expression Lieutenant Suhei had.

"So who are you?"

"Captain Sierra Zero Nine Four. Spartan."

Like many other people, the woman perked up at "Captain."

"Captain?"

"Not of your military."

The woman gave me a suspicious look. "So you're a drifter?"

"Yes."

The woman relaxed, folding her arms under her breasts and shifting weight to one leg. "We've been getting a lot of those lately."

Ms. Kotetsu saw an opportunity and sheepishly stepped into my view. "Captain, this is Lieutenant Matsumoto of 10th Division."

I nodded to the new Lieutenant, who nodded in kind but did not say anything else. I was a little confused from her change of attitude and was about to inquire about it, but the wooden doors suddenly creaked open.

"The Captains will see you now." said the lead guard. I looked past him and saw two rows of individuals in white above black uniforms. In the center, past the two rows of captains was a man with an impressive white beard. I gave one last glance to both of the Lieutenants before walking past them and into the tall room beyond the doors. It was bare, save for the seat that was occupied by the elderly man. Flanking the old captain were eight other Captains, five on my right, three on my left.

When I stopped an arm's length form the first two Captains, I turned my head to get a good look at all of them. On the right were two men and a… dog man? It had a large man's body and the head of a dog or fox with orange fur and yellow eyes. To his side was a heavily-scarred man with black spikes for hair that were tipped with small bells. Beside that man, and closest to me, was a man with long white hair and a curious look directed at me. To my left, farthest from me, was a small woman with two black strings of braided hair that ended in golden rings. She looked bored. Next to her was Unohana, who had a serious expression on her face. Down the line was a laid-back man with a large straw hat and a thin pink dress draped over his shoulders. Next was, to my surprise, a little kid with spiky white hair. Next to him was a man with a strange headpiece, with white and black facepaint that highlighted his skull.

"I'm sensing a lot of devices in that… thing." said Winter, hostile in tone.

"I'll watch out for him, then." I assured her.

I saw movement from the elder Captain, and he raised his head a centimeter or two. His eyes were only little slits, so I used my visor to zoom in. The old man's wrinkly skin was scarred as well, and his eyes were barely visible.

They were red.

When he spoke, his voice was purposely slow and deep. "I am Genryūsai Yamamoto, Captain of the First Division, and Captain-Commander of the Gotei Thirteen."

His stare went straight through my visor, and I felt something grasp my chest.

"Who are you?"

I took in a long breath, trying to keep my heart beating, and answered like many times before.

"Captain Sierra Zero Nine Four. Spartan of the United Nations Space Corporation."

"Why are you here?"

"To take care of your Covenant problem."

The Captain-Commander's stare narrowed. "Problem?"

I took in another deep breath, forcing aside my confusion. "There is a… sizable alien force west of here, sir."

"… And you think they are a problem?"

'What?'

'These people still have no idea!'

"Sir, that size of a force can decimate an entire planet. I am surprised they have not tried to level this place."

"Yet they have not, Spartan."

"Obviously, sir. But they eventually will, and I cannot stop them when they do."

"What makes you think they can assault this place and succeed?"

'Is this man going senile?'

"Sir, with all due respect, I have seen your men and their prowess. I have seen your subordinate's usage of Kidō and other powers I cannot explain. While they are powerful, they are not nearly as powerful as a scarab's main cannon, or a Covenant exca-"

The grip tightened.

"Sean, what's going on?!" Winter's voice sounded distant and drowned out by a booming noise that tore at my ears. "You're heart's stop-"

"WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN WERE MERE PALOR TRICKS, CHILD. THOSE XENOS WILL CEASE TO EXIST SHOULD THEY EVEN THINK OF INVADING US."

The vice grip ceased, I felt a pinprick of artificial adrenaline in my side, and an invisible shroud lifted from my body. It took all of my strength to step forward and keep myself from falling onto my face. I gulped in air, and made an effort to not tear my helmet off. I took a few seconds to steady my breathing and stand tall again.

I looked back to the Captain-Commander, and his head was lowered. His eyes were slits again. A silence came over the room, and all of the Captains were looking at me with expressions ranging from indifference to piqued interest.

The man with long white hair spoke, his voice conveying controlled curiosity, "What makes you an expert on these Covenant?"

Careful not to provoke another… experience, I answered. "I have seven years of experience fighting them, sir. I know the behavior and weaknesses of each of the species that make up the empire. I know all of the technology they utilize in their war effort as well as how to use it against them."

"Only seven years?" asked the mechanical man with the facepaint. I looked to him. "You claim to know so much about these aliens in that short amount of time? What kind of missions did you partake in?"

"It was not short to me, sir, and I cannot discuss the nature of those missions. It is all classified."

The mechanical Captain broke eye contact and shrugged. The man with black spikes for hair spoke up next.

"If you're here to take care of this Covenant problem, why haven't you taken care of it already?" he asked insultingly. I felt the need to be honest considering the precarious circumstances.

"I am unable to take out such a large force with my current armaments. I am waiting for friendly forces to deliver necessary equipment."

"Hmph, some fighter you are." responded the scarred man, and he ignored me from then on.

"When is this 'necessary equipment' being delivered?" asked the kid, his voice betraying his age but still sounding completely serious.

"I cannot say. If you allow me, I will wait here in the Sereitei until the equipment arrives."

"You are currently housed within the Fourth Squad barracks," announced the Captain-Commander, "And you will remain housed there, but only as a guest." I felt the shroud being lowered. "You are expected to honor our hospitality."

"I understand, sir." I said quickly, hoping the elderly man won't decide to reinforce his statement. With much relief from me, he didn't, and the shroud lifted from me completely.

"You are dismissed, Spartan."

With careful motions I turned around and walked back into the hallway, with the only noise being my armored footsteps and the creaking of the closing doors.

Further down the hallway, the two Lieutenants watched as I approached them. While Ms. Matsumoto had a blank expression, Ms. Kotetsu looked like she was watching a ghost advancing towards her. When I stopped in front of the two women, I looked to the silver haired medic.

"Are you alright, ma'am?"

The Lieutenant snapped out of her stare, and asked me, "Are you?"

I hesitantly nodded, "I believe so. Why would I not be alright?"

Ms. Kotetsu looked to the floor, occasionally glancing towards the doors. "Well, we felt the Captain Commander using his spiritual pressure on you."

"It was getting hard to breathe for a minute." added Ms. Matsumoto, her voice once again conveying boredom.

"Spiritual pressure?"

Ms. Kotetsu explained. "The spiritual energy one exerts. The Captain-Commander has the most spiritual energy out of all of us Shinigami."

Winter's list appeared immediately in the corner of my HMD, with questions being rearranged in regards to relevance to the Lieutenant's answer. I picked the newest one created once the list stopped.

"Do you use this spiritual energy to fuel your spells?"

"Yes, as well as the rest of our abilities."

As the minutes went by, I learned more about the source for these supernatural powers the people here possessed. This spiritual energy resided in all organic beings, living humans included. While most humans and souls have very low levels of energy, there are a few humans and—of course—the Shinigami who have much higher energy stores. These select beings can utilize this extra energy for Kidō spells, flash step, and use of their "Zanpakutō," which were the swords all of the Shinigami wielded.

Winter wanted me to start asking questions about these Soul Cutters, but I wanted to ask a question of my own.

"How much spiritual energy do I have?"

"Let me see." The Lieutenant closed her eyes and began to concentrate, leaving me to look over at Ms. Matsumoto, who was leaning lazily against the wall and staring up into space.

"I…" I looked back to Ms. Kotetsu, who was putting in more effort to sense whatever spiritual pressure I had.

"I can't sense any."

'…huh?'

"Excuse me?"

The Lieutenant opened her eyes, confused. "You're not emitting any spiritual pressure."

I tilted my head, sharing in her befuddlement. "What does that mean?"

"Well, it could mean one of two things." The Lieutenant began to pace, the knuckle of her index finger touching her chin. I noticed that the other Lieutenant had pushed herself off the wall, suddenly interested in this new dilemma.

"Either you have little to no spiritual energy at all, which is impossible for someone experiencing hunger here. Or…"

The woman stopped pacing, looking to me with a hint of concern. "You're actively hiding your spiritual pressure."

As the massive double doors creaked open behind me, I took a step towards Ms. Kotetsu, who was starting to realize something disturbing.

'But I'm not doing anything.'

"How can I be doing that?"

The Lieutenant kept quiet as the Captains walked past us. I continued facing her, but I looked from the corner of my visor to spy on the Captains as they passed. All but four of them acted as if we didn't exist. There was the man Winter didn't like with the headpiece and facepaint, who had the faintest of grins as he looked away. Then there was the long, white haired man who appeared to be genuinely curious about me. There was Ms. Unohana, who stopped by her subordinate's side and turned to me with her warm smile.

Lastly, to my surprise, there was the young kid with spikey white hair, who had stopped with Ms. Unohana. His eyes were a particular shade of blue (turquoise?) and they were looking me over with the upmost scrutiny.

'Must be really talented to be a Captain at this young an age.'

'He might make a good Spartan.'

"What have you been discussing, Isane?" asked Ms. Unohana. The Lieutenant was skittish as she explained to both of the Captains my apparent ability to passively hide my spiritual pressure. The little Captain was really suspicious of me now, giving me a face similar to that of a certain instructor as he waited to hear our explanation on why we snuck out of the base in the middle of the night.

"Interesting." was the only comment Ms. Unohana had, before she looked to me. "Did you know of this before, Captain?"

"No."

The little suspicious Captain spoke up, crossing his arms. "And yet you are preforming a feat only high-level Shinigami can do."

One of Winter's questions was highlighted, and I accepted her offer to help me out of this.

"Is that a crime?"

"No, it is not."

I looked to both the little Captain and the Lieutenant. "Then why are you two so concerned?"

"To be honest, Captain," started Ms. Unohana, her smile suddenly gone, "A lot of us are concerned. Not just us, but the other Lieutenants whom you have met as well."

'Coming from her, this is not good.'

'Yeah, no shit.'

"Is this going to be a problem?"

"It will eventually." answered the little Captain.

'Christ, this IS a serious situation and this cryptic little fuck's messing with me!'

"And when is eventually?"

The kid took in a lengthy breath. "We can't be certain."

*CRACK*

"I do not deal with uncertainties, Captain."

Everyone except Ms. Unohana had their hands on their sword hilts, their bodies lowered into a combat stance. I didn't give a shit since they didn't actually draw their swords; I was more pissed at Winter for not putting any edge into that synthesized voice.

The AI spoke up tentatively, "Uh, Spartan? Look down."

I looked down, and reflexively took a step back, pulling my armored foot free from the splintered hole I made.

My armor was glowing.

'No, not glowing.'

'It's emitting something.'

As I examined myself, the emissions faded rapidly, but I still got a good look what was leaking from my armor. It was an aura of metallic silver which blended well with the grade-A titanium plating I was encased in. It was concentrated heavily along my sides, as if the energy was making an outline of my entire body. That was all I could discern before the aura disappeared.

I looked back up, and the Shinigami had relaxed slightly. I didn't need Winter to give me the next question.

"That was my spiritual pressure?"

The little Captain relaxed fully and stood up straight, letting his hands relax at his sides. His suspicious gaze was unwavering, yet at the same time his juvenile voice hinted that he was…surprised.

"Yes it was."