CHAPTER SEVEN: THE AFTERMATH

I exit the senkai gate. I had finally come back home. Or, to what was left of it. Wherever the espada went, they seemed to leave a trail of chaos and destruction behind them. Buildings were crushed and crumbling, blood soaked the ground, and bodies littered the floor. Yes, I was home.

Ukitake and Hitsuguya look mournfully at the corpses. I avert my gaze. I hate dead things.

"Ugh. Shouldn't they have cleaned this all up by now," I mutter under my breath.

"We should get going," Ukitake says. "There's no use in staying here."

As we are flashstepping over to the meeting house, Hitsuguya sighs. "You know that Yamamoto is going to be very angry about this, don't you, Kinisada?"

"And that he's going to blame all of this on me? Yeah, I know." I grimace. "I hate him. He shouldn't have even suspended me in the first place." I glance at Ukitake. "But you still think that some of this is my fault, right?"

He looks back at me, guiltily. "We did doubt you at times, but I knew that we would be wrong to."

We all stop. Hitsuguya reluctantly hands me a video camera. "Quit your whining and shut up, Kinisada. Just watch this."

I open the side of the camera to reveal a small digital screen. I see Hitsuguya eating all of the Halloween candy from my secret stash. He falls over on his back and his face turns a sickly green. I also spot Matsumoto in the background. Byakuya is there too for some odd reason. Maybe they needed him for something.

I giggle. "I really thought Ukitake was lying when he said you ate all of it!"

Ukitake looks offended. "I would never lie to you, Sada-chan!"

Hitsuguya rolls his eyes. "Whatever. Now let's get to first squad's barracks before Byakuya comes and gets us."

I smile, recalling my encounter with Byakuya when I was late to the last meeting I attended.

"Yeah! Let's go!"

Soon, we arrive in front of the giant door leading to the meeting room. It's white with a huge number one on it. I hear a faint murmur from the other side.

Sigh… I remember this place all too well…

I feel queasy. I don't want to see that old man again.

"I told you that you would never become a captain. I even voted against you. And now I have come to the conclusion that you are definitely unfit to be a captain. You are suspended from your duties until further notice. You are dismissed."

That was what he said, wasn't it? He just hated the idea that I was a captain. In fact, he had probably been waiting all of this time for a reason to suspend me!

Or maybe I am simply overreacting to all of this. I'm not sure. He wouldn't have become a captain-commander if he made bad decisions.

This was my chance to prove him wrong. But did I really want to? I don't need that old man to tell me who I am and what I will be! He's not the judge of me! Ukitake, Hitsuguya, and the other captains know well enough that I am worthy of their rank! Why does he refuse to listen!

I sigh. I must calm down. Yelling and screaming at the old man will solve nothing.

I walk through the opening doors.

I face the old man once again. He's sitting in his wooden chair, cane in hand. The other captains are at their place on either side.

"We've retrieved Kinisada Taichou from the real world," Ukitake announces.

"It's about time." His voice is gruff and stale like sandpaper in my ears. I really want to go up there and punch him, but I resist the urge.

He looks at me. "Kinisada! You-!"

"Shut it, old man," I growl as I point an accusing finger at him. "Before you blame me for anything, it's your fault entirely that Sereitei was caught off guard," I hiss. "It's not like I could have done anything anyway, you suspended me, remember? I wouldn't have been able to control my squad, and therefore would have been basically useless the whole time, so it wouldn't have helped if I had been here!"

"But-!"

"Don't interrupt me!" I snarl. "I'm sick of you! I'm sick of you and your stupid ways! Don't say that you 'could've given me my duties back' because I know what you would've said! 'Kinisada, you're too inexperienced and stupid to fight the espada, so just stay out of our way!' Am I right?!"

For the first time in a thousands years, the old man was silent. He looks at me with his tired old eyes.

He sighs, as if what he was going to say next was a great burden.

"I guess I was wrong, Kinisada," he mutters, almost in a whisper.

I grin. Payback time. "Huh, Yamamoto? I didn't quite hear you."

He glares at me. "You heard me well enough, Kinisada. Don't make me repeat myself."

I laugh as I silently observe the other captains. I notice a small smile spread across Ukitake's lips.

"Le sigh, Yamamoto," I say. "What do you want me to do?"

"Kinisada," he grumbles, "something grave took place in Soul Society while you were gone: The Hoseikyu has been stolen."

The Hoseikyu?!

"What's that?"

"Allow me to explain." Kurotsuchi steps forward. "You see, I have always sought to top Urahara's inventions, and one day, I stumbled upon his Hogyoku research."

Yamamoto frowns. "That's illegal."

"I know, but that doesn't matter." He sighs. "Look, honestly, I don't want to explain this more than once, so please refrain from interrupting." He glares at Yamamoto. "The Hoseikyu," he continues, "was made to counteract the effects of the Hogyoku. I made it by accident, but that's another story entirely," he rolls his eyes. "Anyway, Hogyoku literally translates into Reversal Sphere, and Hoseikyu literally translates into Correction Sphere. So it does what it's named to do. With its potential, it could 'correct' hollows and return them to their natural state before they were changed, resulting in a De-Hollowfication process which could inverse the effects of the Hollowfication process caused by the Hogyoku." He smiles. "Simple, really."

I could see that most of the captains were struggling to wrap their heads around the concept.

"And how does this affect us?" Komamura asks.

"Well, the use pretty much stops there. The Hoseikyu actually decreases the power of the hollow that it is used on, while the Hogyoku magnifies it." He closes his eyes. "But, if combined with the Hogyoku, the line between shinigami and hollow would become nonexistent and each would completely merge. You see, the Hogyokyu alone does not have the power to fully combine these two separate beings. The arrancar are still hollows, and the visored are still shinigami. There must be a balance to the Hogyoku. A yin to its yang. Then, something far more powerful will be created."

He frowns. "But I don't know what it creates, exactly. I wasn't able to finish my research before those nasty espada broke into my lab."

The captains immediately enter a state of panic.

"What will we do? Something more powerful than an espada?"

"It can't be!"

"We have no choice… We must stop Aizen!"

"SILENCE!"

Yamamoto slams his cane on the floor.

"I have already decided on what we must do." He looks at me. "Kinisada, Ukitake, and Hitsuguya have all been assigned to take back the Hoseikyu, and possibly the Hogyoku if they can, with the help of Urahara Kisuke. This problem will be taken care of quickly and efficiently. And Kurotsuchi," he grumbles. "No more Hogyoku research. It's too dangerous. If I find that you have been looking through the library archives again…"

Kurotsuchi scowls. "Very well, I promise not to look through the archives to find more out more on the Hogyoku." He grins. "Until all of this is over, of course."

Yamamoto sighs. "Fair enough. You are all dismissed!"

I flashstep to fifth squad's barracks. It's just the same as I remember it; a huge, rectangular, old-fashioned building with the number five painted on its doors. I walk inside. Trails of blood streak the broken floors, and red handprints cover the walls. I guess it's not really the same anymore.

Hmm… Where has my squad gone?

There were no bodies.

Ukitake said that only his squad and Hitsuguya's were hurt...

So why, then, is there the aftermath of a terrible battle here, in my barracks?

I sense the remaining reiatsu from the fight around me. A day or two old, at least. This isn't normal. There's something off about this place. But then, the windows shut, and I am left in the dark.

"Hello!" I reach for my zanpakuto. "Who's there! Show yourself!"

A little speck of light begins to flicker in the middle of the room. It begins to grow, illuminating the space around it, now emanating a faint glow. I can barely make out the faint lines of a small, pink orb floating effortlessly in the midst of the bright light.

I point my katana at the strange sphere.

"I… I'm warning you! Whatever you are! Stay back!"

Suddenly, visions of people surround me, and the room returns to normal, as if the strange globe had never appeared. I see my squad again, running around in a rush. And I hear the sound of an alarm.

"Fifth squad has just been breached by an unknown enemy. Prepare for battle!" I hear my faithful third seat yell.

"Ayako," I rush over to her. "What's wrong?"

She doesn't seem to hear me. Or see me.

"Look!" she begins again. "Even though our captain, Kinisada Taichou, is gone, we must defend ourselves!"

I stop listening to her.

"This… This is the past…"

The room darkens, and Ayako's bright pink eyes widen.

Instinctively, we both run outside.

A dark mass begins to engulf the fifth squad's barracks. It forms a seal in the shape of a semi-sphere overhead, and keeps shrinking. Any shinigami caught in the pitch-black figure disintegrated.

Ayako grimaces. "Taichou, where the hell are you. Situations like these are your specialty, you know," she mutters. Then, she turns to face the rest of the squad.

"Fall back! Everyone fall back! Take the underground routes! Now!"

I'm glad that I told her about that. I imagined that something like this would happen. So I built an underground tunnel, just in case.

She quickly rounds up the rest of the squad, and I follow. We rush down the main hallway of the barracks, take a right, a left, two rights, and one more left, and we come to a small cement room. On the floor of the room, there is a giant iron hatch with the words "Emergency Use Only" painted on it in red. Ayako deftly opens hatch and pushes each squad member inside.

"Hurry up! There's no telling when that thing will come through!"

After everyone has gone down the large metal pipe, she climbs in and seals it shut from the inside.

They're safe…

But my happiness is quickly dashed away once I see the dark mass gathering behind me. I gasp. This was no ordinary shadow. No, much worse than that.

Is this… Aizen's doing?!

I see the darkness start to phase through the iron hatch. And on the other side, I hear blood-curdling screams.

"No! Stop!" I raise my katana, about to release my zanpakuto, when the image dissipates.

I am back in the dark, windowless room with the strange pink orb. I fall to my knees. Tears start to well in my eyes.

"A… Ayako…"

They were gone. All of them. That thing devoured them. Whatever it was.

I look up, and suddenly my heart fills with rage. It must have been that sphere's doing.

"You stupid Hogyoku! How dare you-!" I raise my sword again, but then I realize:

Wait. This thing can't be the Hogyoku. The Hogyoku is in Hueco Mundo. Is this… the Hoseikyu? No, it can't be that either! The Hoseikyu has just stolen! It can't be here! What… What the hell is this?!

The strange orb starts to glow brighter. Its pink rays extend out towards me, trying to touch me, feel me, but instead, they pass harmlessly through my soul. The small globe flickers and begins to fade. It seems disappointed in its failure to reach me.

Then, I hear a small voice coming from the orb. Something reminiscent of an ethereal whisper.

"I… want to… correct you…"

The glass sphere shatters. The windows burst open and light floods the room. All of the blood disappears.

"Taichou!"

Is that… Ayako's voice?...

"Taichou! Are you hurt?!"

I can't see anymore. I'm too tired. I need to…

"Taichou!"

I collapse on the ground, unconscious.