AMASUKI
甘好き

crisis rain

Disclaimer: Please see previous chapters for this absurdly long disclaimer.

Chapter 10: Progress

The sky was dark today – a shade of unhealthy, stale grey that reflected the more somber of the autumn days. Hisagi Shuuhei looked just as miserable as the weather – still suffering from restless nights that were plagued with insomnia. He sat tiredly at his desk, sorting out the mess that had accumulated over the past month. It was about time to organize everything; otherwise this unhealthy habit would become permanent.

A faint sound of a bronze gong resonated in the distance, its call mellow and mournful. Shuuhei paused momentarily in his task, freezing as he listened. This was rare – that was the signal for an emergency Captain's meeting. And although he wasn't invited to the party, if Tousen-taichou were to be away even for an hour's worth of time, he had to be present in place for his captain.

Standing up with a resigned sigh, Shuuhei hastily shuffled a stack of reports and placed them back down on his desk before picking up his Zanpakutou, sliding it into the folds of his sash, and exited the office. Things had not been in the best of moods lately; the announcement of high treason committed by one of their officers in the Gotei 13 had been quite the latest piece of news that stirred up way too many rumours.

Along the way outside the corridor, he found his captain walking briskly towards the main entrance; presumably well on his way to the Commander Captain's headquarters which also served as the meeting hall for the captains. "Tousen-taichou, your orders?" Shuuhei gave his captain a curt nod of his head, and the taller man simply nodded in response, eyes obscured by a thick visor. "Keep the Division stationed on stand-by. Await further orders once I come back from the summons."

"Understood." Every word was a trace of professionalism that he upheld in satisfactory perfection.

He watched his captain leave, exiting the main doors before disappearing in a haze. Looking at the sky, a strong wind blew hard, and he retreated back inside. It looks like there will be rain today.

She held the piece of refined steel steadily in her hand; the tip piercing the still air before her. Without letting it waver too much, she inhaled deeply and began to sharpen her focus, forcing her reiatsu to bend and obey. Slowly by her command, her pressure began to rise slightly, and upon reaction her Zanpakutou began to glow brightly.

"Linger; Soufun!" She commanded aloud, making sure her voice was clear with authority. The blade distorted as if it was a ripple upon water's surface, and instantaneously, billows of mist poured out from the sword, spilling and swarming the small forest clearing. It continued until the forest was surrounded in a dense fog, and Anzu stepped forwards, taking in another deep breath, eyes alert.

"Tsuchifuru." Small, fat clouds containing high-density reiatsu sprouted from the tip of her Zanpakutou, and as they slowly floated along the landscape, they began to take in the surrounding mist, swelling in size. The air began to clarify, and spying a rotting tree trunk not too far in the distance, Anzu directed the clouds where they began to attach themselves upon the wood.

And then, without warning, they exploded all of a sudden and bits of roots and dirt flew in every direction. Wiping her cheek from some of the soil that smudged her face, Anzu wiped her brow tiredly, before glancing down at her sword with an impressed smile on her face.

She had been training secretly on her own for a while now. Somehow being alone allowed her to concentrate much better than when she was with him. And it gave her a peace of mind; she could concentrate without worrying about ten million things that were bothering her in her life.

With a tired sigh she collapsed upon the grass, a large tree overlooking quietly from above. She laid down and stared up at the branches and dull foliage. It was a large cherry tree, but it wasn't blooming at this time of the year.

And suddenly, the tree was in full bloom with the bluest sky creeping gently in the background. Thousands of pale pink showered down silently, fluttering in the spring breeze. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes again, the sky was grey and the tree wasn't flowering.

"Ah…" She mused aloud, feeling quite ironic. "…this is where…" They had sat under this tree before, eating their lunch after a morning of hard training. She had never realised it until now – but she was instinctively revisiting all the places they had been together, just to stifle that missing ache somewhere inside her heart. Clapping a hand over her eyes, a crooked smile traced her mouth as she felt the cool air cling to her sweaty face.

She really couldn't stop thinking about him now that he's gone and came into her heart. Thoughts of him, and only him swarmed her mind, and it was driving her listlessly and hopelessly confused.

"No," she whispered aloud, mostly talking to herself as she continued to shade her eyes, feeling her lashes dampen with unshed tears. "…no, I'm just being a coward. Running away and never saying what I want to say…"

She sat up, and quickly wiped her eyes.

She's decided.

Somewhere in the distance, Soul Society was already in a warzone.

Shuuhei stood over the unconscious figure of Abarai Renji, wrapped in a blanket that was already beginning to soak up the blood from his wounds. Medics were frantically preparing themselves for some life-saving intervention, and all he could do was watch without a word. His jaw clenched. So that was what the emergency meeting was about. The Captains had recently been adjourned, but things were only getting started.

This is war.

Striding briskly out of the tent, he was joined by Fukuda and Teraiji from his Division. "Captain Tousen's reported back to the Headquarters, sir!" Fukuda reported quickly, striding quickly to keep up with the brisk pace of his vice-captain. "The Ninth Division are preparing themselves to rally the intruders out of Soul Society!"

"I see. I'll rejoin the rest of our forces once we arrive back to headquarters." He replied monotonously, before disappearing in a flash. Reappearing a block down from the Sixth Division's entranceway, he continued to Shunpo his way through the labyrinth maze of Soul Society's inner complex. With a final leap, he landed in front of the Ninth Division's courtyard entrance – robes fluttering from his quick flight.

"Have all members report to the courtyard immediately!" Shuuhei commanded to the watch guards, striding past the entrance archways and towards the compound entrance. "War is at our hands; we need every able-bodied man to dispel the intruders out of Soul Society!"

"Hah!" The guards saluted in response, before dashing ahead to spread the news. All that was left was to issue out the orders to flush, sweep, and destroy the ingrates that dared infiltrate their home.

Shuuhei was about to step inside when a flutter of footsteps scratched noisily from behind. Turning around, he was mildly surprised to see Anzu running towards him, looking thoroughly worn and battered with a few grass stains on her uniform. "K-Kisaragi." He started anxiously, spying her frazzled state. "What – "

"Shuuhei…!" She stopped before him, resting for a moment as she caught her breath. She looked up at him, her eyes strangely looking rather serious about something. "I… I-I need to talk to you."

He frowned slowly, placing a hand on her head, like he always used to. "I'm sorry, but right now's not the time. There's been… a situation."

"W-What?" She stammered back. Her eyes widened when she saw that grimace on his face – her heart was already beginning to race so fast –

"War is breaking out. Right here, in Soul Society." He confirmed quietly, and she merely stared blankly back at him. Her hands somehow found each other and began to clutch her finger together tightly, trembling. "What…? War? What… I don't understand…" Struggling to find the words to convey her thoughts, Anzu could feel her mind beginning to paralyze from reality. What on earth did he mean by war?

Shuuhei closed his eyes. Her mouth quivered.

"Y-You're joking, right?" She asked in a whisper, as if she was afraid to hear his answer. He looked away, his face grave. The hand that was resting on her head was gone, and she watched it forlornly return back to his side.

"This isn't a joke. This is a real situation." He testily replied, and placed a hand upon her shoulder, as if that was enough reassurance for her being. "The Captains have all been summoned to an emergency meeting as to deal with the situation at hand. We already have one man down – Abarai Renji."

Another blow to her mind, and she covered her mouth in horror. "A-Abarai… you mean Sixth Division's…?"

"Yes. That's why I must make preparations right now. We need to form patrol squads and eliminate the intruders before they interfere with the execution." Shuuhei breathed in deeply. He sounded calm, but he was far from it. As to how so many intruders managed to infiltrate Soul Society, it could only mean betrayal from an inside source – something much more dangerous than dealing with high-powered humans.

"I-I… what should I do?" This was no time for her to spill her guts over a love confession. If anything, at the very least, if she could lessen his burden somehow… Anzu gripped the collar of her uniform tightly, staring steadily back at her vice-captain. Shuuhei paused for a moment, thinking about her proposal, before shaking his head. "I'm not sure yet, but when the time comes I'll call for you. Right now, please help me gather as many of the members as possible and bring them out here. I'll brief the rest later about what needs to be done." And with that, he left her, disappearing before she could utter another word.

A black Hell Butterfly approached her at that moment, wings flapping gently. "This is an emergency announcement! All officers are now allowed to carry their weapons in public in lieu of the events!" She paled slightly, placing a shaking hand over the handle of her sword. They were now allowed to bring their own Zanpakutou around – does this mean that peaceful negotiations were not possible?

"I have to hurry." She whispered to herself, and dashed back inside.

The day had grown dark, the sky turning into the nightfall canvas before the evening grew old. Anzu sat outside, huddled by the main entrance as she clutched her sword to her chest. The night had grown quiet, but there was a stagnant feeling of unease in the air. The tall torch-lamps that were stationed by the entrance sparked and crackled once every while, and the watchmen stood stoically, their backs turned towards her, their faces to the darkness that loomed outside. Squeezing her knees together, she laid her forehead upon her legs, fatigued but unable to sleep.

A distant door could be heard as it opened, and quiet footsteps grew louder as they came closer. Anzu lifted her head up, looking around with muddled eyes and caught the figure of her Vice-Captain in sight. Shuuhei strode quickly over towards the watch guards, speaking with them in a low voice – too inaudible for her to hear clearly. After a short while, he nodded in approval and turned around, before catching her staring back at him.

"K-Kisaragi." He greeted with mild surprise, slowly walking over to where she was sitting. "What are you doing out here?"

She blinked back tired, orange eyes and looked up at the sky again. The clouds had misted over, blocking out the many stars that were without fail, somewhere out there. "Stargazing – or at least, attempting to."

"Oh… I see." Shuuhei quickly remembered the lockdown the Captains had placed for their Divisions not too long ago. It seems like regular officers won't be allowed to sneak out late at night, like how she used to before this crisis. "The torch light blots them out and you can't see them very well." Anzu continued, explaining carefully as she pointed up at the sky. He glanced up, and sure enough the bright lights from below made the sky a simple black.

He looked back down at her, watching her rest her chin back on her knees in a resigned matter. "You really like to stargaze, don't you?"

"It helps me keep a peace of mind; sort of like my own zen." She replied flatly, slowly blinking sleep-lidded eyes. "I couldn't go to sleep with what's going on recently, so I thought I might be able to if I came outside but…"

"…but I guess it's not helping much, is it?" He answered sympathetically, and took a seat beside her. She didn't seem to mind this time, only staring blankly ahead, at the unmoving horizon of the white walls that even blocked their view of the outside world – the world, outside the metropolis of Soul Society. Anzu shook her head in response. "No," She admitted, shuffling her feet together. "But I could keep trying until it does."

He couldn't help but to chuckle at her response. Her bottom lip twitched in response to his display of mirth, mildly irritated by the fact that he was silently laughing at her.

"So how's your training progressing?" He asked offhandedly, to which his question caught her off-guard. "Wh… how did you know that I was…?" She jerked her head around and her mouth parted in surprise. "I didn't tell anyone… I kept it a secret to myself-"

"I know." He cut her short, a knowing smile on his face. "I've got your back to look out after too, afterall." Anzu couldn't help but to furrow her brow at this and her fingers dug into the fabric of her hakama pants. "I… I just want to be someone who doesn't need to be protected." She mumbled under her breath. Shuuhei gave her an inquiring glance.

"You want to become stronger… is what you're saying?"

"At least," She sighed. "At the very least, where I don't have to see others getting hurt for my sake." And then, she stared straight at him, and he looked back at her, sensing the earnest feelings behind her words. As if, he suddenly became enlightened with the fact, that this was what had been going through her mind for a long time, and he had never noticed it until now.

"This has been bothering you for a long time." Shuuhei could only confirm this aloud, his head swimming with regrets and thoughts of what would have been, and what will in the future. Anzu took in a deep breath, before releasing it out into another sigh.

"It has been, yes." Grasping her Zanpakutou in her hand, she stretched out her arm with her sword before her. The sheath twinkled a little in the torch light. "I have a sword - a sword that is used to protect people with. But if the wielder is useless, then ultimately…" Her arm dropped back down, and Soufun hung in the crooks of her fingers, handle snapping against the ground. "…then the sword might as well be useless, too." Anzu whispered fiercely, and closed her eyes as her face contorted into self-loathing anger.

Shuuhei watched her without a word, his eyes softening at the sight of his subordinate belittling herself and her own abilities. "Kisaragi; without doubt at the beginning, I really thought of you as nothing more than a troublemaker. But I decided to set you straight, and perhaps in my own egoism, refine you into a better person as well as a Shinigami officer."

She looked back at him with confused eyes, wondering what on earth he was rambling on now.

"You don't have any real talent for Kidou; nor were you very good physically with Zanjutsu. But there's something called progress; overtime, you'll be able to discover things that you excel at, and things you are weak in. Focus on those strengths, sharpen your skills and in time, I'm sure you'll find your own method of protecting others." He leaned back, looking at the blackened sky again. Very faintly, just faintly, in the distance, a light shimmered in response.

She smiled a little, burying her face into her uniform. Shuuhei watched her compress herself together into a tight ball, suddenly feeling very worried that she might be crying.

"H-Hey…" He began, lifting a hand to reach over to her, but stopped when she straightened back out suddenly, a large smile on her face. Somehow, mirth returned to her features as she chuckled slightly, and faced him with rosy cheeks and a large smile plastered over her face.

Ah, he thought. It was a face of hers that he hadn't seen in a long, long while.

"Thank you." With a small grunt of effort, she pushed against her knees and stood up, dusting her robes before picking up her sword. Sliding it back into place by her hip, she turned around and faced him, her smile tapering off faintly. "I feel much better now. Thank you, Shuuhei."

"That's 'Hisagi-fukutaichou' to you, Kisaragi." He replied, smiling in response.

"Oh, that's right. I nearly forgot, pardon me for my rudeness." Anzu let another sarcastic chuckle escape her lips, but soon her expression softened once more. "You have a Vice Captain meeting in the morning, don't you?"

Shuuhei nodded. "We need to discuss in the interest of capturing the intruders as quickly as possible." He stood up after her, stretching his limbs as he did so. "But most importantly we need to stop Abarai's imprisonment. Captain Kuchiki had him sent to jail despite his serious injuries." Voice solemn now, he gave her a curt nod, before lightly smacking her on the back. "So it's bedtime now, and that means you too, Kisaragi."

Clutching her back in pain, she threw him a venomous look before rubbing the spot tenderly. "Okay, okay! I get it, sheesh…" Shuuhei laughed, before patting her gently. "Sorry, I hit you a bit too hard. Oh that's right - I forgot you were a fragile, little thing, forgive me." He smiled victoriously back at her, and her face grew scarlet with embarrassment mixed with rage.

"Don't grasp for straws here and use my own jokes!" She retorted, walking alongside of him as they returned back inside to the compound. As they bickered along the way, somehow Shuuhei felt that their relationship was slowly begin to return back to the way it was, and his heart settled in a sort of peace. As for Anzu, she wouldn't admit it, but she rather enjoyed the touch of his hand as he gently pushed her along, as if guiding her back to her room to rest.

Just for another night, she'll wait for him.

A/n: A quick update this time around, while I still have time to spare for the season. This chapter will be shorter than the ones I've published so far, with the intent as a quick introduction of what has happened so far.

For those who are unwise, this chapter has a jump in time from the last chapter, to about at least a week to let the initial events of Ichigo and his shenanigans to bust into Soul Society settle into place without having me to write a redundant recap on events that we are already aware of.

So far what has happened:

- Ichigo & co. have infiltrated Soul Society successfully, albeit separated.
- Abarai Renji was subsequently defeated by Ichigo. He is thrown in jail while still unconscious and recovering from his injuries.
- An emergency meeting for all the Captains was held, and
- All Zanpakutou/Soul Cutters are now permitted to be carried in public by all acting officers.
- The ban on full release/bankai has been lifted for all acting Captains.
- The Vice Captains will hold their second meeting soon.

And that is all. Just thought you might like to know (that I'm doing my research properly too).

Thanks for reading, as always.