Whenever I'm writing Shinji, I can never manage to picture Shinji himself doing what I'm writing. Instead, I get the image of one of my OCs– none of whom act anything like him. Bizarre, I know. But hey, whatever works.
Two days later
Kensei staggers– it's a tightly controlled stagger, but still– out of the Ninth Division for the first time in a little over a week. And it's been a hell of a week, in the sense of both significance and torture. Every symptom's intensified times a thousand, and the only reason he could get out of bed this morning was because Yoruichi 'acquired' some pain medicine from the Fourth Division and his raw determination to keep going, to push through this and not let Tosen win. Aizen's a secondary concern, considering that Kensei was what he'd prefer to think of as unconscious when Aizen and Gin showed up.
Mashiro trails behind the white-haired man, somewhat more limber and energetic than he is for whatever reason. It doesn't matter to Kensei. There isn't much that matters to him anymore. He's too tired, too focused on keeping up his flimsy mask of normality and sanity to care.
"Keenseiii!" Mashiro murmurs in that drawn-out way she always does, sounding as if it takes an act of God to give her the strength to reach that volume.
"Whaa?" He rasps. "Need somethin'?"
"You didn't respond earlier when I asked if I had to be at the meeting." She answers. "Aizen isn't–"
"Y'aren't Aizen." Kensei slurs the two words together. "And he's got loads of paperwork to do to make up for Sh– Gaah, get out!" He stops in his tracks, clutching his face with one hand. "I just..." The Ninth Division's captain doesn't finish the sentence, gasping in pain and subsequently gritting his teeth to keep more such noises from escaping. A few minutes pass by before he resumes making progress towards the First Division. Kensei's fingertips and face are stained with spots of blood from picking off the bits of mask trying to form.
Ukitake is outright astounded to see Kensei and Mashiro enter and take their places. He hasn't seen either one in a week, and assumed neither one would be attending. The occasionally invalid captain can't resist sneaking a glance at his recently appointed lieutenant, Shiba Kaien. The black-haired man looks equally stunned, but unlike his captain, he doesn't try to hide it.
It's almost agonizing to see the slowness with which the two move, but they make it. Ukitake comes to the sudden realization that they probably left early specifically because of this. His heart twists, knowing that they must know full well their weakness.
Yamamoto stamps his cane, which is really closer to a club, on the floor. "I call this meeting of the captains and lieutenants to order." The same words he utters every time, though it might actually be a ceremony to make the meeting official. "Are there any orders of business that must be put forth before we discuss the issues surrounding Hueco Mundo?"
When no one suggests anything, the elderly but powerful Shinigami nods at the two men standing beside him. "Kido Chief Tsukabishi Tessai, Vice-Kido Chief Ushoda Hachigen."
Ukitake blinks at the sight of Hachi. Generally, the Kido Corps are very reclusive and aren't seen often even by Gotei 13 members. The last time the white-haired captain saw Tessai's subordinate, he was significantly more rotund, but it's clear now that the pink-haired man has lost a considerable amount of weight from his illness.
The imposing leader of the Kido Corps steps forwards, placing a small device on the ground and tapping it. Thin lines of light spring up from the device, solidifying into what looks like a void torn in reality, alongside smaller images of what Ukitake assumes is the breakdown of the spirit particles they've found and a creepy, vaguely humanoid but armless and legless creature with a white mask.
"This is one of the few images we have of a Garganta, captured before it closed. We theorize that it's a variation of normal Hollows' natural ability to travel between dimensions, altered to bring more powerful ones in, or groups. That itself is based off their ability to break down souls into spirit particles to strengthen them, in which they briefly project their own power into a nearby space and tear at it, thereby rending the space itself to create a portal." Tessai begins, pausing to clear his throat.
"Ahem. Excuse me. Now, this image here is of a type of Hollow that is rather rare, the Gillian." As the Kido Chief spoke, the masked creature's picture expands as the image of the Garganta shrinks. Must be voice-activated to some extent. "They're the lowest form of a class of Hollows that the Kido Corps has named the Menos Grande. The Gillian are composed of many, many souls, often Hollows', none of which have achieved dominance and a unique form yet. So far, only the Gillian have opened Garganta, but we believe that it is only a matter of time before the higher levels of Menos Grande, the Adjuchas and the Vasto Lorde, begin to do the same. Gillians' individual power levels could on average be matched by a mid-level seated officer, though they travel in groups and become significantly more difficult to defend against. Cero is their primary weapon, but their unique ability is Negacion."
"And that is what exactly?" Yoruichi asks. Tessai frowns severely at her.
"As I was about to explain, Shihoin-dono, Negacion is their ability to create barriers around areas and suck whatever is contained within back to Hueco Mundo. These barriers are borderline impenetrable, such that it would be a waste of reiatsu to attempt to destroy one, though it might succeed if the individual is captain-class and at full strength." Another picture comes to the forefront, showing a rectangular prism of yellow light enclosing two wounded Menos Grande and lifting them up to a Garganta, taking a sizable patch of land with it. "They primarily use it to rescue their own members. It is unknown what happens to the rescued Gillian, if they are eaten in their vulnerable state or allowed to heal in Hueco Mundo. If somehow controlled, though, this Negacion could be very useful."
"To whom would it be useful?" Kuchiki Ginrei asks, brows locked in a sharp frown of disapproval. "Consorting or working with Hollows is forbidden and punishable at least with imprisonment in the Maggots' Nest, if not death."
If Tessai turns a shade paler beneath his deep tan, no one notices. "I'm well aware, Kuchiki-dono. I am merely informing all of you of the potential for manipulation in the event that it comes up in the future. The knowledge may well be useful." He replies.
"Understood." Yamamoto rumbles, heading off any possible offense that the noble could take. "Please continue."
"Hollow incursions into both the world of the living and into Soul Society are also increasing. Even outside of Japan, where average spiritual density and pressure is increased greatly due to the Oken's current presence there, such invasions are becoming more common. Training of Academy students may have to be stepped up somewhat in order to prepare them for fighting better." The Kido Chief clasps his hands. "As of yet, the cause of the increase is unknown."
"Whaddya recommend for dealin' with 'em, Tsukabishi-san?" Shinji asks, words deliberate and almost labored.
"Increased patrols and the building of further defenses in the Rukongai seem to be the best option for now, until we are able to uncover the cause and eliminate it." Tessai replies after a brief hesitation.
Yamamoto inclines his head towards the tall Shinigami. "Thank you. Is that all the information you have at the moment?"
Tessai nods. "Yes, that's all of practical use that the Kido Corps has been able to learn."
"Then I ask that Captain Shihoin and Executive Militia member Sui Feng give their own assessment of the situation." The Captain-Commander says.
The two men bow slightly and retreat a few steps. The violet-haired commander of the Onmitsukido and her bodyguard take the floor, stepping out of the ranks slightly.
"The Hollows aren't an organized group. Even the Gillian that attack in groups don't seem to have any form of command, hierarchy, or even intent. They aren't sentient as far as we're able to tell. They pose a limited threat to the government and the nobles, but to minimize bloodshed, as they are quite a threat to the civilian population, we should work quickly to discover the reason behind the increase in attacks and make sure to eliminate them efficiently and without delay." Yoruichi states, expression serious. "An assessment of abilities shown by Hollows would be to our advantage to make sure that we are able to combat them effectively." The Second Division's captain nudges the woman beside her. She murmurs something quietly, which causes Sui Feng to blush slightly and bow to all of them.
"In addition, m-my and Shihoin-sama's subordinates have observed increased strength in the average Hollow. Th-the cause is theorized to be an increase in ambient energy in Hueco Mundo, b-but we aren't sure why it would increase." Sui Feng says, staring straight at the wall as if too nervous to do anything else. She hesitates for a few moments. "Also, though the incidents are very few and far between... we have observed beings that feel like Hollows, but have the appearance of humans with Hollow holes and Zanpakuto as well as broken masks. They have all demonstrated hostile tendencies towards Soul Society but appear to be largely unorganized and have no alliances that we know of."
The room becomes even more quiet, if that's possible. Ukitake fidgets a little bit. Then a question occurs to him, and in his desperation to break the silence, he asks it.
"If they take human-like appearances and have Zanpakuto, that would indicate a form not fully Hollow. I hesitate to ask, knowing that such a thing goes against our understanding of the beasts, but is it possible that they are partially Shinigami?" The Thirteenth Division's captain asks reluctantly.
Sui Feng blinks. "Yes, Captain Ukitake. We have no c-conclusive evidence as of yet, but during the encounters w-we have had with them, scouts have reported that their reiatsu feels very slightly like that of a Shinigami. The ratio o-of such ap-appears to be about 70:30 in favor of the Hollow power, and it increases to 90:10 when the swords are drawn. The proportion of Hollow t-to Shinigami changes depending on the i-individual, however."
"Hybrids..." Kyouraku murmurs, then chuckles softly. "Well, well, seems like our understanding of the world's getting flipped around. Interesting. What advantages does the Shinigami power afford them? I can't imagine that it's real comfortable to make that choice and transform, considering Hollows hate us. Gotta be some advantages, yeah?"
Sui Feng looks uncertain briefly, but the Chinese minor noble takes a deep breath and speaks anyway. "Their reiatsu is quite significantly increased, and it appears to grant rationality to th-them. They are capable of using Hollow powers only from what we have seen. Kido, Hakuda, and Zanjutsu have not been demonstrated. Though some do fight in hand-to-hand combat, it is not formally trained, and swordfighting appears to be largely instinctive or experience-based. The Arrancar– we call them such for their torn-off masks– have an ability approximating flash-step that allows them to roughly mimic Hoho, as well as extremely durable skin. If the hybrids were to have training or develop substitutes for the other Arts, they would be exponentially deadlier and able to combat us much more effectively. The Onmitsukido has uncovered no further information, Captain-Commander." She adds.
Yamamoto inclines his grizzled head to her. "You have our collective thanks, Captain Shihoin and Militia member Sui Feng." He looks back down the rows. "Does anyone else have further knowledge of the topics at hand?" The most powerful fire user in all Soul Society asks.
Even as he's speaking, the doors fly open and a man appears in a burst of flash-step, panting. "Begging your pardon, captains and captain-commander, but yes!" The olive-eyed Shinigami cries. He carries with him a box and a bag, the lumps of which suggest objects within the latter. "I apologize to all present for the interruption, but I have something you need to see. I've confirmed the existence of traitors within the command structure of Seireitei!"
As it turns out, I got too far into the story and wrote too much of this to go with the suggested idea of having the Visored learn of a plot of Aizen's and try to thwart it, being outed as hybrids in the process, and discover that not only can they not stop whatever it is, that was his goal all along. So here, have a chapter.