AN
Here you all go! New chapter time!
Hugs to VioTanequil for ruling as a Beta Reader!
AN
Hiyori pounded on the door.
"Shinji! Open this fucking th--"
The door opened but her fist cut through the air instead of his face. Behind the sunglasses she had yet to remove her eyes widened. The Shinji behind the door was not the Shinji she knew. This wasn't Shinji, the obnoxious, fun loving, youth-oriented Vizard who proclaimed undying love to anyone (but her) with a pair of breasts. No, this was Shinji Hirako, the former Captain of the Fifth Division who Aizen had to fight in the dirtiest way possible because any other way would result in his death. This was Shinji Hirako who had graduated in the first class with the other Captains, who had loved Yamamoto like a father, who had been betrayed by everyone he had ever cared about.
Except her.
His eyes rose fractionally, taking in the group of them like it hadn't been almost fifty years sine he saw most of them and the last time he saw one of them he threw them out on his ass.
"Get in," he said motioning through the door.
Never one to back down, even if she did not want to go in, Hiyori marched into the spacious loft. Mashiro practically skipped in while Kensei, Ichigo and Uryuu stepped inside like they were going to be attacked any moment. Hiyori frowned and peered inside. Two cups of tea were sitting growing cold on the table and a severed red chord was lying on one of the chairs.
"Unohana told me everything," Shinji said.
"Good," Uryuu said pushing up his glasses, "I picked the three strongest Vizards in their respective disciplines."
None of the Vizards said anything. Kensei was looking at Shinji like he wanted to murder him where he stood. Mashiro even seemed to have picked up on the discontent and was shifting her weight from foot to foot, her eyes dancing between the people in the room. The strangest thing was what was going on between Shinji and Hiyori. Or rather, what was not going on. Despite having her eyes hidden Ichigo knew she hadn't look at him. She hadn't touched or spoken to him either.
It was downright weird.
The jangle of a cell phone was enough to make Ichigo jump and the rest roll their eyes. Uryuu ducked out to take the call leaving Ichigo alone with the Vizards.
"So what are you now?" Kensei broke the silence.
"I'm one of the Vice Captains of the Fifth Division," Ichigo said, Kensei arched an eyebrow, "the other is Grimmjow Jeagerjaques."
"Who got my Division?" Kensei asked.
"Halibel."
"Ooo Kensei-meanie," Mashiro grinned, "you got replaced by a girl."
"No way, Tousen got replaced by a girl, I got replaced by a trait--damn it Mashiro!"
"You walked right into that one," she said with a grin.
"Shut up!" he snapped, "God, you're so annoying!"
"That's no way to treat me Kensei-meanie," Mashiro pouted.
Ichigo watched their exchange with an unexpected wave of homesickness. He knew what he was doing was right, that he needed to be a hero for them all. But to be honest all he wanted to be was a husband. A Vice Captain. He liked no longer being the one who carried all the hopes and dreams of Soul Society on his shoulders. He liked being just, well, just Ichigo Kurosaki. The man who was one of two Vice Captains to the smallest, most badass Captain in Soul Society. He liked being (with his wife) the two loudest people in the Kuchiki Manor. Hell he even liked the fact Byakuya didn't seem to mind they lived there. Rukia said they probably made the place seem like home. Sometimes new recruits, hearing of his old antics, had asked if he was happy being ho he was and he had always answered honestly and that answer was always yes.
So why was he here? Breaking rules and seeking help from people he technically shouldn't even be speaking too? Because of the life he loved, because of the life he stood to loose. He had always fought to protect. First to protect his family, then to protect his friends, now it was to protect all of that. Invalidity had never sat well with him. If he had to break rules to protect his home than fine, he'd break every fucking rule that got in the way. Still, he really just wanted to go home to where Rukia was. He wanted to be back where the world made sense, even if he knew he was in for the ass kicking of his life from his wife and from his co-Vice Captain who now had to do both their paperwork.
"Woo Shinji, you have a party last night?" Hiyori asked looking into the bedroom.
"Don't go in there!" Shinji cried bolting after the Vice Captain, "Damn it don't you understand the concept of privacy?!"
"Uh, no," Hiyori said with a smirk, "we're being all buddy buddy now, remember?"
"Well then why don't you take your sunglasses off?" Shinji demanded.
"Fine!" Hiyori grabbed the frames and yanked them off.
Ichigo looked down, his stomach churning. Shinji, Kensei and Mashiro seemed to equally be nauseated by the sight of it. Slicing neatly from right above the inner corner of Hiyori's left eyebrow all the way to the outer corner of her left cheekbone was the pink scar Hiyori had received in the Winter War.
From a hit she took to defend Shinji from his former Vice Captain.
Break
"Unbelievable!" Matsumoto said with an almost musical laugh "you do all that and I'm not even around to enjoy it!"
"Sorry, if I could've had you around, you know I would've," Gin said easily sitting back in the chair.
Matsumoto sighed and tried to fight back the smile. All the anger she felt seemed to have drained from her. In fact, if anything she felt almost, well, giddy. Gin, Gin Ichimaru, was sitting across from her with his silver hair and his slightly open ruby eyes. He wasn't trying to kill her, he was just talking to her like they hadn't done in so long. She could see the sadness in his eyes, the absence of his haunting smile and closed eyes. She could see that things had changed. But he was there and for the moment that was enough for her.
Gin on the other hand was fighting the urge to pinch himself again to make sure he wasn't dreaming. She may have been in another person's body, she may have looked a little different, but she was Rangiku. She wasn't trying to kill him anymore either which was a definite plus. In fact, she seemed happy to just be talking to him. The pain of missing her, even when he was in Las Noches, had been so acute he had to adjust to it. And then when she had died, the ache in his chest had just been something he had to deal with. But talking to her now, having her with him, he didn't realize how much he had missed her.
Even Shinso and Haineko seemed too weak with relief to fight which was probably the strangest thing of all.
"So this kid--Oscar--is the key to whatever the person trying to take over Soul Society is doing?" she confirmed.
"Yes," he said, "he's the only earth-based Zanpakuto which seems to be the key."
"And who is this?" she asked pointing at her chest.
"That's Oscar's friend, your, uh, reincarnation. Suki," Matsumoto pouted, looking down at her chest, "they're not that much smaller," Gin pointed out.
"Don't look at them!" she cried crossing her arms over her chest, "you don't get to look at my breasts now!"
"It's a little late for that, Ran," he said.
Inwardly Matsumoto struggled to ignore the heat surging through her. God, why did he still have to be so attractive? She was supposed to hate him! He had betrayed and eventually stabbed her. She wasn't supposed to--to--Matsumoto cut the train of thought off. Just because she was feeling it didn't mean she had to admit it. Especially not when Gin's ruby eyes were open, his silver hair falling into his face. Not when he was good. One of Matsumoto's many many vices was Gin Ichimaru. Especially when Gin had his eyes open.
"Can't you close your eyes?" she groaned burying her face in her hands.
"Huh? Why?" he asked, one of his eyebrows arching, "you were always after me to open 'em when I was in Soul Society--"
"Since when did you ever listen to me?"
Gin grinned. He felt, he felt practically drugged. Matsumoto Rangiku, Ran was sitting across from him. She didn't want to kill him (at the moment), she was just talking to him.
"This is fucking boring," Oscar grumbled from his position on the couch, "can I go now?"
"No!" the two Shinigami said in unison.
Oscar sighed and continued to watch the ceiling. Honestly his grandparents were lovey-dovey enough to last him a lifetime. Well they were when his Grandmother wasn't mad at his Grandfather. It didn't matter that Sado Yasutora was a virtual giant and that Karin Yasutora barely came up to his biceps, Oscar would much rather fight his Grandfather. His Grandmother was terrifying. At the moment though he would take his Grandmother on in a heartbeat if it meant getting out of the room he was stuck in.
Thankfully his phone rang.
Break
Grimmjow ducked under the swipe of Suzumebachi, the Zanpaktos leaving a barely visible scratch on his forearm. It didn't matter, scratch or stab the Crest still blossomed as though he had gotten a tattoo. It was an easy hit, one he should have been able to dodge. Vaulting back easily, Soifon landed a few feet away on the mats and narrowed her eyes.
"What is with you?" she demanded, "I haven't been able to hit you like that--" she frowned, "ever," she adjusted Suzumebachi, "what's going on?"
"Nothing," he said with a growl, dropping into a fighting stance, his grip on Pantera shifting, "let's keep going."
"No," she said de-powering Suzumebachi and holding the blade in her hand.
"Shut up and fight me!" he snarled gripping Pantera.
"Not when you're being such a big baby!" she replied.
He lunged forward but she caught him easily on her blade and spun around, kicking his legs out from under him before landing on top of him, her blade pressing into his throat.
"You're distracted," she growled, "I don't fight people whose mind isn't on the fight, they make for lousy opponents."
She glared down at him. He growled and brought his leg up, his knee slamming into the space in between her shoulder blades. She snarled and vaulted forward, rolling off him and into a crouch. He flipped up into an identical low fighting stance. She still made no move to unseal her Zanpakuto. He threw a series of quick hits, the blades of Pantera slicing through air. A few hit her skin but the majority she blocked with her blade. She threw her blade up.
"Sting all Enemies to death, Suzumebachi!" she shouted, the blade transforming and locking onto her wrist, "if you're distracted I'll just have to remind you who you're fighting against!"
"Bring it on!"
The two slammed into each other with the usual blast of Spiritual Pressure. Metal met Metal in their match. Both their Zanpakutos were small and quick and had to be coupled with their respective fighting styles. Even so they were extremely well matched. Usually they would have had an audience to their fighting. The training area would have been packed with people shouting, cheering and putting a lot of money on their battle. At the moment it was deserted, a testament that even the promise of a good fight couldn't shake the mood of Soul Society.
It didn't matter to Grimmjow.
He knew he shouldn't feel that bothered that it was an Espada trying to end the world, he knew that and somehow he was. After all the last time one of them had tried to do it he had been on that side. That had been before he had been turned into a Shinigami, before he had met the petite firecracker across from him who spent their initial time together telling him that he was going to be turned into decor for her Division. Before he had decided Ulquiorra was a pain in the ass but not that unlikable overall. Before Momo Hinamori had taken him as her Vice Captain. Before everything had changed.
"Damn it," he growled, dropping his hands. Soifon swore and barely managed to avoid hitting one the pre-existing butterfly crests on his chest, the crest blossoming on her palm instead. She waved it away before restoring Suzumebachi to its normal form, "sorry," he muttered.
"Grimmjow," she frowned and stepped forward, "Grimmjow what's wrong?" she asked, her voice softening fractionally.
"Nothing," he muttered.
"Grimmjow," she began but he reduced Pantera to its original form and sheathed the blade, turning to go.
"I'll see you later," he said walking out of the training hall.
Soifon looked at the blade of Suzumebachi, trying to fight down the irrational urge to cry. What was going on? She looked at the door that Grimmjow had just exited through. Usually when he walked off it was because of some fight they had. And then it wasn't a 'walk' per se, it was more like an angry stalk that let the entire fucking world know that he was pissed off. She didn't think she'd ever seen him just walk away looking so defeated before. Soifon stared, she didn't really like it. With a sigh she slid Suzumebachi into its sheath. She didn't like it when he was like this, in one of those moods where fighting, sex and brutal honesty were not the cure. She knew he didn't like it when she did it either.
But she couldn't just let him huff off in a fit of self-loathing.
"Grimmjow," she sighed, sliding Suzumebachi into its sheath before shooting off.
It wasn't that hard to find him. He had opted to walk instead of using Flash Steps which made her job a bit easier. Not that much, Grimmjow was crap at Flash Steps so even if he was using them it wouldn't be hard for her to catch him. As it was she aimed and cut the Flash Step off, falling seamlessly into a normal rhythm.
"What's wrong?" she asked, trying to keep the demand somewhat out of her tone, "I haven't seen you cut a fight short--ever."
"Sorry to disappoint," he said. Soifon's eyes narrowed
"Is this about the Espada?" his eyes widened before he looked away. Soifon growled and slammed him into the nearest wall, "listen to me, I can't believe I have to tell you this, but you aren't like that! You never were. You don't go sneaking into unfair fights--for Gods-sake you brought Orihime to heal Ichigo before you fought him. You're not an Espada anymo--"
"Yes I am," he burst out, "or I wouldn't be having dreams of my 'unfinished business' would I?"
"You've been having dreams?" she asked.
"Yes," he said swiping a hand over his face, "me and Ulquiorra, we've been seeing our deaths."
"And?"
"I knew him."
"And?"
"And I betrayed him," he growled, "I'm responsible for his death," he sighed, "and I fucking hate how guilty I feel."
Break
Shunsui tugged his haori on.
"Should you be moving like that?" Nanao asked stepping into the room. Shunsui turned around. Nanao's eyes flickered to the pink seal glowing before going to the ground as she gave a small, unhappy sigh, "Shunsui--"
"Could what you are worried about be me Nanao?" he pouted, "how sweet, I should get my ass kicked more oft--ow!"
Nanao lowered her hand.
"Don't you ever say that!" she shouted, "do you know how worried I get about you?!"
"Nanao," he walked forward.
Nanao turned away, crossing her arms with a huff. Truthfully, prying herself from Shunsui and going to speak to Ulquiorra had been almost impossibly hard. She knew there was nothing she could do for him but still...she couldn't help but want to. He had been scaring her with his attitude since the Commander General died. And if he died still acting strange, if she never saw the Shunsui she cared about, the Shunsui she loved, she didn't know what she'd do.
One of his hands went onto her shoulder, the warm from the seal Momo had placed on his chest sending warmth permeating the fabric of her uniform. She sighed and closed her eyes, not even bothering to keep her posture. She knew that of the three oldest Captains, Shunsui was the prime candidate to become the Commander General. He was a great fighter and he didn't get sick. If he did become the commander General, what would happen to him? Would he become serious like the Commander General? She didn't think she'd like if he became like that.
"I didn't mean to worry you, Nanao," he said squeezing her shoulder. She didn't think she'd ever been happy before when his hand slipped easily around her waist, "I'm sorry, Nanao--"
"Who said I was worried about you?!" she snarled turning around and putting her hands on her hips.
"You're beautiful when you're heartless," he said with his old easy grin.
"It takes almost dying to jump you out of your mood?" she demanded, incredulous, "why are you so happy all of a sudden?"
"I dunno," he shrugged, looking out the window, "I guess it just seems, for the first time, like something good might happen."
"Good? Good?!" she wrenched open his robe to reveal the seal, "you call this good?!"
"Gee, if you wanted to get in my pants Nanao all you had to do was ask," Shunsui sing-songed, smirking.
"You almost got yourself killed!" she shouted, "stop acting so damn happy!"
"I thought you didn't like my mood," he pouted.
"Don't twist my words Shunsui!" she snapped, furious.
Shunsui grinned and eased forward, once again wrapping his arms around his Vice Captain. Nanao made a sound of frustration but did not make a move to remove his arms. He knew he was taking advantage of her nervousness for him but it was really sweet and he was a sucker for Nanao when she was trying to deny her emotions. His haori fell around the both of them as her arms dropped to her sides and her eyes drifted shut slightly.
"I'm sorry I've been in such a mood," he said, "and that I worried you."
"I--" she growled faintly, taking her glasses off and pinching the bridge of her nose, "you are the most infuriating man I've ever met," she sighed as he turned her around, not wanting to miss the rare sight of Nanao without her glasses on. She glared and shoved the frames back up her nose before she tied his robe shut, "come on, let's get you back to the Division."
"Nanao," he wined as she dragged him out of the Fourth.
Yachiru frowned as she walked down the 11th Division. People murmured their greetings but she didn't pay them any attention. Her mind was firmly on her problem at the moment and that was trying to figure out how she was going to get Byakuya to pull his head out of his ass and see that he belonged with Halibel.
"This would be so much easier if she wasn't as blind as he is," she muttered.
"Who's as blind as who?" Kenpachi demanded.
"Ken-chan!" she turned with a bright smile before hopping up onto his shoulder.
Kenpachi grumbled but said nothing. She may have been much closer to being an adult now but Yachiru still was light. Hell even if she was heavy he had a feeling he'd still be able to carry her. She had decided a decade or so ago that hugging his shoulder wasn't something she liked anymore. In true Yachiru fashion she had just started to ride on his shoulder one day, just ahead enough so that his spiked hair wouldn't poke her. He imagined his shoulder would feel rather strange without her on it.
"What are you scheming now Yachiru?" he demanded glancing up at her.
"I'm tryin' to get Byakushi and Bel Bel together," she said tapping her lip, "but its much harder than I thought it would be."
"Kuchiki and Halibel?" he asked with a frown, "seems like an unlikely pair."
"But they'd be perfect for each other!" Yachiru cried.
"Says the girl whose been terrorizing the Fourth Division," Kenpachi shot back.
Yachiru sighed but said nothing. Terrorizing was a bit strong of a word. It wasn't her fault that the Fourth Division had a few cute guys who couldn't really hold their own against anyone in the Fourth Division, much less the Vice Captain of the Eleventh. Still she was a girl and apparently an attractive one at that and they knew a few good make out spots throughout Soul Society. Her current favorite was Hanatarou. He was just so timid that he never objected to anything and if he did it was always in the strangest ways. Plus he liked candy too. Liking candy was a virtual requirement in her book.
"I have not," she said when Kenpachi chuckled faintly, "so how you gonna get those two together before one of them gets themselves killed?"
"That's a horrible thing to say Kenny!" she scolded, "Byakushi and Bel Bel are very tough."
"Ha! Guess you're right," Kenpachi muttered, "So have you go a tunnel ready for when he tells the Elders he brining a former Espada into the family?"
"Yep."