Soul Society
A full week has passed, no sign of Mizu or Raito, not even an absolute order to go into a scaled search to where the Hallows reside in. Our only clue to their whereabouts was the garganta residue left behind where the research team traced it back to Hueco Mundo. I wonder of the competence our commander holds, but if can't be done so simply then I will find a way there myself.
"Brother," softly murmuring, Rukia stepped inside my office with some food on a tray. "It's been tiring, but please, eat something." Asking so desperately of me to do so, I've only complied. "Your weight is still going down… I can't have you do that to yourself."
"Thank you Rukia," taking the bread from the plate, there was some strawberries and a glass of water. "Where is my Lieutenant?" Asking of his whereabouts, I was going to discuss the time to go into Hueco Mundo ourselves and retrieve the siblings.
"Renji is currently observing the entry point to where the two disappeared from. No new signs of other points have been given."
"Let me know as soon as something is heard." Eating as I was asked too, Rukia sat beside me as to make sure I was holding down my food. Nothing pained me more than eating and keeping it all down.
Someone was running down the halls, I could hear the frantic steps clear through the walls. My heart quickened, it could be anything, anything that concerned Mizu or Raito!
"Captain Kuchiki!"
Renji's voice was echoing now, and more frantic than the day we were attacked by Aizen.
"Captain Kuchiki, they're back! They're back!" Slamming the door wide open and panting from his running, his red hair flared every-which-way before coming to a standstill. "I saw them…I saw Raito and his sister descending from the sky through a hole!"
I took no chance on missing this, so I scrambled to my feet and followed him to where he saw them. My heart was desperate for their safety, and I yearned to see them in one piece. Nothing could block my path once I used shunpo to head to the site.
Mizu was exhausted from running in that darkness to get here; I was surprised that it took us two hours to get to the soul society without leaving a trace for Aizen to track us. The way these Espada's operate is quite unusual to me and I would rather trust one rather than five at once. Nothing can be changed now as they all descended down with me, but I felt Mizu's strength being sapped away from her and I couldn't contemplate why it was so hard on her? I wanted to ask, but my main concern now was of the gotei 11 coming at us with millions of questions and receiving uncle's words to report everything we've been through.
"Raito, sorry about having you carry me," Mizu whispered.
"It's fine," worried still, my ribs weren't quite healed yet and started to be painful to hold her up properly and she seemed to have felt that. "Was it something back in Las Noches that drained you?"
"…..I'll speak of it later, but my body feels fine to go the rest of the way from here." Touching my cheek softly, I stopped and placed her down to run alongside me in the sky as we descended down. "It was strange how my body gave out though, sorry for troubling you when you are still injured Raito."
"Your injured as well you know, it's not like we're in top form." Trying to lighten the mood before coming to the ground with a crowd gathering, I looked to the arrancar's behind us. "How are we to deal with them though? What do we say to them all about having part of Aizen's army being alongside us?" I asked.
"I have an idea, but it will take some time to prepare as well as we need special permission from uncle to use it." Her look frightened me actually to see her so damn serious about this. The look of a captain that's never really crossed her face before became visible and I was rather impressed to hear this out. "Tell them to go to our house, give them your seal so Albert knows they were sent by us or he'll kill them on sight." Askign this of me, I halted and turned to them all while they stopped in their steps.
"Alright then," feeling around in my pocket for my seal, I pulled it out of the stitched pocket and held it out for Nelliel to take hold of. "This here is my seal to enter the house without being killed by our head butler. I believe one of you already knows where my home is and I would like to head there now while we settle matters here."
"Understood," Nelliel said.
Nodding as I watched them take off while following Grimmjow, I caught up with Mizu down below and watched her gasp for air as she took in oxygen uneven breath's.
"You sure your alright," wary, she nodded and I couldn't understand what got into her so suddenly. "You have a wound I don't know about Mizu," I asked.
"…..I'm not sure how to tell you this at the moment, please focus on the group coming towards us."
Feeling several different reiatsu coming at us, there were familiar to me and I patted her should to have her ease up and look proper while seeing Renji coming around a corner.
"There," Renji's voice was heard.
It was slow motion from what I could tell. Renji whipped around the corner frantically, nearly running into a wall and then suddenly Byakuya comes around no later with Rukia right towards us. It was all so fast and meticulous that I was in a blunder for words.
"Hey," waving a hand, Mizu's whole body was shivering? "Long time no—" Byakuya's crushing blow to us nearly knocked both of us down. His arms wrapped around us strongly, never releasing us at all until it started hurting. "Byakuya, it hurts man, gotta breathe." Patting his back, I felt his body mass to have gone down a bit and worried that this might have happened. "Byakuya, come on buddy, I'll talk later, we have to get to the old man." His vice grip eased up, and his face was so pale. "Byakuya, we're home." Hoping this would make up for it, his eyes were so red from lack of sleep and his cheeks caved in from not eating right. "How long have we been gone here for?" I asked.
"It's been a full week since you've been taken," not believing his words, even Mizu looked up to meet his gaze and a massive emotion of embarrassment washed over me and I was trying to depict what the hell it was about from her! "I was ready to head to Hueco Mundo myself to retrieve you two myself before hearing the news of your return." His voice was craggy, and I took my mind off Mizu to give him reassurance that we were back and well—more or less.
"…those clothes," he examined us carefully while really looking at Mizu and having a cold stare at her. "Why do you wear such clothing?" He asked.
"Not by choice I assure you, but this is the uniform back in Hueco Mundo for that man's army." Showing it off to him, he scowled a little bit at mine, but more so towards Mizu's as I knew why he would. "Before the crowd we saw arrives here Byakuya we have to discuss something with the head captain as soon as possible. Afterwards we will talk things over a warm cup of tea, alright?" Resting my gaze on him, he wanted to speak more but allowed us to depart knowing we were to meet up with his later on. "And not to worry Byakuya, we'll change to appropriate attire before coming to the house." Winking at him, he seemed to wish for a conversation with Mizu but her emotions were saying something along the line of 'not now' to me.
So taking Mizu and heading off to the head captains quarters and passing other soul reapers, I spoke with her calmly and demanded to know what the deal was with that emotion she threw at me.
"…..I wanted to say this later…" she said.
"Later is now," I said.
"He and I…that day after the battle…we slept together." Quietly as she spoke, my ears did not deceive me.
"He snapped?" Confirming, she nodded and I felt the heat rushing through her and I was exulted! "I've been anticipating the day he finally would! Not the best of days though…but he really got you?" She flushed hard in the face and I was considering the red rice with beans tonight for celebration! "I'm happy for you Mizu! This here is the best of news I've heard since that fight with him."
"But I wished it was on simpler terms…." She jumped up and I followed close behind as we ran on rooftops. "He got to me while in the heat of being wounded and I was so overtaken by him that he got his way with me. I am ashamed and blissful about it and it frustrates me! Couldn't he have picked a better time to woo a girl instead of choosing to do so after a battle?"
"Looks like that wasn't the case," teasing her now, we had come across the stairs leading to the building where the head captains quarters was. "But you are happy aren't you?"
"More than happy….I'm thrilled to the point I can't even think it really happened."
"Then forget everything else and just accept the time he did it. He snapped and that was a breaking point he thought he couldn't hold back."
"You make it sound so simple Raito," she grumbled.
"I make everything sound simple." I winked.
"Yeah, like a pin," she remarked.
"Ouch," laughing as we climbed the stairs, we reached the large doors and pushed them open to step inside the noisy halls of the head captains barracks and calmed our unease to what to expect from our uncle.
Opening the red oak doors and finding him waiting by his desk beside his lieutenant, we stepped forward and felt his reiatsu disperse and feel a cheerful presence coming from him. "Raito, Mizu," he breathed. Mizu was the first to go up to him so she could hug him, then I last as we were both hugged like little kids from this old guy. "I'm glad you two are safe….I was sick with worry." Surprisingly feeling so small to him, it wasn't so bad easing up a bit after all that's happened and acting ourselves around family.
"We're sorry for being so careless…" Mizu apologized, and the old man was relieved to hear her words it seemed. "The noble houses must have been nagging at you for our whereabouts, I'm sure it frustrated you greatly to quell them." Nodding in agreement, he wasn't concerned over our matters any longer. Once I stepped back and compelled myself to speak, he looked upon me with his wise eyes and waited.
"Old man…I'll explain everything that's happened to us." He nodded then the both of us explained in detail what transpired in Hueco Mundo. It was a surprise for me to hear of Mizu's part. Her point of view was just as bad as mine as we both told our tales. Much didn't make quite as much sense to me, but she was well aware that Aizen had something up his sleeve and he was bound on using us to the fullest in his quest for power. Yamamoto was listening so intently that he was thinking in deep thought over it all as was I. And once we got to the part about Gin, he blew up in our faces saying he was nothing but a traitor, that it was a plot. Mizu said otherwise, but he was clear of what he thought of Gin. Even when we broached the subject of the Espada's being on our side, he was concerned about it and demanded to know what we planned to do with them.
"I will put a spell on them Uncle," Mizu suggested. "I need your permission for this spell due to the fact it is a restraining sort and will not allow them to fight unless for our purpose alone."
"Can you do such a spell?" Yamamoto asked.
"I can. I've been working on a spell with the research facility for years to perfect this. It will work Uncle, trust me."
"….you've changed Mizu," he mentioned. And now that he's mentioned it, something did change in her during our capture. She's not as scared or whiney about being a captain. In fact, she seems more solid of the fact that's what she is. Wonder if it's because of Gin's non-betrayal? Maybe he said something to her and not saying anything…?
"Not in the least Uncle, I'm merely trying my best to strengthen myself." He didn't say anything after that except allowing her to go with her new spell, which crossed my mind to thinking that I knew nothing about it.
"Tell me Mizu, what is this new spell you created?" Yamamoto asked.
"It is called Kōgeki Shibaru. Being tied down by the word Shibaru, it creates an invisible chain to me and anyone I choose. Kōgeki is attack; by one's order that is tied down by the chain will the spell commence. The only flaw of this spell is that if the user dies, the spell is dismissed."
"Sis, that spell must take a lot out of you though if it's long term. You can't use it on five of them at once!" I said.
"I know…that's why I'll be using it one or two at a time when with them." Though I was against the idea now, she showed me her resolve and begged through our connection to let her go through with this. I only asked that she not rely once on the dark arts that harbors between us.
"Uncle, now that we've reported back to you, we should calm the squads in search for us and return home." She spoke calmly.
"Yes, do so," he dismissed us.
I walked beside Mizu for a short time before grabbing hold of her shaking body and hugging her to death. She was nervous trying to act strong to Uncle, but she did such a marvelous job that even I was impressed. Her salty tears stained a little on my sleeves, but it was worthwhile until she collected herself for the next hardest part of our return—explanations.
In all honesty, the hour it took for both of us to calm our squads down and having Albert daunt on us while receiving our swords and attire, it made us seem well missed for the time we've been gone from them. Who would have thought in a matter of a week would the squads we've been given fall to such disarray in the short time we've taken command of them.
Feeling better amongst comrades and fellow men alike we had our squads round up the other gotei to have a drink to celebrate and release their stress they've accumulated over this. And another hour passed while speaking with the different households we were in charge of to find some of the other noble heads trying to take lead in our absence. Thanks to Albert though we had kept the leadership of our treaty at peace, but the heads were certain we couldn't keep this up much further without producing results of an heir soon to continue our line. Every damn noble household always assumes we pop babies so damn easily like rabbits that we can continue our powerful line! Repeatedly have we told them that we are fine on our own standing in power, but they insist that something be done soon or the peace between households will collapse in due time.
After sorting this whole matter out we were finally able to escape and head towards the Kuchiki residence to meet with Ginrei first and foremost. Being our guardian and all for these 200+ years it would be dishonorable not to go to him first and say we're back.