Review Time:

Guest - I really really really wish to avoid an all-out villain battle this time, because that's too taxing for me to do again, especially when I've only doubled the amount of characters to keep track of. But I'll have to be a little creative with it...hmm...


Chapter 50 - Cracked (the reMix)

It was barely 5 AM when Tatsuki headed down the stairs in her half-asleep stupor, and crashed onto the couch.

"Can't sleep?"

"Huh?" Craning her head, she saw Karin, who was equally unable to sleep and settled on making paper planes before breakfast came. "Yeah, I've got a lot of my mind.."

"….sorry."

"It's oka….y?" Tatsuki sat up. "What's up?"

"I was talking about I said in the clubroom. I'm sorry I've been keeping it a secret all this time, from you guys." Karin sighed. "But I wanted to be sure, I guess."

Tatsuki was still drowsy so she had to rack her brain to figure it out. "With….Liltotto, you mean?"

"Yep."

"Well…..couldn't you tell Kukaku-san? She's in the exact same boat, and it'd be easier to tell her than-"
"-my brother or Dad, right? I dunno, somethings you want to figure out yourself first."
"Yeah…."

But the twin paused in making her 7th plane. "I knew for a while, actually."

"That you…..?"

"Yep. It's not an easy thing to realize, but I did always hang out with the boys and play soccer."

"…."

"Okay, this is getting stupid." Karin crumbled up the paper. "So let's talk about you, Tatsuki-chan. Got something on your mind, too?"

It was best not to get into the whole story with Orihime, but there WAS something she had to say. "….Something feels off with Orihime. I can't describe it, but…no, wait. Maybe…..after the….." she gasped. Then she remembered what the NSWA had unofficially did. To Karin's confusion, she ran outside, and came back shortly with Mashiro's newspaper.

"Uhh….Mashiro-san made that last night, right?"

Tatsuki turned the paper over and showed her the headlines.


Across the Seireitei, Shinigami were waking up to a similar sight. At first, only Nemu, Tatsuki, Chad, and Uryu had witnessed the dogeza, but Yachiru had indirectly revealed it to every reader, when her club had already learned it from Telephone.

Both the ad for Project Moonlight and the dogeza story were on the front, dwarfing all of the other "news".

"What…..? Orihime-san…." Yushiro read the words carefully to make sure he wasn't getting it wrong. Similarly, Yabao, Ururu, and Jinta looked over it too.

As for Yoruichi….she knew something was fishy.

This was never brought up at the meeting….but Yachiru started this from the Telephone, right? Don't tell she was the one that ordered Mashiro to print it!

As for Kisuke, he sipped his tea and gave a smug smile in the back of his mind. Phase 1 was complete, but *now* it was time for phase 2.


Mashiro herself finally made it home after a long night of printing, copying, and distributing, and she collapsed into her bed. Of course, she didn't get the chance to sleep, as Kensei poked her shoulder.

"Hmm, I'm tired Kensei…."

"You're not sleeping, Mashiro. You spent all night making this?" She opened her eyes and looked at the result of her hard work.

"Yep! Little one wants the show to come out soon."

"Idiot, I'm talking about the stuff with Inoue."

Mashiro chewed the inside of her lip and stared at the headline. She felt proud, but she knew this was going to be dicey. "Kensei….I think I'm gonna be in trouble."


At the same time, Yachiru was equally proud of her Grasshopper, and she ripped off the front page of the extra copy she had made for her. And snuck it into her clothes.

"Hey, Ken-chan! You up?"

She dashed across the worn-down former barracks of the 11th, honing in on his quarters. If he couldn't read, she could always read it to him, and bam! No one would question why she would even have an extra copy.

But as soon as she reached the door, Neliel stepped out, looking rather disheveled.

"…"
"….."

"Soo…."

"Nel-chan! Havin' some fun with Ken-chan?"

Embarrassed, she blushed and avoided her gaze. "Well, i-is that what you want to call it?"

"Oh it's fine with me!"

"Is it? I'm…..not trying to replace someone, Yachiru, things just happened and I-"

"Aww you don't have to explain it to me! I'll see you later, okay?"

She nodded and hurried off, and Yachiru dashed inside. She jumped onto Kenpachi's chest, which only made him shout and wake up.

"Damn it, Yachiru, that hurt!"

"Hey! You knew it was me before I came in! That means you're getting better at sensing reiatsu, Ken-chan. Time to get up!"

"Yeah, yeah…."

"I saw Nel-chan on the way here."

He froze. "Ah….you did." Guess it was that time. To address the elephant in the room. "Look, Yachiru, it's not gonna be a problem, right? Me and uh…Neliel?"

"Why?" She smiled. "She makes you happy, you make her happy. Finally you have a girlfriend!"

"I wouldn't go that far," he said, and sat up. "But all this time, YOU were the only girl I bothered to care about. I'm not romantic at all, Yachiru, so I'm just winging this."

"Sure. Everyone acts differently around their special one!"

"It doesn't….conflict with your club or somethin'?"

"Nope! Now….can I read you a story?"

"…?"

Yachiru giggled and jumped back, and put on her best dramatic reporter/Mashiro impression: "Sources say that Orihime Inoue-"


"-was forced to strip and perform dogeza to the Soul King's heels, in an act of submission. An entire courtyard of students witnessed it, along with Nemu Kusamiya, Uryu Ishida, Yasutora Sado, and Tatsuki Arisawa, the latter of which was also forced."

Shutara was enraged. She ripped the paper in two.

"Such heresy! They're intentionally framing this story to cast doubt on Reio-sama! They're implying he's a tyrant!"

Her discovery had forced her to summon the rest of the guard. They didn't look so pleased at the story as well, but while Ichibe had one idea, so did Kirio and Nimaiya.

"Who wrote this?"

"Isn't it obvious?! The NSWA, that ridiculous social club!"

"Hold on. It says nothing of a sort. If I remember, Mashiro Kuna continued to self-publish after the divisions were disbanded," Kirio argued.

"But it doesn't take a brain to see the pieces fall into place. The only Mashiro Kuna would be aware of this information is if Orihime Inoue told her everything," said Ichibe.

"Pardon, but you can't imply this was a secret. It just happened that you didn't invite the entire Seireitei to watch," Nimaiya argued.

"Argh! That's the brilliance of this." Shutara put one of her arms to her chin in contemplation. "Reio-sama and the Royal Family did nothing to demand it be kept secret, nor did I tell Orihime Inoue and her friends not to say anything. There's technically nothing illegal about this."

"But….?"

"But such a plot is beyond Mashiro Kuna. No, this goes deeper….and I am certain their ringleader, Yachiru Kusajishi, organized this whole thing out of spite. I must interrogate Kuna to find out."

"Good idea!" Ichibe's eyes twinkled. "I will keep a close eye on Yachiru while she deals with that human thing."

"I suppose my instructions will be delayed."

Nimaiya hid his excitement. If he could quickly pass the Shinigami that were already at the academy (ex. Mareyo Omaeda), less Shinigami could turn out like the Rukongai batch - hypnotized.

"What about Akon? Y'know, his powers?"

This alarmed Kirio, who looked from Kirinji to Shutara. "Excuse me, I was taking care of that! How did you even learn I was-"

"You're using a Restoration Chamber, correct? It's quite cheeky of you to promise such a thing to a Shinigami without consulting Reio-sama!" Ichibe teased, although his eyes told something darker.

"I d-didn't think it was needed. Akon didn't lose his powers by being disobedient, Kageroza Inaba caught him off guard. Don't we need all of the help we can get?"

"Never you mind, Hikifune, it will be taken care of. Reio-sama has requested you do something else."

"W-What?"

"Prepare a way into Hueco Mundo. By the end of tomorrow….a party will be assembled." By the sound of Ichibe's voice, he already knew who.

And now….there was a bargaining chip to get them to comply.


As for the accursed dimension in question, there was a talk amongst some of the weaker Hollows. Someone new in power. Someone getting more Arrancar. Someone plotting to destroy the Gotei.

But Arturo didn't care about title or fame or any of that. He wasn't trying to emulate Aizen.

"Ginjou…are you awake?"

"Hgn…."

Trying to master his new form was taxing on the former substitute. His associates were already clueless to how Shinigami/human evolution worked, but it was almost unheard of for one of them to take the zanpakutou of another. So Ginjou constantly shifted between Hollow unconsciousness

-and Vizard-like clarity. While each time, the voice in his head grew more sinister, more corrupted. It was feeding off his own anger and suffering, to something that was a mix of all four things.

"Time for more training. Let's go."

"Shu…..kuro….."

"Shukuro?"

If there was one thing that fueled him, it was his friend. The voice in his head only powered his ambition when it told him the Gotei would destroy him, if he didn't get strong enough.


And the irony was borderline tragic - each man thought the other was in a different place. While Ginjou thought Tsukishima was still in the Living World, Tsukishima still thought Ginjou was held captive in the Soul Society.

"Gin….jou…."

He was traveling through suffering itself, the Well of Sorrows. The most horrifying experiences in history were being relived, and his body was contorting in unnatural ways. Szayel had implied something was at the end, the answer to his troubles, but the more he could think about it, maybe the real answer was that he was giving him false hope.

But then he saw it. Amongst the blood and tears. Something. Something with multiple eyes.

"You. Mortal."

"…"

"How did you get here?"

"….."

"You can't speak, can you? Could be the horrors you're going through. Could be the fact that your mortal mind cannot comprehend me so easily."

"…"

"I have been imprisoned here for thousands of years, eons! But I'm awake. I'm awake! And that means, I can be free…..only if you help me."

"….."

"Come…..closer…."


Ikkaku had barely gotten any sleep, but he still managed to get up, get dressed, and make his way over the leaving point for his daily duties.

"Ikkaku!"

The familiar voice made him grit his teeth, so he moved faster, but Senna was following him. He eventually reached a wall, and that made him spin around. "What?!"

"Why are you running again? You've been avoiding me for days!"

"Because…..shut up!" He tried to flash-step away, but she grabbed his wrist. "Leave me alone!"

"Ikkaku, we have to talk about what happened."

"…do we have to?" he couldn't even look at her. "I'm sorry, I…..was an idiot!"

"Why are you blaming yourself, you goof?" Senna flicked his nose. "I wasn't an unconscious body. It was consensual."

"But it was too soon to do it! We were…..maybe we were just drunk!"

"….you've liked me for some time, haven't you?"

Ikkaku spluttered, which only made her laugh.

"You idiot! You've been training me, even after my clan betrayed the Seireitei. And I never really got to appreciate that, so…..I definitely to keep training."

"But…..is it even right?"
"Why? Why do YOU get to decide if it's right, or not? I…..like you, too. And it's not like we're dumb kids. So we had sex!"

Now this made him hiss. "Can you not say it so loud?"

But this only made Senna smug as a snake. She jumped on his bald head, and landed on the rooftop above. "HEY, EVERYONE! GUESS WHAT!"

"S-Stop!"

"YOU PROBABLY READ ABOUT IT IN THE PAPER, BUT YEAH! I TOTALLY DID-" he flash-stepped up and tried to grab her, but she dodged and kicked him down. "See? Sharper reflexes, Baldy!"

"Goddamn it! Look, I…." Ikkaku stood up. "All I've had were one-night stands, okay? I don't want to treat it like that. So…..how about I up the training…and if you don't have Bankai in one month….we're done!"

Senna's eyes widened. "Wait…..if I don't have Bankai, we go our separate ways?"

"Y-Yeah!" he was desperately trying to save face. "I can only be with strong women!"

"Well about this?" Senna challenged. "I get Bankai in two weeks, you take me out!"

"WHAT?! There's no way! You're a nutcase!"

"A nutcase you let ride your lap?"

Ikkaku turned so red and got so angry, but Senna only laughed.


Eventually the A-ranked Shinigami convened as usual…..only this time, Kensei was absent. Ichibe was looking right at Yachiru when he explained.

"He wanted to go with Mashiro Kuna, and he wouldn't relent, so….yeah."

"Go? With Mashiro? Where?" asked Shinji. There was a slight glare on his face after he had read the story about Orihime; he liked her, and he'd call anyone Ichigo knew personally a friend.

"That's none of your concern," the bald man assured them.

"Oh that's priceless!" Kukaku shouted. "You guys are punishing her for printing the story, when it's TRUE?! You can't make this up!"

"If your goons hurt either of them, things are NOT going to be pleasant," Yoruichi threatened, "and I don't care if Reio-sama is involved."

Inwardly, Ichibe was extremely frustrated. He continued to stare at Yachiru, who, while partially fearful for Mashiro's safety, knew it had to be a risk for her plan to work. She stared back, refusing to yield.

But this meant she had to change her plan somewhat. She could tell. She could tell Ichibe knew she was the ringleader.


Likewise, Kirinji appeared to send off the B- and C- ranked Shinigami, and the absentee(s) this time was-

"Rukia Kuchiki? Eh?" He rubbed his head. "Did she go off with him?"

"Him?" Isane whispered to herself, but then she looked over at her sister, who was partially glowing and beaming. "Kiyone, can we talk?"

"Sis, we're about to spread out down below!" In her head she was thinking about spreading, but in a different way…..which only her made smile wider.

"Yes!" Isane continued to whisper. "You were up half the night….indulging!"

"So what? I can't get horny?" she whispered back.

"Kiyone, Rangiku-san and Rukia-san saw you touching yourself in the middle of the battlefield! Your sex drive seems….unusually high!"

"I don't know what you mean, Isane."

S-She's not even wearing a bra? Isane could see the…protrusions in her sister's uniform, to the point where both Apache and Mila Rose were snickering about it. What IS happening?! First she abuses a drug to the point where she nearly dies from overdose, now she's masturbating and having constant sex!

Once the access point was open, everyone jumped down, but Isane stayed to talk with Kirinji.

"What, Kotetsu?"

"My sister! I can't be certain, but…remember how she was having withdrawals and slowly being weaned off that drug?"

"Yeah….?"

"Well she's replaced that with self-pleasure, lots of it! It's not healthy."

The man was stoic, save for the toothpick he let fall from his mouth. Indirectly, Isane could become aware of the wedding's…..event, and he cursed himself that neither he nor Kirio picked up on this potential complication sooner.

"I don't see the problem, Kotetsu. Isn't it better than running herself ragged?"

"No it's not better! When the body is overly focused on obtaining pleasure, that means they'll do anything to get it, and that could cost her in battle! She needs to be fixed!"

"Don't you sound a little selfish? Maybe you're just not getting any," he said bluntly.

"Excuse me?! Chad is the most selfless, gentle lover I've ever had, and how DARE you try to false equate this to me not getting any!"

Seeing her (rare) wrath, Kirinji had to proceed carefully. "Okay, okay! I was just joking, but you're pretty invested in your medical work, and that's admirable. Bring her by my springs by the end of the day, and we can figure this out."

"Can't we go now?"

"No, I have crap to do, and so do you! Just keep an eye on Kotetsu for now."

Isane nodded, rather glumly, but she complied.


Eventually Yachiru and Momo had separated from the group, to return to Lithuania. Their zanpakutou spirits trailed behind them.

"…..Peaches."

"What is it, Yachiru? It'll be okay, we…..we at least have each other in this, right? We just have to listen to whatever they say."

The president hugged her. "I never got to do this for your granny. I'm sorry."

"It's…..okay." Momo hugged her back. "She's in a better place now. Away from all this strife, where everyone to become a soldier…..Toshiro and I couldn't say goodbye, but I think she knew."

Eventually they reached their destination - the same place where the explosion had occurred. The debris was still being cleaned up, and the humans that could see them froze up, instinctively.

"Um….yes, you're the Shinigami?"

"Yeah….? You can understand us?"

The speaker was not a factory worker but from the looks of it, a high-ranking official. "Yes, there's….been a change of plans. Please follow the red flags."

Yachiru and Momo both looked at each other, but they were soon following the markers across the city. To the latter's shock, a LOT more people were present, and those that could see them were certainly doing just that. They even had signs…..and not positive ones.

"What….what's going on….?"

"Hey, you guys, we'll see you around, okay?"

The spirits vanished, and soon the two descended in front of a large courthouse. The guards opened the doors immediately, saying nothing more.

XXXXX

Once inside, dozens of cameras were in their faces, snapping pictures every second. It was quite uncomfortable for Momo, but she took Yachiru's example and tried her best to ignore them.

"Yachiru….see those flags?"

"Yeah….?"

"This isn't just Lithuania. There are other countries involved with this! But…..why….?"

They even passed by the fierce-looking diplomat to Germany, the one that video-called with Yukio.

XXXXX

"We're here live, at the moment of history…..direct contact with Shini….they're coming in! L-Look that way!"

Reporters of many languages directed their cameramen to point at the two. The room was massive, and Yachiru and Momo walked down a row of steps - the cautious gazes of every diplomat staring at them. At the bottom was a higher podium, where the "judges" would be.

It wasn't a Lithuanian security meeting anymore. It was a UN meeting.

"Psst, Peaches….all of these guys look so mean and old. We can leave if it gets too annoying, right?" Yachiru whispered, fiddling with her hair pin.

"I….don't think we should, Yachiru. Right now…..we're about to represent us and our friends back home. All Shinigami. We should set a good example, right?"

"…"

More people entered the room, and took their seats. In this moment, every person was tuning in. From civilians to soldiers to those incarcerated.

The world knew what a Shinigami was. And it was going to get its answers.

"Before we begin…." The delegate in the center of the podium adjusted his glasses and looked at his notes. "….would you two Shinigami introduce yourselves?"

"Yes. My name is Momo Hinamori."

"And I'm Yachiru Kusajishi. What's the deal? Who are you guys?"

The other judges looked slightly taken aback, but the UN leader cleared his throat and replied: "Well, little girl, in this world, filled with nearly 200 countries….we try to keep order on a global scale. We are the United Nations. And it's about time we learn everything associated with your kind."

"You can see us? That's weird…."

"Weird? Weird?!" the official sitting behind the head was not happy. "This girl nearly starts a World War III and we're the weird ones?!"

"Patience, Johnson, we'll get to that. Let the interrogation begin!"


"Uhhhhh! Keigo, you gotta see this!" Mizuho called out.

"Whaaat….?" He nearly screamed when he saw Yachiru's pink hair. "W-Why is one of Ichigo's friends on the political news channel?!"


Similarly, the rest of the BOUNTS were watching as well. Would their director even make it in time?


Rukia entered the academy with a pep in her step. She could go pay a visit to Homura and Shizuku, but she wanted the whole thing to be a surprise….for now. She talked to some asauchis, that pointed her in the right direction.

"Nimaiya-san? Where are you?" she called out.

But when she turned the corner, there seemed to be trouble - Nimaiya was walking along, not bothering to look at his five servants.

"But Master-"

"Look girls, there's no rhyme or reason to it, you just don't need to listen to me anymore. Go out and have some fun!"

Mera, Tokie, Nonomi, Hasuka, and Tsumiko all had the same lost expression; they didn't know how to be "free". Why were they being discharged from being his servants anyway? And when they saw Rukia, they practically threw her at him.

"Talk to this guy, Rukia-chan!"

"Huh….?"

Nimaiya turned to side-stare at the short artist. "If you're here to speak on their behalf, forget it. I told them to do whatever they want!"

"Um….n-no, I'm here to advance in rank."

"Hm? Whatcha mean?"

Rukia took the zanpakutou out from its holster. "Bankai. If I can release, I get promoted, right?"

"…yeah. Yeah! Geez, why didn't you say so. I can squeeze you in one of the grounds. This way, Kuchiki-chan."

She eagerly followed him, but before the five asauchi could do the same, he had made a barrier through the doorway to block them.

"What a jerk!" Mera scoffed. "Is this how much he cares about us? Kon was right, we really were just things to him!"

"But….it doesn't make any sense." Nonomi sulked. "He said we were his favorites, now he wants nothing to do with us?"

"Tsumiko-chan, you know, right?" Hasuka asked. Her comrade shook her head.

"Well! ….what now? I'm so dreadfully bored, and it's only morning!" Tokie sighed. "Perhaps we just wait in the clubhouse until President has new orders for us."

"Yeah…."

"I guess….."


"You guess? What the hell did you do?"

Mashiro pouted and fiddled with the edges of the newspaper. The two were sitting in an "interrogation room", although both Vizards knew there would be a darker intent abound. "I published the paper, Kensei."

"Well…..tell the damn truth, okay? You didn't do anything wrong."

"Uh-huh."

Shutara stepped inside, and closed the room behind her. She took the kettle sitting on the side of the table, and poured each a cup…then herself. "Please…..I mean no harm, Mashiro Kuna. I just wish to speak with you on…..well, what's in your hands."

"Okay."

"My first question is…..the main story. It seems to be a horrible contrast to the rest of the blurbs. Why, if you're trying to advertise something for your club, why include a rather….unscrupulous story to overshadow it?"

This got Mashiro annoyed. "It's NOT made-up. I would never lie in my stories!"

"Uh huh. Might I ask as to how you learned of this….dogeza? Orihime Inoue, perhaps?"

Oh no, Hime-tan…..I'm sorry, boss gave me orders! I'd better give her a big hug later…

"Are you listening, Kuna?"
"Hime-tan didn't tell me."

"Then who did?"

"Uh….." Poor Mashiro wasn't as sharp of a thinker as Kisuke Urahara or Yachiru Kusajishi. "S-Someone who was concerned, okay?"

"Interesting. Then, what made you accept it as a true story in the first place? Perhaps the informat only wished to undermine…..well, we won't name names."

Kensei scoffed. "Cut the crap. You even doing this is proof enough that you and the higher-ups didn't like what Mashiro printed. You wouldn't give two craps about gossip or anything else."

"Was I addressing you, Kensei Muguruma? Let her speak. Was this a plot by the NSWA?"

"No!" Mashiro insisted. "We don't make the paper, I do! Or at least, the 9th did! Stop trying to pin the blame on the girls!"

"Fine then. Yachiru Kusajishi alone told you to write that story, didn't she?"

"You...just tell me what I did wrong! Showing the facts? You keep questioning my story, well, who would believe me, anyway?"

Shutara set down her cup. "A fair point. Let's say I believe you. What now?"

"H-Huh?"

"Are you going to follow up with more information? Try to interview both Orihime and Reio-sama to learn both sides of the incident?"

"I….wasn't planning on it…"

"What an unprofessional reporter! Then, it must mean you were acting on someone's command."

Mashiro gulped but didn't yield. "A good reporter doesn't name names. It could be anyone in the NSWA, it could be anyone in the Seireitei!"

"Interesting….." Shutara opened the paper up, and briefly scanned each lining. "And yet, nearly ALL of the news items are related to your members."

Urgh?! Mashiro had to think of something, and fast. "Why…..Yachiru, anyways?"

"Hmm?"

"You say she told me to write that. Why her?"

"Tch!" Shutara glared at the Vizard. "Your esteemed leader is but a child, and children are far more disobedient and impulsive than us adults. It doesn't seem fair that if….she had some kind of secret agenda….the rest of you should fall with her."

"We're all friends and in the same club! Man….you don't know anything about us, do you, lady?"

"Easy Mashiro…."

"No, Kensei, she's just full of hot air! When the informant told me the story…I thought about Hime-tan. She couldn't admit people were viewing her as a God because she felt so embarrassed, so ashamed. But we learned about it, we told her it wasn't a problem. And she was still so ashamed, that she couldn't tell us about the…" Mashiro looked down at the story, "…directly. Why? Because you all can't let. It. Go."

"…"

"How many times does she have to apologize, to beg for forgiveness? A hundred times? A THOUSAND times? And you're forgetting little one! Orihime was the one that stopped Aizen, but Yachiru was the one that killed him."

"…."

Mashiro sniffled. "The meanie that killed Rose and Love. Aizen turned us into monsters and made everyone hate us. And we couldn't get our revenge on either of them. But Hime-tan and Yachiru did it, for all of us. Without them…..ohh!"

She sat back down and wiped her eyes. Shutara, having taken the whole story in, was silent for a few seconds. "So…..based on your defense, I can only conclude Yachiru was behind this."

"Nope! And I'm NOT gonna tell you who it was!"

This foolish girl would rather double down on her social club than prove her innocence? Damn it. Damn it all! Yachiru Kusajishi…..she is one that must be monitored from this point onward. We'll see how gung-ho she is….when she has to make a choice.

And with that, Shutara exited the room. Mashiro laughed and gave a cheeky thumbs up to Kensei.

"Idiot, I hope you know what you're doing."

"Of course I do! I'm just telling the truth." She skipped over to the door, but her smile faded when it wouldn't budge. It had been sealed. "….Kensei."

"What?"

"We're stuck in here."

"WHAT?!"


Orihime herself was bandaging a cut she had received from a Hollow, while her spirit hovered around her. Once she put her sandal back on, she resumed duty.

"I wonder why Tatsuki was so jumpy this morning at breakfast…."

Itsutsu watched her movements. With every other step, she kept looking up worriedly at the sky, under the line that separated the wasteland from the Seireitei.

"Is something wrong?"
"N-No! I'm glad I have someone to talk to, hehehe…"

"You're scared to go back, aren't you?"

"….."

"It's alright, you don't have to say anything. I like talking out loud," he smiled. "Ever since the day you came face to face to him…..your inner world has changed."

"In….what way?" she wondered, not looking back at him.

"The sky is not as bright. And when you get closer to him, it turns to dusk."

"I'm…..not scared," she said. "I'm not some helpless girl anymore. I can fight! I can protect those I care about…"

"Orihime, this has nothing to do with being strong. You and I both know you've always hated being the center of attention. And now….your name seems to come up everywhere."

This only made her head slump. The two continued on, only the sounds of their steps ringing out. And eventually….she soon said:

"Everything seemed brighter when we won. Now, we're on the verge of another war, and Soul Society will never go back to the way it was."
"Each time has it pros and cons. In exchange for equality, we seemed to have gained less….freedom."
"Maybe…..maybe….we deserved this."

Orihime looked down at the ground. Was there any difference from the poverty-stricken lawless land, and the purged Hollow wasteland?

"It….feels too much like Hueco Mundo," she whispered.


Across the wasteland, however, Tatsuki was seeking someone out, away from her spirit. If Yachiru wasn't around, then she had to go to the next best thing. "Nanao!"

"Hmm?" The vice-president adjusted her glasses and squinted. "Ah, Tatsuki-san. Interested in teaming up for today?"

"Nanao, I had to hide this from Orihime." Tatsuki held up the crumbled newspaper. "What was Yachiru thinking?"

"I assure you, she didn't disclose this with me. But based on our Telephone….I should've guessed." The two looked up at the sky. "This….doesn't bode well for the rest of us."
"Is she trying to pick a fight with Reio-sama?"

"Tatsuki-"

"I know, I know! I got mad and did dogeza with her," she grunted. "But it's just going to put more of a target on Orihime's back."

"Perhaps we're not realizing the answer."

"Huh?"

Nanao nodded. "I don't know what Yachiru's true intentions are, but after her therapy sessions, she wouldn't risk something like this by herself just for us. Someone must be collaborating with her."

"But, then….it can't be one of us. If not you, me, and definitely not Orihime, it wouldn't be the rest of the girls. Wait, Nemu?"

"It's not impossible but Nemu wouldn't make such a decision either. She follows Yachiru, she doesn't goad her around."

"Hey!" Marechiyo huffed as he ran over to the two. "My sister's been bugging me all morning about it: your NSWA paper thing, it's all true? Poor Inoue."

"We don't officially produce the paper."

"You think Reio-sama is gonna care about that? Yachiru probably told Mashiro, and all of the news stuff is about us! We're too connected to this."

"Wow, uh….well, I believe you guys!" Marechiyo exclaimed. "But uh….maybe not do something so ballsy?"

"We'll keep that in mind," replied Nanao, rubbing her temple. I hope you know what you're doing, Yachiru, because the rest of us sure don't.


"So, the initial reason why you two are here before us is because Lithania's government launched a formal complaint over your….apparent negligence."

"But we-"

A hand was raised. "Please wait until the room can process all of the facts, little lady. For many years, mankind has largely been in the dark to your kind, thanks to a spiritual….unawareness. In fact, there may be still some people watching or in this room that cannot process you. But attention was raised around the time a video was released."

"Video?"


Yukio, who was watching the broadcast, raised his glass when he heard the whoosh of flash-step behind him. "You're too late, Fon-san, I beat you to it."

"What?" She looked at the screen. "You…..revealed your identity….?"


Said video was played on a large screen hanging on the wall. Both Yachiru and Momo stood there, silent, as the narrator went through his explanations. And when she saw the Aizen rendition, her heartbeat quickened ever so slightly.

"Wow…..you guys are pretty smart, making this. Dunno who told you about Aizen, though," Yachiru said. "But turn it off, I don't want to look at his face."

"Miss Kusajishi, are you saying everything in this video is a fact?"

"Well…..looks right to me. Hollows, zanpakutou, the Soul Society…."

"Then, why has your kind kept this a secret from the world?!" demanded one of the diplomats. "Wasn't this Aizen one of your own? Trying to cover up your mistakes, when it almost resulted in our demise?!"

"Please, it's not like that!" Momo argued. "Until recently, most of humanity was simply unaware of the spiritual world."

"Can you offer an explanation why?"

"Um, w-well, there's two things every person has. Reiryoku and reiatsu. Think of the former as the spiritual power you have stored in your body, and the reiatsu is the pressure released from that. Simply put, you need to have enough power."

The room was abuzz with whispered conversations.

"Please, we're free to answer any questions, but one at a time, please."

First, the official from France: "Then why, suddenly, is most of humanity aware of these things? You make it seem like it's rare."

"Normally, yes. Um…pause the video!" It was, and Momo pointed to the Hollow picture. "Recently, Hollows have been….shall we say….mutated. We don't have it from the source, but our kind thinks it's a side effect from what transpired in their home dimension, Hueco Mundo."

Brazil asked: "What happened, then?"

"Something bad blew up," said Yachiru bluntly. That was all the answer she was willing to give.

"Start from the beginning. You two must give your accounts of what happened four years ago."

Both frowned.


Like Tatsuki, Nemu kept looking at the paper Yachiru had Mashiro produce. She had an idea of what the point of it was, but she was made incredibly anxious by the fact.

Shall we begin our usual schedule?

She didn't answer. Instead, she watched Kenpachi approach his training chamber. "Good morning, Kenpachi-san."

"What's so good about it?"

"Um…..how fares your training?"

Kenpachi slung his sword over his shoulder. "I'm getting somewhere, I think. Nozarashi keeps teasing me about this Bankai stuff, but I wish I had an actual fight! Hey, wanna spar?"

"Perhaps later. Has Yachiru shown you the newspaper this morning?"

"She read it, what about it?"

Nemu looked down at the headline. She could feel the wrath emitting from its ink, and while it wasn't a formal declaration of war, she knew their activities would be monitored now. "Your thoughts?"

"What do you mean? You're asking me if I think it's true? When do I ever doubt Yachiru?"

Doubt….Yachiru…. Such a thought was impossible for Nemu. She would always have the utmost confidence and loyalty to her president, her friend, but she was worried others wouldn't think the same way. This seemed incredibly haphazard, even for her. What was the true intention?

"Hey. What's going on over there?" Kenpachi asked. "Feels a little….cold…."

XXXX

Having finished her "performance", Rukia bowed and sheathed her zanpakutou. "There it is. In the middle of the night….it just came to me. My zanpakutou said it depended on myself, not her."

Nimaiya clapped his hands with a wide grin. "Well, congrats! That makes two Bankais in one day!"

"Huh?! Who else showed off their Bankai?"

XXXX

Yumichika felt great! He had given such a beautiful performance, he even felt like releasing his spirit.

After all we've been through? Come on, this shouldn't be a decision!

Oh, hush, and let me enjoy myself!

Of course, he bumped into Kenpachi, and fell down. He quickly picked himself up and dusted himself off. "For crying out….oh! Captain…"

"Yumichika. Who was that other reiatsu?"

"Hmm….yes, it must be Rukia Kuchiki. How fares the training, sir?"

Kenpachi snorted. "You're a riot. You and Ikkaku still call me Captain, yet you two are better than I am."
"That's nonsense, Captain! Everyone knows you'd mop the floor with both of us."

"Oh stop brownnosing me, Yumichika, I know you have Bankai now."

That made the vain man pout. "Sorry."

"Sorry?! This is great! This means you can give me a good fight now! Hell, I never even fought your-"

"-I'm not apologizing for that, sir. What Ikkaku and I did…..four years ago," said Yumichika, looking away. "I'm grateful for every second you still forgive us."

"….."

"How, might I ask? We both hide our true power from you, and betrayed your trust."

"…..ain't it obvious?" Kenpachi asked. "The 11th had taken a big hit after the war, but we would've lost more if you two didn't give it your all. You're both morons, but I'll never get any subordinates that are more loyal."

"Oh sir!" Yumichika dove for a hug, but the larger man side-stepped him, making him crash into a wall. "I…should've seen that coming."

"Just keep doing what you're doing, Yumichika, and get even stronger. I'm counting on ya."

XXXXX

Meanwhile, Rurichiyo had taken a break from today's task - sparring with other E-ranked Shinigami, like Ryunosuke and Shino. She was still exhausted from her training last night, but she was so giddy and wanted to get back to it as soon as she could.

"Let's see…."

She hummed and took out the poetry book Nimaiya had given her. A little light reading would give her some zen-ness, for good use! She flipped the pages for a good poem, but upon reaching page 23, she read:

Further and further time passes
Less and less do I recognize you
"Free me, save me"
cried out the maiden
if she could

"Wow. I wonder where did Nimaiya-san even get this? Is it from the Royal Realm?"

"Hey, Master gave you his book?"

"Guh?!" The heiress spun around to see the peeking eyes of both Hasuka and Mera. "C-Can I help you two with something?"

"I knew that poem sounded familiar!" Mera snatched the book. "Master Nimaiya said he wrote this book a long time ago, one day when he was bored. Why'd he give it to you?"

"I assume," Rurichiyo took it back, "that he was just being generous! I didn't get the chance to look at it yesterday, when I found Sakumo-san in room 34."

Beat.

34….? But….he told me 23! Unless….that wasn't referring to the room number? She looked down at the page 23, trying to find some kind of deeper meaning. Was he giving her some kind of hint for something?

"You okay, Rurichiyo-chan?"

"Fine! Um….perhaps you girls would like to borrow this? I really should get back to trainin-" she yelped when Hasuka suddenly rubbed her forehead.

"Hmm….."

"What do you feel?"

"My forehead?! What are you doing?!"

"….nope! It's not the same thing Tsumiko-chan described. See ya later, Rurichiyo-chan!" The two asauchi were gone, and they had taken the book, too.

What the HELL?


"-And that's everything," Momo finished. She looked weary from having to recall so much in a short amount of time, but she forced her eyes to focus.

The room, again, was in hushed debates and conversations, but when the gavel was banged, the leader of the UN put his hands together.

"So this…..Juha Bach also was attacking you, and now, you face what appears to be the exact same problem - some rogue Shinigami and evolved Hollows."

"I….guess we are…." Momo looked down to avoid all of the stares. "We as Shinigami do our best to protect those in the Living World, and I'm sorry, from the bottom of my heart, that those people perished. But you all must understand that a Hollow did not kill them."

"Is that your selfish excuse for letting them die?!" Lithuania shouted.

"That's NOT what I'm-"

"Don't yell at her!" Yachiru shouted. "Peaches has suffered enough! Her granny died, she's tired, and she got a nasty battle scar!" She lifted up Momo's shihakusho to show the room her chest scar. A lot of people visibly recoiled as a result. "Can't we do anything to make it up to you guys?"

"Ahem, Miss Kusajishi, *you* seem to be the problem child of the two of you. There's a particular reason why this was changed to a UN meeting."

"…..?"

At that, South Korea's representative stood up. "Yachiru Kusajishi, accounts say a pink-haired girl abducted the dictator of North Korea and just dropped him somewhere."

"WHAT?!" Momo gasped. "Yachiru!"

"Dic….what? He was firing rockets and the kids were trying to play, so I handled it!"

"You did not handle it!" the representative cried out. "He threatens war any day now, after thinking you were an operative of both my country and the United States!"

"Oh. …..is he tough?"

"Is he-?!" The U.S rep stood up and growled. "Little girl, you made a horrible mistake. That pint-sized punk has a legion of nuclear missiles at his command, and the last thing the world needs is someone with his temper to start pushing buttons!"

"I….um….." Yachiru sat down, now at a loss for words. She didn't understand what nuclear meant, but she knew it was bad. But she was only trying to help!

"Yachiru, it's not very often we interact directly with the Living World!" Momo whispered. "Between the explosion and this, everything just got more complicated…"

"Lock these two war-mongers up! Right now!"

"They're both irresponsible!"

"These are the beings protecting us?!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" shouted a new voice.

Cameras and reporters fumbled to look at the door, where Jin Kariya had entered. He ignored all of the questions and cameras as he headed down the stairs.

"Who are you, just barging in an UN meeting?! Guards, throw him out!"

"Not so fast!" Kariya quickly took two pieces of correspondence. "This is my law degree from Yale, and a letter from the building owner. He owned me a favor. Before you throw me out, consider these facts! Has this court read these Shinigami their rights? Assigned them a defense? Explain the law of our world?"

"We….what?"

"This trial is not fair! The Shinigami have matters in their own world, do you think they have the time to read up on every legal jargon?"

"Hey mister, who are you?"

"My name…..is Jin Kariya, little Shinigami, and I am requesting the two of you hire me as your defense. Don't worry; I've been listening to the whole case."

"Well can you help us?" Momo asked.

"Of course!"

"You're hired!" Yachiru shook his hand, and the whole room dropped their jaws.

"You CAN'T just get a random person to represent you! And this isn't a trial!"

"Oh?" Kariya frowned. "You're accusing these two girls of criminal negligence, and you just called them war-mongers! You were threatening to lock them up, despite the fact that you have no legal power to do so! Viewers, am I wrong?" he asked of the cameras. This got the room into an uproar.

"ORDER! ORDER, I SAY!"

In that moment, Yachiru sensed it. She sensed the lingering reiatsu of Ichibe above the building, but luckily….she had a way to launch her plan. So she released some of her own, to silence the room immediately. "Shut up, and let him talk."

The officials stared back in fear but Kariya smiled.

"Thank you, Kusajishi-san, but I would refrain from directly threatening these people. This is the UN! And you two don't mean any harm, do you?"

"No sir," Momo said. "We just want to make this right."

"Well, I'm afraid that's a little….difficult. See, it would be one thing it we were just talking about the Lithuania situation, BUT the whole world knows of Sosuke Aizen. Can you describe your relation to him?"

"He deserved to die," said Yachiru bluntly. "He was Peaches's Captain. He stabbed her, betrayed everyone, and tried to kill everyone in Karakura Town."

"Karakura….Town?" Japan asked.

"Yes, a suburb in Tokyo!" Kariya stated. "Why was Aizen doing that?"

Momo cleared her throat. "For his plans of domination, he needed to sacrifice 100,000 people to make the Oken, the key to the Royal Realm."

Now the whole room looked confused, even the reporters.

"The….what, little missy?"

"Yes, what is that?" Kariya asked.

"I….okay. Do you see the letter bands on our arms? We Shinigami serve the interests of the Soul King, the lynchpin that created the worlds. He is known as Reio-sama."

The officials were too shocked for words, but Kariya was even more interested.

"Reio-sama? Okay, a God-like figure?"

"No, he i-is a God. Every day, A-ranked Shinigami like ourselves go and fight the Hollows of the Living World, and at the end of….a Japan day, we return home."

Kariya tapped the table. "But Hinamori-san, that makes no sense. I know for a fact you Shinigami would fight in all hours of the day. If you return home, then the world has no protection?"

Momo shifted in her seat. "His guards have been ambiguous on it, but apparently there's some kind of barrier that shields the world in our off hours."

One could feel the tension in the room.

"But….that begs the question. If a barrier can be erected then, why not all hours of the day?"

"I…..don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?!" demanded Israel. "There is no excuse why your kind shouldn't be protecting us all the time, *and* you've led our world closer to war!"

"That's right. You Shinigami need to be monitored."

Yachiru and Momo looked to Kariya for help.

"Okay, what is your suggestion, dear court?"

"First. We demand a list of all of your operatives, including names and pictures. Second, now that we've established that you *can* directly affect our world….every Shinigami is required to sign a list of accords. These accords will be written up and presented in one week."

"And if they do not?"

The scowl was fierce. "They will be deemed terrorists, and will be treated as such. This court already wishes to label Yachiru Kusajishi as one."

"Can Kusajishi-san fix the situation with North Korea?" Kariya gestured for one of the cameras to get closer, right in front of her face. "You're not a terrorist, right?"

"No way! I'm sorry for poking my nose into stuff, I just wanted to help. Me and Peaches would be kicking Hollow butt right now if these guys weren't so mean."

"Mean?!"

She ignored them. "If the world is watching….then I've got something else to say."

Momo tensed up.

But Yachiru got out of her seat, and performed the hardest dogeza she possibly could. She was aware of the irony of it all, how she was still condemning Reio for making Orihime do one, but here….she wanted to fix a problem she had caused.

"I'm sorry we Shinigami failed you guys. Aizen should've been stopped before he got away, and Bach should've been killed by Gramps. I'm sorry for letting those people die. I'm sorry for all of the Quincy deaths. I'm…s-sorry…."

Yachiru's tears flowed down her face, but she continued.

"We're supposed to make you guys safe, and we only make it worse. We don't deserve to be Shinigami, do we? Safe up in our cozy Seireitei, with our friends….we have jobs to do, and I'm sorry we didn't take it as seriously as we should."

"Y-Yachiru…."

"I try to make things right, to fix it, but…..I'm only one person. It's scary. To make things right, we need to work together. I promise we'll stop the Arrancar. I promise we'll beat the SSS! And I promise…."

She raised her head, looking right into the camera. Millions of people would see her tear-stained cheeks.

"I promise we won't make you afraid anymore! I need everyone's help! Nan-Nan, Nemu-chan, Hime-chan, Suki-chan…..I don't want to fight alone! I NEED HELP!"

Kariya reached down to hug her. "You'll get your help, young Shinigami. There are those in this world that support your kind and your efforts."

Yachiru said nothing back, but when she was sure the camera wasn't recording it, she slid something into Kariya's pocket. He blinked.

"Look at it later," she whispered in his ear. "Pass it on to all of your friends."


When the trial was officially over, Yachiru and Momo were in no mood to be swarmed by reporters, so they flash-stepped away with Kariya, onto a secluded rooftop. Momo bowed in gratitude.

"…Thanks. How did you know where we would be, Kariya-san?"

"Ah ha….my organization has been monitoring your kind for years! The Bureau Of Unifying News Towards Spirits. So I bought a plane ticket and came here as fast as I could. My wife's back at the hotel. She was giving me updates as I hailed the cab over."

"We owe you a HUGE favor, Vamp."

"Vamp?" Kariya laughed. "A nickname! I like it. But no, you Shinigami don't need to give me anything, just….promise me something. Something simple."

"Anything!" Momo said with a tired smile. However, Kariya's own smile faded, and he looked to the horizon.

"I want you Shinigami to promise me that you'll never give up, even when the situation looks bleak. You're the only things that can save us from the horrible spirits out there. When I was a child, I…..was certain a Hollow was going to eat me."

"…"

"But….one of your kind saved me. I didn't have the chance to thank him, but this is my chance to do so. Is he still around? He was a big fellow, with a helmet."

"Oh….." Momo bit her lip. Yachiru looked away. "That….that was Captain Komamura. He….died four years ago, in the war…."

Kariya did not shift his facial expression. He only said "I see. That's rather unfortunate."

"We promise, Vamp. When the going gets tough, we beat the bad guys!"

"Hahaha….that isn't the expression, little Yachiru. But thank you. I'm grateful we have the chance to meet. My group is keeping an eye on Karakura Town, so please don't worry. A monster like Aizen won't be able to threaten its borders ever again."

"Are you sure? A powerful Arrancar attacked it…."

Kariya turned back to his new companions. "Just keep fighting, and figure out what you can on this barrier situation." And then, his phone rang, so he answered it. "Yes, dear?"

"We've got a problem. Don Kanonji has just been arrested."

"What? For what?"

"Child abduction, apparently. Detective Goro Honshou's team found the missing girl, Kyoko, in his care."

"That's not good at all," said the director. "Book some tickets back to Japan, we have to leave immediately."

"Yes."

"What was that about? Do you need us to get you there?"

"Ahaha, I'm worried that flash-step wouldn't be so good for my health to do it that far. No, you two should get back to the grind. We'll meet again."

"Thanks again, Vamp. Wanna be friends?"

"It would be my pleasure!"

XXXXX

When he had hailed another cab, he paid the driver extra to hurry to the airport. Kariya sat down, looked at his watch, but then….he pulled out the thing Yachiru had given him - the front page of their newspaper. And she had circled the story about Reio and Orihime, with notes to accompany it.

I see. They're being indirectly threatened by their God, and this Inoue girl is the key to all of it. I'll have to do some research.

"Sir, do you want some music?" asked the driver.

"Ah, excellent! Put on some smooth jazz, would you?"

Kariya put away the paper. He had a mission.

FIN


Ending notes: Unlike his anime counterpart, I intend Kariya and his associates to be 100% good. And the more I think about it, the more I realize Isane and Kiyone have essentially swapped circumstances from SWA - one sister has to deal with the corruption of the other, and while it wasn't my immediate intention, it really fits!

I really thank everyone that's gotten adjusted to my lighter schedule, it feels less taxing to not have to churn out a second chapter so quickly. 50 chapters, and I'm not even close to being done yet. The next chapter will be around Christmas, and as an extra gift, I do wish do another one-shot like I did last year. I'm open to some suggestions, if I can't think of anything.

Next Time - Isshin pays Karakura a visit, right when things are going waywire.