Chapter 50: Death begets War
*I can't believe we've reached fifty chapters! Thank you so much for sticking with me, we only have a little more to go maybe ten or so chapters?
The Serene Dancer, it's funny you should mention Yuya… More familiar characters will be cropping up soon and yes something will happen to Kagayaki and you'll never guess what. ;) Thank you and I hope I can rise to whatever kind of challenge this program will be.
Please review, don't be shy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, just a lot of OCs.*
"We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey. " ~Kenji Miyazawa
Morning rose faster than anyone would have liked. A certain couple that had spent the night in each other's arms was forced to break apart and return to their duties. Nami along with the others saw Yuya and his team off.
Before going Yuya gently cupped Nami's cheek, "I'll be back soon, I promise."
She touched his hand, "You better."
He smiled and kissed her before running through the gate and into the World of the Living. She stood there watching him even as everyone else began to disperse. Kagayaki walked up to her and placed her hand on her friend's shoulder.
"He'll make it back; deep down you know he will."
"Yeah, I do. It's just until he does…"
"I know what will take your mind off of it. You can help me plan my wedding," Kagayaki suggested cheerfully.
Nami groaned as she was lead away by her best friend. Spending the day looking at kimonos and flower arrangements was not something she was looking forward to.
Yuya, you better come back before I die of boredom.
Yuya stepped out of the portal and into a barren flat land broken up by a few clumps of tall trees and gently sloping hills. It was sunny and a little warm and so far nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The lieutenant felt around using his reiatsu but couldn't find anything odd.
I don't know if I should take that as a good or bad sign, he thought.
He turned to his men, "Spread out and search the area, we'll reconvene here in three hours. Do not cross the country's border, we don't accidently want to start a war with our Western neighbors. If you find something strange on the other side use a kidō flare and we'll come to you.
"If you come across a Hollow, purify it as you normally would. Do not, under any circumstances, engage in a fight with a European Soul Reaper or a Quincy. Now move out."
The six Soul Reapers sped off in different directions and a lone figure crouched in a tree watched them. He smiled and was a little impressed. That boy was right, when they think something is afoot that could affect their precious balance they come running.
He silently leapt from his perch and landed gracefully on the ground. The man knew those Soul Reapers wouldn't find anything because there was nothing to be found. Until they regrouped it appeared he had three hours to kill. It would be safer for him to return to his Division before too many people noticed he was missing especially that aggravating wench of a Head Captain of his. That woman was always looking at him as though he were plotting something which wasn't really far from the truth but it was still irksome.
The captain opened a portal and quickly slipped through. Once he had no one would've known he had been there at all.
Nami was about ready to crack her head open on the nearest tree. Kagayaki had persuaded her to take the day off with her, so now both women out of uniform and were walking through the merchant and artisan part of the upper Districts. Nami wore a blue-violet kimono printed with blue and white morning glories while Kagayaki wore a pastel orange kimono with green vines and yellow flowers decorating it.
"Since we're having the wedding in the summer I was thinking of having my kimono made from lighter materials. I'm going to be wearing a lot of layers and I don't want to pass out from heat stroke…" Kagayaki prattled.
Nami wasn't really paying attention. Her thoughts were back on Yuya but it wasn't about him being on an away mission. Rather it was her playing around with the idea of her and Yuya getting married themselves. Would he even want to? Did he love her enough like that to want to settle down with her?
Nami Fujiwara… huh kinda has a nice ring to it. What kind of wedding would they have? Nami couldn't see herself getting really dressed up like Kagayaki was. But she could see herself wearing a simple white kimono with some blue accents. Nami always found herself partial to the color blue.
She liked winter, fresh snow making everything look clean, pure, and beautiful. But Yuya liked spring… maybe they could do it at the point of the seasons changing. The transition of death to life. Nami smiled very softly to herself at the clever little observation.
Now that Nami started thinking about it, planning a wedding was actually a little fun, exciting even. She felt herself lighten up and she started to pay attention to what Kagayaki was talking about now.
Yuya sighed after everyone had reconvened and reported that they had found nothing unusual. This mission was turning into nothing but a wild goose chase. The others were conversing amongst themselves so Yuya took this moment to think. He stood with his back to them on top of a hill and looking over the barren grassy field.
All that worrying over nothing. He felt a little ridiculous when he realized there was no danger here. Whatever was causing the disturbances felt here were gone now and soon they would be too. Yuya was itching to get back to Nami and he was sure she was feeling the same. It had been agony to leave her bed, the warmth of her arms, this morning.
No matter. They were nearly finished here and he would be returning to her soon.
Suddenly he heard surprised cries from his teammates but before he could move he felt something slide through his back and erupt in his chest.
The point of a sword thickly coated in his blood.
Yuya stared numbly at the foreign object sticking out of his chest. Well that certainly didn't belong there. Realization at what was happening started to filter in as did the feeling pain. He tasted the blood that was pooling in his mouth and felt it slowly trickle past his lips.
He used his waning strength to look behind him, to see who was killing him. His wisteria eyes widened when he saw who it was. Typical. It was always the one you would least expect. His vision began to darken and he felt his body fall forward, the sword slipping out of him.
The owner of the bloody sword smiled in twisted satisfaction. He cleaned his sword before sheathing it just as another figure made his appearance. This new person was an adult man with shoulder-length steel gray hair and smoldering copper eyes. He had the powerful build of a knight or of a strong natural-born fighter. He wore a black and silver Western-style military uniform with a sword at his hip.
He looked around at the five other bodies, "Very impressive. All the work of your First Release I take it?"
"It is and you Westerners have such odd names for things. It's called shikai where I come from."
The man chuckled, "Different cultures, different names. Are you sure this will be enough to initiate our little distraction?"
It was the Soul Reaper's turn to chuckle, "Do all Westerners call war a distraction? But yes, I do think this will suffice."
The silver haired man clasped his hands behind his back, "I do hope this will prove fruitful for you. I cannot say Hollows hold any interest or potential to me but if you find anything of value I'd love to know."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Then he noticed something, "Won't it appear strange when you return that you are uninjured and your comrades dead?"
The Soul Reaper smirked and drew out his sword again, "Have no worries. I already have that taken care of."
Nami hated to admit it, even privately to herself, but a day of shopping and wedding planning had been enjoyable. It was certainly better than sitting in her office trying to do paperwork while trying not to brood and worry over Yuya being gone. Speaking of whom, she hoped he was alright…
"Captain Kagayaki! Captain Kagayaki!"
The two women turned to see Kagayaki's lieutenant, Shinji Hirako, running up to them. The kid looked to be a teenager and a lanky one at that. He was short with brown eyes, and had a short mop of blonde hair in a bowl cut. The most noticeable feature of his was his toothy mouth.
"Shinji? What is it? What's wrong?" Kagayaki asked.
"An emergency captain's meeting has been declared. Something has happened to the team that went to the Living World," the boy panted.
"Someone better tell me what the fuck has happened," Nami growled as she stormed into the meeting hall.
"Nice of you to join us Captain Kenpachi," Yamamoto said dryly. "As I was about to say the team that was sent to the Living World has been murdered."
People gasped and traded whispers and furtive glances. Kagayaki placed her hand over her mouth. Isao was going to be devastated. The two men were as close as brothers, best friends since their days in the Academy.
And Nami… Kagayaki's green eyes jumped over to her friend. The other woman's mouth was in a tight line, her eyes hard but shiny with budding tears. She was forcing herself to take deep even breaths and that was the only thing keeping her breaking down.
I should've known. Nami fumed. I should have fucking known something like this was going to happen! I felt that something was wrong but I ignored it and now Yuya is… he's…
"Do we know who did it?" Unohana asked.
"Yes," Yamamoto replied. "They fled the scene but their reiatsu was still there. It was the Quincy who killed them."
The gasps and whispers were louder this time. Nami clenched her fists. Those white clad freaks of nature were going to pay. They were nothing but a nuisance and now they had a perfect reason to get rid of them. They had messed with the bull and now they were getting the horns.
"Are you absolutely certain it was the Quincy?" Kagayaki asked.
Nami cast a withering glare at her but the blonde ignored it. She wanted to avoid the possibility of war. No one ever "wins" a war. Surely this was misunderstanding that could be sorted out without resorting to either side killing each other.
The Head Captain gravely nodded, "We are certain. There was only one survivor, your Tenth Seat, Sosuke Aizen. He returned to us wounded but alive and told us in no uncertainty that they had been ambushed by a group of Quincies. He told how everyone fought valiantly but ultimately perished by the Quincies' hand."
His voice became graver and darker, "That is why Central 46 and myself have decided to put an end to the Quincies living in our territory. They have not only killed members of our own with no provocation but their methods of hunting Hollows is putting the balance of souls in jeopardy. As Soul Reapers it is our duty to maintain that balance at any cost."
Nami vaguely recalled him saying something about that. Those meetings were so damn boring it was a feat just to stay awake for them let alone pay attention. The old man had said something about how the Quincy's arrows were completely destroying Hollows, souls and all.
Destroying souls… Did that mean…?!
A sense of heavy cloying numbness enveloped when she realized what it might mean. If Quincies were able to destroy souls then it was possible that Yuya's soul was destroyed and thus taken out of the cycle of reincarnation. It was a chilling prospect.
The old man slammed his cane on the floor, jarring Nami from her distressing thoughts. "We will begin our attack on the morrow and rid finally ourselves of these destructive beings."
Isao jumped up when he saw Kagayaki approaching. It was evening and she and the other captains had been in that emergency meeting almost all day. She looked haggard and completely drained. He quietly walked up to her and drew her into his arms. She gratefully returned the embrace.
"Is it true?" He asked, his voice slightly muffled by her hair. "Is it true that Yuya is dead?"
She swallowed thickly and quietly said, "Yes."
Isao tightened his arms around her and took in a shuddering breath. He felt as though he had been harshly punched in the gut. In fact that might have been less painful then what he was feeling now. He didn't want to believe it. He refused to believe that his best friend, brother in the only ways that mattered, was dead.
The fact that he died in combat was surprisingly of little consolation.
Isao felt soft drops of salty water crawl down his cheeks. Normally the mere thought of him crying would've been mortifying. But now he could care less about that. His closest friend was dead, damn it! Isao deserved to mourn for the man who had been a great warrior and a greater friend.
A thought occurred to him then, "How's Nami holding up?"
Even though he couldn't see it Kagayaki's eyes moved to the ground. She gently massaged the back of his neck, "She's devastated. She's on a war path for revenge. She wants to brutally kill every last Quincy."
"I can't say I blame her," he sighed and leaned back. "What happens now?"
"We're going to war with them. Tomorrow morning," she replied.
Isao said nothing but rested his forehead against hers. Kagayaki stayed still and tried to drink in every ounce of warmth, comfort, and strength his presence gave her. War was a trying time and it was going to take everything they had to make it through.
*Shit has officially gone down. People are dead, war has been declared, and… did anyone pick up on who the Tenth Seat was? He was a manipulative little shit back in the day. What about the European captain? He was the villain in The Royal Line.
Yamamoto added that bit about the Quincies badly damaging the balance of souls. It's not exactly a lie but not quite the truth either. He added that to beef up the reason to go to war with the Quincies. I picture Yamamoto as a slightly paranoid person who would want to nip any problem or unusualness in the butt whether it was harmful or not. And I think spiritually aware humans who can hunt and kill Hollows falls under those categories.
Please review and I'll be posting again February 20th. Happy Valentine's Day in the mean time.*
