Chapter Fifty-Five: Once Again

Kuchiki Rukia finally woke up when they brought her son in.

The toddler's wails split the air in the patched-up infirmary, causing other patients to wince and Fourth Division healers to lose their focus, but for Rukia they cut through the blackness and lit a fire in her chest. She opened her eyes, barely aware of whether or not she was still alive but acutely conscious of the fact that her son needed her.

"Ko-" she croaked (as the crying faded) and tried to push herself up, but then a hand caught her shoulder and stopped her.

"Patience, Rukia; he's coming."

She blinked, trying to focus on the man next to her. "Nii-sama... I didn't kill you."

"No."

"What about Renji?"

"He didn't manage it, either, though once Caro got to him he certainly gave it his all. Believe it or not, Rukia, but I think your husband may still resent me, deep down."

She smiled, and let herself fall back against her pillows. "Good..." she murmured, and then turned her head when the door creaked open. Though her vision was still blurry, she knew that strong silhouette, recognized the now-soft babble of a baby trying to talk. She blinked, but didn't even try to keep back the tears of relief. "That's good..."

...

When the captains finally called for them, Herald went to answer to them alone. The rest of the Fourteenth Division waited in their old barracks, a slightly-scorched but mostly intact building that the other Divisions had decided to strip of beds and use as storage in the chaos.

The storage crates did little to improve the emptiness. Erina and Kitsune, drained to exhaustion by constant use of low-level healing kido, lay on pilfered uniforms spread across boxes, Erina with an arm thrown over her eyes and Kitsune face down, flopped half over the edge like a ragdoll.

Charles, in an attempt to lighten the mood, shuffled cards he had gotten off an Eleventh Division Shinigami as he tried to explain the rules for some game the spirits in Rukongai had invented. Dikayumi listened without focusing, and Yylfordt didn't even pretend to care. The former-Arrancar had been in a strange mood ever since Dikayumi returned from his investigation with the Stealth Force lieutenant, suddenly cold to everyone but Erina and lingering on the sidelines of Fourteenth Division conversation with a calculating look in his eyes.

There was no question in any of the others' minds over what he meant to do. The moment Soul Society decided they could go back the World of the Living, Yylfordt would be gone. He would try to find his master, no matter what state he might find him in.

It wasn't discussed. They actually had very little to talk about that wasn't related to the jobs they were being given around Seireitei. In a very real way, it felt like the core of the Division had collapsed into nothing, leaving only the disconnected edges circling a black hole.

Soon, they all knew, the gravity that had kept them together would fade. The Special Units would fall apart. No one said it, but all it took was a look around, at the empty places where so many of their most passionate members no longer sat, to know.

Erina lay, eyes closed beneath her hand, and tried not to cry. Her mind would not shut off and let her sleep, no matter how tired she got. She kept running over the same ideas, her thoughts kept saying the same thing over and over again in slightly different ways, as if she could only rest once she figured out exactly the right way to say what was wrong. Black holes, life blood, the heart of the Division... she kept coming up with psuedo-poetic ways of describing what wasn't remotely poetic. Steve had died, Ryohime and Vance had vanished, Edward had... had...

She clenched her eyes shut and bit back a sob.

He's alone... I failed him, and now he's alone.

Yylfordt was debating whether or not to suggest she come with him. He hadn't said anything yet, but Erina was getting good at reading in expressions what no one wanted to actually say out loud. He didn't really care about her, but he knew she wanted to find Edward, too.

We used to be friends.

It felt so long ago; her life before the Arrancar shoved their way back into the world. She had done her best to just move on, but those old lives had consumed the two people she had considered her best friends. One had become distant, trying to stay out of it all. The other was dead, and Yylfordt was wearing his face. Now it was tearing apart her new friends, and there was nothing she could do about it.

There was no kido for this.

The door slid open and they all looked up. Even Kitsune managed to turn his head over so he could lie with one red eye cracked open to watch.

Herald stood in the doorway, and he didn't look impressed.

"Alright, get up. It's dusty and dark in there, and the sun is actually shining brightly again."

Kitsune groaned in complaint, but they all reluctantly obeyed. Erina had to squint as they piled out into what remained of their lawn - Herald hadn't been kidding.

Their lieutenant had a strange sense of energy; he clapped his hands and rubbed them together, ready for business.

"First of all, no, Dikayumi, we are not going to be put on trial. Considering half of the captains I was talking to fought and killed other Shinigami for Caro, they were very understanding. There were questions about whether or not we should have come to Seireitei in the first place, but we got them to drop that line of questioning."

"We?" asked Charles, and Herald nodded.

"Second piece of good news: Kurosaki Taichou isn't dead! He... didn't seem well, but he was alive enough to make them give me a break."

Yylfordt narrowed his eyes. "Did he happen to mention who almost killed him?" Erina bit her lip at the question, but no one was looking at her and Herald seemed to share her hesitation.

"A lot of people, friends, were forced to try and kill one another during Caro's little... insurrection," he said, managing to play it cooler then Erina could have managed. "Some of them succeeded, and some of them, fortunately, did not. I don't think anyone wants to hold everyone responsible for their actions during this event. If they did, we'd be among the first on the chopping block."

Yylfordt looked away, discontented with the lack of an explanation, but Herald did not give him anything more. Instead, he moved right on.

"Third piece of... well, maybe not good news, but better-then-expected news: we came to an agreement that it was time for me to step down as an officer in the Fourteenth Division."

That got attention. Charles folded his arms, scowling in thought, and Dikayumi looked like a deer caught in the lights.

"But... why?" asked Erina timidly, and Herald rolled his eyes like it was obvious.

"I'm not a leader, that's why. Only reason I got the co-lieutenancy was because I was the oldest and supposedly most powerful; basically, I was the figurehead to appease the more traditional Divisions. Steve was the one who actually managed to keep everything working. Sure, he needed reining in now and then, but he was still the driving force behind getting things done. The captains and I agreed that instead of me trying to fill a position I just wasn't made for, we need a new driving force."

Everyone glanced around at each other, and everyone but Yylfordt had the same, almost spooked look. Charles and Erina locked gazes, and Charles immediately shook his head as if reading her mind.

Not a chance. I've got a family in another city I'm going right back to once this is over, his expression seemed to say.

But I can't do it! Erina protested silently. I'm not a leader anymore then Herald is!

"All our driving forces are gone," Dikayumi finally piped up, though he sounded more curious then concerned. "I don't even belong to the Fourteenth Division... do you really need officers for four people and a mod soul?"

Herald held up two fingers. "Alright, first of all, we are not down to four people. We will find Ryohime, Vance, and Edward. Secondly, as long as we are a Division, we will need a leader. Kurosaki Taichou has that covered in Seireitei, but we need someone based in the World of the Living."

"Not me," Charles insisted. "Are you going to put that kind of pressure on Erina? Yylfordt? We don't have anyone to be a lieutenant."

Herald shrugged, running a hand through his hair in a way that, almost, from Erina's perspective, seemed to hiding a smile.

"We don't, no. They've assigned us someone, instead; someone with academy training who is actually qualified to be an officer."

Kitsune groaned again, and this time he wasn't alone. Dikayumi let out a discouraged breath and Erina felt her heart sink into her stomach.

"Oh, that is wonderful," muttered Charles, his scowl returning fiercer then ever. "Soul Society supervision... wasn't that what we were trying to avoid last time?"

"It was," said Herald, completely straight-faced. Erina couldn't see anything funny about the situation, but there was a twinkle in his eye she hadn't seen for ages. "And, again, the captains were very understanding, so we got ourselves an unseated Shinigami barely out of the academy with less then a year of experience. He should fit right in!"

That was the breaking point; Herald let his smile slip. Erina was about to ask why - she drew her breath and opened her mouth to say the words - when a young man in black stepped out from behind the corner of the building.

"I certainly hope I will," he said, and the ground seemed to fall out from under Erina's feet.

She heard the others react faintly, as though they were muffled by thick cloth. Maybe it was her. The newcomer stepped closer and she found her gaze locked on him, her mouth hanging open.

He said something... she didn't notice what. Herald said something... it didn't seem to matter. The others... were they talking? Was that buzzing noise just her own mind trying to keep up?

He was right there. She was half-tempted to reach out and poke him, just to make sure, but instead all she could do was whisper,

"... James?"

His brilliant green eyes almost seemed to glow when he smiled. She had seen the ghost of that smile before, but never the full thing.

"No, I'm afraid not. My name is Maka Urai - Lieutenant Maka, now that I'm going to be working with you. Though, between the two of us," and he leaned forward, lowered his voice just a little. "Erina... I hope you've been taking care of my fish."