Chapter 3: The Invasion of Soul Society (II)

Rose's fist slammed down onto the table as his face, usually so easy-going and relaxed, became fixed into a hard mask. "Captain-Commander, in the span of a mere eight hours of fighting, my division has been reduced from its full complement of two-hundred and forty-seven shinigami to a mere forty-three. The next-highest ranking member after myself is the Fifth Seat. I demand to know why you requested for the Captains to stay behind instead of going to join the fight defending the Rukongai from the start. The fact that you insisted that I not leave the First Division barracks has caused the deaths of many fine shinigami, along with the loss of the entire South Rukongai." Rose's voice was accusing as he fixed the oldest shinigami with a hard stare.

Yamamoto sighed heavily, not even bothering to disguise the stress in his voice. "I kept you here, Captain Otoribashi, because this fight is far from over. The invasion of the Soul Society has only begun. Recently-dead souls in the world of the living are Hollowfying at a rate we simply cannot keep up with. When you were gone, I recalled every active member of the Gotei 13 from around the globe. Of the three hundred or so shinigami in the world of the living, a mere fifty-seven returned, and those were assigned to the least-populated areas of the world. There is a global genocide occurring in the world of the living, one that surpasses the scale of even what the humans call the 'Holocaust' a few decades ago."

"Could we not simply assassinate the man responsible for this travesty?" Captain Kuchiki Byakuya asked. "Surely the crimes this Tom Riddle has committed are grave enough for us to bypass the laws preventing our involvement in the world of the living. We could simply sent a mission to send him directly to Hell."

Yamamoto shook his head. "Unfortunately, the time has already passed where a mission like that would be viable. There are simply too many Hollows in the world of the living. Even a Captain-level fighter would be vulnerable to being overwhelmed, and we need every member here in the Seireitei to assist in its defense."

Ukitake Juushiro heaved a sigh. "So there's no other way. We can't go help in the world of the living, and defending Rukongai is basically useless now. All we can do is try to hold off the Hollows when they finally reach the Seireitei?"

"That is correct," Yamamoto nodded wearily.

"What about the other Districts?" Hitsugaya asked, worry creasing his brow. "The South Rukongai had the largest amount of Hollows attacking it. How is the defense of the West, North, and East Rukongai faring?" He clenched his fist as he thought of his Vice-Captain and the men under his command, fighting for their lives and the lives of the Rukongai citizens.

"We can only pray that they can hold off the approaching Hollow army long enough for the Zero Division to emerge and assist in the defense of Soul Society."

"So that's it," Kyouraku said. It wasn't a question, just a blunt statement. "There's nothing we can do now except fight the hardest we can. Man, I never thought this would be how it ended."

"That is defeatist talk," Byakuya frowned at the laid-back Captain of the Eighth Division. "If we must fall in battle, we shall die with honor, knowing that we fulfilled our duty."

Silence fell across the table as the Captains contemplated their impending fate. Very few of them had ever considered the possibility of their falling in battle, at least not to mere Hollows. They were the strongest shinigami, the strongest fighters in Soul Society! How could they be defeated by Hollows, to the point that they might need the assistance of the Zero Division, the Spirit King's personal guard?

The silence was broken by Captain Komamura Sajin of the Seventh Division. "What will happen if the Soul Society falls?"

All the Captains turned to look at Mayuri, who merely shrugged. "Who knows?" he asked rhetorically. "It's never happened before. Theoretically," he emphasized as mouths opened to challenge him, "it would spell the end of the entire world, as the balance between Soul Society, Hueco Mundo and the living world would be disrupted. I can't think of any other possibility. If Hueco Mundo and Soul Society are destroyed to the point that the dimensions collapse upon themselves, the living world would also shatter into oblivion. However, this is all just theory. We don't actually know what would happen if this scenario would come into fruition, since we have no empirical evidence regarding the matter. I have petitioned the Central 46 previously for permission to conduct such an experiment, but," the mad scientist shrugged, "for obvious reasons I was turned down."

"So there's a distinct possibility that even if Soul Society were to be destroyed, the living world would remain in existence?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Theoretically, anything could happen," Mayuri replied.

The Captain-Commander stroked his beard pensively, considering the present situation. He mulled over the possibilities as his Captains looked at him expectantly. "If, even with the help of the Zero Division, we are unable to defend the Seireitei, our number one priority will be to protect the world of the living. If there is even the slightest possibility that it remains standing even as the Soul Society falls, I shall not hesitate to sacrifice myself in order to preserve the lives of as many shinigami as possible to protect the living world."

"But-" Ukitake protested, but Yamamoto cut him off with a raised hand.

"There will be no objections. When the Hollows breach the perimeter of the Seireitei, our central point of defense will be the Senkai Gate. Without it, there will be no way to send shinigami to the world of the living. To protect is the duty of shinigami, and even if the Soul Society collapses, even if the Gotei 13 is no more, we shall fulfill that duty to the very end, just as Vice-Captain Izuru Kira did."

Ukitake bowed his head, falling into silence. Byakuya was about to speak up when a feebly fluttering Hell Butterfly floated through an open window, one wing tattered and torn. Any words Byakuya was going to say faded on his lips as the Hell Butterfly delivered its message to the occupants of the room.

"This is Captain Soi Fon of the Second Division, reporting in." The unmistakable sounds of flash-step and battle could be heard in the background. "I regret to inform you that the mission has been compromised. Vice-Captain Omaeda is dead." She grunted, as though blocking a blow from an assailant, then continued, "The situation in the world of the living is worse than we feared. Most of my force of Onmitsukidou has already fallen. It is likely that none of us shall escape alive. Please make certain that they are properly honored for their sacrifice."

A piercing scream – not Soi Fon's – echoed from the message, causing shivers to run up and down the spines of the Captains listening. "There is not much time left to report. There is a huge amount of Hollows gathered in Great Britain. I fear that they are preparing for another attack on the Soul Society. I counted upward of ten thousand before our force was discovered. Please make sure that Seireitei is prepared for a massive attack."

There was another pause as the clashing of battle intensified, and Soi Fon's voice spoke again. "The Onmitsukidou squad I brought with me has fallen. I am certain that this is the last you shall hear of me. Please tell Urahara Kisuke that I am sorry for my actions towards him in the past and inform Shihoin Yoruichi of my fate."

The Captains were stunned at how calm the Head of the Onmitsukidou could be even in the face of death. They knew how serious the situation was if Soi Fon was making her last requests. "I shall fulfill my duty to the end and attempt to lighten the load of the defenders. I shall take down as many of these Hollows as I can before I fall. Good luck to the defenders of Soul Society. This is Captain Soi Fon of the Gotei 13, making my final report, August 23rd, 2012, 2300 hours standard time. Farewell. Bankai! Jahukou Raikouben!" The message cut off, and the Hell Butterfly fell unmoving to the floor.

The silence that filled the chamber was deafening as the Captains stared, stunned, at the Hell Butterfly. A Captain had fallen in battle. One of the strongest members of the Gotei 13 was dead. It seemed that even overwhelming power was nigh useless in the face of overwhelming numbers. But still…

Kyouraku sighed heavily. "What're we going to tell the rank-and-file? Surely they don't know that they're about to fight a losing battle for the Soul Society. And what about Captain Soi Fon? What about the Onmitsukidou, what do we tell them?"

A new voice spoke up, causing the Captains to stiffen in alarm. "With all due respect, Captains, you underestimate the capabilities of the Onmitsukidou." A figure clad in black, face concealed by a mask leaving only the eyes exposed, melted from the shadows. The woman held up her hands, showing that she was unarmed. Dropping to a knee, she bowed to the Captains. "I am Kawamura Tomoe, Third Seat of the Second Division, and now de-facto head of the Onmitsukidou."

"You've been spying on the Captain's meeting," Yamamoto said, though his tone was not accusing.

"I have," Kawamura replied evenly. "When you sent Captain Soi Fon to the world of the living on a scouting mission, I realized the gravity of the situation. The rest of the Gotei 13 believes that this is merely an unexplained influx of Hollows. They are unaware that the approaching battle may well be the last of their lives. It is of my personal opinion, if I may offer it, that the situation should be fully explained to them."

"And why do you believe that?" Muguruma Kensei asked. Although his face was impassive, he too was worried for the fates of his division, which was currently defending the North Rukongai. Although it had not been as hard hit as the South, with only a force of two thousand Hollows, it was still a large number, and Kensei was sure that his division could not have prevented the destruction of at least one of the Districts.

"For the peace of their souls," Kawamura replied quietly. "They must know as the enter battle that they are fighting for the fate of the world. There is no cause more worthy for them to put in all their strength and effort into than this. If they fight, and fall, without using their full power, and realize the situation only then, they shall die with regret in their hearts. Should we not make certain that they do not fall with dishonor? All souls deserve more than that." She bowed deeper, this time dropping to both knees and pressing her forehead to the floor. "Forgive me for being presumptuous, Captains. But this is a matter that I believed was absolutely necessary to address."

The Captains were slightly taken aback. Even a high-ranking member of the Onmitsukidou, an organization famous for its harsh training and conditioning, could have such feelings. It was at this moment that every Captain was reminded that, like them, the rest of the Gotei 13 was human.

"I think it's a good idea," Hitsugaya said. "Like Kawamura-san here said, they deserve at least that much."

"Very well," Yamamoto said solemnly. "Call an assembly of all active-duty shinigami. We shall inform them of the battle soon."

Kawamura bowed again. "Thank you, Captain-Commander," she said gratefully.

"What about the rest of the Onmitsukidou?" Kyouraku asked curiously. "You've just lost your Captain and Vice-Captain, along with most of your seated members. What will you do?"

She startled them by tugging down her mask, a slight smile on her relatively youthful face. "You forget, Captains, the Onmitsukidou is capable of functioning even without our leaders. The loss of Captain Soi Fon and Vice-Captain Marechiyo are a blow, but you will find that in battle our fighting capacity has not been affected in any way."

"Good to hear," Shinji drawled. "At the rate things are going, we're going to need every fighter we have."

Yamamoto nodded in agreement. "Captain Hirako is correct. Speaking of which, please call a meeting with all shinigami in the Seireitei. However, don't use Tenteikuura to communicate with those still defending Rukongai. They need to focus all their energy into beating back the Hollows."

Matsumoto wiped sweat from her brow as she panted, surveying the battlefield in the 14th District of the West Rukongai. By now, too many members of the division had fallen for the original twenty-man teams to be viable. It was a pitched battle now, with the shinigami slowly retreating towards the Seireitei, evacuating as many civilians as they could.

By now, none of the thirteen original twenty-man teams were unscathed. Two of them, the ones led by the Sixth and Eighth Seats, had been completely wiped out, and the leaders of three others had been killed, leaving them to merge together into larger groups in order to fend off the Hollows.

Matsumoto whipped her shikai in the direction of a cluster of Hollows who were threatening to overwhelm their defensive line, shredding them to pieces. Casting a quick look around at the remaining members of the Tenth Division, her heart sank as she saw so many of her subordinates injured, clutching their wounds as they fought on despite the blood dripping from their bodies.

"Head count!" she snapped as she reformed her blade in time to block a Hollow's attack. Gritting her teeth and digging her heels into the earth, she raised a hand and faced it towards the Hollow. "Hadou number thirty-three, Sokatsui!" The wave of blue fire roared, washing over the Hollow and reducing it to cinders.

"Vice-Captain Matsumoto, of two hundred and sixty shinigami, a hundred and fifty-two of them are still fit for battle. Thirteen are too injured for combat and have been evacuated to the lower districts!"

"A little over half, then," Matsumoto murmured under her breath as she slowly backed towards the 13th District. This wasn't good. At the rate they were being pushed, the battle would reach almost to the Seireitei before they were able to finish the rest of the Hollows off. That was assuming that this was the entire attack, and that there would be no reinforcements for the enemy.

A chill ran down her spine and she suddenly had a premonition that something terrible was going to happen. And then it did happen. From one of the half-destroyed buildings darted out a girl, looking about fifteen years old, clutching something tightly to her chest. She ran towards the shinigami, screaming, "Help me!"

Matsumoto cursed. "I thought all the civilians had been evacuated!" she called as she ran towards the girl, blade at the ready. But what hadn't happened was of little consequence right now. What was important was saving this innocent soul.

"Keep pulling back!" she yelled as she sprinted towards the girl, slashing at a pair of Hollows and purifying them on the way. "I'll catch up with the rest of you later! That's an order!" Turning her attention back to the girl, who had tripped upon a protruding tree branch, she cursed as she pushed herself into a flash-step.

Landing in a defensive crouch next to the girl, who stared up at her with a tear-stained face, Matsumoto scooped her up in one hand, the other gripping her zanpakutou tightly as she pushed off from the ground, vanishing in a flash-step just as a hollow's claw passed through the space where her head once was.

Matsumoto felt a sharp sting at the side of her neck, and suddenly felt light-headed. Something wet trickled down her neck, but she kept going, finally dropping out of the flash-step behind the main defensive line. Crouching and panting in exertion, she put down the girl and smiled down at her. "Are you alright?"

Nodding wide-eyed, the young soul stared in horror at the Vice-Captain. Matsumoto was confused at her facial expression until she turned to face the Third Seat, whose own expression morphed until it was identical to that of the civilian soul's. "Vice-Captain Matsumoto!"

Suddenly, Matsumoto's limbs felt extremely heavy, and she grunted as she dropped to the ground. To her own dismay, her body would not obey her as Haineko dropped from her hand. "Wha-" She raised a trembling hand slowly to her neck, and it came away stained crimson. "Dammit…"

Letting her head fall back to the soft soil, she stared up at the night sky, the starts twinkling brightly against a dark backdrop. As Vice-Captain, she had been trained in basic first aid, enough to know that the wound on her neck was fatal. Only Captain Unohana was skilled enough to fix a completely severed jugular artery, and there was no way the division could get her to the infirmary fast enough for Unohana to perform the emergency procedure required to save the Vice-Captain of the Tenth Division.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the young soul she had rescued drop to her knees beside her. The girl slowly, hesitantly, held up the object she had been clutching with such protectiveness. Matsumoto smiled softly as she looked at the small framed photograph of a smiling family, the girl in the middle, next to a slightly younger boy and between two smiling adults.

"Your family?" she whispered, her body losing strength quickly. The girl nodded. "Tell… tell me your name," she said, coughing slightly.

"Kagawa… Kagawa Rina," the girl whispered, a tear slowly trickling down her cheek, carving a path through the grime that covered her face. "I-I'm sorry. You got hurt because of me. It's all my fault."

"No," Matsumoto whispered, softly but firmly. "It wasn't your fault. If anything, I should have been faster when I was running." The pool of blood below her head was slowly increasing in size as crimson liquid continued to pump out of Matsumoto's neck. "Ah, damn it. Don't have much time left. Listen, Kagawa-chan. When the rest of my division takes you back to the Seireitei, look… look for my Captain. He's pretty… well known, so if you just ask around for Hitsugaya Toushiro… anyone should be able to… point you his way. You'll… you'll recognize him when you see him. He's really short and has white hair." She let out a small chuckle, recalling all the times her superior had scolded her for drinking or sleeping on the job. "Tell him that… Matsumoto Rangiku sent you… and tell him… tell him that I… that I said 'thank you'… He'll know… what I mean…"

"A-alright," Rina said, tears now falling unashamedly from her eyes, a few stray drops splattering against Matsumoto's face, washing away the few drops of blood that sat upon her cheek.

Matsumoto smiled bitterly as she thought to another event, not all that long ago, where she had been the one kneeling over another shinigami, bleeding to death, dying to protect. The air left her lungs in one final sigh, and her eyes slowly shut as one last thought ran through her mind. Gin…

Hitsugaya Toushiro felt something tickle, for the lack of a better word, deep inside his soul, and somehow he knew that something was very, very wrong. He resisted the urge to twitch as he stood with the rest of the Captains before the crowd of assembled shinigami on Soukyoku Hill.

A messenger flash-stepped next to Yamamoto, whispering something in his ear before flashing away again. The Captain-Commander nodded and said to the Captains, "We shall begin when the rest of the Tenth Division, which has just finished the defense of the West Rukongai, rejoins the rest of the force."

The tickle turned into worry as Toushiro thought of his division. Although their battle had not been nearly as difficult as that of the Third Division, two thousand Hollows was not a number to sneeze at. But his pride as the Tenth Division Captain welled up in him, and he knew that despite any losses, the Division would continue to fulfill their proud duty as a division of the Gotei 13.

A number of reiatsu signatures soon joined the crowd of shinigami milling about before them, and Toushiro frowned when he realized that he couldn't feel his Vice-Captain's among them. He could feel a number of his seated officers, but a number of them were missing, causing his frown to deepen.

"I'm sure that if they aren't here, they're probably in the Fourth Division infirmary," Kyouraku murmured from beside him, knowing exactly what the youngest and most inexperienced Captain was thinking. "You can go pay them a visit when this speech is over."

Toushiro nodded gratefully as the senior Captain reassured him. He stood up straighter as the Captain-Commander finally began speaking.

"Members of the Gotei 13!" he called, his old but commanding voice carrying across Soukyoku Hill easily, silencing the murmurs of the crowd. All eyes were riveted upon him now. "Some of you may be aware of the events that have happened today. Some of you may not. Some of you have already experienced the horrors that we will all eventually face. The truth is, Soul Society is in peril. The flow of souls has been disrupted by mass genocide in the world of the living, and the number of new souls is too great for our forces in the living world to handle. This is why those of you who were on active duty were also recalled to the Soul Society. Remaining in the living world is too dangerous due to the large amounts of recent Hollows."

Some shinigami began to mutter, but were quickly silenced as Yamamoto continued, "Twelve hours ago, the Soul Society was invaded. The number of Hollows in the living world and in Hueco Mundo was too great, and they spilled into the Soul Society. The Third, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Divisions were tasked with defending each quarter of the Rukongai from the Hollow threat."

Yamamoto paused, and a tense silence filled the hill. "What I am about to inform you next may be difficult for some of you. But even as you listen, remember that you are proud members of the Gotei 13, and that your fallen comrades died honorably while fulfilling their duty."

He signed, closing his eyes for a moment. Toushiro knew at that moment that the Captain-Commander was tired. He had been tasked by the Spirit King to protect Soul Society, and now it was on the verge of falling. "The South Rukongai is no more. The Third Division successfully managed to defeat a force of eight thousand Hollow, but they were unable to do so while protecting the districts. As many civilians as possible were evacuated, but the Rukongai itself has been destroyed."

Cries of anguish and sorrow rose from the crowd, but Yamamoto continued as if he hadn't even heard them. "I addition, the Third Division took heavy casualties. Along with two-hundred and three members of the division, Vice-Captain Izuru Kira has fallen in battle."

Toushiro felt pain tear through his heart as he saw Hinamori Momo in the crowd, staring at the Captain-Commander in shock and disbelief. He would have to go speak with her later, to comfort her in these troubled times.

"I shall not lie when I say to you, this battle is not yet over," Yamamoto said, cutting into Toushiro's thoughts. "At the rate of Hollowfication in the living world, the Soul Society will be invaded by many more Hollow. It is likely that we may have to end up defending the Seireitei itself, not just the Rukongai."

The Captain-Commander's voice was grave. "The times ahead of us will be difficult, and many shall die. But even as this happens, we must remember who we are. We are the Gotei 13. We have sworn an oath to protect the innocent souls of the Soul Society to the best of our ability, and we shall continue to do so, even unto death!"

A roar rose from the crowd, and Toushiro felt his skin prickle at the rise of reiatsu. It was rare for a Captain to be affected by spiritual pressure, but the combined weight of the entire Gotei 13 was more than enough for Toushiro to feel. He smirked. "The Gotei 13," he murmured quietly to Kyouraku beside him. "They are a formidable force."

Kyouraku tipped his wide-rimmed straw hat back with a finger. "We," he corrected the young Captain. "We are a formidable force. Do not forget, Captain Hitsugaya, that we are the commanding officers of this formidable force before us," he said, gesturing to the cheering shinigami before them. And like Yamamoto said, we must fulfill our duty ourselves."

Toushiro nodded. "We shall," he said, vanishing in a flash-step, intent on finding Hinamori to comfort her, and to visit the infirmary to look for his Vice-Captain.

Hinamori was dry-eyed as she walked with her childhood friend to the Fourth Division. The news of Kira's death had been a shock, but Toushiro had managed to take her mind off it. There would be time to grieve for her fallen friend later, when this battle was over. Hopefully.

The two walked in companionable silence, not touching but not far away from each other either. They had known each other for so long that they were practically siblings, and Hinamori felt grateful that she had such a good friend in her times of weakness.

"Captain Hitsugaya!" A voice caused both of them to stop and turn around. A girl, a civilian by the looks of her, was running after them, panting for breath. "Captain Hitsugaya!"

"Yes?" Toushiro asked, a bit impatient. He wished to go see his subordinates. "Can I help you?"

"M-my name is Kagawa Rina, sir," the girl introduced. "I was evacuated from the West Rukongai 14th District."

"West Rukongai, huh," Toushiro murmured. It was the sector his division had been assigned to defend. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"I-I'm sorry for yours, too," Rina said, causing Toushiro to snap his head up to stare at her.

"What do you mean?" he asked, his voice sharp.

"I don't really know how to put this, sir," Rina stammered, "I- that is, Matsumoto-san- I mean…"

"Spit it out!" Toushiro snapped, and Hinamori frowned at him. "Sorry," he sighed in apology. "I'm a little tense right now. I assume you're talking about the members of the division who fell in battle?"

"Sort of," Rina admitted. "It's mostly about Vice-Captain Matsumoto."

"You saw her?" Toushiro asked. "Where is she?"

Rina was silent, and he saw a single tear trickle down her face. A horrifying possibility struck him, and he paled. "No…" he murmured, his eyes wide.

"Sh-she told me to look for you," Rina said, tears falling freely from her eyes now. "Sh-she saved me, and she died doing it."

Toushiro fell to his knees in shock. Numbness overtook his being as he tried to process this information. Matsumoto was dead. She was gone. His loyal Vice-Captain who had been at his side for almost as long as he could remember, who had been his mentor before he was promoted, and who continued to fight beside him even after he became Captain, was gone. He would never yell at her for drinking in the morning again. He would never yell at her for sleeping on duty, for leaving her empty sake bottles all over his desk, for letting the paperwork pile up from neglect ever again. Matsumoto was gone.

"She told me… to tell you," Rina continued as Toushiro continued to stare at the ground in disbelief, "that she said 'thank you', and that you would know what she meant."

Toushiro couldn't help but smile through his grief, and he felt a warm hand rest upon his shoulder. He looked up to see Hinamori smiling sadly at him. "It's going to be alright," she said in a comforting whisper.

"Hinamori… Kagawa-san… let's go to my office," he said flatly. Together they rose and walked to the Tenth Division and, ignoring the fact that the division was emptier than before, entered his office.

Sitting down heavily in his chair behind his desk, he placed his head in his hands and sighed. "She's dead… I never thought…"

"Shiro-chan…" Hinamori murmured. He didn't even react at the childish nickname, and Hinamori knew that Toushiro was in shock. She turned to the civilian and smiled. "Kagawa Rina-san, right? I'm Hinamori Momo. I'm the Vice-Captain of the Fifth Division. I'm Toushiro's childhood friend, and I knew Matsumoto-san as well. She helped me out quite a bit when I was in a bit of trouble a while ago." She smiled wistfully as she remembered the entire Aizen incident a while back. "You're from the Rukongai?"

Rina nodded. "Both of us are, too. West Rukongai, 1st District," Hinamori added wistfully.

"So your home is still standing," Rina muttered, a bit bitterly as she thought to her devastated home.

"Not really," Toushiro said, not raising his head. "Hinamori and her grandmother adopted me when I first came to Soul Society and Granny raised me as if I were her own grandson. She died a few years ago, though. Since then the Gotei 13 has been our home."

He heaved a sigh as he remembered his life in the Rukongai, up until he was found by his Vice-Captain and persuaded to join the Gotei 13 to protect his grandmother. A sudden thought struck him, and he slowly reached under his desk. His questing fingers were rewarded as they made contact with a ceramic bottle, and he pulled out the bottle of sake, setting it with a soft clack on the wooden tabletop.

Hinamori's eyes widened as Rina looked at the bottle curiously. "Typical," Toushiro muttered, subdued irony lacing his voice. "Matsumoto hides her favorite, most expensive sake under my own desk." Groping around some more, he pulls out three cups and sets them also on the table. "How about a drink?" he asked, pouring sake into the cups without waiting for a reply. "It's only… fitting, I suppose."

And so the three sat in Captain Hitsugaya Toushiro's office in the Tenth Division, drinking sake in memory of the fallen Vice-Captain Matsumoto Rangiku. The superior, the friend, and the one for whom she had given up her life for, mourning together in silence for someone who had played an important role in their very existences.

Well, that was depressing... I know that Ichigo didn't make his appearance again, but rest assured: he'll make his appearance soon. Although the amount of good he'll do in defending the Soul Society is yet to be seen. Also, sorry for killing Matsumoto, but you guys are going to have to get used to character death, since I have many, MANY more planned.

Now, I have a quick question for you guys. How many of you have watched/read Fullmetal Alchemist or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood? It's quite popular but I know that there are still many out there who haven't watched or read it. The reason is because I needed a third party in this story to tie everything together. I'm not saying that this is going to turn into a triple HP/Bleach/FMA crossover. I'm just using the characters from FMA to be a third party to help against Voldemort, to balance out the numbers a bit, so to speak. In fact, the FMA characters that I'm using won't even be from the canon FMA-verse. They're actually going to be (slight spoiler) refugee fighters who escaped America after Voldemort took over there. So you won't need to have read/watched FMA to know what's going on. Just consider any unfamiliar names to be OC's if you haven't watched/read FMA, since with this sort of story I naturally need many OC's that play minor roles. Anyways, I hope that the introduction of these characters next chapter (spoiler again) won't turn you off from reading this story. I truly believe that A Common Enemy is going to be my greatest work I've written for this website, and I'm hoping that the response will befit that status.

At any rate, sorry for boring you with my long author's note (if you even bothered to read it). I hope you enjoyed Chapter 3 of A Common Enemy, which at over 5,000 words is the longest chapter yet for this story (but not the longest overall). If you liked it, review and tell me why! If you didn't, review and tell me why not! Please take a moment to add my story to your alerts or favorites, drop a review, and I'll see you next chapter!

~fokker333