(Day 1)

From all the divisions in the Gotei Thirteen, the Fourth was generally the most organised. Naturally, there were moments of chaos. Some only took a few minutes, like when a patient was submitted in critical condition. Others could stretch into hours, as it had during times of war.

But even when the injured kept on coming in and healers rushed to attend to them all, there was still order. It may seem like they were running around like headless chickens-stumbling over their own feet and shouting strings of random words at whoever was in the room-but the opposite was true. Every member of the Fourth knew their roles and had trained to perform them under duress.

Of course, all the practice in the world won't ever prepare one for the real thing. You could be overwhelmed by the stress, have your mind go completely blank and forget everything, or find yourself in a situation you haven't been trained for. In those critical moments, where every second counted, you couldn't afford to stand still or fall apart. You needed someone to fall back on for guidance, to steer you in the right direction when it felt like you were going to succumb to the pressure.

For the Fourth Division, that person was Kotetsu Isane.

After the demise of their previous captain during the Thousand-Year Blood War, Isane had been promoted. Not because she met the qualifications, mind you. She had yet to obtain bankai and was nowhere near as strong as the other captains, or even some of the seated officers. But the Fourth wasn't a combat division. As it were, Isane was the best kaidō practitioner they had. She knew the healers. She had been Retsu's lieutenant for a century. Isane knew how the division worked and how to keep it running. This is why, when the other captains voted, the result was anonymous.

It had been over a few decades since that war. During that time, Isane had grown confident in her role as captain. She may not be as strong as her peers, but she was getting there. Her training was starting to bear fruit. Achieving bankai was no longer a far-fetched fantasy. It had become a feasible goal she could reach. She only needed time.

Maybe I will take half a day off next week, Isane mused as she walked the halls. I would love to get in some more training with Itegumo-san! Her feet moved on their own, leading her towards her office. Hopefully, the quiet of the past few days will hold. I'm sure Yamada-san and Iemura-san will be able to handle any problems that could arise.

The smile on her face only grew more bright as she thought about all the things she could do and achieve on her half-day off. Rounding the last corner into the hallway of her destination, Isane raised her arm to meet the doorknob. Cool metal fitted into her palm, the chill spreading from her fingers throughout her whole body. Settling like a block of ice in her stomach.

Gone were the beautiful scenes of her possible future, squeezed from her mind by the foreboding that now held her in a steel grip. Her fingers tightened around the doorknob, breathing changing to match the growing unease that had washed over her so suddenly.

Who–? What is– Stop! Isane pinched her eyes shut, forcing her brain to halt its circling thoughts before it could spiral out of control. Breathe and think. Breathe and think! Throwing out her spiritual senses as far as they could go, she searched for the cause of her unease.

Hundreds of candle flames, each a different colour, brushed against her awareness. Most were calm, undisturbed by whatever situation was hanging above their heads. A handful was flickering in unease, their subconscious picking up on the change in the air but dismissing it. Two signatures, however, were going absolutely wild, spiking and lashing out. One of these signatures was oddly familiar. Even the way it was spiking reminded her of–

Grey snapped open, Yamada-san! Turning on her heel, Isane rushed towards the main entrance. On her way there, she passed two of her subordinates.

'You two, come with me for a moment, please'.

The two didn't even hesitate, abandoning the dinner cart and following her without question.

Isane came to a halt in the middle of the main hallway, the two healers flanking her and waiting for her next order. She closed her eyes and focussed on her other senses, hoping to find what had set off her gut.

Oh no.

'Prepare room four-one-three and bring me a stretcher'.

In unison, the two saluted. 'Hai, Captain!'

As the two ran off, Isane returned her attention to the signatures she had felt. The first one she picked up on was that of her own lieutenant. Hanatarō was with another Soul Reaper, both of them heading at a relatively slow pace. Yet, their spiritual pressure felt panicked. Isane reached out towards her lieutenant, hoping to get a feel of the severity of the situation. Once Hanatarō sensed her, he flared his spiritual pressure, again and again.

Isane took hold of the stretcher that had been brought to her and rolled it with her to the double doors. They opened up at her proximity-a new innovation brought over from the World of the Living-and she rushed outside.

'Captain!'

With a single step of shunpo, Isane stood before the two. Hanatarō and the other Soul Reaper stopped, quickly hauling their cargo on the stretcher. Isane blinked in surprise. She hadn't even noticed they'd been carrying someone. Before she could take a good look at their patient, Hanatarō was pushing the stretcher.

'The patient suffers from severe spiritual energy depletion. The cause of which is unknown', Hanatarō stated as he rolled the stretcher with unusual urgency.

'Where did you find him?'

'Unc-c-conscious in the s-street', Hanatarō forced out. 'Yuki-san said he c-c-collapsed while they were t-talking'.

When they entered the barracks, Isane informed her lieutenant of the room she had let be prepared. Hanatarō nodded and steered the stretcher into the correct hallway.

'Do you happen to know the name of the patient?'

'Lieutenant Sh-Sh-Shiba Ichigo of the–'

'–Of the Thirteenth Division, Captain!' Yuki piped up.

Isane blinked again, eyes quickly going down to the stretcher. Orange hair with streaks of grey, twin blades-one at each hip-and a badge fastened to his left bicep. There was no doubt about it; their patient was Lieutenant Shiba.

Curse their luck. Lieutenant Shiba held the title of being the most difficult to treat in all of Soul Society and that was without calculating his manners as a patient. His mixed bloodline and unique heritage made him a nightmare to diagnose and near impossible to heal effectively. Even something as simple as an energy transfusion could offset his "balance", as he puts it. Leaving him with side effects that prevented him from being discharged, some even worse than for what he had been submitted for.

Fortunately, after Lieutenant Shiba's first visit to the Fourth, her own lieutenant had come up with a solution. At least, when it came to energy transfusions.

Glancing to the side, Isane spotted one of her subordinates, 'Iemura-san!'

The Soul Reaper in question appeared by her side, keeping pace with them. 'Do you know where we keep the liquid energy for Lieutenant Shiba?'

'In the small cooler'.

'Yes. I need three bags, stat'.

With a nod, Yasochika vanished with a slow shunpo. Captain and lieutenant continued on, pushing their patient to the room Isane had let be prepared.

'Kango-san, Tsukiyomi-san, you're dismissed! Yuki-san, stay outside!'

The two vacated the room at once, dragging the Sixth Division member with them. Hanatarō set to find a vein while Isane removed the blades from Ichigo's obi and set them aside. Her hands glowed bright green as she hovered them above the unconscious lieutenant, poking and prying to find whatever ailed him.

I can barely find his spiritual energy! If this continues much longer– She shook her head. No, she wasn't going to let it get that far.

For now, Isane had to slow down the spillage as much as she could. At least until Yasochika returned with the liquid energy. Once they'd hooked the lieutenant up, they would have more time to figure out what was wrong. Wrapping her hands around the man's wrists, Isane blocked the vents and forced the energy to return.

The air became thick. Isane felt her heart skip a beat as a weight settled on her shoulders. Lieutenant Shiba became restless, fighting against his eyelids while he tried to move his arms. Isane didn't budge, keeping his wrists to the bed.

'Let…go', the lieutenant mumbled.

'Lieutenant Shiba, I need you to stay still. You are in critical condition', Isane informed.

The lieutenant fought his eyelids open, revealing gold on black eyes. 'I said…let go!'

A burst of tainted spiritual pressure took her by surprise. Isane barely managed to curb a cry of pain as her hands were burned by the energy, cradling her hands to her chest.

'Do you want your host to die?!' She yelled.

Her eyes locked with the shocked ones of her lieutenant, who stood by the bed completely unaffected. As if he couldn't believe the Hollow had harmed her. Hanatarō then turned to their patient and tightened his hold on the arm when the Hollow tried to pull it free. 'Getsu-san, you n-needto c-calm down'.

'Captain!'

Another round of spiritual pressure slammed down on their shoulders. This one was even denser than the previous one. A window shattered, startling all who were present. Yasochika was taken by surprise by both the sound and spiritual pressure. He tripped and fell to his knees, the bags falling to the ground.

Thinking quick, Isane cast a bakudō to restrain the Hollow. A vicious snarl sent chills down her spine. She tried to ignore the Hollow, focussing on her subordinate instead.

'I need you to take his zanpakutō and bring it to the holding cells', Isane whispered as she knelt down. 'There should be a cut-out in one of them. Just stab the sword in it and leave. Don't forget to lock the door behind you before you come back. Do you understand?'

Yasochika nodded.

They rose together. A sharp crack made Isane begin chanting a stronger bakudō.

All of a sudden, the Hollow looked to his right.

'Get that away from me!'

'It's just a n-n-needle, Getsu-san', Hanatarō assured. 'You won't feel a t-thing'.

'I undid a seal, he will last!'

'P-please, it is the only m-manner to admin-n-nister liquid energy'.

While Hanatarō was trying to convince the Hollow to work with them, Yasochika took his chance. He swiped the katanas that rested against the wall, fumbling a bit at the unexpected weight they contained. The Hollow whipped his head around, pulling his arm free from Hanatarō's hands.

'Get yer filthy hands off me!'

That's when Isane struck with her kidō.

Yasochika shuddered as he exited the room. Some of the Hollow's spiritual pressure followed him out, clinging to him like smoke to clothing. Even as he hurried down the hallway, the shouts didn't seem to grow any softer. Clutching the weapons in his hands, Yasochika found his way through the barracks. He swung the door open and quickly descended the stairs.

They barely used the holdings cells these days. The last time anyone had resided behind those bars had been almost half a century ago. The-then lieutenant-Abarai Renji had been locked up within the baren walls. Had the man not been as injured as he was, he would have been confined at the Sixth Division instead.

Once his feet were on level ground, Yasochika sped past the open cells. He quickly glanced at his sides, hoping to see the cut-out of which his captain had spoken. He found it in the last cubicle to his right, standing tall in the middle of the space. Unsheathing the katanas, Yasochika went inside. He impaled the humanoid shape right in the chest and quickly made his retreat.

An enraged roar followed him up the staircase. He burst through the door and smacked it shut behind him, just barely containing the spiritual pressure that washed against it like a flood wave.

Air left his lungs in shallow pants, sweat dripping down his temple. The adrenaline was slowly leaving his system, the strength in his legs waning fast. Yasochika leaned against the door, trying to recompose himself.

That had been a little too close for comfort.

While Yasochika was confident the spirit wouldn't be able to escape the Seki Seki reinforced cell, their spiritual pressure could easily slip through the bars. Had Yasochika been a second slower, he would have been pinned to the ground. And, judging from the little bit that leaked from under the door, Yasochika wouldn't have lasted long.

He had only gotten a brief look at Lieutenant Shiba's Zanpakutō Spirit. From what he saw, it appeared to be humanoid. They were even capable of human speech, as it had called out to him. But that all lasted for a handful of seconds. As soon as Yasochika had turned his back, the spiritual pressure had gotten denser and malicious. Now, as he stood in the hallway upstairs, back against the door, there was no doubt in his mind.

That was a Hollow and it was angry.

Thank the Soul King we were able to separate him in time. If that thing were to roam free in Soul Society– Yasochika shook his head, not wanting his mind to go in that direction. It had been locked away, it wasn't going anywhere. Taking a deep breath to recollect himself, Yasochika pushed off against the door and hurried back to his captain.

When he arrived at the room, his captain was waiting for him.

'Captain?'

'Don't worry, he's still breathing', Isane assured. 'Thank you for your assistance, Iemura-san. You can return to your duties, Yamada-san and I will take care of him from here'.

'H-hai, Captain'.

Isane watched the man walk off before slipping back into the room.

'And?'

Hanatarō didn't look up, a frown etched on his face. 'He ap-p-pears to be–'

'Stable', Isane finished. 'That's good'.

'Is it rever–reversible?'

'I don't see why not, however, I have never seen a case like this before. We will just have to wait and see'.

'What do we do now?'

'We will have to wait for him to wake', Isane told. 'Yamada-san, since you are Lieutenant Shiba's assigned healer, I think it's best if you stay on watch. If his condition changes, you have my permission to wake me, should I be asleep'.

'Uhm, Captain?'

'Yes, Yamada-san?'

'I found t-these. It must be what b-broke the window and light'. Hanatarō handed her a few pieces of rectangular stones. One side was colourful, the other a plain white. 'I t-think it was a b-bracelet'.

Isane accepted the pieces, examining them. As she held the orange one between her fingers, she sensed a familiar spiritual pressure she hadn't sensed in quite some time. Kurosaki-chan? Isane took another stone-a blue one-and rubbed it between her fingers. This one feels like a Quincy… Ishida Uryū? Strange.

'Yamada-san. Please search the area for more of these stones and bring them to me. I think they are worth to be examined'.

#

TO BE CONTINUED

BLEACH – Tite Kubo