A/N: Thank you for everyone's support! I'm having so much fun with this story, and I hope you are too.
Chapter 5:
Getting into the prison was easy enough. She followed her new device's commands and replicated Shinji's actions when he took her to the prison.
Unfortunately, the dark dimly lit hallways were scarier than she remembered since she was all alone, but she marched onward to her destination. She was determined to see him. When she blew out her candles, her wish was to see him today.
It didn't take long for her to reach his cell. The tricky part was using the key. She tried turning it in the lock, but it wouldn't budge. She frowned and tried to remember if Shinji or Rangiku did anything special with the key before they unlocked the door with it.
She couldn't recall, but they had to use their spiritual pressure to seal and unseal the key from their chest. She imagined Rangiku sealing the key and releasing some spiritual pressure
She turned the lock again, and there was a click. The large metal door opened slowly. She went inside and approached her father. She unsealed his right eye and mouth.
"Emiko, what are you doing here on your birthday?" he asked, concealing his surprise at her appearance.
"Tou-san," she exclaimed as she climbed onto his lap.
He surveyed the empty room. "Does anyone know you're here?"
"No," she mumbled as she hid her face in her chest.
"You need to go back home," he instructed. Emiko lifted her head, confused by his atypically stern tone.
"Don't you want to see me?" she countered, looking up at his face.
"Of course, I do, but your mother and your friends will be worried if they can't find you," he tried to explain. He had noticed that her reiatsu felt like Rangiku's, not her own. If he couldn't convince her to return home, it was unlikely someone would be able to track her.
She looked away from her father, now feeling guilty. She didn't want to upset anyone, but she really wanted to see him.
"I wanted to visit since you couldn't come to my party." Her bottom lip stuck out in a cute pout.
Aizen sighed.
"I know. I'm sorry I couldn't go, and I'm sorry I don't have a gift for you either," he gave her a half smile.
She retrieved the key from pocket and unsealed one of his arms. She would have done the same to his other arm, but Shinji said that the key could only undo three seals at a time. It restarted when it went back into the owner's body. Emiko wasn't willing to try yo seal the key in herself since she only wanted to borrow it, and she was scared that she wouldn't be able to get it out.
"Why did you do that?" His serious tone returned.
"There's a gift you can give me," she started shyly. "You've never hugged me before."
His frown softened. "If I do, you have to put the seals back and go home." She nodded enthusiastically and climbed back onto the chair.
Cautiously, he wrapped his arm around her small frame. She leaned into him and rested her head on his chest. His fingers grazed her soft wavy hair. He heard a sniffle and felt wetness permeate his shirt.
"There's no need to cry, Emiko." He rubbed her back, and her crying increased.
"I'm happy," she said, her small hands clutching his shirt tightly. "So happy."
He let her stay in his arms for a few minutes. "I think it's time for you to go home."
"Just one more minute?" she pleaded, her big brown eyes widening. He felt an unfamiliar tightness in his chest when he looked at his small innocent daughter. He should say no, but she was so happy to be with him and she'd be so sad if he said no.
"Alright, but only another minute," he relented.
"Thank you tou-san. I love you." If just for another minute, her world felt complete.
"Damn it! I can't sense her either," Toshiro exclaimed. "Are you sure she didn't go to a friend's house?"
"I'm sure. I called Yona's mother right after I called you, and she said she hasn't seen her." Momo answered with a frown. "Do you think she's…" she trailed off, afraid to even say the word.
"No. I think she's either hiding her reiatsu or is in another dimension. If someone kidnapped her, they could have sealed her reiatsu." He refused to believe Emiko was dead.
"I don't understand why anyone would take her. She's just a little girl." She sniffled and wiped some of her tears away with a sleeve.
He nodded, but he thought to himself that there was a glaring reason someone would take her. Being Aizen's daughter put a target on her back. He had many enemies, including himself, who were itching to get revenge. However, he kept this to himself because he didn't want to worry Momo even more. He hadn't seen her this shaken before, even when she was recovering from Aizen's betrayal. While she was unhinged and manic-like at the discovery of his betrayal, now she was quiet and distant, consumed by her thoughts.
"I notified the captain-commander of the situation, and he recommended that I contact Urahara to look for her. If she's in the World of the Living, he can help." She showed no sign of hearing him. Her gaze was fixed on a photo of her and Emiko on the mantle.
Her phone lit up, startling her so much she almost jumped.
"Hello? Nemuri-chan?" she answered with a puzzled expression. "I don't think I saw it after she left. Give me a moment, and I'll check her room." She covered the mouthpiece and instructed the 11th squad captain to search the dining room for the GPS.
Neither were able to find the device.
"We couldn't find it, so she could have it." Toshiro noticed her posture change as she stayed on the line. She stood up straighter, seeming more alert. "Yes. If you could please call him and let us know if you find anything out, that would be great. Thank you."
She let out a deep breath. "There might be a way to locate her if she has the GPS device with her. Captain Kurotsuchi is able to track those devices somehow, so Nemuri-chan is going to call him and see if he can locate it."
"Good. I'll still call Urahara in case Mayuri can't find anything. In the meanwhile, sit tight." He exited the living room and called the shopkeeper from the dining room.
There was no answer.
He paced the floor and thought to wake his lieutenant, who was slumped against the wall. He walked over to the table and bent down, so he could whisper in her ear.
"Rangiku." She remained asleep, so he gently shook her. Still asleep, so he shook her harder.
"Five more minutes," she replied, her eyes staying shut.
"Rangiku. Get up!" Toshiro ordered.
"Ughhhh...captain," she groaned. She held her head in both hands, clearly hungover from her excessive drinking. "You're so mean sometimes," she whined.
"You can complain later. Emiko is missing." She immediately straightened up.
"What?" Her blue eyes widened in shock.
"She either ran away or was kidnapped. Regardless, we can't sense her spiritual pressure. It's like she's completely vanished," he explained. "Mayuri may be able to track her through the GPS, but we don't know if she even has it."
"Could she be in the World of the Living or Hecu Mundo?" Her heart hurt thinking of Emiko in danger. She was a sweet innocent little girl, despite her lineage. To have this happen on her birthday felt like a bad omen.
"I thought the same thing, but Urahara didn't pick up when I called him." Toshiro had always found the shopkeeper a bit lazy and flaky, but he proved to be useful when it counted. If only he'd pick up his damn phone.
"Let me try calling," his lieutenant suggested. She called and after two rings there was an answer. Toshiro rolled his eyes. He should have woken up Rangiku earlier.
"Oh Kisuke, thank you so much for your help. I promise to visit the shop as soon as I can. Buh bye now." She hung up and shoved her phone in between her cleavage.
She froze. She felt like something was missing. She turned out her pockets and put the cell phone on the table. A glowing hand reached into her chest and came back out empty.
"Fuck," Toshiro commented. "Wake up Kira and mobilize the 11th division to start searching for Emiko."
"Yes sir," she nodded, and he went to speak with Momo.
"Captain, are you going to Muken? You don't think that Aizen has anything to do with this, do you?" She prayed that there was a simple explanation for this, but it was all too fishy. Did he enlist someone to break him out and take Emiko?
"If he does, he's going to pay," he spoke in a menacing tone. His teal eyes had turned to angry slits. "The nerve of that man. Instigating a kidnapping of his own child," he spat.
He turned back around to talk to Momo until she rushed into the room.
"Captain Kurotsuchi called, and he was able to pinpoint the signal of the GPS up until an hour ago. The last place he could track it was right outside of the prison. Captain Hirako was also notified, and he's on his way," she revealed.
"Let's go then," he said. Momo nodded, and the pair flash stepped to the prison. When they arrived, the hallways were lit.
"Shinji must have beat us to it," Toshiro deduced. He closed his eyes to see if he could sense his spiritual pressure, but he couldn't. However, he could sense traces of Rangiku's spiritual pressure. He assumed it was leftover from her last visit and kept moving forward.
"Keep your guard up. I couldn't sense him, so someone else must have come down here," he observed.
They took the elevator up and steeled themselves for whatever was waiting for them behind the big metal door. Toshiro tried to keep his anger in check so as not to do something rash. His priority was finding and saving Emiko first. After which, he'd hack the person responsible for her disappearance to pieces.
Momo's stomach turned, twisting and knotting uncomfortably. She wasn't ready to see Aizen, but if it meant finding Emiko she would do it. She inhaled a shaky breath as Toshiro opened the door.
They were greeted with a semi- unbound Aizen hugging Emiko with one arm.
"Emiko!" came Momo's cry. A wave of relief washed over Momo and Toshiro.
"I think it's time for you to go," Aizen quietly instructed his daughter. She released her hold on him and climbed down from his lap.
Momo ran to embrace her. "We were so worried that you were hurt or lost or…" A few tears escaped her eyes.
Meanwhile, Toshiro watched on, extremely puzzled. He still couldn't detect Emiko's spiritual pressure even though she was right in front of him. Instead, he felt Rangiku's presence.
The lieutenant pulled back from Emiko to examine her for any injuries and found none, but she noticed something sticking out of her pocket. "Sweetheart, how did you get down here?"
Emiko looked down at the ground and stayed silent.
"Emiko, your mother asked you a question," Aizen prompted. Momo's eyes widened a fraction. She didn't expect him to back her up.
"Well, I wanted to see tou-san since it's my birthday, so I used the GPS to get here," she confessed, her gaze still fixed on the concrete ground.
"And how did you get into the building?" Momo asked calmly. Emiko frowned and slowly lifted her head, tears shining in her eyes.
"I …." she began slowly, "I took Auntie Ran's key." Suddenly, she burst into tears. "I'm sorry kaa-chan. I shouldn't have done it, but I wanted to see tou-san. I missed him so much."
Momo knelt down to hold her. She rubbed small circles on her back. "I understand Emiko, but you can't run off like this. We didn't know where you were. We thought someone took you and hurt you." She stroked her wavy hair, and continued. "I thought I lost you forever."
"I'm sorry kaa-chan. I won't do it again. I promise." Emiko buried her face in the crook of her mother's neck. She didn't mean to make her so sad. She hated seeing her mother cry, and it was all her fault.
"If you wanted to see your father, you should have just asked. Someone would have taken you," Momo added with a sigh.
Toshiro stepped forward and headed for Aizen. He was relieved that Emiko was ok, but he was shocked that it seemed like she somehow got here by herself and off her own volition.
"Toshiro, I'd like to have a few words alone with Momo before you seal me," he stated. Toshiro looked to Momo for her response.
"That's fine. Shiro-chan, can you take Emiko outside for a little bit?" He agreed and left Momo and Aizen alone.
Aizen let his eyes roam her figure. She had always been a pretty girl, but on the cusp of womanhood. It had been several years since he had last seen her. She had transformed like a bud to a red rose in full bloom. She was still petite, but her previously subtle curves were more pronounced. Full breasts and shapely hips were evident from her figure flattering yukata. She also stood more confidently, unafraid of him.
"What did you want to speak to me about?" she asked. His gaze returned to her face.
"We need to talk about Emiko," he answered. "She can change her spiritual pressure to the point that it's indistinguishable from the reiatsu of the person she is mimicking."
"That's why we couldn't sense her," Momo remarked.
"Yes. It's a unique ability that will serve her well if she learns how to use it. However, she doesn't do it purposefully, and she doesn't know how to control it."
Her eyes narrowed, unsure of his train of thought.
"She should start attending the Soul Reaper Academy. If she can't master her power, she could be a danger to others and herself," he declared.
She gasped. "Absolutely not! She's only six. She's too young to become a shinigami." Aizen may be her father, but he didn't get to make decisions about Emiko.
"And how old was Toshiro when he joined the academy?" he countered.
"That's completely different. Toshiro was a child prodigy," she argued back.
"It's exactly the same," he snapped. "Can't you see how gifted she is? Would a normal six year old be able to get into Muken unharmed?" His fierce gazed pierced hers. This was the true Aizen, she reminded herself. He could act as calm and uncaring as he wanted, but he was cruel and calculating. It was obvious to her that he wanted to force Emiko into becoming a shinigami so young, so he could use her to break himself out.
"I know exactly what you're doing, and it won't work," she spat.
He nearly laughed. "Do what, protect my daughter? Is it that hard for you to believe that I care for her?"
"Yes it is. You don't care about anyone but yourself. That's the way it's always been. People are only a means to an end for you." She turned around and started walking away.
"I know you love Emiko, so please think of what's best for her. She's only a little girl, but she should be safe. At least have someone train her, so she doesn't get hurt," he attempted. If he wasn't imprisoned, he would have trained her. It was a crime for someone as talented as Emiko to go untrained. He also feared that if she experimented too much, she could hurt herself.
She stopped for a moment. "I'll think about it." Then, she was gone. Toshiro returned to reseal him and left.
When they resurfaced from the prison, it was eerily quiet, even for a late night. There was usually the buzz of a lamp post or crickets chirping. It was silent.
"Wasn't Captain Hirako supposed to meet us? He should have gotten here by now," Momo said as she scanned the area. Toshiro furrowed his brow. He could sense a strange presence. It wasn't a human, soul, or hollow.
He drew his sword, startling Momo and Emiko. "There's something here."
From the bushes a gigantic creature lunged at the group with a growl. Toshiro moved in front of the girls, fending off the beast with his sword. Its razor sharp teeth clenched the blade tightly, rendering Toshiro imobile.
In the dimly lit street, Momo recognized the creature as one of the alligators from the Stealth squad. She picked up Emiko with one arm and drew Tobiume with the other.
"Tobiume, snap!" Her sword became inflamed, and she launched a fireball at the swamp monster. It released the blade and leapt back. Now free, Toshiro activated his bankai, ice sprouting from his limbs in every direction.
"Take Emiko and get out of here," the squad 10 captain ordered Momo.
The moment she started running, the alligator bounded after her with a snarl.
Emiko held onto her mother tighter and saw her uncle soar past them, taking down the alligator. Momo sprinted forward and used her sword to launch herself onto a nearby roof. She couldn't safely flash step with Emiko, so she'd have to sprint.
The safest place right now was her squad barracks, so she travelled in that direction. She leapt from roof to roof at breakneck speed, putting as much distance as possible between her and the ghastly gator.
"Kaa-chan, will Uncle Shiro be ok?" Emiko asked with a concerned tone.
"Of course! He'll be just fine. He's one of the strongest captains, so don't you worry," she reassured her with a smile.
As she closed in on the squad barracks, a shadow intercepted her and pushed her to the ground. Midair , she flicked her wrist and a blue ball of energy surrounded her and Emiko. The shield cushioned their fall like a pillow.
The shadow had disappeared, but Momo kept her eyes on her surroundings, waiting for its reappearance. "Are you ok baby?"
"Mhm," Emiko affirmed softly. She stood behind her mother, holding onto the back of her navy yukata.
"Stay close to me, and everything will be alright." Momo gently squeezed her shoulder, and Emiko felt a little better.
There was a rustle from behind a nearby bush. The squad five lieutenant gripped her sword with both hands prepared to strike.
The shadow lunged at the blue shield and was electrocuted. Momo had layered an offensive kido spell on top of the shield. She didn't expect it to take the foe down, but she could stall until someone came or she figured out the foe's weakness.
Her view was somewhat obstructed by the static caused by the contact of the electricity and the foe, but she could make out the same streaks and size as the alligator. Her stomach dropped. Had all of them gotten loose somehow? Was Shisihio ok? He was on duty today to man the training grounds. Maybe he had gotten hurt, which is why he never showed up to the party.
The gator smacked its tail against the shield with enough force to propel itself backwards onto the ground and crack the front of the barrier.
Momo flicked her wrist and put another barrier up. This one was blood red. Earlier, she had also released a strong enough spike of her spiritual pressure that one of her comrades would know she was in distress and come to find her.
If she wasn't mistaken, she felt her captain a few hundred meters away. She just needed to hold on a little longer, and then she could seek refuge in the barracks.
Encircling around the pair, the gator snapped its jaws like it was about to bite into a piece of meat. Emiko whimpered and clung to her mother's legs.
Again, it lunged at the shield, but it flipped in the air and hit its tail against the barrier which sizzled red in response. The muscular tail pushed against the barrier with such force that the first barrier cracked. Momo released more spiritual pressure to strengthen the first shield.
The alligator leapt back to the ground and prepared to strike again, but it paused at the explosion in the distance.
It was near the Research and Development Lab. Another cloud of dust and debris appeared near the prison. Several smaller but loud explosions followed in almost every direction, going off one right after the other like clock work. Taking advantage of the distracted creature, Momo released the front of the barrier and sent a fire ball kido spell his way followed by a net.
It wriggled against the ground, trying to escape the magical bindings, but to no avail. Momo charged forward and plunged her sword into its back with a cry. "Snap!"
The creature stopped moving, and purple liquid oozed onto the ground.
"Gross," she remarked as she removed her impaled sword, which was covered in the mysterious substance. She wiped as much as she could off of it onto the ground, but some of it still remained.
Sirens blared all around them. "Code red! The city is under attack. Code red! Everyone to their stations," Nanaoa's voice announced over the intercom.
Momo grabbed Emiko by the hand and led her to the squad five barracks, where she could sense the awakened spiritual pressures of her comrades.
As she was about to step onto the ground, something pinned her to the ground.
It was a half lion, half tiger looking creature. "Emiko run! To the barracks!" she yelled as she pressed enough of her reiatsu into the being to force it off of her. She leapt back and pulled out her blade again. "Tobiume, snap!" she commanded, except nothing happened. Momentary panic seized her, but flung the sword down.
She had no choice but to take out the creature in one swift blow. The kido expert raised her right arm forward outstretched, using her free hand to grip the right arm for extra support. With her palm facing flat toward the target, she yelled "Hado number 88!". A gigantic beam of blue electrical energy spouted from her palm and struck the foe down with a fizzling explosion.
Panting, she smiled. "Gotcha."
She turned to follow Emiko into the barracks but another half lion half tiger creature sprung from the rooftop down to Emiko. On instinct, Momo flash stepped in front of her daughter with the strongest shield she could manage. Golden light emitted from her hands to form a barrier against the large predator's paws.
"Go!" she ordered Emiko, who stood behind her mother.
"No! I'm not leaving you!" she retorted defiantly. She couldn't leave her mother alone like this.
"Please Emiko! I can't hold this much longer," she said, struggling to speak. She groaned, using every ounce of power she had to protect her and Emiko from their adversary. Pulling a paw back, the creature released long silver claws that broke through the barrier with one strike.
Before Momo could react, razor-like nails pierced her skin, and she fell to the ground with a blood curdling scream. It felt like her body was on fire. A searing pain spread through her chest, and she couldn't move.
"Run Emiko!" she cried as she saw more of the same creatures appear on the roof and on the ground, completely surrounding her and Emiko. She willed herself to move, to speak, to do anything, but she couldn't. The creature which attacked her bent on its hind legs about to pounce on her. She prayed that someone would at least save Emiko and closed her eyes, waiting for her inevitable demise.
The expected assault didn't come, but a strong familiar spiritual pressure did. She opened her bleary eyes and saw a blur of black striking down the creatures with immense bursts of spiritual pressure. Her breaths became shorter, more labored. "Please. Save Emiko," she said softly.
She could make out another figure from the roof, but she struggled to keep her eyes open. The black figure was suddenly by her side, and she recognized him. Had he come to finally finish the job? Would she die by her former lover's hand?
There was a wail from behind her. "Tou-san!" It was Emiko. She was alive. Somehow she knew that Aizen would protect her. She shut her eyes and let oblivion overtake her.
His breath caught in his throat when he saw her bloodied body on the ground. He made quick work of the disgusting creatures that had threatened Momo and his daughter's lives. His former captain finally arrived on the scene to cover him, and he went to her.
"Tou-san!" Emiko ran towards him with tears in her big brown eyes. "You have to help kaa-chan. She's hurt."
He nodded. "I'll need your help." He instructed her to crouch down with him beside her mother while he encased a barrier around them. Shinji could probably handle those pests on his own, but he didn't want to have to worry about shielding Emiko while trying to heal Momo.
"Emiko, place your hands against the wall and let your reiatsu flow into it. I need you to maintain the barrier while I help your mother. Can you do that please?"
She looked unsure of herself but agreed. As he expected, she was able to hold up the shield with ease.
He moved his attention to Momo, scanning her form. Streaks of purple marred her milky white neck and looked like they continued down her chest. "Keep your eyes on Captain Hirako, and let me know if he's struck down," he instructed Emiko as he undid Momo's blue sash.
"Yes tou-san." Emiko kept her gaze fixed on the blond man as her battled the beasts. She felt safe again now that he and her father were here. She could tell from her father's spiritual pressure that he was an extremely strong shinigami. She had never felt reiatsu as potent as his before. She had full confidence that he'd save her mother.
Navy fabric fell open to reveal a large half moon claw mark that went from her neck to her navel, grazing the top left of her chest binding. Tiny purple lines were growing from the wound. Quickly, he loosened the white fabric encasing her breasts and pulled it down to her hips. He sucked in his breath as he momentarily appreciated her rose colored nipples and full mounds.
He traced glowing hands across the wound, using a cleansing kaido spell. She may eventually need an antidote, but he needed to get the poison out of her. her chest began to move again with her longer breaths, so he started to sanitize the wound with another kaido spell. As his hands were mid-way across the claw mark, her brown eyes fluttered open.
Her glance moved from his healing hands to his half masked face. "Aizen, why?" she managed to ask.
"Don't speak. You need to save your energy. Emiko is safe, and you're going to be fine," he gently instructed her.
"Can I close my eyes?" she inquired.
"Yes," he replied. She shut her eyes again, letting the warm spiritual pressure she used to love so much flow through her body, lulling her into sleep.