Chapter 9: Retreating

After the small group was thrown back to the soul society, Ayame went back inside the house after returning to her gigai. It was not a difficult 'fight' for her as the five seated officers and the single lieutenant weren't hard to knock out and send back through the Senkaimon the woman had opened to retreat through. Hopefully this was enough to deter the soul reapers for a time in order to get things prepared for later.

"Wonder what Yuzu wants to cook for breakfast tomorrow?" Ayame said to herself as she rejoined the rest of her family just as they were sitting around in the living room.

Despite the large hole that was now covered with a tarp, that didn't stop the group of six from enjoying a little movie night.

Soul society

Right now, everything seemed to be in order within the walls of the Seireitei. Rangiku and her team left not too long to deal with a hollow of some kind that was reported by seated officer of squad thirteen, Rukia Kuchiki. Despite her attitude most of the time, Rangiku Matsumoto was a lieutenant for a reason and most believed that she and her unit would make short work of this hollow presence.

They were wrong.

Almost a full hour after Rangiku's team left, the Senkaimon opened once more, surprising most that saw it open. Toshiro Hitsugaya, Rangiku's captain, felt that something was off when he heard that news. Rangiku may have been strong enough to deal with that hollow but knowing her she would've most likely done some sightseeing for several hours before returning. That was just the type of person she was. To return only an hour later was a major red flag to the young captain. As he rushed over to the Senkaimon, a terrible feeling in his gut was beginning to grow with each passing moment he ran. Something just was not right to him, and this was all the more confirmed when he saw a small group huddled at the Senkaimon entrance all murmuring something he couldn't hear.

Using shunpo, Toshiro appeared at the gate, surprising everyone there. He looked to what everyone was huddled around and went wide eyed. Rangiku and her unit were all sprawled on the hard ground, unconscious and covered in bruises. At least that's what the rest of them were covered in while Rangiku had a nasty bruise atop her head that was bleeding. Toshiro went to check on his lieutenant and could see that she was still breathing. He sighed in relief before turning to the other soul reapers present.

"Have a single one of you reported back to squad four?" he spoke with authority, causing all present to stand at attention.

One man spoke up. "We sent someone to squad four moments before you arrived captain. They should be back soon."

"Good." Toshiro was relieved upon hearing that and took the time to examine the group on the ground.

Something immediately caught his attention. Their zanpakuto's were broken all except for Rangiku's which wasn't even there. He looked around her unmoved body and even to the others around her and noticed that hers was not there. Whatever attacked them must've taken her zanpakuto for reason the young captain didn't even want to know.

"U-Um, excuse me." A timid voice sounded off behind the group. The group of soul reapers parted to allow Hanataro and a few other squad four members through.

Toshiro got out of their way so that they could do what they could. "The moment she's conscious, please inform me Hanataro Yamada." Toshiro spoke to the seated officer before leaving the area.

He knew he would have to report this to the head captain but decided to wait until Rangiku was fully awake to give her report on what happened. It would be easier to hear it from her than to make something up and potentially give misleading information. With that in mind, Toshiro left the area to ponder what exactly could've done this to his lieutenant.

Really wanted to resurrect this fic as I haven't updated it since 2020. Start off small and all of that.

The next chapter will focus mainly on the captain's meeting.

Stay awesome, and as always...

PEACE!