One Week Later
"So, how has the journal writing been?" Gina asked Karin as her niece sat on the couch across from her, cross legged with a notebook on her lap.
"Good." Karin nodded. "I actually finished a while ago."
"Well, your memory has been making a good recovery and you're becoming more comfortable discussing topics surrounding your disappearance." Gina smiled before turning to look at the window. "It's getting colder these days."
"Might snow this year too." Karin said before checking the time. "It's almost time for me to get home."
"Wait..." Gina interrupted her as she packed her backpack. "Your father told me you're not talking to Yuzu?" Karin let out a heavy sigh through her nostrils before letting go of her backpack. "Would you like to... discuss why?"
"There's really not much to say. She broke my trust and I would prefer not to talk to her." She said
"Your father is concerned because she's been very withdrawn."
"Well, that's none of my business," Karin said. "Me not speaking to her should not be a reason for her to decide to make herself... scarce. She's just trying to get attention. She's being entitled."
"But... you stopped eating when she cooks."
"Like I said, I don't trust her and I would like to not be around her and I would like people to respect that decision." Karin said. "Is that all?"
Gina sighed. "Very well. We'll discuss this more when I come back to Karakura. The girls and I are going back to Kagoshima for the next two weeks."
"I thought you were spending time with us for New Years." Karin said
"Sadly, we have issues to deal with concerning our landlord. I don't want to get into it or else I'll go ballistic." She said
"Sounds like you need a therapist." Karin joked. "Sadly I can't recommend anyone. Mine is fabulous though."
"At least there was a compliment somewhere in that." Gina rolled her eyes and her niece snickered. "If you need someone to talk to then I'm a phone call away." Karin finished packing up and slung the strap of her book bag over her shoulder. Karin felt dizzy as she stood up, feeling the world look blurry but she shook it off, regaining stability. "Ready to go?"
Karin nodded and walked out of the office silently before Gina. As her aunt closed the office door, Karin lost wind for a second at the top of the staircase. "Karin!" Her aunt screamed but Karin had already tumbled down the staircase.
Rangiku never expected for this to be such a big affair. While her and Hitsugaya planned for the convoy of the ōin, they thought it was just going to be the tenth scouting the area as a discreet convoy passes through. Turns out it was a whole ceremony of a hundred men or so men. Men carried the gigantic carriage with other smaller carriages on the side while guards stood inside, protecting the treasure and a man performed a dance on the outside, carrying out a ritual as a way to honour the royals. Music was being played by those following the slow convoy and those who sat in the carriage.
They wouldn't need guards if it wasn't so... extra. Rangiku thought with a sigh as she flash stepped between the assigned groups waiting amongst the trees.
"How are our defences here?" She asked
"Nothing out of the ordinary, Matsumoto-fukutaichō." The leader of the group said
"Good. This is very important so stay sharp." She said, ready to move to the next point but her subordinate raised a question.
"Wait... what exactly is this Ōin we're here to protect?" He asked. "They asked for top security but they're being so secretive."
Rangiku was just as clueless as them, maybe lesser so but this thing was unknown to just about anyone who wasn't a royal or a noble. "It's the treasure of the royal family." She decided to bullshit them anyways. "No one is allowed to look at it except the royals and it's existence isn't even known to the plebs. We have no access to it's powers or knowledge of how to use it but every decade, they transfer it to a disclosed location. Only the royals know how powerful it is... it could have the power to change life as we know it!" Her subordinates stared at her and she giggled. "Just kidding. Even the captain knows absolutely nothing." They gave her the stank eye. "Damn, tough crowd. Regardless, we were chosen to protect it. Let's make sure we don't disappoint them."
"Yes ma'am." They nodded and Rangiku left, wondering if she had any quadrants left to cover but realised that was the last one.
She decided it was time to report back to Tōshirō, who, as per his pragmatic self, decided to take control of the skies and watch from above, making sure to have an aerial view of everyone and everything. While Tōshirō meticulously planned this assignment as he told his subordinates, Rangiku knew he would much rather be focused on something else. Hitsugaya was still being secretive as usual and sometimes, she wished her could confide in her just a little bit. She would think forty years of working together was enough by now. She knew he trusted her but Hitsugaya's trust only goes so far and he has different sectors for his trust.
"Taichō."
"Matsumoto?"
"Every point is secured." She said. "Everything is still in order." He simply nodded, looking back down at the convoy. Matsumoto followed his gaze. "It looks even more impressive from up here."
"That's because it looks like less of an eye sore." Hitsugaya said
"That's a little harsh." Matsumoto said but she knew her captain well enough to know that he wanted to say more. It was pointless and too extravagant. While she could admire the details, she knew Hitsugaya would find it unnecessary and gaudy. "They won't be happy to hear a captain saying that."
Hitsugaya huffed. "Anyways, have you—" Hitsugaya stopped abruptly and Matsumoto stared at him in expectancy. "What the —"
She heard it too but by the time she heard it, it was too late. The first strike to convoy was already made.
"Are you feeling better now?" Sofia asked as she placed a warm towel on Karin's head as she lied down on one of the patient beds at the clinic. She had bumped her head during the fall but it wasn't anything severe. She just had a headache. Her aunt had driven her back home immediately afterwards. Isshin was at a weekend conference for medical doctors in the area. "What happened?"
"I just got a little dizzy." Karin said
"It's because you're not eating well, is it?" Sofia accused
"Oba-chan, please," Karin sighed as she sat back up, taking the towel off. "I'm fine. I just lost my balance for a second. It happens. Maybe I had a seizure. They've been happening pretty frequently,"
"Yes but you also don't eat!" Karin frowned. "You're skin and bones, amorcita!"
"Trust me, I've been eating a lot more since you came to visit." Karin reassured her. "I'm fine. I had a seizure while I was walking, it happens." She got up from the bed. "I'm going to my room, okay?"
"Okay, go rest. I'll call you home when dinner is ready." Isshin told her and Karin nodded before walking out of the room. Yuzu was entering on her way out.
"Hey! You okay?" Karin simply walked right past her and Yuzu frowned, twisting the towel in her hand before huffing and entering the room but she stopped short from joining them.
"Gina... do you buy what she's saying?" Sofia asked
"Not at all." Gina said. "If she had a seizure, she wouldn't be able to tell. She would have just thought she fell down the stairs. She has been dizzier lately. I've seen her stumble a few times just walking through the house. I know what seizures look like and they look nothing like tripping. Now I don't feel comfortable leaving. Especially with Isshin gone for the week." She sighed
"Look, go deal with your tenant, we'll take care of her, okay?" Sofia reassured her and Gina nodded before turning and noticing Yuzu.
"Ah, Yu-chan. How are you feeling?" She asked
"I'm good." Yuzu nodded. "I'm going for a run then I'm going grocery shopping, does anyone need anything?"
It was like two balls of electricity buzzing around and taking down everything in its path. They split into two, one electric and one made of fire. The electric one ascended to the skies as Matsumoto ordered her subordinates to join her into taking them down with her but they failed. A girl with blue hair finally emerged, with a skull mask covering a partial part of her face. She cranked her whip at her and she blocked it using her sword. "Who are you?" Rangiku demanded.
"Die!" The girl spat before letting a wave of electricity travel down the whip.
"Growl, Haineko!" Rangiku commanded and her blade disappeared into ashes before she engaged with the girl. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hitsugaya blocking the destructive fireball who also transformed into a girl — Matsumoto assumed they were twins. She seemed pretty confident until Hitsugaya began to freeze her arm and sword. She bounded away and he chased after her to the carriage that was torn apart, surrounded by flames.
Rangiku noticed that the electricity girl stopped engaging with her as well and bounced away too quickly for her to catch. Just as she landed, she noticed a new attacker join the fight and they had successfully stabbed Hitsugaya. "Taichō!" She called out but Hitsugaya was focused and completely engaged with them. Rangiku was shocked at how evenly matched they were as they clashed swords, blocking a barrage of attacks and using shunpō to move quickly to try and pounce on the other.
She had no idea what happened but Hitsugaya moved to rip off his mask and in an instant, the attacker had disappeared. Rangiku wondered why he just stood there, knowing that Hitsugaya was fast enough to catch up but she caught sight of his face — an expression she had never seen before. Regret, despair, hurt? He noticed that she spotted him and there was a quick flash of surprise, like a deer caught in headlights before he too disappeared. "Taichō!" She called out, ready to chase after him but the explosion of the carriage caught her off guard and kept everyone back.
There was commotion about the ōin as people hastened to singe the flames and her subordinates tried to speak to her but all she heard was static as she stared in pure shock and horror. A tragedy had just occurred and for whatever reason, Hitsugaya Tōshirō has deserted them.
Yuzu was jogging through the woods along the outskirts of the city after going past the river. Nowadays, Yuzu had a habit of running further and further away from the town before realising how far she had gone and run back. It didn't matter how far she went anyways, it's not as if anyone would care if she was gone. She was very much tired of being home only to be met by her sister's silence and her father and grandmother coddling her. Even Kei and Midori stopped trying to reach out at some point. She didn't blame them because it wasn't we worth the effort.
A week had passed since the winter break began and she had been home, doing chores other than the cooking, going for a run and keeping herself to her room. Now she couldn't even do one of the things she loved that got her mind off of things because as soon as she would announce making a meal, Karin was straight out the door. So she let her grandmother cook instead.
Yuzu stopped when she noticed a speck of snow fall on her. "It's snowing?"
No... it isn't... Yuzu looked back from where she came from and then up at the skies. It was dark clouds but no snow. They were having a snowless winter. The snow particles were coming from somewhere and Yuzu could finally feel the reiatsu coming off of someone. She moved towards the source where it was becoming stronger and she spotted a head of spiky white hair in a white coat, bleeding profusely from the side and limping on one leg before losing consciousness and falling to the ground. "Hitsugaya-kun!" Yuzu ran towards him.
"Rukia, we have a new assignment." Ichigo looked up, baffled at the two as they all stopped on a building top. They're search for Aizen led them to the outskirts of Tokyo. They had decided since they had a list of names, they would search for clues from where they lived to see if there was someone who last saw them or somewhere they were last seen to get a little idea of how Aizen lures them away.
"Huh?" Ichigo scoffed. "Are you seriously abandoning this?"
"Ichigo, this is important." Renji sighed. "The omnitsukidō has been posted all over Karakura. Hitsugaya-taichō has gone MIA."
"What?" Ichigo questioned in surprise
"Didn't he have the assignment to safeguard the ōin convoy?" Rukia asked
"It was attacked, the ōin was stolen and Hitsugaya fled the scene." Renji said. "He has been demoted to renegade status."
"Are we all losing it?" Ichigo asked. "He probably is chasing down the dude to did it."
"But he has a duty to his team. Especially in the instance where the royal family is involved." Rukia said.
"He was supposed to report back to the sōtaichō. Protocol must always be observed." Renji sighed. "I'll head back to Soul Society and see what's going on firsthand. I'll come back once we've been told what to do..."
"Wait..." Ichigo held Renji back. "I'm coming with you."
"What, why? Stay here with Rukia."
"Not to Soul Society, you dolt! To Karakura Town." Ichigo clarified. "If Hitsugaya is chasing down whoever did this, there's a chance he could be here in the human world. Since you morons are probably losing your heads in Soul Society, there should at least be someone checking nearby areas outside."
"He has a point." Rukia said. "Renji and I will return together since this probably involves me as well."
Karin was confused what the commotion was about when she heard Yuzu shouting. It was loud enough to be heard over her headsets and she took out a bud from her ear before sighing and going downstairs and walking towards the clinic. She got down the stairs and froze when she noticed a bloodied white gown on the floor. Curiously, she crouched down to examine it, picking it up cautiously only to drop it like it was on fire when she noticed the ten written on the back.
A loud hum buzzed through the air and made her feel dizzy as a stream of blood came out of her nose. Instead of going to the clinic where she intended on going, she bolted out the front door.
Rangiku thought this day couldn't get any worse, but she stood mistaken. She stood before the goteijūsantai: The absent positions for this meeting being that of Nanabantai and Jūbantai. The spot of yōnbantai being filled by Kotetsu Isane but the fact that she was attending her first captain's meeting without being sworn in or even having a haori was telling of the state Soul Society was currently in.
"I had my personnel scouting the area. The attackers took the ōin and disappeared." Suì-Fēng said as she stood directly before the sōtaichō, giving her report.
"Is that so?" He hummed
"That's not all. I also received reports regarding Hitsugaya-taichō who fled the scene. We have reason to believe he concealed his reiatsu and fled."
"Wait!" Matsumoto interjected immediately. "Are you trying to imply that Hitsugaya-taichō purposefully abandoned his post?"
"Then why did he behave that way?" She retorted.
"But—"
"Stop!" Yamamoto ordered. "Continue, Suì-Fēng-taichō."
"Yes!" She obeyed. "The last sighting of his reiatsu traces to Jūnrinan in West Rukongai. There, one of my scouts found this." She held out a silver ring like contraption with dry blood and some skin on the inside.
"Isn't that my invention?" Kurotsuchi wondered aloud and Suì-Fēng turned to look at him.
"Do you know of this?"
"Yes! That's my monitoring ring! The sōtaichō asked me to make one almost a year ago." He confirmed.
"So... Hitsugaya-taichō has even violated his probation terms." The sōtaichō noted out loud.
"Probation?" Jūshirō echoed in surprise and the other captains were confused as well but Yamamoto continued.
"Jūbantai shall be placed under house arrest. Depend on developing circumstances, be prepared to disband." He said.
"Disband?" Matsumoto echoed in disbelief. "So your solution to this is getting rid of all of us? If anyone should take full responsibility then it should be on me as vice—"
"Silence, Matsumoto!" He ordered. "Do you think your life is precious enough to compensate for the ōin? Do you think the life of a single vice captain is enough to compensate for this crime? Know your place."
Matsumoto felt weak and powerless and kept her comments to herself. This was all too much for her. "First, prioritise the search and recovery of the King's Seal while concurrently, capturing the renegade responsible for the deaths in this incident, Hitsugaya Tōshirō."