Hey everyone, hope you all enjoyed the double from last weekend, and now it's that time again for another chapter.
Little bit of bad news here, but the simple fact is that with my finals only a week away, I simply can't distract myself with writing. So, writing is being put on hold for the next two weeks until the finals are over and done with. Because of previously mentioned reasons, it still won't affect the weekly chapter postings though. Also, sadly, no reviews to answer this week.
And so, time for me to shut up and let ya'll get to the story, while I return to my worst nightmare…prepping for finals…
(I DO NOT OWN BLEACH; ITS CHARACTORS, NAMES, LOCATIONS, OR STORY! THAT HONOR BELONGS SOLELY TO TITE KUBO AND HIS TEAM! ONLY THE OC, AND RANDOM NAMES NOT MENTIONED IN THE BOOKS OR ANIME ARE MY OWN!)
Chapter 12
(Promotions and Exiles)
Squad 4 Medical Department, Seireitei, The Next Morning
Finally, after a long day and restless night of waiting, Timothy was cleared by Captain Unohana to leave and return to his squad. Even though he was only there a few days, he felt that if he had stayed confined to that stupid, uncomfortable bed any longer, he was going to have Susan burn the place down.
'Or should I say…Moeru Kitsune…' he thought woefully. He stood there next to his 'former' bed, head held low, his kosode still open, deep in thought. 'Is she…really not Susan anymore?'
The past twelve years since he had come to the soul society, the whole time that he thought his loving wife Susan was right there with him, it was all a lie? She had sounded like her, acted like her, 'joked' like her, but wasn't her? The whole time, the being that was with him all this time was just another being, with her memories?
He slowly fell back and landed sitting down in the bedside chair, ignoring the tinge of pain that shot through his gut as his body collided with the furniture. He rested his elbows on his legs and dropped his head into his hands, his fingers gripping tufts of his dirty blonde hair.
Him and Susan/Moeru Kitsune hadn't spoken a single word to each other since their very brief talk the day before. Normally, when Timothy was down or depressed, his companion would jab at him with something perverse, or make fun of him to try and get his mind off the matter; but considering the reason for his current depression, she wisely chose to keep silent.
He continued to ponder on his thoughts for a moment, until a large, solid hand placed itself on his shoulder. Timothy quickly, and lightly jumped at the sudden contact and turned over to see none other than Captain Komamura standing next to him with a slightly concerned look.
"C…Captain Komamura? Uh, I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean to take so long." Timothy quickly said.
Sajin patted his shoulder a couple times then waved him off lightly. "It's fine, Tim. Is everything alright?" he asked as he returned his hand to his side.
"Sir?" Timothy deadpanned with a raised brow.
Sajin crossed his arms. "I called you from the doorway three times, and you didn't respond. So, I ask again, is everything alright?"
The younger man's eyes widened a bit at the news. "You did? I apologize, Captain. I didn't hear you. Uh, yeah, I'm fine sir. Just got a lot on my mind, if you catch my meaning." He defended.
Sajin nodded. "It's alright, Tim. I understand your meaning. I came here to sign your release paperwork and walk back to the squad with you. As soon as you have finished getting ready, we may leave."
Timothy nodded and stood up. "Yes sir, I'll be just a moment more. Sorry about the wait." He said as he closed up his top and began wrapping his obi around his waist.
After a moment, Timothy was fully dressed and had slipped both of his weapons in his sash. Giving the furry Captain a curt nod, both men left the room towards the building entrance. As the pair came around the last corner and within sight on the large double doors, Captain Unohana walked out of an observation room, stopping the two officers.
"Ah, Lieutenant Durn, how good it is to see you back on your feet. How are you feeling?" she asked politely with a wide and caring smile.
Timothy gave her a swift, but slow bow. "I'm fine now, Captain. Still a bit sore in the midriff, and quite stiff, but otherwise alright. Thank you for your care maam." He returned.
She smiled more and nodded kindly. "It is no problem, Lieutenant. Though, I would ask that you try not to make it a habit of being a resident here. Might I recommend not to engage in any more 'foul play' with Captain Zaraki?" she politely asked/demanded with her 'special' smile.
Timothy, although he could sense her sudden change in demeaner, remained vigilant and nodded. "Of course, maam. I don't intend on fighting that fool again anytime soon."
Noticing no change in Timothy's stance or attitude, Unohana 'smiled' even more at him, with even Sajin starting to fret just a little bit. Timothy still kept his stance, now knowing that she was trying to intimidate him. 'Two can play at that game, Captain.'
Timothy held his palms up as he shrugged his shoulders. "But then again, if you ever find yourself short of patients Captain, I could always give you a hand with that." He tossed out.
Unohana opened her eyes to him, giving him her kind/evil stare. "Oh, I don't really think that will be necessary, Lieutenant. Surely you wouldn't want to inconvenience my squad with needless casualties, would you?" she stung back, her evil aura gaining in magnitude.
Still, Timothy held firm, and gave her a 'friendly' smirk. "Please Captain, why would you think that I would want to inconvenience you? You could always view it as practice." He returned.
Sajin stared between the two, mostly Timothy, in complete shock. For the exception of Captain Zaraki and the Head Captain, NO ONE dared to stand up to Captain Unohana! Yet, here stands Timothy, solid as a damn rock; and he's not only standing up to her, he's standing 'against' her!
Unohana rose a brow at Timothy. "Do you believe that my squad needs more practice, Lieutenant?" she asked threateningly.
Timothy inwardly chuckled. 'Alright, I'll give her this one.' He gave her a bow of the head. "Not at all, Captain. But as you know, 'practice makes perfect'. You can 'never' be good enough when it comes to saving the life of another." He said, pulling back from his standoff.
Realizing his change of approach, Unohana lowered her evil aura and chuckled. "Yes, that is true, Lieutenant. Very true. Thank you for the offer, though I must advise against it. Please do not over exert yourself, and I would recommend staying with deskwork for the rest of today and tomorrow. Please have a pleasant day, Lieutenant, Captain Komamura." She concluded.
Both men bowed to her and walked by towards the doorway, Unohana glancing at Timothy after they passed. She stared at him, studying him, as the two Squad 7 officers walked out the doors.
'I'm impressed, he shows no fear towards me, and from what I saw the other day, not even the Head Captain. He is obviously a man that has experienced enough fear within his life that he has grown accustomed to it, not allowing it to control him. I believe he will make a fine officer.' She thought before giving a light chuckle and turning around to continue on her duties.
Sajin and Timothy continued their walk out the front doors of the medical department towards their squad in momentary silence. The furry Captain glanced over at Timothy to see him with a neutral expression on his face, completely unfazed by his encounter with the female Captain.
He found himself unable to discern whether or not the man was a fool for his lack of fear towards the woman. Even Captains Kyōraku and Ukitake, the oldest and most experienced Captains in the soul society feared the woman when she gave them her 'loving' smile.
If Tetsuzaemon was there to witness the conversation, he would have, without any doubt, being berating the new Lieutenant endlessly, calling him a fool. Sajin was actually a little glad that the man wasn't there at the moment; the last thing Timothy needing right then would be an argument.
Timothy glanced over to see his Captain looking at him with a puzzled face. This caused him to raise a brow.
"Is there something wrong, Captain?" he asked.
Sajin continued his stare for a few seconds longer before turning back front and grunting in acknowledgment. "Not necessarily wrong, but I would like to ask you; do you not fear Captain Unohana, or the Head Captain?" he asked.
Timothy returned forward and tilted his head as he thought about his answer. "Well…not really. I mean…I do respect them, and understand their positions, but I don't really 'fear' them."
Sajin glanced back to him. "Might I inquire to the reasoning? Surely you do not mean to say that you don't fear anything?"
The Lieutenant scoffed at the question. "No, there are some things I fear. Let me rephrase; I do 'fear' them, but I simply chose not to let that fear take a hold of me. This may have been the first time that I have met either one of them, but I could tell right off the bat that they were both powerful, easily someone I would stand no chance against. Trust me Captain, I'm not a fool on that regard."
He looked over to see the Captain waiting, expecting more from him. Timothy then turned back front with a heavy sigh. "The truth is Captain, the past twelve years in Fallen Tree were worse than you think. There were quite a few times where I came really close to being killed. I was not a fighter, I actually hated violence. It was because of that, that life was absolute hell for me in the beginning. Every time that someone tried to cause me harm, I became fearful, afraid to die. That fear ruled over me for the first year of my life." He paused for a moment and sighed again.
"Eventually, I came to the realization that if I kept letting that fear take over like that, then I would, without a doubt, die. I knew that I wouldn't be able to get rid of that fear, but I also knew that I could push that fear away, lock it away inside me and keep it from interfering. As time moved on, the fear of fighting was no longer a problem; and in fact, the habit of pushing my fear aside transitioned to all of my fears." He paused again and glanced at Sajin, who returned the look.
"I still feel the fear, Captain; I always will. But I simply choose not to let it get the better of me. I needed to fight to survive in Fallen Tree, and I simply couldn't afford to let my fears get in the way. All it would do is get me killed." He finished.
Sajin watched as the man turned back front. 'So, the fear is still there, but he chooses to block it. That is something that takes most soul reapers decades to learn on their own; yet even then they wouldn't have the level of control over the emotion that he does.'
"I see." Sajin finally answered. "Even so, you should keep in mind that not all fears are inherently evil, Tim." His statement got the man's attention.
"What do you mean?" Timothy asked, brow raised.
"What I mean, is that while fear is a negative emotion, it is still a necessary one. Fear is simply your mind telling you that whatever it is, careful consideration should be taken when facing it. If you fear the dark, you would be extra careful when in dark places, this makes you more aware of your surroundings. If you fear losing someone, you would try your hardest to protect them, so that you won't lose them. If you fear being killed in a fight, you would take extra caution during the fight, watching your foe more closely as to avoid being hit." He paused for a breath.
"While fear can sometimes hold us back, fear can also help us improve ourselves. If you lock your fears away, never allowing yourself to experience it, then you would likely become complacent. Your skills would falter, and you could get yourself into something that you cannot walk away from. As I have said, fear may be a negative feeling, but it something that we need in order to grow. Holding back your fear in certain circumstances is good, but it shouldn't be held back all the time." He concluded.
Timothy watched the man for a second, then turned back and nodded. "I understand, sir. But nonetheless, I refuse to be intimidated by anyone. Intimidation shows weakness." He countered.
Sajin rose a brow at him. "So, are you saying that you are not intimidated by Head Captain Yamamoto?" he asked in surprise.
Timothy turned his eyes to him. "I respect his power and authority, but I refuse to be looked down upon. He may have the power to force me to the ground without so much as lifting a finger, but I will not allow him to break my resolve. Even if I find myself unable to stand in his presence, I will not back down. You can call me a fool as much as you like Captain, but this is who I am, and I doubt anything will change it."
Sajin then stopped his walk, causing Timothy to do the same while he stared at him with a serious glare. "You are indeed a fool if you believe yourself able to stand up against the Head Captain, Tim. I greatly respect that you will not allow yourself to be intimidated, and that you have your fears under control; but make no mistake, should you decide to stand up to Head Captain Yamamoto, you will find yourself suffering more pain and anguish that you could possibly imagine. I strongly suggest you heed my warning, Tim." he stated in a stern tone.
Timothy closed his eyes sighed with a nod. "Thank you for your warning, Captain. I will keep it in mind. But never actually said that I could take on the Head Captain. I am fully aware that he could kill me before I had a chance to even draw my zanpakutō. Trust me, I have absolutely no intention of ever fighting the man."
Sajin continued his stare for a moment before nodding slightly and gesturing for them to continue walking. Timothy offered a bow of the head and resumed walking with the man. The pair continued on in silence until they returned to the squad headquarters.
Las Noches, Hueco Mundo, Present
Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck was partially enjoying her morning on her couch, one of her favorite books in her hand and lightly skimming over the words. Her two fracción were currently somewhere else in the palace walking around, most likely engaging in conversation with one of the other Espada's fracción.
Lord Aizen had not called for any meetings that particular morning, and nothing else was scheduled for the day; for the exception of a couple assigned duels between certain Espadas that she was not involved in. So, unless Aizen decided to bring up a surprise meeting or assign her to a duty, she essentially had the entire day to herself.
Normally, if the rare chance where nothing was happening, such as this, she preferred to sit down somewhere and read one of her books, or go for long walks with her fracción; provided that the Sexta Espada, Nnoitra, didn't decide to hound her again.
While the majority of the Espada got along and had a common understanding, Nnoitra Gilga for some reason absolutely despised Nelliel, always trying to goad her into fighting him to the death. He had succeeded in getting her to fight a few times, but had never once won against her. In fact, he never even once forced her to release her Resurrección.
Nelliel hated fighting and would gladly try her hardest to prevent conflict, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't fight if she had to.
Although she had a book in her hands and was following the words, she wasn't really paying attention to what the words were saying. She was actually lost in deep thought over the contents of the meeting from the day before.
Every Espada within Aizen's ranks bore a certain trait, known as an aspect of death; each one unique and that governed the individual Espada's personality and power. Nelliel's aspect of death, was Loyalty.
It was because of her aspect that she was fiercely loyal and devoted to Aizen and the rest of the Espada, especially her own fracción. But now she found her loyalty being severely tested after seeing the cruelty behind Aizen's methods.
She discovered that she no longer wanted to be a part of his plans, wanting to stay out of them. But she also knew that that was not an option; she was expected to perform her duties, regardless of the actions that she would be forced to take.
She was beginning to wonder if her loyalty was placed in the wrong direction, to the wrong person. No matter what Aizen required of her, she absolutely refused to ever do anything like what Aizen had done to the poor soul she saw in the recordings yesterday.
She lightly snapped her book closed, dropping the arm holding it into her lap as she dropped her head back with closed eyes.
'What do I do? I could never do anything so heartless as that. It's wrong…so wrong.' She thought sadly.
Her train of thought was broken by a gentle knock on her door. She lowered her head back level, keeping her eyes closed and sighed.
"Come in." she answered in a gentle tone.
The door opened and a pink haired Arrancar with a mask that resembled glasses walked in with his hands clasped behind his back.
"Good morning to you, miss Odelschwanck. I hope that I have not disturbed you." He greeted with a chipper voice and a smile on his face.
Nelliel halfway opened her eyes to the man to see it was one of her comrades, Szayelaporro Granz, the Noveno Espada.
In addition to each Espada bearing a unique aspect of death, some of the Espadas also had certain responsibilities within Los Noches; Szayelaporro's specific job within Aizen's army was research and laboratory work. He was Aizen's 'scientist'.
While Nelliel respected each and every one of the Espada, to even include Nnoitra, she did not care too much for the man. His presence always gave her a chilling feeling deep inside and she was always cautious around him.
She gave a shallow sigh and closed her eyes again. "Good morning, Szayelaporro. Is there something you needed from me?" she asked politely.
The edge of the man's mouth raised just a fraction. "For me? No." he replied in a mocked tone of surprise. "I had only come to inform you that Lord Aizen had requested your presence later this afternoon. He had asked me to inform you to meet with him at the grand balcony at two this afternoon." He stated.
Nel opened her eyes back to him with a raised brow. "Lord Aizen wishes to see me? Did he happen to say what he wanted to discuss?" she interrogated.
Normally she could read others and get a rough feeling of their intentions, but even after spending so much time being in the same faction as him, she was still unable to get any form of reading from him. He was a very difficult person to decipher.
"I am afraid not, Miss Odelschwanck. He did not reveal any details to me; he merely asked me to inform you of the summons." He answered with a low bow, arm across his chest.
Nel watched his movements closely, trying to find anything from the man by his posture, but finally sighed in defeat as she nodded.
"Very well. Thank you for coming to tell me, Szayelaporro. I will meet with him at the mentioned time. If you have nothing further for me, I kindly ask that you leave me be; for I have things I must attend to before I meet with him." She concluded.
Szayelaporro's smile grew just a bit as he bowed once again. "Of course, Miss Odelschwanck. My apologies for the interruption. I shall take my leave now." He finished as he raised himself and left the room.
After the door closed and she was sure that he was no longer close by, she sighed heavily and looked at the small clock the hung on the wall near the door. Seeing that it was late in the morning, almost noon, she still had a couple hours before she would have to go meet with Aizen.
She began to ponder as to what Lord Aizen could want to see her for. Besides asking her to complete a special task, or to discuss her behavior during yesterday's meeting, nothing was coming to mind.
She gave up the thought as she set her book aside on the seat next to her and stood up. "Well…" she started in a whisper as she stretched her arms out wide to get rid of the stiffness. "I guess I'll take a walk while I clear my head." She finished as she dropped her arms to her side.
She picked up her zanpakutō, Gamuza, and slipped it into her sash on her left side, adjusting the sash to be more presentable. Once she had finished, she walked out of her room, closing the door behind her, to begin her walk and look for her fracción.
Squad 7 Headquarters, Seireitei, One Hour Later
Timothy sat down on one of the couches in the Captain's office with a table pulled up close to him, a moderately sized stack of paperwork sitting on top as he read the forms over; signing them once he had confirmed everything on it was correct.
Although he was now the squad's Lieutenant, he knew that Tetsuzaemon would be returning to the squad eventually, so he didn't want to disturb anything on the man's desk. Sajin was sitting behind his own desk completing his own stacks of paperwork, a cup of warm tea sitting next to him.
Per the 'doctor's request', Sajin decided that now was the best opportunity to introduce Timothy to how the paperwork was handled at the Lieutenant's level. Essentially, Timothy found that the paperwork part of the job was not as bad as he thought it would be.
Sure, there was a whole lot more of it than when he was a 5th seat, but now he simply had to read over the forms and make sure they were correct, rather than having to fill the forms out himself. He was pleased to see that the method he had introduced to Minato about reorganizing the list of entries on the forms had been incorporated, making his job all that much easier.
He currently held two forms, one in each hand, as he compared the two together, looking for any discrepancies. It was then that Timothy lifted his head to Sajin.
"Captain." He started, getting the man's attention. "I know I've only been your Lieutenant for a couple of hours, but might I make a suggestion?" he asked.
Sajin put down the form in his hand and nodded. "Go ahead, and you may speak freely, knowing you would most likely ask for it." He answered.
Timothy gave him a light chuckle. "Already know me that well, do you?" he asked with a smirk.
The furry Captain chuckled as well and returned the smirk. "You are easy to read, Tim. You try to be respectful, but you always feel that you need to get your point across. So, what is it?" he returned.
The Lieutenant lightly scoffed and nodded. "True. Anyway, as it currently stands, our 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th…well I guess 7th seat now that Minato got promoted, but they are all currently empty." He paused, and Sajin nodded for him to go on. Timothy set the forms in his hands down and crossed his arms. "Well, that's four empty top seats, top leadership that we are lacking. We need to fill those spots, Captain." He advised.
Sajin sighed, then nodded. "I agree; however, we do not have anyone with the ability to fill those respective positions. 6th seat Minato was promoted because he has shown great improvement with his leadership skills, as well as some improvement with his overall combat skills."
Timothy nodded. "I agree. During the couple of days that I worked with him, he's shown a greater interest in training the other members. But the problem still stands, Captain; we need to fill those positions. We may not have anyone with the power worthy of the spots, but there are some members with the knowledge and leadership skills worthy of the positions." He pointed out.
Sajin rose a brow. "Are you suggesting promoting individuals without the necessary combat skills?" he asked cautiously.
The Lieutenant sighed and leaned back on the couch. "Captain, which one is more difficult to teach; combat skills, or leadership skills?" he rose a finger. "The answer is leadership skills." He answered himself as he dropped the finger. "Sure, you can teach the certain aspects of the job, but you cannot teach them experience. Experience in combat may take a little while to learn, but the experience of a true leader takes even longer." He paused for effect.
Sajin dropped his arms to his lap and nodded. "So, what is your suggestion?" he asked, trying to get to the point.
Timothy held his hand out to him, palm up. "My suggestion, is promote those that show promise 'as a leader'. They may not be up to par in regards to spiritual power and abilities, but we can at least get them started in learning what it means to be a leader. Sure, we can train the whole squad to be at the power of a 3rd seat, but it won't mean shit to us if they don't know what it means to be a leader. We need to put them in that position so that they can gain that experience. At least, that's my thinking."
The Captain rose a brow at his explanation. Afterall, the man did have a very valid point. The squad may not have anyone with the skills to fill the positions, but there were some who had the makings of a good leader. And at this point, the squad was really hurting with the low amount of mid-level leadership.
"In that case, who would you suggest? I am guessing that you have someone in mind?" Sajin asked.
Timothy scratched his chin for a moment. "I have a couple of people in mind; people who I have seen to possess the potential of being a leader. Might I suggest something like a trial period? Not necessarily promote them, but place them in that position for a certain amount of time and see how they pan out?" he offered.
Sajin rubbed his chin as he thought over the man's proposal. "Very well." He answered as he dropped his hand. "We will give this suggestion of yours a try, Tim. They will not be promoted at this time, but they will be given the responsibility of the position. I will give them one month to prove their abilities as leaders. I will also expect you to speak with those you have in mind and discuss this matter. Should they choose to accept, they will be assigned as the 'acting' seated officers. But…" he paused and held a finger towards him. "This will be your responsibility, Tim. If this trial period does not work out, you will be held accountable for it. Is that understood?" he asked in a serious tone.
Timothy nodded back to him with a solid face. "Yes sir, I understand. Once I have spoken with them, I will tell you who they are. I don't want to put anyone's name on a platter until they have accepted."
Sajin nodded in understanding. "Very well." He concluded as he dropped his hand. "Now, with that matter discussed, I should tell you about your response team."
The Lieutenant rose a brow. "Okay?"
"Captain Hitsugaya payed a visit to me yesterday; and as of this morning, his selected team is no longer in the world of the living. I had informed him that the response team will remain on call for another week. If nothing further is heard about this hollow we've been looking for by then, the team will be disbanded. You are still in charge of that team, so please keep that in mind when you speak to your proposed officer candidates." Sajin instructed.
Timothy nodded back. "Understood. What about our extra members assigned to the living world? Any plans to recall them?"
"As for right now, no; they will remain there until further notice. I know that you are restricted to desk work until after tomorrow, but I would advise you get with the members of the team. Get to know them and discuss strategies." The Captain advised.
"Agreed, sir. I'll get with them later today, after the paperwork is finished." Timothy stated.
They were interrupted by a knock on the office door. "You may enter." Sajin answered.
The door opened and Tetsuzaemon walked in, giving Timothy a quick glance.
"I see you've already started working on your new job, huh?" he asked in a gruff tone.
Timothy shrugged his shoulders. "Just the paperwork portion so far, not much else. I'm under 'desk arrest' for today and tomorrow." He joked.
Tetsuzaemon snorted at his remark. "So why aren't you using your desk? You're the Lieutenant after all, right?"
Timothy rose a brow. "Because it's still 'your' desk. If I remember right, you're only going to be with the 5th Squad for a while, then you come back, right?" The man nodded. "Well, that makes it 'still' your desk; and I didn't want to mess anything you had on it up. The couch is just fine for me, Lieutenant. Or, would it be better to address you by your name instead?" he pressed.
Tetsuzaemon scoffed again. "Yeah, I guess you can just address me by my name. Though I still expect you to show the proper respect; even as peers." He advised.
Timothy nodded in understanding. "Got it. So, what brings you here, Tetsuzaemon?"
The man turned to the Captain. "Just here to pick up a few things from my desk; and to get away from the massive headache called 'paperwork'." He air quoted.
Sajin rose a brow. "I see it's worse than we thought." He observed.
Tetsuzaemon shook his head. "You have no idea, Captain. The squad's 3rd and 4th seats tried their hardest to keep up with it, but it's been steadily falling behind. And if the paperwork wasn't bad enough, the whole squad is in complete shambles."
Timothy looked at him with worry. "That bad huh?" he asked.
Tetsuzaemon gave a serious nod to him. "Oh yeah. With Aizen turning traitor, Lieutenant Hinamori in the hospital, and the 3rd and 4th seats occupied with endless paperwork, the leadership in the squad is almost nonexistent. Some of the mid-level officers, and most of the lower officers have transferred over to another squad. The only mid-level officers I have, besides the 3rd and 4th seats are the 6th and 9th seats. The 5th seat transferred to Squad 8, the 7th seat to Squad 13, and both the 8th and 10th seats went to Squad 6."
Timothy rose a brow. "They allowed them to transfer to other squads with how bad they're hurting?!" he asked in shock.
Tetsuzaemon nodded. "Because of the lack of a Captain and a Lieutenant, the 3rd seat was the acting Captain; and he's a bit of a softie. He let them go without any argument. If things keep going like this, the Head Captain may as well just shut down the entire squad; cut the losses and send the members to other squads."
"I don't believe that would be necessary, Tetsuzaemon." Sajin spoke up, getting both Lieutenants' attention. "The squad may be under extreme duress due to lack of leadership, but don't give up on them yet. The Head Captain personally assigned you to take over affairs in the squad, so that means that he has trust in you that you will be able to get the squad back on its feet." Sajin offered, then stood up tall.
"Should you find yourself needing help or guidance, do not hesitate to come back to me for help. With the Head Captain, I also have trust in you that you can get the job done. Do not be so ready do doubt yourself, Tetsuzaemon." He reassured.
The man nodded. "Yes, Captain. I need to grab my things and return to the squad." He then turned to Timothy. "As for you Durn, and I'm sure this is a lot to ask for, but don't burn the place down."
Timothy scoffed at him. "If I burn anything around here Tetsuzaemon, I'll be sure to start with your desk. Toss me a message or something when you get done with your mountain of paperwork; I'll buy ya a drink or two." He retorted.
Tetsuzaemon grunted with a smirk. "You burn my desk, I'll burn your face, Durn." He taunted.
Timothy rose a brow and grinned. "Last time I checked, I beat you in our last fight; damn near scorched your ass."
"Ha! You didn't beat shit! The Captain stopped that fight because you were a fool." He returned.
"No…the Captain 'saved' your ass! If he hadn't of stepped in, you would have spent the next five years in the hospital, and you know it!" Timothy clarified.
"He has a point, Tetsuzaemon." Sajin interjected, causing the man with shades to snap to him.
"Captain! Are you seriously going to defend him like that?!" Tetsuzaemon barked.
Sajin simply rose a brow, wordlessly asking the man 'Really?'.
After a moment, Tetsuzaemon finally caved in with a sigh. "Fine."
Timothy snickered at his victory in the verbal conflict with the man. Tetsuzaemon quickly turned back to him.
"This ain't over, Durn. We'll have a rematch soon enough." He threatened.
Timothy waved him off. "Yeah yeah, anytime you want your ass handed to ya, just give me a call. I'll try to make sure I don't embarrass you too badly." He teased.
The man growled back at him and walked over to his desk. After grabbing the things he needed, he walked back to the door and stopped to look at Timothy again.
"Laugh while you can, Durn. You'll be put back in your place soon enough." He mocked.
Timothy chuckled, then smiled. "Noted. Have a good one, Tetsuzaemon. And like the captain said, if you need help, just holler." He said with a brief wave.
Tetsuzaemon nodded back to him, then gave Sajin a swift bow before leaving the office. Once he left, Timothy snickered again while Sajin slowly shook his head.
"Is it really necessary to always try and start a fight with him, Tim?" he asked.
Timothy turned to the Captain with a smirk. "Not trying to start a fight, Captain. Just a little bickering between peers is all. You both know I didn't mean anything by what I said; just trying to bug him. Besides, he needed to vent a bit after his rough morning, don't you think?"
Sajin chuckled and nodded. "Yes, he does seem to be in a better mood now. Just don't take it too far, Tim. You know how he is."
Timothy lightly scoffed. "Well, if he laid off the coffee or whatever for a bit, he'd mellow out. Wish I could help him out though; I can't even begin to imagine the shit he's got going on after what he told us."
Sajin sighed with a groan. "Yes, I agree. Come, let's get our work finished here so you can go about talking with those you mentioned earlier." He stated as he sat down and picked up a form.
Timothy nodded and returned to his work as well, then remembered something.
He turned back to Sajin. "Oh, before I forget Captain; I was thinking of having Minato teach the people for leadership positions. I'm thinking of letting them conduct the squad training sessions while he monitors them and gives them pointers and such. Sound good to you?" he asked.
Sajin nodded in acceptance. "That will be fine, Tim. Just remember what I said; it's your responsibility." He reminded.
Timothy nodded, then returned to his work.
Las Noches, Hueco Mundo, 20 Minutes Later
Nel spent close to an hour trying to find her fracción, but was unsuccessful. Knowing that, wherever they were, they would be fine, she gave up her search and decided to walk to one of the walkways outside the palace.
While the skies outside of Las Noches were completely dark with a night sky, only the eerie moon high above as the only source of light; the skies within the dome of Las Noches bore a sunny, cloudy sky. This was one of the many changes that Aizen had made when he came to Las Noches; trying to mimic the skies of the soul society.
While most of the other Espada and Arrancar hated the change, greatly preferring the darkness of Hueco Mundo, Nel found the artificial sky to be calm and relaxing. When she was not reading a book or taking a walk through the hallways within the palace, she would come to one of the walkways between buildings and stare up at the sky.
Somehow, in addition to the artificial sky, Aizen had made the air cleaner and more crisp than outside the dome; also similar to the soul society.
She knew that the air was somewhat fake; just the same air from outside that had been treated with kidō, or something along those lines, she wasn't sure. She sometimes wished that she could go to the soul society or the world of the living, so she could experience the real thing. The real sun shining on her face, the wind blowing against her skin.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she pushed herself up from leaning against the sidewall of the walkway.
"Well, I guess it's time to go see what Lord Aizen wants." She whispered to herself as she turned to the main building that housed Aizen's throne room, where the grand balcony was located.
With the dull buzz of a sonído, she disappeared, only to reappear in front of the door that led into the throne room. She took a quick breath, then pushed the door open and walked in. As she closed the door, she was a little surprised to not see, nor sense Aizen in, or near the room.
"Lord Aizen?" she called out.
"I am here on the balcony, Miss Odelschwanck. Please, join me." She heard from in front of her.
She took another breath and began walking towards the raised platform where Aizen's throne was. As she climbed the steps up to the top of the platform, the balcony beyond the large chair came into view, where she could now see the back of Aizen; who was standing comfortably with his hands in his pockets.
As she came to the last step and walked passed the chair, she came to a stop at the entryway to the large balcony that overlooked a large portion of Las Noches. Aizen made no move or sound when she stood there looking at him for a moment.
"You wished to see me, Lord Aizen?" she finally asked.
"Yes, I did Miss Odelschwanck." He answered, not turning or moving. "Do you know why I have called you here?" he asked her.
Nel lightly shook her head. "No, I don't, Lord Aizen. Might I ask why you have?" she carefully pressed.
Aizen lowered his head a notch, closing his eyes with a smirk and a chuckled. "Of course you may, Miss Odelschwanck. I have called you here because you have served me well. You have performed quite exquisitely, never failing me. As such, I would like to reward you for your actions." He stated in a low and calm voice.
He then turned around to her with his unique smile and closed eyes. He held out his hand wide to his left side, palm out and gesturing to a large table with a white sheet covering the entire surface.
"Please, see for yourself." He said calmly.
She looked at the table, then turned her eyes back to him with an emotionless look. 'He's up to something…something's not right.' She thought.
Aizen slightly opened his eyes and stared at her. "Is something wrong, my dear Nelliel?" he asked in concern.
She watched him for a moment, then lightly shook her head. "No, Lord Aizen. Please forgive me; it was just unexpected." She admitted, but kept cautious.
"It is quite alright, Miss Odelschwanck. I understand your cautious nature; and it is completely understandable, considering the suddenness of the matter." He offered.
She lightly bowed her head before walking slowly towards the table. She stopped in front of it and raised her hand towards the edge of the sheet to pull it away, but briefly stopped when an odd smell came to her heightened senses.
'What is this?' she asked inwardly. After a brief pause, she grabbed the edge of the sheet and began pulling it away from the table. As the sheet fell away, she completely froze, her eyes close to popping themselves out of her skull as her eyes widened beyond comparison.
"What is this?!" she seethed through her teeth as she stared at what was in front of her.
Aizen smiled more and dropped his head a bit. "Your reward." He responded.
There, lying on the table, where the dead and mutilated bodies of her two fracción: Dondochakka, and Pesche. Pesche's torso bore two very large, and very deep gashes across his chest and hollow hole; his left arm severed and draped across his midsection. Dondochakka had a very large, circular hole burned through his chest, a clear sign that he was killed by a cero.
Both of their necks had been slit open, and both of their masks broken and ripped off their faces. With the amount of blood that had seeped from the wounds of removing their masks, it was quite evident that they were painfully removed while they were both still alive.
A strong spiritual pressure began to emit from Nel, and grew in strength as her body began to glow with a pinkish tint.
"What have you done?!" she growled as her spiritual pressure continued to increase.
"What do you mean, my dear Nelliel? I have presented you with your reward, for your actions." Aizen replied calmly, keeping his dark smile.
The wind around them suddenly picked up with immense strength as Nel's spiritual pressure exploded to its fullest extent. Her teal hair floated freely around her mask as she slowly turned around to face him, head lowered, and eyes closed.
Tears began to form around her eyes as she slowly lifted her head just enough to glare at him with eyes filled with hatred. She placed her offhand on the scabbard of her zanpakutō as she brought her other hand to rest on its hilt.
"I will give you a few seconds to explain this Aizen…" she started, then drew her zanpakutō, holding it to her side. "…before I kill you for this monstrous act!" she finished in a calm voice filled with anger.
Aizen chuckled at her threat. "Do you believe that it was I that extinguished their pitiful lives? Surely you should have noticed that those wounds were not from my zanpakutō." He stated.
She narrowed her gaze further. "What do you mean?!" she asked.
She slightly flinched when she heard a familiar chuckle come from just outside the entryway to the balcony. She turned her head and her eyes widened a bit when Nnoitra came out to the balcony with his scythe-like zanpakutō resting on his shoulder.
She clenched her teeth to the point of shattering as Nnoitra chuckled more. "Nnoitra!" she hissed.
"Hey Nel. Like your present? It's a special one that Lord Aizen had me make; just for you." The Sexta Espada taunted with a wide grin.
Nel's arms were shaking with rage as she glared at him with a look of death. "You will die!" she yelled.
She instantly disappeared with a buzz of sonído, reappearing right beside Aizen. The man gasped in pain as he looked down to see Nel's zanpakutō run right through his side, extending out the other with the blade going straight through his heart.
As she appeared, she also had her left arm raised and palm open right in front of Nnoitra's chest. The Espada widened his eyes as a bright pink ball of energy formed in Nel's palm. She turned her rage filled eyes to him as she gritted her teeth.
"Cero." She called.
The pink ball of energy quickly reformed, and with a dull thrum, projected itself out from her hand in a large circular beam of energy; going right through the Sexta Espada's chest. Nnoitra choked a breath of pain as the cero went through him and into the wall at the far side of the throne room.
Nnoitra looked down at the medium sized hole in his chest, trying to take in a breath and failing, then back to her with a shocked looked on his face.
"N…Nel…How could…could you?" he asked.
Nel's eyes widened even more at the man's sudden death question. 'What does…'
"Shatter…" a familiar voice suddenly spoke from in front of her. She gasped loudly as she quickly turned to the voice. "…Kyōka Suigetsu." The voice finished.
Nel lost her breath as the entire world around her shattered like glass; revealing, what once was an empty space, now Aizen standing firmly, unharmed with his zanpakutō in his hand and held to his side.
"No…that's not…!" she started.
She slowly turned his gaze to where Aizen was 'supposed' to be, but her heart suddenly stopped beating when she saw someone else instead.
"M…Master…Nel…" the being spoke.
Nel was frozen in shock and horror to see that instead of running her blade through Aizen, she had run it through Pesche, her fracción. She widened her eyes more and quickly turned her head around to where Nnoitra was supposed to be, but instead saw her other fracción, Dondochakka, with a hole through his chest from her cero.
"P…Pesche?…D…Donda…chakka?" she choked out.
She quickly turned back to where the table that their bodies were supposed to be laying on, but saw that the table was no longer there.
"No…" she whispered, then turned back to Pesche. "No!" she spoke louder, salty water now flowing freely from her eyes. She turned back around to Dondochakka just as his, now lifeless, body fell down to land on the floor. "NO!" she yelled out as she quickly, and carefully withdrew her blade from Pesche's body.
His body began to drop as well, until Nel quickly caught him as she dropped to her knees. "Massster…Nel…" he spoke softly. She flinched at hearing his dying voice and closed her eyes, clenching her teeth further. "R…run!" he tried to shout, but his voice gave out as his world went dark.
Nel quickly reacted at his words by grabbing her zanpakutō and holding it to block the incoming strike. She then saw the 'real' Nnoitra swinging down onto her. She held her blade firm, ready to block, then counter attack him.
Nnoitra's blade struck hers with full force, and she was just about to force his blade back up and into the air for her attack; but suddenly, her blade snapped right in the middle. The world froze around her as she watched his blade go clean through hers.
'That's…not possible!' she thought as Nnoitra's blade continued its course, right across her chest, from her left collarbone, to her right flank.
The force of the attack pushed her back and forced her against the stone rails of the balcony. She let out a grunt of pain as her body collided with the stone structure, with her now sitting down and leaning forward; clutching her front with her off hand and a broken Gamuza still in her sword hand.
"…what…how is…how is that…possible? It's not…possible…to break an…Arrancar's zanpakutō!" she hissed in pain.
She then heard yet another familiar chuckle from behind Nnoitra, causing her to glance behind him to see an all too familiar, pink haired scientist walk around the corner with his hands clasped behind his back.
"That's because Lord Aizen had me develop an interesting little device." Szayelaporro answered as he stopped and brought one of his hands out front behind his back.
Nel looked as close as she could, her vision starting to blur, to see a small, four-inch wide, six- inch long black cylinder in his hand.
"This nifty little device temporarily seals away any powers contained within a zanpakutō; rendering it to be nothing more than a simple, fragile blade while it is active. Very impressive, wouldn't you agree, Lord Aizen?" he asked the still smiling man as he returned his zanpakutō to its sheath.
"Yes, I am very impressed, Szayelaporro. Thank you for your hard work in developing this device. I have nothing further for you; you may leave." Aizen answered.
The pink haired man gave a deep, and crossed arm bow to his leader. "Thank you, Lord Aizen. I shall take me leave now." He said, and then turned to walk away.
"Szayel…aporro…why…?" Nel asked through her short breaths.
The man stopped and turned his head to her. "Why because you make such an excellent test subject for my new toy, Miss Odelschwanck. I bear no hard feelings, and I thank you for proving my little device works. Now I must bid you goodbye, Miss Odelschwanck." He answered, then left the balcony.
Nnoitra chuckled as he stood above her with his weapon resting on his shoulder. "So, I've finally beat you, Nel. After all this time, I have finally finished you. Now 'I' will be the Quinto Espada!" he finished.
Aizen glanced at him. "That will be enough, Nnoitra; you may finish her off now." He stated in his usual tone.
Nnoitra smiled more and raised his weapon high above his head. "Any last words, Nel?" he asked in a mocking tone.
She tightened her muscles and growled. "Yeah…just one…Nnoitra." She answered.
He rose a brow. "And what is that?" he asked further.
Nel dangerously narrowed her gaze at him. "Cero."
His eyes widened as he quickly looked down to her offhand, seeing her palm flat against the balcony floor. A bit of her remaining spirit energy gathered in her hand as a pink beam of energy exploded on the floor.
Both men jumped back as dust was kicked up, obscuring their views of the woman. 'Damn! That sneaky little bitch!' Nnoitra seethed inwardly as them both waited for the air to clear.
A few moments later, the air began to clear enough to where they could now see where she was…or where she used to be. Aizen's eyes narrowed just a bit as both men looked to see a very large chunk of the balcony missing, Nel's body nowhere in sight.
Aizen turned to Nnoitra. "Find her, Nnoitra. Kill her and bring her zanpakutō back with you. I'm sure Szayelaporro would be most pleased to be able to conduct research into the effects of his new invention. As for your rank, I hereby appoint you as the new Quinto Espada." He stated and walked back inside the throne room.
Nnoitra grinned with satisfaction as he turned back out towards the open view of Las Noches. "I'm coming for you Nel. Let the hunt begin." He said in a joyous tone, then disappeared with a buzz of sonído.
After her body landed with a solid crash of the ground level of Las Noches, the impact creating a small crater, she slowly, and weakly rose herself up; laying on the forearm of her offhand. She pulled her fighting arm, still holding Gamuza, around from under her and stared at the broken blade.
"Gamuza…speak to me…" she pleaded inwardly. "Gamuza?" she tried again, but received no response. "Gamuza…" she whispered.
A sudden buzz of sonído came from behind her, so she slowly, and painfully stood up to turn and face the threat. She glanced up with her blurred vision to see Nnoitra standing in front of her threateningly with his weapon on his shoulder.
"Heh, nice try Nel; but it won't save you. It only bought you a few extra minutes of living. But I won't fall for that again; you've got nowhere else to go." he stated as he readied his weapon for the killing blow.
She clenched her muscles as she got ready to defend herself with her broken blade.
Nnoitra rose a brow at her. "Are you seriously planning to take me on with that broken piece of crap?"
Nel flinched at his words, knowing that there was no way she could fight him in her condition, especially now that Gamuza was broken.
'What can I do? I have to do something…but what?' she pondered.
"Tsk, what a waist. You've lived long enough, Nel. Time to end this." He stated, as he began walking towards her.
She stood there watching as he came closer to her, trying to figure out a plan.
'I have no choice…' she concluded.
She quickly dropped her offhand with her palm facing the ground. Nnoitra, knowing what she was going to do, quickly jumped back as to not get caught up in the blast.
"Cero." She called, the beam leaving her hand and colliding with the ground.
A tremendous amount of dust and sand got kicked up by the impact, once again obscuring the tall Espada's view.
"Heh, if you wanna kill yourself, go right ahead, Nel. That's all you're doing at this point." Nnoitra mocked.
After a minute of waiting, the sand finally settled, and the dust began to clear. Narrowing his gaze to try and see through the obscuration better, his eye widened as he managed to catch a last glimpse of a garganta closing; Nel's face looking back at him just as the eerie portal snapped shut.
Nnoitra clenched his teeth and growled in anger. "Damn you Nel!" he seethed.
He immediately raised his hand and flicked his wrist to open his own garganta to follow her. He was just about to step in when a voice stopped him.
"Let her go, Nnoitra."
The Espada turned to the voice to see Aizen standing there looking calm with his hands now in his pockets.
"Let her go?! I almost have her!" Nnoitra pleaded.
"It is no longer necessary to pursue her; as she is doing exactly as I had planned. You have done well, Nnoitra. You may return to your quarters now; and you may have the rest of the day to yourself to do as you wish." Aizen stated, much to Nnoitra's anger.
Nnoitra growled even more and gripped his weapon tighter. Aizen narrowed his gaze at the Espada and forced some of his spiritual pressure on him, slightly chocking him.
"Do I need to repeat myself, Nnoitra?" he asked.
Nnoitra scoffed heavily, but shook his head. "No…Lord Aizen." He answered as he closed his garganta.
Aizen dropped the pressure off the Espada, then flashed away. Nnoitra glared at where the man used to be, then to where Nel's garganta had closed.
"I 'will' kill you, Nel!" he seethed through his teeth, then disappeared through sonído.
Inside the Garganta, 5 Minutes Later
Nel stumbled forward at a slow pace, barely even a walk, while using what little spirit energy she had left to make her walkway.
She had her offhand clutched to her chest, trying to keep her wound from tearing open after using her own saliva on herself to try and stop, or at least slow down her heavy bleeding. A bit of her saliva mixed with blood ran down the side of her mouth and her throat was now as dry as the dunes of Hueco Mundo from using so much of it.
She held the remains of her zanpakutō, Gamuza in her fighting hand, hanging down at her side. Her vision was getting worse as she started to become light headed from the loss of blood; the entire front side of her white uniform stained red from it.
The barely stable path that she was laying out before her was steadily becoming weaker and weaker as her energy was coming close to nonexistent. As she took another shaky step, the side of the path broke loose and she fell forward, her leg hanging off the side over the vastness of oblivion.
'Damn…I just need…to keep going a little…little farther…almost…there…' she thought as she pulled her leg back on top of the path.
She lifted her head to look ahead of her and clenched her pain in pain. She then looked down at herself to see that her stumbling had reopened a small part of the wound and began bleeding again.
'I need to hold out…at least until…I'm out of here…'
She grunted in pain as she tried to push herself up to a kneeling position, before trying further for a standing one. She managed to slowly stumble back to her feet, but winced as the wound tore open even further.
'Just…a little…longer.' She pleaded to herself as she resumed her slow walk into the abyss, still clutching tightly onto her broken zanpakutō.
Squad 7 Barracks, Seireitei, Present
Timothy walked into the barracks through the rear doors and straight towards the common area. Seeing as how his friends were all part of the emergency team, they were restricted to being either in the barracks, or out in the training grounds.
Not feeling any of their presences in the field after leaving the headquarters, he figured that they would most likely be in the common area entertaining themselves.
As he entered the room, he turned to the right to see Hinata and Kenta sitting together at one of the tables; each one reading a book. Timothy started walking towards them until he was a good ten feet away.
Seeing that neither of them had noticed him yet, he thought it would be the perfect time to pay back Hinata for trying to basically rip his ear off. He slowed his pace down to a very slow, very quiet tip-toe as he inched closer and closer behind her.
Kenta glanced up at him, just now noticing him. Timothy held a finger to his lips, telling his friend to keep quiet. He could see Kenta's eyes slightly widen, knowing what Timothy was about to do.
Timothy was now less than two feet away from Hinata, so he raised both of his hands and flexed his fingers.
'3…2…1…' he counted down in his head, then quickly grasped Hinata's shoulders and shook her forward and backward.
"Hey Hinata!" he yelled close to her ear.
She jumped and screeched in fright as her body was slung back and forth. Timothy let go of her shoulders and quickly backed away from her. She turned around to him, a hand clutched to her chest and eyes glaring at him like daggers.
"I'll kill you!" she yelled and immediately jumped up and started hitting Timothy with the book in her hands. "I hate you! I hate you! I HATE YOU!" she yelled further.
Despite being hammered to death with her chosen weapon, both Timothy and Kenta were laughing at her as she continued her assault.
"It's NOT funny! You bastard!" she growled as she slammed the book down on his head.
Timothy dropped like a rock, out cold on the floor while Hinata stood over him, fist balled and still holding the book at her side; seething with anger. Kenta quickly stopped laughing and stood up from his seat to peer over the table at the near lifeless body.
"Uh…I think…you might have killed him." He observed.
Hinata quickly turned back to him. "You wanna be next?! I strongly suggest you shut up, Kenta!" she growled.
He quickly swallowed the lump in his throat and sat back down as her glare returned to Timothy. Luckily…or maybe perhaps 'unluckily'…Timothy woke back up with his vision spinning. Seeing that he was coming to, Hinata raised the book above his head and glared at him.
"Good night, Tim!" she whispered evilly, then slammed the book down on his head once again; once again putting him out of the world.
2 minutes later
"T…"
The world, still dark, began to slowly come to light.
"Ti…ay"
He heard a faint voice, so he opened his eyes slightly to see a spinning world.
"Tim…u…kay?"
He blinked his eyes a few times, his vision returning each time to where he could now see someone standing in front of him.
"Tim, are you okay?" the voice rang in his head.
"Huuuhhh?" he groaned out.
"You okay?" the voice asked again, but much clearer.
Timothy shook his head slowly and turned a bit to see another person standing above him, arms crossed.
"Whaaa?" he tried, then shook his head again.
"Hey, snap out of it." The person kneeling down said as he lightly tapped Timothy's cheek.
"Ugh…what the hell…happened?" he asked as his vision returned.
He looked to see Kenta kneeling down next to him while Hinata stood over him with crossed arms, tapping her foot and fury in her eyes.
"A taste of what's to come, if you 'ever' do that again!" she growled as she lowered her face close to his.
Kenta turned to her. "Was that…really necessary Hinata?" he asked in fear.
She turned her eyes to him, causing him to shudder in fear. "You want some too?!" she asked.
He quickly shook his head as Timothy sat up and rubbed the two lumps on his head. He hissed in pain as his hand came into contact with his new protrusions.
"Damn woman, you trying to kill me?" Timothy asked, causing her to look back at him.
"I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you." She warned.
He held a hand up to her. "Fine, geez. I was just trying to mess with ya. And just so you know…" he paused, getting her to raise a brow. "…you just assaulted a Lieutenant. I don't think the Captain would be very happy about that."
Kenta raised a brow as well while Hinata closed her eyes and sighed. "Lying ain't gonna save you, Tim."
Timothy snickered at her, causing Kenta's eyes to widen. "Tim…you are joking with us…right?" he timidly asked.
Hinata opened a single eye and stared at him. "Really Kenta? Do you have to ask a stupid question like that? Of course he's joking with you." She then turned to Timothy with both eyes open.
Timothy snickered again and shook his head. "Nope, not joking." He stated.
Hinata's glare got worse. "Tim, I'm warning you; you are NOT on my good side right now. Now quit screwing around." She warned.
"I ain't messing with you on this, Hinata. I'm really your Lieutenant." Timothy stated again, now giving her a serious look.
She looked closely into his eyes, trying to figure out what game he was playing. But as she stared longer at him, her eyes slowly started to widen.
"You have got to be freaking kidding me…" she mumbled.
Timothy shook his head again and slowly stood back up with Kenta. "Nope, not kidding." He stated firmly with his hands on his hips.
Hinata's and Kenta's eyes were now wide as saucers. "N…no way…When?! How?!" she demanded.
Timothy chuckled at her. "As of yesterday…or I guess today, seeing as how I was in the hospital just yesterday. And that also reminds me…" he paused, causing Hinata to fret a bit as to what else he could possibly have up his sleeve. Timothy touched a finger to his chin. "…you also assaulted a patient still on recovery. I wonder how Captain Unohana would react to that; pretty sure not to too fondly." He threatened.
Hinata and Kenta both backed up a step, then flinched when Timothy started laughing. Hinata started to sweat and took another step back.
Timothy stopped his laugh and waved her off. "Don't fret it, Hinata. I guess I did kinda deserve that, knowing how you would most likely react. But seriously, you didn't have to try and kill me." He said with a grin.
She growled and balled her fists. "Well you didn't have to try and kill 'me' by scaring me like that! I almost had a heart attack!" she yelled as she stomped her foot.
Timothy held up both hands in surrender. "Alright, don't bite my head off." he pleaded, then dropped his hands. "Anyway, how you two been; and where's Issei?"
Hinata sighed and shook her head. "We're fine, Tim…" she then froze. "Uh…should we…call you uh…Lieutenant?" she fretted.
Timothy waved her off. "Nothing changes, guys. As long as it's within the squad area and no higher ups are around, just Tim is fine." He placated.
The two friends nodded and let out their respective breaths. "Anyway, we've been fine; and Issei is up in his room catching a nap. All this sitting around, waiting, has been torture for the team."
Timothy nodded. "I bet. You guys do any training together?"
"Yeah, we train for a couple hours here and there. But Lieutenant Iba said we shouldn't push ourselves too hard since we would need to be fit to fight at a moment's notice." Kenta added.
Timothy nodded once more and sighed. "Yeah, well the Captain said that the team is going to be disbanded next week, if we don't hear anything further on that hollow. For now, we just need to keep ourselves ready to move."
"Alright. But I would like to ask…" Hinata started, getting Timothy's attention. "If you just made Lieutenant, does that mean you're leaving the squad once the team is disbanded?"
Timothy shook his head slightly. "No, Tetsuzaemon has been moved over to Squad 5 as a temporary Lieutenant; at least until Hinamori recovers. Then he'll come back here, and we'll be working together."
Kenta tilted his head. "Two Lieutenants in the same squad?"
The Lieutenant nodded to him. "Yeah. I don't have any clue as to what the future plans are. But anyway…" he paused and turned to Hinata. "…I did want to talk with you for a moment, if you don't mind, Hinata."
She nodded to him. "Sure, what about?"
Timothy gestured behind him with his thumb. "Not here, it's best to talk in private. My room, your room?"
"Your room is fine, Tim." she clarified, then turned to Kenta. "Be right back." She said, then he nodded.
"I ain't going anywhere." He answered.
She nodded back, then her and Timothy walked through the room to head for his quarters.
After a few minutes, the two friends walked into the room, closing the door behind them, and Timothy gestured for her to sit at his table. She removed her zanpakutō and set it next to her as she knelt down on the pillow seat, Timothy following suit.
"Soooo, what's up, Tim?" she asked.
Timothy took a deep breath and rested his hands in his lap. "You know that the squad is really hurting on officers, right?" he asked, getting a nod. "Well, I proposed an idea to the Captain a little while ago, and he approved it." He paused, and she nodded for him to continue. "The idea, is to do something like a trial period; temporarily assign certain members a leadership role. They wouldn't be promoted per se, but would still have the same responsibility as they would if they actually held the position. Follow me so far?"
She took a breath and nodded. "Yeah, so far."
He nodded back. "Ok, the point being is to get these individuals trained up and get them the experience needed as a leader, and train up their combat skills and power later." He stopped a moment.
"Ok, sooo, you're saying that you're looking for members who have potential to be a leader, and train them to be one?" she asked.
He nodded in acknowledgment. "Yes, exactly."
She gave him a sigh. "And I'm going to guess that the reason you're telling me this is because I'm one of the people you thought of." She observed.
Timothy sighed and nodded. "Yeah. You may have a temper…" he started, getting a glare from her. "But! You do have the potential. You look out for the rest of us in the group, and they all listen to you, to your advice." He pointed out.
She sighed again and nodded. "Thanks, but I'm not so sure about this. I haven't exactly been here that long."
"How long 'have' you been here?" Timothy interrupted.
"Seven years, or at least close to it." She answered.
Timothy scoffed at her and held is palm out to her. "Ok, and I've only been here two weeks, yet I'm a god damned Lieutenant! I've noticed that when it comes to showing your worth, time don't really matter worth a damn. Afterall, it was the Head Captain who 'personally' promoted me; and he was well aware of how long I have been here. So, I really doubt that you being here seven years is gonna matter. Right?"
She thought it over a second, but finally shook her head. "No, I guess not; when you put it like that. But…do you really think that I can do it? Be a seated officer?" she asked in concern.
Timothy nodded firmly. "Yeah, I do. And that's another thing. I'm going to be assigning you as the second in command of the team. If something were to happen to where I couldn't be with the team, they're under you command. As far as training, I'll be having Minato guide and instruct you while 'you' conduct the daily squad trainings. Sound good?" he concluded.
Hinata dropped her head back and thought it over for a moment. She hummed to herself, then returned her gaze to Timothy.
"I…I guess I could do it. But I have to ask, why don't you ask one of the other seated officers? You do know that there are at least a dozen lower officers, right?" she inquired.
He nodded back to her and crossed his arms. "True, but my statement still stands; I think you have the potential for it. And I'll be looking at the lower officers as well."
"Who else did you have in mind to ask?" she wondered aloud.
"I thought about giving Junya a shot; after all, he did look out for us that night we were all drinking, making sure none of us left or did anything stupid." He answered.
Hinata's eyes suddenly widen as something came to her. "Oh, now that I think about it, we need to have a drinking party to celebrate your promotion!" she announced with glee.
Timothy rose a brow to her. "Isn't that considered fraternization?"
Hinata then sweat dropped. "Uh…yeah…it is. Sorry, I forgot." She said in a depressed tone.
Timothy snickered at her. "As long as no one gets in trouble, I'm fine with it. But I'll definitely have to let the Captain know, and we can't do it until after the team is cut loose."
She nodded at him. "Yeah, that's true." She said, then narrowed her gaze. "Plus, we still need to determine who the stronger drinker is."
He rose a skeptical brow. "Seriously? Do you really think you stand a chance against me?"
She raised a brow as well. "Wanna put a bet on it?" she offered.
Timothy gave her a toothy grin. "Why not. I'll introduce one of 'my' drinking games to ya. First to drop loses."
She grinned as well. "The stakes?" she inquired.
"Simple: you win, I'll buy you a bottle of sake worth a half month's salary; but if 'I' win, you can't hit me for calling you a witch."
Her eyes widened. "That's not fair! I hate it when you call me that!"
Timothy snickered at her. "What's the matter? Chicken?"
She then rose a brow in confusion. "Huh?"
Timothy slumped his shoulders in defeat. "It's a phrase…in otherwards, are you a coward?"
She glared at him evilly. "I. Am. Not. A. Coward!" she growled.
"Then take the bet." He pressed, holding out his hand,
She growled even more, but finally took his hand, shaking it. "Deal!"
Timothy then started chuckling darkly, causing her to narrow her gaze again. "What?" she asked.
He then sighed and glared at her. "Woman, you're about to learn from one of the biggest mistakes a person can make." He started.
She tilted her head a fraction. "And what's that?"
His toothy grin returned full bore. "You should 'never' challenge a man from Texas to a drinking contest."
World of the Living, Karakura Town, That Evening
Deep in the woods on the northern side of Karakura Town, just off an old, dusty trail that barely sees any use in recent years, were a set of stairs that led up to an old abandoned shrine. The pagoda topped building had definitely seen better days; the roof was starting to cave in, the entry arches were rotting, and there were a few spots of graffiti on the shrine walls.
As the years had passed by, fewer and fewer people would visit the shrine; meaning less and less offerings to help keep the building in shape. As bigger and better shrines started to appear around the city, the shrine steadily became a lost cause. And now, it sits as a lonely reminder of years gone by, nothing more than a sightseeing object.
But the shrine would get a visitor this night, and not one that anyone would expect.
The wind blew steadily, gently brushing leaves across the paved ground and causing the tops of the trees to sway only a bit. It was a gentle and quiet evening, until the disturbing sound of the air ripping away came about as a rift in the air tore open, revealing the dark abyss inside.
As the rip got wider, it revealed a single being, a woman, standing there just inside the void. Once the rip had reached its widest point, the woman took two steps out of it, only to fall to her knees and collapse on the ground.
With the woman no longer inside, the garganta slammed itself shut, the quiet of the night returning, except for the labored breathing of the woman on the ground. She remained unmoving for a moment, holding her chest tightly as more blood seeped out of a large, open wound; only made worse by her collapse onto the hard surface.
She took a few minutes to try and catch her breath, then slowly pulled herself to her knees. She took a quick glance around at her surroundings, then noticed the small shrine with one of its doors hanging on by a single hinge, the other one missing entirely.
'That should…work as a shelter…so I can…treat my wounds." She thought.
She pushed herself back up to her feet, then stumbled over to the doorway, peeking inside. She saw the offering totem in the back center on the structure, and multiple pieces of the ceiling's interior scattered on the floor.
"Yeah…this will work." She whispered.
She let go of the doorway and trudged over to the back wall, turning around and slowly letting herself scoot down the side to a sitting position on the floor. She looked down at the wound on her chest, seeing that the bleeding has slowed, but not stopped.
'I need stop the bleeding before anything.' She concluded.
Taking Gamuza, who was still in her fighting hand, she bent forward and made two small cuts in the fabric of her pants just above the knees on both sides. She set the blade down next to her and pulled on the fabric.
The fabric ripped apart and she pulled both of the torn pant sleeves off her legs, setting them aside. She then grabbed her blade again and made another small tear in her shirt, just above her abdomen.
Returning Gamuza to its sheath, she then ripped the bloody fabric away, exposing her flat stomach and a large portion of the wound. She unbuttoned the remaining part of her top and opened it up, exposing her bare chest and the rest of the deep and deadly wound.
Tying the two sleeve together, she placed it longways against the entire length of the cut. She then slipped it behind her back, over the top of her left shoulder and between her breasts. She finally pulled the other side around her right side under her arm and tied the two ends together, pulling hard to put pressure on the wound and hold the improvised dressing in place.
Taking the bloody lower half of her top, she pulled it around her waist and did the same thing, pulling it tight and tying it off. Once she had finished, she looked down to see that, although the bleeding hadn't stopped, it was greatly reduced.
She breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled her top back together and buttoned it back. Now that her bleeding problem was solved for the moment, she leaned her head back against the wall with a heavy sigh.
Now that she was relaxed a bit, she could already feel her spirit energy starting to recover, albeit at a very slow rate. She then realized that it would be days before she would be able to move freely, and much longer before she would be in fighting shape.
But then again, maybe not.
Her zanpakutō was broken, not knowing if it could even be fixed. She had heard of a couple of instances where the Arrancar's zanpakutō had broken, but that was after they had been foolishly killed while they were in a sealed state.
She had never heard of a zanpakutō breaking while the wielder was still alive. It was thought to be impossible for a zanpakutō to break like that. What worried her even more, was that Gamuza wouldn't answer her.
The whole time she was in the void of the garganta, she had tried over and over to call to the spirit of her hollow powers, but it never answered; not once. It felt like something was missing inside her again, a part of her that was removed from her forcefully.
"Oh Gamuza…what has happened to you?" she whispered.
She then took a deep breath and slowly let herself glide over to where she was now lying on her side. She slipped her arm under her head as a pillow and balled herself up as she tried to get some rest.
But her thoughts drifted over to rest on the faces of her two fracción, her family. Tears started to well up and fall as she let out a sniffle. She clenched her teeth and shut her eyes forcefully as she remembered what she had done.
She had killed her two best friends; they were dead because of her. It was 'her' sword, and 'her' cero that had taken their lives away from them. It may have been one of Aizen's illusions, but it was 'her' actions that had resulted in their deaths.
"Pesche…Dondochakka…I'm so sorry…" she cried.
She balled herself up even further, wincing in pain as the wound was shifted, and pulled her knees in close with her free arm. Her body trembled as she completely broke down in tears and choking breaths.
"I'm sorry." She cried again.
Her breakdown continued late into the night, until she had sometime later, finally cried herself to sleep.
Alright, this chapter was a little bit shorter than the others, but now we know how Nel stops working for Aizen. I'll be honest and tell you that I had pondered on how to make this work for a while, and that I felt a little distressed when the idea of having Nel unintentionally killing Pesche and Dondochakka, but it somehow worked out in the end.
I'm sure some of you are probably thinking that Timothy has got to be insane to not fear Unohana's 'loving' smile, lol. Well, I personally thought it would be cool to see someone besides Zaraki and Mayuri with the guts to stand up to her…in a certain way.
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and looking forward to seeing you fellas next week. Laters.
