Sins of the Unholy

Chapter 2: New Threat

Head Captain Shunsui Kyoraku sits at the head of the Captains hall. Looking down the line, he sighs as he comes to the Substitute Soul Reaper and friends. Each of them has aged well, 30 years have passed since the last war. Each old and new Captain stands at attention with a mix of worried and saddened expressions.

"Welcome Ichigo, it's been too long. We understand you come with a worry. So please lay it out for us." Captain Kyoraku sits up a bit in his chair and gestures for the Reaper to come closer. He watches as Ichigo, Uryu, and Orihime come closer. Ichigo simply grins as he places his hands on his hips.

"I wish it was under better circumstances, it's been so quiet and yet… Something tore it's way into Karakura town last night and well into this morning. Only a single enemy and it took all three of us to take it out. Or at least wound it a bit." Orihime seems to shake as the carrot top speaks and she steps closer to him.

The captains in the room all seem to chatter amongst themselves. The chatter continues on for a moment till Captain Kyoraku raises his hand to call a halt. Shinji Hirako, Captain of Squad 5, steps forward and turns to the Head Captain.

"Is this along the lines of Ryuzaki's predictions? Her hell butterfly came days ago, could this be the warning?" He asked as he turned to look at the other captains. Each one shuffles under the stairs.

"Warning? You mean you knew this was going to happen?" Speaks up Uryu as he looks at Captain Hirako.

"We didn't know it would happen to Karakura precisely." Head Captain Kyoraku stands and makes his way to the middle of the hall to join Ichigo.

"Ryuzaki stated that the prediction seemed off, Karakura was displayed as an echo. She believed it to be a fake. We sent scouts the day of the warning and they stayed for two days before deeming the threat as false. We pulled out and you were hit three days later." Kyoraku placed a hand on Ichigo's shoulder and sighed heavily.

"Captain of Squad 10, step forward. Ichigo, you and your team will go with Captain Hitsugaya to consult with Ryuzaki. Captain Hitsugaya, if the threats are real, you will need to confirm them now. One of such powers means there will be more." Kyoraku watched as Hitsugaya stepped forward. These last 30 years had done the captain well, he now stands at his full height.

"Sir, I understand the urgency. But Yume no Kiseichu could easily devour them." Captain Hitsugaya crosses his hands over his chest. His white haiori now has the white sleeves with black hakama underneath. Ichigo moves over to the tall captain and looks him over.

"Toshiro! What the hell could devour us?!" Ichigo quickly grabbed the Captain by his shoulders.

"Easy Ichigo, please understand. We will work with you to secure Karakura, but first you need to understand. Who we are sending you to see, her Zanpaktou is a parasite, you all will need to keep an eye on your spiritual pressure till you can get the limiters placed on you. But out of all Zanpaktou's hers is the strongest in being an oracle." Kyoraku pulls all attention back to himself.

"Captains of Squad 5 and Squad 13, prepare a team of three each and head out to Karakura. You'll take over the watch for Ichigo while he journeys to Ryuzaki." Captain Hirako and Captain Kuchiki step forward and give a small bow. Orihime smiles as she goes over to Rukia to give her a brief hug before stepping back to Ichigo's side.

"The rest of you are dismissed." Speaks up Kyoraku waving the rest of the Captains away. Toshiro steps forward to stand just to the Head captain's left.

"Hitsugaya, please take your Lieutenant as well. If anything comes to light, send us a butterfly. I know it will take a few days for you to make the trip."

"A few days?" Questions Uryu as he adjusts his glasses and looks at the Captains leaving.

"As much as I want to help, leaving for a few days would be ill advised." Orihime seems to nod along with Uryu and Ichigo sighs.

"Both of you head home, I'm sure I can figure out what's going on and bring word back." Ichigo pulls Orihime in for a hug and a quick kiss before both of them head out to follow Rukia.

"So are you gonna explain to me what's going on? Who exactly are we visiting?" Ichigo questions as Captain Hitsugaya and Rangiku lead him out of the Soul Society. They simply walk out of the gates to what looks like a horse stall. A man waves them over and gestures to the three horses next to him.

"Wait! Why can't we just flash step? I dont even know how to ride a horse." Comments Ichigo as he circles a black horse with white spots. The horse sniffs at the man and seems less than impressed with the person before him. Toshiro rolls his eyes as he pats the brown colored horse before him. It has dark spots around its eyes and nuzzles into Toshiro's chest.

"We cannot flash step to where we are going. The amount of reishi in the area is extremely low. Ryuzaki's zanpaktou feeds off it, the less of it the more controlled it can be." Speaks up Matsumoto as she gets on a large black horse. Ichigo watches the two Soul Reapers before working out how to get on the horse.

"Ya, about that. Who is this Ryuzaki? I've never heard of them before, since when did you all have an Oracle?" Spews Ichigo as he finally gets on and awkwardly walks the horse over to the others. Adjusting his Zanpaktou, Toshiro looks back at the substitute and sighs.

"You'll find out once we are there, we've always had an Oracle. Just with her abilities it's hard to have her within the Soul Society. Juno's simply the sweetest!" Gushes Matsumoto as she adjusts the pink shall she wears and flips her hair out grining as she sidles up to Ichigo.