Title: Turnabout
Author: darkling59
Fandom: Bleach
Rating: T
Date: 5/19/2019
Disclaimer: Bleach and all associated characters, settings, concepts, etc. within this story do not belong to me.
Warnings: Apparently I've been cagier with information than I realized. Rest assured, all questions will be laid to rest in due time.
Please read and review!
Rebellion - Day 2
Lilynette's mind was empty.
She didn't really understand what that meant until she fell asleep and found the stone labyrinth of her Inner World, usually lit by the blue witchlight from Starrk's presence, completely dark and vacant. Before now, she hadn't realized just how important Starrk was to her mental state; without him there, the caverns were completely lost in inky blackness and the steady pulse of energy that always kept pace with his heartbeat was silent. Since discovering her wolf and the existence of her Inner World, she'd spent every night there in his company and taken constant subconscious reassurance from his presence. For it to be dark and lifeless felt wrong, in a way that put her hackles up and reminded her of her time in Rukongai before Starrk when she'd been miserable and alone.
When she stepped forward into the darkness with faltering steps, hands outstretched to feel her way around, she eventually reached the wall and stumbled around the nearest turn, trying to find her way to the place where her wolf usually slept, where she'd first found him after his awakening.
For the first time ever, she got lost in her own mind.
She stumbled deeper into the labyrinth, determined to find Starrk's favorite resting spot and not to be scared away by her own mind. Unfortunately, without any light, her blind reaching did nothing but help her get very, very lost. She didn't know how long she wandered, becoming increasingly miserable and upset, until a faint aura of blue light drifted down from the darkness above, coalescing into an insubstantial half-blurry spirit wolf with Starrk's eyes.
Lilynette?
The words were in her mind, not spoken, but her tension instantly dissipated into relief
"Starrk! You're back!"
Not really. The wolf sat down in front of her, apparently unconcerned, and cocked its head. I'm hidden in the outer city. I felt your fear.
"I'm not afraid!" She snarled, offended.
…Okay. What are you doing, then?
"Couldn't sleep." She muttered, still annoyed. "But I couldn't find your sleeping spot."
He cocked his head, expression unfathomable, then nodded and turned to the left. It's this way.
"I can find it myself!" She snapped, unwilling to let go of her pride.
We might as well go together. I'd like to take a nap anyway. He replied, ending with a wide, toothy yawn.
"…Fine." She scoffed and rolled her eyes, but followed grudgingly. "Lazy bastard…"
She did not notice his eyes dart towards the ceiling nearby or the quickly erased concern in his expression.
X
This time, when Starrk chose a hiding place in Seireitei, it was inside a small fourth division storeroom rather than in a tree. It held mainly canned food stores and winter blankets (which were not yet in season) in racks against the walls, and he borrowed a few blankets to create a cozy if dusty bed on the flat top of one of the racks, as close to the only window as he could get. It wasn't as comfortable, easily defensible, or as easy to escape as his previous choices, but he hoped it would be less likely to attract attention.
Unfortunately, as soon as he was starting to relax with his eyes closed, wandering Lilynette's Inner World with her and surreptitiously leading her away from the fractures and holes in the ceilings of the caverns, voices sounded at the door to his storeroom.
Starrk's eyes sprang open and he pulled out of his cozy makeshift bed to crouch in the corner of the room, on top of the farthest rack.
Starrk? What's wrong? Lilynette asked inside of their shared mind.
"Storeroom three, clear!" A voice yelled in the near distance.
Nothing. Starrk replied, distracted.
Five minutes later: "Storeroom four, clear!"
Heavy thumps and bangs sounded from right next to Starrk, in the room on the other side of the thin wall he was crouching against. One pointed, furred ear twitched towards the noise.
"Storeroom five, clear!"
The door handle to his room squeaked as it began to turn. By the time it finished and the door opened, the only signs that the wolf zanpakuto had ever been there were the wind whistling through the open window and an abandoned nest of blankets hidden near the ceiling.
"Storeroom six, clear!"
Seriously, Starrk, what's wrong?! The weight of Lilynette's irritation at being put off pressed on Starrk's mind until he sighed.
It's nothing important. Just more shinigami.
Oh. She hesitated, giving the impression of shuffling her feet. So what're you gonna do?
Starrk sighed, this time audibly. That little storeroom was the least likely place he could think of that anyone would look for him and the lesser shinigami nearly found him there anyway. They weren't particularly strong or perceptive but there were so many of them. The more time Starrk spent around the shinigami, the less afraid of them he was, though the more annoying their constant intrusions became.
With that dwindling fear in mind, Starrk turned his clawed feet back towards the not-so-distance reiatsu signature of his other half.
Would you mind if I took cover in your room? Starrk finally replied to Lilynette
My-? I guess not. So you really are coming back? There was barely suppressed eagerness in her mental voice.
Yeah. For now. I'll probably have to leave before morning, but I'll come back for the night.
Finally! Lilynette exulted. They're going to let us out of here soon so I can meet you there!
A faint smile curled the edge of Starrk's mouth, the first the grace his face in days.
Sounds good. I'll meet you there.
Lilynette faded back into full sleep in her Inner World, satisfied by the thought of reconnecting with the second half of her soul.
Starrk reached her room in less than an hour, creeping back onto the grounds of the academy past two instructors and a group of frightened upperclassmen clutching empty swords with wide eyes. He leapt up to Lilynette's window with a reiatsu-enhanced leap and slipped inside unnoticed, stretching out on her dormitory bed with a satisfied sigh.
With the lights off, the door locked, and the guards none the wiser, Starrk hoped no one would think to search the rooms again before releasing the students from their protective custody in the morning.
In the meantime, maybe he'd finally be able to get some unbroken sleep.
X
"You're back!"
"Oof!" Starrk awoke to a heavy weight slamming into his chest as Lilynette jumped right on top of him, heedless of the fact that he needed to breathe. All of the air rushed out of him in a surprised gasp.
"Where've you been?!" Her small, rough hands caught his shoulders and shook him until Starrk reached up and took her thin wrists in his clawed hands, gently but firmly pulling her away.
"Lilynette?" Starrk looked up at her, meeting two pink eyes (it was still a shock to see more than one), and registering the worry and relief warring in their depths. His body language softened at the obvious care and he sighed, releasing her and pushing himself into a sitting position so she was forced to sit back on his legs or fall to the floor. "Where'd you come from?"
"They let us out early!" Lilynette swung off of his legs with the gangly athleticism of youth to stand at the side of the bed with her hands on her hips, bossy even in her elation. Despite the white and red kosode and hakama of the Spiritual Arts Academy uniform and the lack of mask and hollow hole, Starrk was suddenly, painfully reminded of the little hollow he'd kept safe in Hueco Mundo.
…Failed to keep safe.
Lilynette didn't notice the sudden spike of grief in her companion. "They said the zanpakuto have all been rounded up so classes can start again!"
Starrk let out a faint chuckle as he pushed himself sideways into a sitting position with his legs hanging off the side of the bed. He had to be careful not to scratch the wooden floor with the wickedly curved claws on his feet. "I thought you didn't like classes?"
"I don't!" Lilynette scowled, but it didn't last long. "But I hated being cooped up in that kido box even more." She flopped onto the bed next to Starrk, kicking her feet and looking at him out of the corners of her eyes. "And, if the zanpakuto have all been captured, that means you're back for good, right?"
Starrk sighed again and ran his hands through his hair, absent-mindedly scratching at the root of one pointed ear. "I'm afraid not. The captain and lieutenant zanpakuto are still out running around – it's only the lesser spirits that have been rounded up."
Lilynette's expression fell. "So…?"
"So I'll need to leave again soon so they don't come for me here."
"But…but…those are captains. And lieutenants." A small hand snaked out to catch Starrk's sleeve and he did not push her away. Instead, he turned his hand over and caught hers gently in it. Lilynette's voice was small as she continued. "They're super powerful, Starrk. If they find you, they'll kill you."
"I'll be fine." He tried to infuse as much encouragement into his tone as possible, but based on her dubious reaction, he didn't think he did very well. "Really, Lilynette."
"You're not gonna tell me you can handle them, are you?" Her skepticism raised Starrk's eyebrow before he remembered she honestly did not know the answer to the question. At his heavy silence, her eyes widened.
"Really?" She gasped. "You- I - we're that strong?!"
"Not…I don't…know." Starrk replied, struggling to come up with an explanation that would work and would not divulge too much about their previous lives. "We used to be. Now…I don't know."
"Used to be." Lilynette furrowed her brows again, this time looking down at her swinging feet so she didn't have to meet his eyes. "You keep saying stuff like that, Starrk. Stuff about the past that I can't remember. But I only woke up in Rukongai a little while ago – we don't have that kind of past."
Starrk stayed silent.
"Are you ever gonna tell me what you're talking about?" There was a needy, helpless whine beneath the words, the kind that made Starrk want to rescue her, to keep her safe from whatever was causing her pain. But right now, it was his fault.
"Lilynette…"
Wide, teary pink eyes looked up at him and he felt his conviction instantly waver.
"When this is over, okay?"
"…Fine." She muttered, with an aggressive sniff muffled into her sleeve. "Fine."
"Lily…" This time, it was Starrk's turn to grab her sleeve as she turned away, reluctantly pulling her attention back. "I promise."
She stared into his sincere blue eyes and felt some of the hurt and fear loosen around her heart. This time, her quiet reply was more heartfelt. "Okay."
Before they could continue, a terrific 'Bang!' Interrupted them as someone crashed a fist into the other side of Lilynette's door.
"Oi! Lily! Classes are starting; get out here!"
"Shut up, Harue!" She yelled back at the top of her lungs. "I'm gettin' my books!"
Starrk flipped back his ears and grimaced at the volume before speaking again, voice too low to be heard from the hallway. "That's my cue to leave."
"What? So soon?" Lilynette's head whipped around to look at him in dismay as she squawked, forgetting to whisper.
"Who're you talkin' to in there?" Her classmate Harue had not lowered his voice. If anything, he sounded louder and closer.
"Mind your own business!" Lilynette shouted back. Now, there were other voices chiming in from the neighboring dorm rooms, grumbling about the sheer volume passing between the two students.
"Yes." Starrk replied, making his way towards the window. "Don't worry, this shouldn't last much longer."
"…Okay, fine. But you're going to tell me everything when you get back!"
"Yeah, yeah…After this is over. I promised."
"Yeah!"
Before Starrk could say anything else, Harue's curiosity overcame his common sense and the handle of Lilynette's bedroom door began to turn.
In a burst of shunpo, the wolf spirit was out the window and crouching on the roof, where he listened with amusement as Lilynette berated her fellow student and physically threw him out of her room.
But the roof of the Spiritual Arts Academy was not a good place to stay unseen and free. With a put-upon sigh, Starrk once again took to the streets of Seireitei.
There was nothing left for Starrk to do in the city beyond wander aimlessly. He didn't want to find Muramasa, he didn't want to join up with the more powerful zanpakuto, he no longer feared the captains so badly that he wanted to actively avoid them, and he'd already explored as much of the city as he cared to.
He had a basic desire to avoid discovery but with his fear for the captains so diminished, it wasn't enough to control his actions. In fact, as reasonable caution lessened, curiosity slowly rose to take its place
After a few hours of walking, running, and flash-stepping aimlessly around the city, little more than a blur to anyone who happened to look up, Starrk's curiosity finally rose to the point where he acted on it.
In the shadow of a building between the seventh and eighth divisions, Starrk paused and concentrated on the ocean of reiatsu at his fingertips. Sparks of blue energy rose to his will and with a shake of his fur and clothes, like a wolf coming in from the rain, he shed energy like drops of water. The different sparks came together into a single glowing outline and then pulled apart to form half a dozen wolves arrayed in a circle around their creator, each one dim in the body but with electric blue eyes looking blankly back at Starrk.
He examined them critically, comparing them to the surveillance wolf he'd made to follow the black cat-shinigami into Muramasa's lair. They would need to be in closer proximity to more shinigami than the other one so the glowing eyes were more likely to give them away, but there was nothing he could do about that.
With a thought, Starrk sent them on their way, each one targeting a nearby captain or lieutenant-class reiatsu signature. Monitoring them kept most of his attention from his immediate surroundings but their perspectives were more interesting as they approached their targets. Starrk kept wandering the city, but now his half-closed eyes peered vacantly into the distance, watching sights beyond his physical view.
X
The wolf watching the cat was the first one he slipped his consciousness into, looking through the faint blue haze of its eyes to see an odd tableau of squabbling zanpakuto spirits. High on the opposite wall, the shinigami cat was a creeping patch of darker shadow just as unnoticed as Starrk's wolf.
If he'd had any doubts that the 'cat' was not what it appeared to be, the purposeful way in which it snuck around the cave system put it to rest. Most humans would not have been able to commit such subterfuge…it obviously had a goal but often stopped near various spirits to listen, going so far as to slink close if it couldn't hear. It never panicked and never got noticed –and that was due to skill, not luck or the ineptitude of the zanpakuto. Many of the sword spirits had enhanced senses and all of them were on edge from being cooped up so long, especially after a call to arms like Muramasa's speech at the beginning of the rebellion. Attacking the city had barely whetted their appetites for destruction.
Starrk's wolf remained a dim, insubstantial shadow silently tracing the cat's steps. It had no scent, made no noise, and blended easily with the dancing shadows on the walls, painted by the eerie flickering lights illuminating the cavern. No one, not even the cat, noticed it was there.
Starrk watched passively through the specter's eyes as the black cat made its way around what must be the central cavern – containing about half a dozen sword spirits along with, bizarrely, the shinigami captain with the pink petals bankai from last night - Byakuya Kuchiki, though he was leaving just as Starrk noticed him, accompanied by his zanpakuto. Starrk had to pause in confusion at the sight of their retreating forms but the cat seemed unsurprised so he assumed something had happened to endear the shinigami to Muramasa before he started watching.
When the cat turned away from the main cavern down an adjoining tunnel, Starrk did not follow. Instead, he trained his attention on the zanpakuto. He knew there were thirteen divisions of the Gotei Thirteen; ten of them currently had captains and twelve had lieutenants. He did not know the shinigami well enough to match them to their zanpakuto but knowing their personalities and abilities could only help him and Lilynette in the long run.
The cat and fire spirits from the previous night were there and he already knew their names: Haineko and Tobiume. Of the two, Haineko seemed to be the more aggressive one and she spent her time stalking around the cave, alternately whining, insulting her shinigami, and verbally attacking Tobiume. Tobiume was more reserved, staying off to the side and generally quiet, though she got in a few good insults when Haineko left herself open to them and dragged her into arguments. They were the loudest zanpakuto present, but they weren't the only ones.
Sitting at a small table were three more spirits whose names Starrk only learned by ordering his wolf closer to hear their quiet conversations: Gonryomaru, Wabisuke, and Gegetsuburi. All three were lieutenant-class swords, though the pike-wielding elemental spirit Gonryomaru was by far the most powerful of the three and the quietest. He 'spoke' to the other zanpakuto in monosyllabic grunts and shrugs – the only reason Starrk figured out his name was because of Gegetsuburi. This second spirit was a melee type who didn't carry his sword with him but stood out because of his loud voice, spiked pink hair, and massively rotund figure. He was loud and critical, commenting on everything around him including the two arguing female spirits across the room, to the apparent disinterest of his companions. Wabisuke, the third spirit at the table, was an emaciated figure carrying a literal ball and chain who responded to Gegetsuburi in short, monotone comments that nonetheless goaded on the bigger spirit.
There was no real sense of comradery amongst those in the caves, to Starrk's surprise and confusion. Weren't they seeking equality with their shinigami (or subjugation)? There was an element of mind control to Muramasa's abilities, but only to exacerbate frustrations already in the minds of the zanpakuto. Why weren't they uniting towards their common goal, the whole reason they were participating in the rebellion?
They just seemed…bored. And annoyed. The most common name bandied around was the absent Muramasa but not as someone helping them achieve freedom; as someone to give them orders.
In his physical form, Starrk's ears flicked and he frowned deeply. Had the zanpakuto really thrown off their wielders just to immediately bow to a new master?
As he was considering pulling back to think about what he'd seen, another spirit swooped down from the ceiling, scolding everyone in a loud, shrill voice. She was little more than a swift sparkle in the air as she flew circles around the heads of the other zanpakuto, startling them into swatting at the air and cursing her name.
Suzumebachi, a very small captain-class zanpakuto. Starrk's wolf actually had to narrow its eyes to make out her bee-like form to his satisfaction. Behind her, following more slowly, was a yellow childlike… statue?... with butterfly wings. It did not talk but Suzumebachi identified it as Ashisogi Jizo. There was something oddly disconcerting about its wide, vacant eyes and its scent carried a toxic, acidic bite. Starrk did not try to get a closer look at it.
Suzumebachi identified one more spirit in the cave; a giant with red skin, the glow of lava behind its facial features, and a black whip. He was completely mute and standing at the entrance to the cave, his back to his companions as he looked out over the forest at the city. Tenken, one of very few captain-class swords to hurt his shinigami so far. Powerful, but so quiet that Starrk hadn't even noticed him in the shadows.
Starrk watched them for a good hour, but nothing changed. The spirits got crankier, argued more, and moved around restlessly, but none of them left the cavern and they didn't say anything too interesting. They didn't seem to know anything interesting.
The wind-spirit Kazeshini stalked into the cave just as Starrk was considering withdrawing; with a dark, barely red-shaded body illuminated only by pale glowing eyes and a bright slash of a fanged grin, he was an intimidating sight, but his level of reiatsu did not rise above that of the other lieutenant zanpakuto. Starrk recognized him as the whirlwind of blades he'd run into during the initial stages of the rebellion.
Kazeshini stalked right up to the table where the other spirits were sitting, slammed his hands on it, and let out a snarling howl.
"Gyah! How long do we have to wait?!" One of his double-bladed scythes whirred around his shoulders, drawing curses and growls from the other spirits at the table who all drew away from the accidental attack.
"Until nightfall." Wabisuke replied, voice even and low. In most other spirits, the gloomy tone would have been a sign of boredom after having answered the question a dozen times since the start of the rebellion, but Wabisuke's voice never changed – the dull tone had been present since the very first time he spoke.
"Oh, come on!" Kazeshini snapped and turned away, energetically stalking across the chamber. "When Muramasa gets back, he'll tell us to attack again. Just wait and see!"
Beyond scoffing and scuffling, none of the other spirits contradicted him.
Muramasa never arrived.
Dissatisfied, Starrk eventually pulled his attention away from the volatile spirits and turned towards his other wolves. They were looking for lieutenants and captains but even enhanced speed and the ability to pass through walls like they were nothing could not completely erase the distance between their targets and Starrk. On foot, without any sort of enhanced reaitsu or speed, traveling from one side of the city to the other took ten days. Even from the spot where Starrk scattered the wolves near the center of the city, it could take up to five days for someone without decent spiritual pressure to reach the outer wall. For his wolves, it took a couple hours to traverse the same distance.
He found one wolf close to a group of lieutenants traveling through the city near him and projected his mind into its insubstantial body to share its sight.
There were three lieutenants and, to his surprise, two were familiar: the shinigami that belonged to Tobiume and Haineko who'd been present the night before. Hinamori, lieutenant of the fifth division and Matsumoto, lieutenant of the tenth division. With them was Kira, lieutenant of the third division. They weren't talking beyond curt directions and short comments to each other. As Starrk's projection ran alongside them only a few meters away, insubstantial and nearly invisible, he felt their tension thickening the air.
The source was unknown but the sensation was uncomfortable. Starrk already knew Hinamori and Matsumoto belonged to Tobiume and Haineko and all it took was a quick reiatsu scan to determine that Kira's signature matched that of Wabisuke.
He only stayed in that particular wolf for a few minutes before backing away, ears once again flipped back in discomfort.
Next up, he tried to focus on a captain and lieutenant pair scouring the forest below the cave of the zanpakuto. Unfortunately, he found that they were accompanied by a couple dozen lower-ranked shinigami from the renowned (and feared) punishment squad, all of them searching diligently. Starrk had to hastily call his energy back from that wolf before it was caught, making it dissipate into thin air before he could get a good read on the shinigami he'd been looking for.
One of his wolves edged up to the twelfth division, ears perked and head low as it tried to enter the research and development institute the same way that other wolves had slipped through walls in the rest of the city.
Starrk had just reached out to contact that wolf and check on the captain of the twelfth along with whatever zanpakuto he'd managed to capture when it hit some sort of energy shield. But it wasn't just a shield – it acted like an aggressive, electrified barrier. Worse, it was sticky.
As soon as the wolf touched it with a paw, it was held fast. And the second the electricity spread through the projection's reiatsu, it overloaded and began to glow.
Starrk barely managed to withdraw his consciousness before it exploded, leaving a hole the size of a bus in the western outer wall of the twelfth division. The plume of dust and debris it sent into the air was visible all the way from where Starrk was roaming.
With a sigh, the wolf zanpakuto came to a halt. A twitched ear caught the sound of panicked shouts and pattering flash-steps headed towards the twelfth division; mostly lieutenants but there were one or two captains jumping in as well. He edged into a shadow as he took stock of the situation.
He'd started with seven wolves; one was currently in the cave with the zanpakuto, one was following the lieutenants at the edge of the city (those three were not responding to the explosion), he'd been forced to dematerialize one, and now another was destroyed. Unless he chose to create more wolves, that left him with three, all currently following their 'programming' to mindlessly seek out nearby captains and lieutenants.
Naturally, this meant all three were now following the crowd towards the twelfth division.
Starrk considered calling them back before shrugging and deciding to go with it. Dangerous, perhaps, but no more than what he'd already been doing. And what better way to learn information on the captains and lieutenants than by bringing them together?
Ukitake was the third captain to arrive at the sight of the attack on the twelfth division, right after Soifon and Mayuri. Lieutenants Iba, Ise, Omaeda, and Nemu were also present, along with a pacing Ikkaku (who was still smarting from his interrupted fright with Hozukimaru and chomping at the bit for a repeat battle).
"Kurotsuchi-taicho." Jushiro hailed as soon as he came out of shunpo. "What happened here?"
The captain of the twelfth turned on the captain of the thirteenth with a disturbingly wide grin. "Ukitake-taicho! What a pleasant surprise."
Jushiro quickly came to a halt several meters from the other captain and frowned at the suspicious reaction. "I beg your pardon?"
"I completed analyzing the results of my…heh…examination of Unohana-taicho just this morning. Having another test subject of your caliber will assist in my research on these rebellious sword spirits."
"That is not why I'm here." Jushiro quickly deflected, doing his best to keep the disgust and alarm out of his voice. Unohana had told him of her choice to allow Mayuri's examination and he was impressed with her dedication to resolving the current situation. If it was absolutely necessary, he would reluctantly submit as well, but at this point he wasn't convinced that Mayuri wasn't using the situation as an excuse to subject him to a demeaning, invasive medical exam.
"Oh?" The painted captain cocked his head in faux innocence. "What a pity."
Jushiro looked from him to the massive hole in the wall and forced the conversation back on track.
"What happened here?"
Mayuri scoffed. "Irrelevant. I assume the zanpakuto realized I am to be responsible for destroying them. Perhaps they harbored some idiotic loyalty towards the test subjects I've already acquired and attempted to rescue them."
"Whatever was responsible was destroyed." The grim voice of Soifon added as she stepped out of the hole. "And its reiatsu signature was entirely erased by the explosive trap fixed to the wall." She turned a severe glare on Kurotsuchi. "Thanks to that, there is no way to find out who or what tried to enter the twelfth division."
Mayuri didn't even look at her, just shrugged negligently. "The security of my division is my own business."
"The explosion was your doing, then?" Jushiro quickly interjected before the deepening scowl on Soifon's face could transform into sharp accusations.
"In part." Mayuri glanced at the wall with apparent disinterest. "Whatever attacked should have touched the trap before the explosives, but perhaps it penetrated the wall and hit both at once. Regardless, there is not enough left to make a useful specimen."
With that rude dismissal of his fellow captains, Mayuri turned back to the entrance of the twelfth division. "Come, Nemu!"
His lieutenant flashed into place behind him, following her captain and creator silently. The door slammed closed behind them.
Ukitake sighed.
"Useless." Soifon sneered.
"Soifon-taicho." Jushiro finally had the opportunity to greet the captain of the second division and her expression composed as she turned to him in turn, nodding in a curt but polite gesture.
"Ukitake-taicho."
"Have you found anything?"
"Not yet. My squad is still searching the sites of last night's battles. We were almost on the trail of Muramasa when the explosion happened." She scowled at the hole in the wall. "This is a distraction we did not need."
"I see. It sounds like you are making good headway then."
"Yes. Since there's nothing else to do here, I'll return to my squad."
"Good luck."
"…Thank you." Soifon turned away from the older captain, walking for a few paces before tensing and yelling over her shoulder. "Omaeda!"
"Whoa-!" Her lieutenant jumped at her shout and promptly lost his footing on the rooftop where he was standing, falling off to land on the ground with a thunderous crash. "Owww…Taicho?"
"Get up, you idiot. We're leaving."
"But-."
"Now!"
She vanished into shunpo, followed a moment later by her whining lieutenant. Ukitake was left with the other lieutenants that had responded to the explosion.
"Ukitake-taicho?"
"Oh, Nanao. Hello. How is the search going?" Jushiro smiled at the lieutenant of Shunsui's division, genuinely happy to see her despite the chaos around them.
She nodded with a strained smile in return to his greeting. "Fairly well. All of the escaped zanpakuto around the academy have been neutralized and we're doing repeated sweeps out from there. There do not seem to be any unranked zanpakuto left and eighty to ninety percent of the seated officer zanpakuto have also been captured or reclaimed." Her smile dimmed. "We haven't seen any sign of the captain or lieutenant zanpakuto, though."
"Yes, well, I think we can leave them to Soifon-taicho." Ukitake reassured her. It was a relief to hear that the lesser shinigami were safe now – there had been far too many deaths and grave injuries over the last couple days. In his memory, Seireitei had never faced such a threat from within their own walls before.
"Is there anything else to be done here?"
"Ah, no. I don't think so." Jushiro eyed the hole in the wall, then turned away. It was up to Mayuri to have it repaired…or not. There was no enemy to fight and no reason for anyone else to enter the twelfth division. He turned to look at the three remaining officers; Iba was directly behind Nanao and Ikkaku was crouched on the roof, stiff with tension as he watched all of them with narrowed eyes. "The three of you can get back to hunting down zanpakuto."
"Yes, sir!" Nanao and Iba saluted and vanished over the rooftops.
Ikkaku hesitated a moment longer. "Ukitake-taicho, have there been any more sightings of Hozukimaru?"
"I'm afraid not, Ikkaku."
The third seat of the eleventh division grumbled in disgust before muttering: "I hope I find him before my captain does; he's my zanpakuto. I want to force him to submit."
"How is Zaraki doing?"
"Eh, he's fine. He came back after fighting that zanpakuto yesterday but then he went looking for it again and we haven't seen him since." Ikkaku cocked his head in thought. "He might be looking for Ichigo now. Especially since he's got his zanpakuto back."
"I see."
"Anyway, I'll go help the others search. Maybe one of them will find Hozukimaru."
"Happy hunting."
"Thanks, Ukitake-taicho."
When he stomped away, Jushiro was left alone with the hole in the wall. Something glinted out of the corner of his eye but when he turned his head to look, it vanished. There was a faint trace of unfamiliar reiatsu in the air, but it could easily be a side-effect of Mayuri's trap. When he looked closer and found nothing suspicious, he dismissed the glint as a trick of the light and turned back towards the fourth division, the current headquarters of the captains in the absence of the still-missing soutaicho.
Starrk's three remaining wolves milled around in the shadows as he contemplated what he'd learned. He'd found the shinigami belonging to Suzumebachi, Gegetsuburi, and Ashisogi Jizo and also identified the massive ape-like zanpakuto he'd seen running through the forest last night: Hozukimaru, zanpakuto of Ikkaku, third seat of the eleventh division. (Incidentally, the division of the crazy captain that attacked him the other day.) He hadn't yet run into the zanpakuto of the other lieutenants or the captain of the thirteenth division.
Ukitake was a familiar figure to Starrk; he was the captain who'd come closest to capturing him, who'd entangled him in kido and catalyzed the creation of Starrk's first reiatsu-wolf. Apparently, he wasn't just strong; he was influential. Even the other captains looked to him for guidance and Kurotsuchi's comments painted him as a particularly powerful shinigami.
Perhaps the most powerful shinigami in the absence of the head captain.
With a thought, Starrk directed one of his wolves after the white-haired captain. The others went after the lieutenants to look for anyone else he hadn't encountered yet.
Quickly, the fourth division came into view. It didn't take long to discover that the headquarters of those responding to Muramasa's rebellion had moved there.
Starrk's wolf followed in Ukitake's footsteps as he walked through a side door, avoiding the chaos in the rest of the fourth division's barracks as he made his way to a deserted room in the back of the building which contained a large paper-strewn table surrounded by four chairs. There were remnants of other heavy reiatsu signatures in the room but whoever they belonged to were not currently present.
The wolf paused and watched the captain that had captured Starrk's interest, the mind behind its eyes located miles away, as he bent over the table and shuffled the papers into organized piles. Whatever the captain was looking for required his entire focus. His brows were furrowed and eyes intently scanned the reports passing quickly through his hands before he placed them in their respective piles. There was no sign that he noticed Starrk's wolf or that there was anything else worth watching in the silent, nearly empty room.
Before Starrk's curiosity in the captain could wane and he could push his consciousness into a different wolf, a series of loud knocks interrupted the silence, impacting the door so forcefully that it bowed inwards with every jarring 'Bang!'.
"Come in!" Ukitake called out, blinking owlishly as he looked up from his work. His gaze fixed immediately on the door, not noticing the indistinct transparent shape standing still in the corner.
Though his wolf was barely more than a faint blur ghosting along the wall, Starrk mentally commanded it to narrow its eyes as the door slammed open, causing their glow to diminish. It significantly narrowed his field of vision, but when he saw who was entering the office, he knew it was worth it.
"Stop saying that, Ichigo!" Renji snarled as he stalked in the door, yelling back over his shoulder at his friend.
"I didn't want to believe it either, but I'm not lying. Byakuya really did pull his sword on me! What else could the reason be?"
"You don't know anything about it! Maybe-."
"Gentlemen." Jushiro's even voice immediately ended their increasingly irate argument.
"Taicho."
"Ukitake-san."
Renji bowed to the captain of the thirteenth division and Ichigo nodded his head – the greatest sign of respect he showed any of the shinigami. Jushiro inclined his head slightly in response but maintained his stern expression until both of them began to fidget with embarrassment over how they'd barged into his makeshift office.
Eventually, he eased up with a faint smile.
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
"I know we talked about my captain's actions earlier, but is there any more news?" Renji quickly jumped in before Ichigo could say anything. "Has he contacted anyone?"
"He has not." Jushiro sighed. "So far, his motives and current location are unknown."
"I told you, Renji." Ichigo couldn't help replying, though he knew exactly how negative his friend's reaction would be. "He's with Muramasa."
"Stop saying that!"
"I'm not lying." Ichigo retorted, though not strongly. He understood exactly how Renji felt. Instead, he turned to look at Ukitake who was watching them with a sober, serious expression. "Maybe he has a plan? Do you think he's trying to gain Muramasa's trust?"
"It is possible." Ukitake responded, though he was frowning. "However, I would not like to speculate as to his ulterior motives. He's certainly made his immediate intentions clear and we have no choice but to act on them, as that is all we know." He shuffled a few papers around before sighing. "If we can find him, of course."
"Right…" Ichigo muttered. Renji just scowled and crossed his arms.
"Is that all you wished to discuss with me?" The captain prompted when both of them fell silent.
"Oh…no. I remembered something else." Ichigo straightened, reluctantly turning his mind away from the welfare of Byakuya. "Right after I got back from the forest, I told you about Byakuya and Muramasa and I forgot to tell you what else happened."
"That's alright." Jushiro reassured him, sitting down and waving the two younger men into seats at the cluttered table. "Lieutenants Matsumoto and Hinamori have given their full reports on their zanpakuto and Captain Kuchiki's involvement, and Captain Hitsugaya's zanpakuto has told us of their battle and the circumstances of his return."
"Oh…but I should have told you."
The captain chuckled. "Ichigo, you'd been up nearly twenty-four hours and fought at least six captain and lieutenant class zanpakuto during that time. I'm surprised you weren't asleep on your feet and it's understandable that a report would slip your mind. I trust you slept well?"
"Er, yeah." Ichigo flushed and scratched at the back of his head. He'd all but collapsed into a spare bed in the fourth division in the small hours of dawn after telling everyone about Byakuya. (His hair was still a snarled mess of bed-head, though he hadn't realized it yet.) "Thanks."
"Of course. Is there anything you've remembered that you think the others did not report?"
"Not really – I mean the two zanpakuto at the beginning, Toshiro fought his zanpakuto, and then Senbonzakura and Byakuya defended Muramasa and…wait. There was one more spirit."
"Oh?" That was news. So far, Jushiro had only heard of Haineko, Tobiume, Hyorinmaru, and Senbonzakura.
"Yeah. A wolf guy. I didn't recognize him and he didn't really fight so I don't know who he belongs to. Muramasa totally ignored him and left him behind when he ran."
Ukitake paused, suspicion creeping into his thoughts. He knew that vague description and was quickly growing tired of hearing it from scattered patrols and officers who just barely caught sight of the strangely powerful spirit before it vanished. Despite all of the sightings over the past couple days, they still had precious little information on the sword beyond the fact that it was powerful and had canine features.
"This…other spirit." Jushiro frowned, pulling forward the tall stack of reports dedicated to the wolf and leafing through them pensively. "Describe him, please?"
Ichigo shrugged. "Eh…taller than me, dressed in fur and a strange coat, flame marking over one eye, wolf ears and claws…What do you want to know?"
"I see." It was undoubtedly the same spirit they'd encountered in the city fighting Kenpachi, but what was it doing there? Especially if Muramasa had not seen fit to acknowledge its presence? Based on the data they'd complied so far, the rebel leader acted alone unless the presence of another zanpakuto was absolutely necessary. Everyone else under his command in the clearing where Ichigo had caught up to him was necessary in some way. Other than the wolf.
"Do you remember what his sword looked like?"
"It was…uh…" Ichigo paused, furrowed his brow and frowned. "Actually, I don't think he had a sword."
"…Are you sure?"
"….I think…yeah. Yeah. Definitely not. He put up his hands as he was leaving and they were empty."
"He put up his hands?" Jushiro startled. A sword spirit had backed off rather than fought? And ran? He was a zanpakuto; he should have fought at the slightest challenge unless directed otherwise.
"Yeah."
Renji, nearly forgotten in the background, muttered aloud: "He must be really strong to just stand there without a weapon. Who did you say was fighting? Muramasa, Senbonzakura, and the captain?"
"And me, and Rangiku, and Momo. Oh, Haineko and Tobiume showed up too."
All captain and lieutenant-class fighters with their reiatsu high in readiness to fight. Lower level shinigami would have been choked and crushed to the ground by such spiritual pressure.
Jushiro grimaced at the realization, turning back to Ichigo. "How did he react in the face of Senbonzakura's attack?"
At least that could give them a more solid idea of his power beyond 'high'…
"He-uh-didn't. React, I mean. He didn't seem to care at all."
Silence.
That…was very bad.
"Are you saying…he stood within range of a captain's bankai without flinching? Without backing down? Even instinctively?"
"Well…I guess…? I wasn't paying all that much attention to him until the fight was over. I was more interested in Byakuya and Senbonzakura."
"Oh, of course." Internally, Jushiro tried to keep from reeling. He'd known that the wolf spirit had outrun Kenpachi, knocked the eleventh division captain away with kido, and been strong enough to escape Jushiro's own binding… but none of that energy had come close to bankai level. Most captains flinched when faced with a bankai. Byakuya's blade petals usually drove bystanders away quickly. If the strange spirit hadn't feared injury then he was either very foolish or very strong – and so far, he had not seemed foolish. Which meant it was likely he was strong enough to be a bigger threat than Muramasa if he so chose. (Muramasa had pointedly steered clear of most bankai battles and shown signs of illness and weakness, though he was unfortunately good at escaping when he was overpowered). The thought of dealing with THAT on top of everything else gave Jushiro a headache. "Have you any idea who his wielder is?"
"Nope. I mean, so far it's been…well, not obvious, but when I see a spirit and shinigami together, they seem to fit. But I don't think I've met this one's wielder before." Ichigo paused, eyes distant as he mentally conversed with his zanpakuto, and Jushiro waited patiently. After a moment, the boy frowned and nodded his head slowly in response to something Zangetsu said.
"There was one other weird thing about him. I didn't really notice– especially considering how weird some of the zanpakuto are – but when Zangetsu met him, he noticed it. Most of the spirits say their name proudly to set them apart from their shinigami and insist on being referred to like that, as a separate person. This one didn't give his name; he kept dismissing it when I asked. He said he was no one important. And when Zangetsu asked, he said his name didn't matter. It might not be anything, but…"
"That is curious." Jushiro murmured. It was also out of character for a sword that took pride in itself. The whole purpose of the rebellion was to identify themselves as separate from their wielders and establish themselves as their own beings, wasn't it? So why would this one refuse to do so?
When Ichigo lapsed into silence, the captain cocked is head. "Is that all?"
"Yeah, I think so. We pretty much covered everything else last night, didn't we?"
Renji scoffed. "That was this morning, Ichigo. You must've been really out of it."
"It was still dark out!"
"The squads were getting up for their morning shift changes."
"But-."
"Gentlemen."
The two young men fell into guilty silence and this time, Jushiro did not soften.
"Is that everything?"
"Yes, sir."
"Yes, Ukitake-san."
"Then thank you for your reports. We've already informed the searching lieutenants to be on the lookout for the wolf-sword due to its conflict with Kenpachi, but I'll pass this new information on."
The statement was a clear dismissal and Ichigo nodded, stood up, and turned to leave. Renji paused in the doorway behind him to look back at the captain of the thirteenth division.
"You'll tell me if anyone finds the captain, right Ukitake-taicho?"
"Yes, Renji. You'll be one of the first to know if we hear anything of Kuchiki-taicho or his plans."
"…Thanks."
The door closed behind them and Jushiro bent his head back to his files, looking for any information that would help them find and defeat Muramasa.
In the corner, an insubstantial form shifted on its paws.
Starrk listened to the report with interest. He frowned when he realized he'd missed the first version and as such most of the information, but knowing what the shinigami knew about him was also important. Despite refusing to fight and trying to stay in the background, he was making them uneasy. And that made him uneasy.
When it became clear that nothing else was going to happen in Ukitake's office, Starrk pulled his mind away from the wolf, leaving it laying against the wall with its eyes closed, just in case he needed to return.
With his mind refocused into his true form, Starrk opened his eyes all the way and came to a full halt for the first time in hours. His feet were actually aching from using shunpo for so long and he flexed his claws against the sensation, leaving scratches in the tiles under his feet. It was a slight surprise to find that he wasn't far from where he'd started his day, just on the other side of the eighth division. He must have made an entire circuit around Sogyoku Hill.
His wolves were still on their missions; one was with the zanpakuto, one was with Ukitake, two were with groups of lieutenants hunting zanpakuto, and one was roaming in the far reaches of the ninth division, looking for a single unfamiliar lieutenant reiatsu signature.
That last one wasn't too far from Starrk but for now he wasn't interested in tracking it down.
With a sigh, the wolf-spirit stretched his arms over his head, twisting his neck until his back cracked with a satisfying release of tension, and then ran his hands through his hair, ruffling it into a better position so he felt a little more refreshed. Lastly, he rolled his shoulders and jumped down to the street under his own power, ready for a break from using his reiatsu.
Naturally, he hadn't made it half a block before someone yelled behind him.
"Halt, Zanpakuto!"
"Hm?" He turned to find the blond lieutenant of the third division at the other end of the street – Izuru Kira, master of Wabisuke. His hands were glowing with unfocused kido. "What do you want?"
The shinigami didn't answer. Instead, he brought his hands together.
"Bakudo number 4, Hainawa!"
A familiar crackling yellow rope shot from his combined hands, reaching to ensnare Starrk. It was similar to the spell that Ukitake used against him and identical to plenty of attacks by lower-ranked shinigami he'd encountered yesterday. This time, Starrk was not interested in letting it reach its target, even if he was sure he could escape it.
With a thought, he concentrated unformed spiritual energy to the claws on his hands, making them glow blue, and lashed out at the kido rope as it snapped towards him.
It was reduced to shreds of fading light as his claws passed through it, disrupting the kido structure with his own energy. Kira gasped and drew back as his attack failed, pulling out his empty sword with the full understanding that it would do little against his opponent.
For a loaded few seconds, they simply stared at each other from opposite ends of the road until the silence was broken by an unexpected source.
"Here now, what's this?"
Starrk froze at the voice and his ears stood straight up along with all of the fur along his spine and the back of his arms. Whoever owned the voice was way too close for comfort and he hadn't even felt them approach.
Starrk's eyes flicked to the side and found the vaguely familiar form of the captain of the eighth division slouched in a nearby doorway, the interior lost to shadow. Kyoraku's casual posture and the sake jug he was absentmindedly rolling in his hand could not hide the sharp calculation in his eyes.
"Nothing." Starrk growled, instinctively shifting his weight onto the pads of his feet and bracing his claws in the dusty ground, ready to fight. That wasn't what he wanted to do; what he wanted was to avoid battle at all costs, but something about the captain's sharp eyes warned him against turning his back, even more than Kenpachi Zaraki's homicidal drive to fight.
"Kyoraku-taicho!" The young lieutenant in front of Starrk yelled, relieved for the backup. "I found the wolf zanpakuto!"
"You found me?" Starrk's incredulous question butted in before Kyoraku could reply. "You were looking for me?"
"Good job, Lieutenant Kira." Kyoraku spoke past Starrk, not acknowledging his questions. "You can leave this to me now."
Starrk frowned and lowered his ears as the blond lieutenant bowed to the captain and turned away without even a backwards glance at his former quarry or an acknowledgment of his presence, probably going to look for his own zanpakuto. For a moment, Starrk followed Kira with his eyes before turning a narrow stare on Kyoraku.
The two of them eyed each other from head to toe, silently analyzing their opponent.
It was Shunsui who broke the stare down by tipping forward his hat until only one eye glinted in its shadow and then gesturing expansively with his sake bottle.
"Care to join me, Zanpakuto-san?"
"…What?" Starrk swiveled his ears and drew his head back. "Aren't you going to try to catch me?"
Shunsui smiled slightly. "I'd prefer if that wasn't necessary."
The wolf zanpakuto slowly cocked his head. "Are you asking me to surrender?"
The pink-clad captain pouted. "I'm asking you to share my sake. I happen to know this is a great place to have a few drinks undisturbed."
Starrk glanced at the building that Kyoraku was standing in front of and noticed for the first time that the banner over its door identified it as some sort of shop. Not a bar, but he wouldn't be surprised if there was an alcohol counter inside. It was also completely deserted and more than a little suspicious.
"No thanks." Starrk finally replied flatly, edging backwards.
"Come now, Zanpakuto-san…" Shunsui took a slow step forward, free hand settling on the hilt of his own empty zanpakuto. "This doesn't need to be unpleasant."
"I agree." Starrk slid another step backwards, leaving faint lines in the dust from the claws on his feet. "If you just step back and let me go, then we can avoid unpleasantness completely."
"I'm afraid I can't do that." The shinigami replied, tone carefully regretful. Too sympathetic to be genuine.
Starrk pinned his ears back against his head and narrowed his eyes, tensing his muscles in readiness to run.
"Now, don't do that, Zanpakuto-san." Shunsui observed the change in his stance and sighed. With slow, careful movements, he set the sake jug on the ground next to the door behind him.
Starrk took that as the threat it was pretending not to be. While the captain was still bent over, the zanpakuto whirled and jumped into shunpo, darting away over the rooftops.
"Wh-hey!" Shunsui startled at the vanished zanpakuto, moving faster than most captains and all observed zanpakuto spirits so far. With a muttered curse, he jumped into shunpo after the wolf, tracking him more by reiatsu signature than sight.
"I just want to talk!" He called, hoping the wolf's ears weren't just for show and he could hear him despite his lengthy head start.
Apparently so, because he responded, though he did not slow down or stop. "I don't."
"You can't run forever, Zanpakuto-san!"
"I don't need to. I only need to run until you lose my trail."
"That will not be easy, you know." Shunsui chuckled, though he was hard pressed to stay on his quarry's trail, let alone catch up. "I'm far more skilled than most of the pursuers you've encountered so far."
"You underestimate me, Taicho-san."
That was all of the warning Shunsui got before the wolf whirled in a circle without breaking stride, scattering energy in what was becoming a familiar gesture. Wolves scattered behind him, fully formed and glowing with power. Their electric eyes fixed unerringly on Shunsui, sharp teeth glowing in their mouths.
With a vehement curse, Shunsui skidded to a stop and moved to dodge as they ran at him, giving up the chase in favor of the more immediate threat. They circled him just beyond the reach of his zanpakuto, yipping, barking, and howling in a milling crowd, ready to rip him apart with their fangs if he gave them an opening.
Six wolves? Yesterday, the zanpakuto only used one against Ukitake!
Kyoraku crouched silently in the center of their circle, empty sword ready to slash the nearest head or paw to come into reach but wary of making the first move and leaving himself open to attack by the rest of the pack.
It was only when their eyes dulled and their interest waned that he realized they were not attacking him. He straightened as they slowly wandered away, fading to nothing as they left him behind. Unsurprisingly, their creator was long gone.
Shunsui sighed and brushed off his hat, settling his kimono more comfortably over his shoulders.
"Clever, Zanpakuto. Very clever." He looked up, dark eyes intense. "And very dangerous."
Author's Notes:
It's been a long, long time, but I've finally got an update for y'all. I hope you enjoyed it!
I know there are continuity errors here and there in the story when compared to the canon material *cough*Gegetsuburi*cough* but mostly these are to patch plot holes in the canon zanpakuto arc. Honestly, I wasn't impressed with the ending or the ridiculous number of loose ends left hanging so I'm going to be doing a lot of patchwork between here and the end of the fic, so don't be surprised if I make more changes here and there.
Thanks to all of my readers and reviewers who have been so patient and left me comments!
Please Review & let me know what you think!