The Captains stood solemnly with their lieutenants behind them like shadows during the captains meeting. It was early, and everyone was still exhausted from the in depth search of the soul society the day prior. Low ranking division shinigami were still out in scheduled search parties in case something was missed.
The Captains listened intently to the Head Captain Kyouraku's instructions and plan to go to Hueco Mundo very quickly. He was giving them each responsibilities and selecting each group to have a Captain or Lieutenant who was familiar with Hueco Mundo to be a part of each infiltration unit. They would attack Hueco Mundo in waves before Aizen could regain his full strength. He was giving each captain a week's time to get prepared. He also presented the idea of having the 3 mew girls become substitute soul reapers, today.
The idea was squabbled over only a bit, but no one outright disagreed with the choice. They were going to need every capable fighter possible for such a quick invasion into Hueco Mundo. The newly promoted captain of squad 8, Neliel, didn't speak much as she felt rather out of place as a captain. It was strange to be the only arrancar captain among shinigami, but she surely didn't want Aizen to further his goals.
It was determined theat each girl would have two individuals channel their reiatsu into each girl so as not to drain one captain of too much power. A Captain and their Lieutenant would be the ones performing this tranfer of power. However, the idea itself needed to be presented to the girls themselves. Kyouraku elected to do so alongside Ryou, who was brought in towards the end of the meeting.
Once the captains were in agreement about their upcoming responsibilities, they were dismissed. As they exited the main doors to the 1st division meeting hall, Ichigo, Zakuro, and Minto stood outside in the courtyard waiting to be brought in. The early morning sun was peering over the buildings as the captains exited the room and began to meander in different directions.
Komamura and Gin paused by the girls, Minto didn't speak to her division leader, Shuuhei Hisagi. He left with only a nod to her and a haphazard smile.
The wolf headed captain smiled at the violet haired girl,
"They're going to present a great gift to you that hasn't been presented in hundreds of years, it'll expand your abilities monumentally in a short period of time. It may be daunting, but I hope you'll accept it."
Zakuro nodded at him and showed the faintest hint of a smile. They had discussed this topic before and she was ready for what was about to be presented to her. Ichigo meekly smiled at Gin as he stood near her and Minto. The silver haired captain gave a smirk to Minto and spoke to Ichigo in his usual slick manner,
"Like he says, Ya got quite the opportunity, hopefully ya take it~ You'll need all the help ya can get if we gotta fight ol' Aizen again."
His tone had grown colder towards the end of his sentence, a flash of Aizen nearly killing him blinked in his mind for a moment. He kept his smile and feigned being calm though it utterly weight on him to think of how strong Aizen could potentially become. Minto stared in a side-eyed manner at the odd Captain, she didn't trust him in the slightest. Beside her, Ichigo nodded eagerly at him,
"I hope I'm ready."
...
Once inside the captains meeting hall, the girls were presented with the facts and circumstances of becoming a substitute shinigami. The idea itself was eerie to those never exposed to this sort of world, but it seemed as though it had to be done. Although they were already capable fighters, they needed the spiritual pressure to enhance their capabilities and make them more formidible in battle.
Ichigo felt herself shiver of thinking of a sword plunging into her spirit to dump energy into her. Ryou took note of the girls visible discomfort, he expected it. However, Zakuro seemed oddly calm about the entire situation, she hadn't questioned much of the process.
Kyouraku sighed and dropped his hat down beside where he sat to run a hand through his long wavy locks,
"I know I was long winded girls, not usually my style. But what do you think? Is it something you guys think you're in for?"
Without hesitation, Zakuro spoke up with unbridled confidence,
"I'll do it. I'm ready."
Ichigo and Minto whipped their heads in her direction in shock at how quickly she answered. Minto scoffed and looked at the floor in front of her for answers and Ichigo meekly spoke up to Kyouraku and Ryou,
"I'm a little nervous about it... is it the only way?"
Ryou finally chimed in,
"It's the quickest and most efficient way to get your powers anywhere near ready to fight these new enemies. I've been with Captain Kurotsuchi for weeks now, and I'm telling you these Arrancar- Hollow things aren't a joke. They're not like anything you've ever gone against before. There is no other way."
Minto was biting her lip and looked to Ichigo as the cat girl spoke up again,
"I guess if there's no other way, we kinda have to do it then."
The avian mew was hesitating, her heart raced. So many conflicted thoughts ran through her mind. How could this burden fall on them? She crossed her arms and finally responded,
"I don't think I can do this, this is nuts!"
Ryou felt his body tense and he walked over to her, Ichigo snapped at her before Ryou could,
"Minto! This might be the only way we get to where we need to be in such a short amount of time! Don't be such a chicken!"
Minto spat back angrily at the lead mew,
"I am not being a chicken, but this is crazy! We're supposed to protect the Earth, not pick up swords and try to battle soul monsters! How is it we get roped into handling Deep Blue's soul? I said it before, it's not our responsibility. If these captains are so powerful they should do their jobs and stop him, end of story. If he ever made it to the world of the living it means they failed."
Ryou interrupted the blue haired girl,
"You don't get it do you? He will go to the world of the living, he will kill thousands, no- probably millions of people potentially and throw off the balance of all of the worlds. He was our enemy first and just because he's dead doesn't mean we just sit here and do nothing. We don't just pass the buck like that, How can you be so naive?"
Zakuro shook her head quietly and it earned the attention of Minto, who was incredibly sensitive to any reaction by her idol. Instantly she felt a chill at the visible displeasure worn on Zakuro's cold facade. Ichigo noticed and stepped out from between the other girls as Minto ignored Ryou's tangent to speak to Zakuro,
"Onee-sama, you can't truly believe this is the only way? This is insane!"
"If you're too afraid then go back to the world of the living. We don't need any cowards by our side in potentially the most serious fight we'll ever be in."
The words were like daggers through the shorter girl, she felt immediately choked up at the cruelty in Zakuro's words and tone. The girl stared up at her pleadingly for any type of comfort, but only got a cold stare. Zakuro surprisingly continued upon their eyes meeting,
"Either step up to the plate, or go home and risk losing your life while you sit at home and cower in your house."
...
Wrapped in thick kidou ridden straps sat the former lord of Hueco Mundo, back in his former abode of Las Noches. A foreigner stood before him with two newly appointed espada at his sides. Aizen gazed up at the dark haired alien before him with a single eye,
"So you're Deep Blue. The alien ruler from a far away planet, how interesting."
Deep Blue stared down at the man strapped to the chair, he could sense how powerful Aizen was from across the room. The black haired alien calmly responded,
"I am."
Beside Deep Blue was the older male espada ranked at number one, Socrates. He respectuflly interjected,
"May we free you now, Lord Aizen?"
Deep Blue put out a hand in front of Socrates to hush him, he cooly spoke again while staring very seriously into Aizen's uncovered eye,
"Do we have an accord that I will rule all of the living world, and you are to take control of all of the spirit realm?"
Although Deep Blue was dead, his searing anger and desire to conquer the Earth was still what kept him going. He sought to reclaim his throne as an immortal diety of sorts, and take back the Earth. He didn't care what Aizen sought so long as it wasn't in his way. He couldn't know that Aizen's original plan was to destroy the barrier between both realms, better keep it that way.
Aizen wasn't entirely sure how it would turn out with Deep Blue at his side, but he would worry about the world of the living later. Deep Blue was powerful but naive as to how the worlds balanced one another, but Aizen knew he didn't want to over share with his new counterpart. For the time being, the spirit realm and the soul king was his primary goal now that he had a second opportunity. The insatiable empty hole inside his spirit yearned for a greater purpose, he would stop at nothing to fill the emptiness inside him.
Aizen smiled in his usual manner, concealing his thoughts from those around him,
"We have an agreement then."
...
A trembling petite girl shivered in her barracks, her breathing was rapid and her heart pounded loud in her chest so hard she could almost hear it. Rukia clenched her small fists hard on the legs of her shihakusho. She rocked slightly on the edge of her bed, trying not to cry while staring hard at her own lap.
How could she help the sereitei in this condition? This was the worst possible time.
Quick footsteps outside her door caught her attention, the intruder didn't knock or ask permission before barging into her private Captain's chamber. Her childhood friend and lover rushed across the room and she hopped to her feet as he approached breathlessly. She had summoned him and he was quick to the punch. Renji cut her off before she could speak,
"Rukia what happened? Are you okay?"
The short girl stifled a sob, her strong will kept her from breaking down and sobbing right then and there. She certainly wasn't the crying type. Rukia barely croaked out a response as he dropped to his knees in front of her, holding her hands and looking up to her with worry in his eyes.
"I'm pregnant."
The red headed man inhaled sharply and thoughts surged through his mind. He was a father? How could he cope with this at this critical time? Rukia wouldn't be able to fight. What would Byakuya do? All the buzzing thoughts in his mind faded when she dove down and hugged his muscular upper abdomen.
His petite lover buried her face into his tattooed chest and she breathed slowly as he comforted her,
"I'm so happy to be part of this with you Rukia, I just wasn't expecting it."
"I wasn't either... I'm..."
She stifled another shaky breath that threatened to send her into tears. Large arms wrapped her up tight and held her to his chest, she felt him shiver as though he could begin to cry as well. Rukia found a whisper,
"I'm so overwhelmed, but at the same time, I've never felt this type of joy before."
...
The ceremony was to begin soon at the former Sogyoku hill. A large marble looking battle field stood where it used to be with the Sogyoku on a platform high above them on a mountainous structure. The captains and lieutenants gathered on the large pale colored battle ground.
Ichigo and Izuru stood obediently behind Gin as the other captains arrived with their lieutenants. Renji and Rukia were present, but appeared very out of sorts and notably quiet. Hinamori was notably absent, but Renji made no comment about her whereabouts.
Ichigo smiled at Zakuro as she arrived with Komamura and Iba. The behemoth captain took his place beside Gin and Iba remained back between Zakuro and Ichigo. Iba chuckled at the two nervous girls,
"Ya'll look scared shitless. Don't worry, It'll be all right."
Ichigo weakly nodded and Izuru remained quiet. Zakuro took a deep breath and nodded at her concerned cat girl counterpart. Minto was arriving with Shuuhei, but he wasn't going to be giving her the shinigami powers due to his new status, and he didn't have a Lieutenant to supplement his power in the ceremony. Hitsugaya and Rangiku appeared and stood near her, they were going to bestow the ability onto her.
Gin turned back briefly and grinned at Ichigo,
"Dontcha' worry Ichigo~ You'll do jus' fine."
The reasurrance was doubled when Izuru gently elbowed her from her right, he smiled and nodded at her.
"You'll be great. We'll help you hone your ability as best as we can afterwards too."
Komamura turned over his shoulder and looked down to the violet haired girl, her grey wolf ears flicked a bit at his motion. He said nothing but smiled with his eyes down at his newfound squad member. The simple gesture made her feel calm inside, despite her stoic exterior, she admittedly was scared.
Minto twisted her fingers nervously beside Zakuro, with Rangiku to her left. Shuuhei and Hitsugaya stood in front of them. Rangiku cooed and smiled at the nervous girl,
"Don't worry, you'll be just fine!"
Kyouraku waved to everyone as he arrived last like usual, Nanao and Sasakibe were in tow behind him. Nanao announced the ceremony to begin and the captains and lieutenants not involved stepped into a long arc around the involved parties. Ichigo, Zakuro, and Minto stood in a short line with several feet of space between them. Their respective captains and lieutenants stood in front of them, facing them now. Kyouraku stood off behind those captains with his lieutenants, overseeing the ceremony.
The head captain tried to sound cheerful to calm the nerves of the anxious young women about to undergo a serious spiritual transformation.
"You three have been awarded the opportunity to become substitute shinigami, do the three of you consent to such a transformation?"
Minto hurriedly nodded, feeling terrified and as though she would back out if this took too long. She was trembling as she glanced over to Zakuro. The wolf girl swallowed and nodded with a dead serious expression. Ichigo chirped and forced a smile,
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be!"
The long haired head captain kindly spoke to the group again,
"Each of you have had a captain assigned to bestow these abilities upon you with the assistance of the spiritual pressure of each of their lieutenants as well. Upon conclusion of the spiritual change, you all will be closely monitored for a brief time by Captain Unohana and Captain Kurotsuchi to be certain you're well with the transformation."
The group grew quiet again, now they stared at the captains ahead of them. Komamura had a small smile to comfort Zakuro as the two stared at one another. Gin grinned wider at the wide eyed cat girl ahead of him, she was visibly trembling just like Minto. It tickled him to see fear in another, a sick quality he usually kept hidden except when he had the chance to give Rukia hope prior to her execution. Kyouraku announced once more,
"Captains, prepare yourselves!"
Each of the captains unsheathed their zanpakuto and released a great deal of spiritual pressure. The accompanying lieutenants put a hand on the shoulder of the captain and began to channel their reiatsu into their captain as they closed the gap between the girls and them. The lieutenants remained behind the captains as they took aim with their Zanpakuto.
Ichigo's mouth fell open as she eyed Gin's shortsword that was put up to the center of her chest. Zakuro didn't move or look down at the sword, she stared sternly up at the wolf headed man in front of her. Minto appeared frightened as Ichigo did, she took a brief second to glance at her fellow mews, she knew she had to do this. No matter how scared she was, she had to go through with it for her team and the Earth.
Hitsugaya offered no comfort to Minto as he pointed his sword at her chest with Rangiku to his side. Even the busty blond appeared more serious than usual, knowing her captain didn't necessarily appreciate being volunteered for this.
Kyouraku didn't hesitate once the captains were in position and channeling their reiatsu,
"You may begin!"
The three select captains pierced the girl's spirits through their upper chest and an explosion of reiatsu was released. The surrounding individuals flinched at the sudden burst of soul pressure. Each of the girls were only awake for a few moments before each of their worlds turned utterly black.
...
Far away from the ceremony, a young lieutenant had scampered her way to the edge of the outer Rukongai. The girl quickly glanced around to be certain there were no others present, all she could see was a vacant woodline of trees. Hinamori stood in the small clearing and took a deep breath as she unsheathed her sword.
With a motion as if she was unlocking a door with her Zanpakuto as a key, she opened a spirit gate to Hueco Mundo. She may not have ever been formidible with a sword, but she had grown quite skilled at Kidou. A gate was nothing for her to manifest. Hinamori hesitated for just a moment as she glanced back once more, her heart began to pound in her chest.
This was it.
Just this action itself would likely label her a traitor and land her killed or imprisoned. Hinamori swallowed hard as she turned back to the gate, thoughts of how angry Hitsugaya would be with her were at the front of her mind. She didn't want to hurt or disappoint him, but she needed her answers. Hopefully no high level Arrancar would find her before she was able to see Aizen.
Her yearning for why Aizen would betray them pushed her forward. She needed to know for herself.
...
The girls had been whisked away to division 4 to be certain their bodies were capable of handling the enhanced spiritual presence within them. Unohana and Mayuri were ordered to monitor the girls until they were stable enough to return to training. After the ceremony, the rest of the divisions dispersed, but Renji had urgent news to tell Kyouraku.
The floral cloaked man stood calmly with Nanao beside him at the entrance to the 1st division. The newly promoted redhead took a shaky breath as he explained Rukia's pregnancy. Nanao covered her mouth in shock and Kyouraku responded for her,
"That's quite the news! I'm happy for you both. But it's kinda a bad time to be pregnant, but great news none-the-less. I'll be sure to keep her off the front lines as much as possible, but you know I can only do so much."
Renji seemed visibly relieved, but deep down he felt sick to tell his former captain, Byakuya. He truly hoped Rukia would go with him to break the news. Before they could further engage in conversation, a frantic white haired captain appeared via flash step beside them. Hitsugaya was panting as if he ran several miles,
"Head Captain, Hinamori is missing! She's vanished and I believe she went to Hueco Mundo after Aizen!"
Kyouraku seemed somewhat shocked and Nanao stepped in,
"Are you certain that's where she would go?"
Renji seemed suddenly embarrassed, he was responsible for Hinamori now that she was his lieutenant. How humiliating to have your subordinate disappear under your watch, he had been so preoccupied with the pregnancy news, he forgot all about paying attention to Hinamori's whereabouts. He felt ashamed, especially with his promotion being so recent.
Hitsugaya continued,
"I'm sure she went there. Aizen was all she could talk about when he disappeared from the central 46. I think she is seeking answers or something-"
"I'm sorry Head Captain, It was my responsibility. I should have paid closer mind to her, especially when she didn't show up for the ceremony."
Renji interrupted the smaller captain to apologize for his lack of attention to his lieutenant. Kyouraku waved and opened his mouth to speak but Hitsugaya snarled at the new red haired captain,
"What kind of captain doesn't pay attention to his most important subordinate? You've got a lot to learn."
His icy words infurated Renji, the tattooed captain whipped in his direction,
"Who the fuck are you to say such a thing? I don't answer to you, I-"
"Guys!"
Kyouraku interrupted the pending argument between the other two, he waved his hands as if to settle them down. Nanao scoffed at the arguing captains as Kyouraku continued,
"Renji, it's okay. We will make arrangements to find her later, but right now we have to focus on getting prepared for what is to come."
The dismissive attitude caused Hitsugaya to shoot a death glare at his head captain,
"Sir, you say we just let her go? The Arrancar or Aizen will kill her!"
The brown haired man frowned and pulled the brim of his hat down, feeling guilt for his decision. He inwardly knew Ukitake was more the head captain type, he wished his dear friend was there now. He never wanted this position. Nanao looked over to him with concern, already knowing what he was going to say. Kyouraku knew they couldn't spare the personnel to chase after her, they had to prepare the sereitei for war. His voice became low,
"In a Lieutenant's capacity, Hinamori made her decision to leave the safety of the Sereitei on her own. We have preparations to make before we can blindly chase her into Hueco Mundo. No one is to pursue her at this moment. When we make entry to Hueco Mundo, we will search for her, but our primary directive is Aizen and this Deep Blue guy."
