An enormous wolf headed man sat alone in his office quietly sifting through paperwork; his lieutenant was out training with a couple newer recruits in their division. His delicate ears picked up on light footsteps outside the entry doors. He hated to admit it, but he could usually hear the idenity of many of the shinigami based soley on their footsteps. Such a skill was a beastly trait in his opinion.
Just as the familiar visitor lightly tapped on the door to request entry, Komamura spoke up,
"Come in."
The door barely slid open and an elegant woman slipped into the room, she wore a solemn expression and long violet hair. As their eyes met, her expression softened just the slightest bit,
"Good morning Captain Komamura."
The woman's voice was cold but she had softened a great deal since coming to his division to train. It wasn't like her, but she was allowing herself to open up a bit. The world of the Shinigami had greatly intrigued her and she almost felt more at home than she did in the world of the living. This was a feeling she hadn't yet shared with Mint and Ichigo. The captain neatly stacked the papers he was working on and responded to the girl,
"You look like you're feeling much better, I'm glad to see that."
There was silence only for a moment, Zakuro hesitated, which she often did not do. She was going to request his help in training, knowing that she wasn't yet prepared for the upcoming battle to be. She yearned to become stronger, and although it was somewhat taboo to ask a captain level shinigami for private training, she wanted to request his help. She didn't trust easily, and she felt she could trust him.
"Do you have some time to spare this afternoon?"
Komamura leaned back in his chair ever so slightly and focused on her sharp facial features,
"I'm sure I could spare some time, did you want to do some training?"
"Yes. I feel like I'm ready."
The giant man rose from his chair and adorned a kind smile as he walked around the desk to stand in front of her,
"Well, then let's not waste any time. It would be my honor to train with you."
...
A short white haired captain skid to a stop as he flash stepped up to the old captains chambers of the 5th division. The captains chambers had been moved entirely after Aizen's betrayal, and this part of the division was treated like an abandoned tomb. No one came near this area, except Hinamori.
Hitsugaya ignored a breathless Rangiku as she appeared shortly after him, cursing at him for leaving her in the dust. He wasted no more time and throttled open the door to the musty chamber and glanced around inside. It was rather empty, and all items had been collected for the 12th division to examine for any remains left behind by Aizen when he first betrayed the Seretei.
Cautiously, Hitsugaya entered the room and passed through the main entry thoroughfare to the bed chamber area. In the middle of the room sat an envelope that appeared relatively new compared to the dust covered floor. The young captain sprung forward and immediately ripped open the blank envelope. He swallowed hard as he read his dear friend's handwriting,
"Toshiro,
I'm sure you're pretty upset with me, and rightfully so. You know I can't try to explain all my feelings on this one sheet of paper. So please understand, my decision has nothing to do with you, or my lack of care for my responsibilities to the Seretei. I know what this means now that I've left, but I just have to hear it from Captain Aizen himself. I need to know why he betrayed me- even if it costs me my life. I cannot continue to exist without the purpose that motivated me for so long.
I am truly sorry for how I've made you feel. I hope we see each other again, in this life, or the next. I'll make it up to you then. Thank you for always looking out for me, and I know you'll take care of the others.
-Momo"
His teeth clenched together hard as he read the note, he fought the hot angry tears in his eyes as he re-read it again looking for more. His nearly life long friend knew he would come here searching for answers, Hinamori knew him all too well. It stung his insides to picture her running through the white desert of Hueco Mundo. Behind him, Rangiku had her mouth covered in awe as she stood in the large doorway, uncertain of how to comfort her dear captain. She immediately knew who left the note behind and what it likely said.
Hitsugaya lowered the letter and hung his head for a few long moments, that mental image of her running to almost certain death through the desert killed him inside. The curvaceous woman behind him softly spoke up,
"She's a resourceful girl, I'm sure-"
"Sure of what, Rangiku?"
The icy male whipped his head back around as he continued to fight the hardened knot in his throat. He glared at her as if it were her fault, earning only a sympathetic gaze from his subordinate as he continued,
"All I'm sure of, is that if I don't go get her back, she'll die. Aizen will kill her without so much as a second thought. It's stupid of her to have done this, and I'm gonna make sure she knows that when I catch up to her."
...
A looming presence overhead sent a hard chill up Kurosaki's spine, it felt strangely familiar. The young man immediately paused on the sidewalk, he had just been on the way home from getting a few items at the grocery. Before he could turn back to face the familiar reiatsu, a hard strike to his upper back sent him flying down the sidewalk. The young orange haired man slid to a halt and hopped back to his feet and grit his teeth at the opponent,
"What the hell was that for?!"
A shock ran over Kurosaki's flesh as he observed a grinning defected Espada ahead of him.
"Ey Kurosaki, I guess retirement makes you fuckin' slow, huh?"
It felt like a dream, but Grimmjow's bold features and cocky tone were all too real. Kurosaki sputtered a response,
"Are you crazy? What the hell are you doing here?"
The blue haired man rolled his eyes and barked back at him as he lowered himself to the ground ahead of the hero,
"Well I'm not here for shits and giggles. Figures you'd forget, You owe me a re-match, so I can't be letting you get your dumbass killed by Aizen or that new long haired guy. I just came to give a heads up that you better get your ass in gear, that's it."
His words were more of a shock than the knee spike to the upper back,
"What are you talking about?"
"You fuckin' dense or what?! I came to warn you, get your shit together and don't die, because you owe me. I figured you knew already, Aizen was freed from your soul society's cheap excuse for a prison and he's teamed up with some new freakshow."
Kurosaki felt himself shiver, it had been so long since he felt fear like this. Aizen was freed? By who? His dazed expression fell back to the former Espada,
"How... How strong is this new guy?"
"Pretty tough bastard from what I can tell, but I haven't seen his abilities myself. I can only go on what I've heard. Oh, and don't get all sappy, it's not like I really want to help you. I'm going after Aizen, so don't die and you better be ready for a re-match after this, got it?"
A weak smile appeared on Kurosaki's face, knowing that Grimmjow was actually making a shitty attempt at doing the right thing, for once. He nodded at the warning,
"Thank you for the heads up Grimmjow, I'll see you in the Soul Society then."
...
"You're certain this information is correct?"
An exasperated brown haired man wearily looked over his desk at the kneeling shinigami informant. A calm black haired captain stood solemnly by the kneeling shinigami,
"It's correct. Their friends bodies were collected and delivered to the 12th division. Captain Kurotsuchi is looking into it. There are four of them, two females and two males. They appear in some kind of stasis- The body isn't dead but it's as though they're in a coma of some kind."
Byakuya's tone was flat, he appeared unsurprised and waved his hand in lordly dismissal of the lower ranked shinigami. Across from him, Kyouraku's saddened gaze met his as he addressed the information he had just recieved.
"We have to tell them...It's their friends. Maybe they can shed light on this weird 'stasis' thing you're talking about."
"If we tell them, they may not act reasonably. I believe this is a trap."
Byakuya stared hard at his Head Captain, he was certain Aizen was planning to have the other girls charge blindly into Hueco Mundo. Their new allies could be wiped out quickly if they acted impulsively. Kyouraku dropped his head and stared at his cluttered desk, wishing again to himself it was Ukitake who had taken over this position.
A deep sigh escaped the brown haired man's throat,
"You think the three we have here will go after their friends in Hueco Mundo then?"
The sixth division captain shifted his weight and crossed his arms as he responded,
"Yes. I believe their emotions will take over and they may rush to what I believe would be a certain death in an effort to remedy whatever this is."
"If either of us were in the same situation, and Rukia or Nanao was in this type of situation... You'd want to know. We have to tell them."
...
The halls were blinding and all appeared the same, dull grey and endless. She wasn't sure where she was going at this point, and quietly followed alongside Aizen. It felt like an out of body experience, walking beside him as if nothing had happened through a maze. For a moment, it felt like things were back to how they were before he betrayed the Sereitei. Hinamori's eyes burned from crying so hard, and her throat ached as she listened to him explain his situation.
"As you can see, Las Noches is the perfect palace despite being a bit complex- I'll show you to your room so you can rest. I'll have some clean clothes and a hot bath drawn for you."
The black haired girl sheepishly looked up at him to her left, any second she felt she'd blink and wake up back in her barracks. He kindly smiled at her as she spoke.
"I have so many questions... I just don't know how to ask you."
Aizen let out a noise akin to a soft sigh and he continued,
"It'll take some time for me to explain all of my actions of late. But I assure you, you're safe with me now. It'll all make sense. I wasn't sure you'd come here to find me, I'm glad you did. I owe you quite a bit, including an apology. However-"
Aizen paused in front of a large set of double doors to their left and looked over at her. Hinamori gazed up at her idol, unsure of how to react to his words. He gently took her hands in his and leaned down,
"Nothing I can say can make up for how I've hurt you. But I'll try to mend things between us, you have my word."
A light kiss was placed on her right hand and he then released her with a motion towards the doors. It felt electric to her the moment his lips touched her flesh, and her weary feeling was washed over immediately with warmth. The young woman was still in a complete daze and felt exhausted, and couldn't quite believe she was here. Everything was sore from fighting her way through the desert, being captured by the mummy looking espada, and now this emotional roller coaster of seeing Aizen. She looked ahead as he pushed the doors open,
"This will be your room for the time being, I hope it will suffice. It could use a woman's touch to make it more welcoming, but hopefully you'll be comfortable. After you've gotten some rest, I'll come back."
A petite female arrancar in a white robe looking uniform walked out of an open archway to the left of the room. There was an archway to a bathroom to the left, and a huge archway to a balcony straight ahead. The room was spacious and had an empty desk to her right, and a large bed to the right of the balcony archway on the right. The open archway to the balcony had a breathtaking view of the desert and a black rod iron brazier. The brazier had a small flame and was the only warmth in the dim and empty room.
The arrancar had long wavy dark green hair and quietly motioned to the left-most archway. Steam emanated from the archway and Aizen spoke up again,
"Your bath is set and there are new clothes for you as well. Please try to relax and I will return a bit later."
The nameless arrancar female smiled kindly at Hinamori and exited the room, Aizen turned to follow suit. Hinamori opened her mouth to speak in protest, but a warm side-eyed smile from Aizen kept her from speaking up. To her, he seemed genuine, like he was his old self. She sighed as he exited the room and the arrancar closed the doors behind him.
The young shinigami ran a hand through her hair and glanced around the room, realizing her sword was on her bed. The bed had dark blue bedding and her sword was on the foot of the bed. She glanced from the bed to the balcony, the only sounds she could hear was the faint draft of wind and fire crackling of the brazier.
It was becoming real. She stared for a long moment at the night sky and pale desert before turning back and entering the bathroom. The bathroom was expansive and had a long counter to the right, an open walk in shower to the far right corner, and huge corner bath on the left. There were no fixtures, just little angled holes in the stone wall where water would pour from. The tub was big enough for even the biggest captains she knew, and it was steaming and smelled faintly of lavender.
Hinamori glanced to the counter on her right, it was a bland bathroom but had a large mirror above the single sink. The sink was basically a dip in the counter with a drain in the bottom. Hinamori stared at herself in the mirror, she looked visibly worn down with bags under her eyes. Her appearance had faded while she had been here, Her hair was a ratty mess and she was clammy looking. The stress had taken it's toll on her, and she wasn't sure where to go from here.
...
A panting cat girl was doubled over in the large courtyard as she leaned on the hilt of her sword to support her upper body. Ichigo breathed through her pounding heartbeat, Izuru was helping her polish her swordsmanship skills. They had been sparring for over an hour and exhaustion was setting in, she was using muscles she had never used before.
"You're getting faster, I can tell you've been paying attention to training."
Izuru's calm voice gave her a slight confidence boost, he was always kind to her. She knew she had to get better, and it kept her distracted from the thoughts of what the others were doing back home.
Nearby, a presence earned her attention as well as Izuru's. The towering wolf headed Captain walked around the edge of the patio of the 3rd Division courtyard, he stood beside a worn out Zakuro and a tearful Mint. Gin slipped quietly up behind them and motioned for Ichigo and Izuru to come over. Immediately Ichigo's stomach fluttered in anxiety- something had to have happened.
Mint appeared to waste no time and stormed up to the cat girl, practically screaming in Ichigo's face.
"Deep Blue took them! He took their souls! All of them!"
Ichigo was bewildered and initially not grasping the gravity of the situation. Her wide eyes moved to Zakuro, who even wore a saddened and concerned expression for once. The red head fumbled to find words,
"What- What do you mean?!"
Mint abruptly shoved Ichigo back and snarled at her before Komamura placed a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from advancing further.
"Deep Blue took their souls from them and went back to that Hueco Mundo place! They're going to die! We never should have come here without them! Purin, Retasu, Keiichiro, and your precious Masaya!"
Ichigo seemed numb as she stared at her hurt friend who began to sob openly. Komamura gently pulled Mint back a few steps and Gin stepped into the group,
"They're at the 12th division with Cap'n Kurotsuchi. Think it'd be a good idea if ya came down to take a look at 'em."
...
