Chapter Sixteen
Haruki stared at Yuzu while she was lost in Jizen on top of the roof before looking at Mayaka who was sitting next to her, wrapping bandaids on her fingers. It was a strange thing but people who didn't understand how reishi and reiryoku work wouldn't understand why. While it was a bad idea to take Mayaka with them, they couldn't leave her alone and she was instrumental in her plan.
If you come home dead, I will kill you. Her mom had simply told them after a long babble. It made no sense but it was enough to put the fear of God into her.
Can you handle it? Haruki signed to her and Mayaka nodded.
Why do you ask again? She signed.
Just making sure. Haruki said before cracking her own fingers and pulling her crucifix out of her pocket and wearing it around her shoulder. All they had left was Yuzu. Haruki could see the Reiryoku coming from get... it was immense. "What's going on in there?" She wondered out loud.
"I hope you are all aware of the routes and groups you have made amongst yourselves." Muguruma-taichō told his subordinates at the gate of the ninth. "And if you see her, do not hesitate to attack. Bring her back bound."
"Ho!" They said before turning and walking away. Hisagi Shūhei turned at the last minute.
"Taichō... are you sure you're not coming with us?"
"You can fend for yourselves just fine. I'll hold down the fort with the newbies." Muguruma-taichō insisted and Hisagi-fukutaichō bowed before rushing off to join his subordinates. "Let's go back inside, newbies." He said before the two young Shinigami closed the gates.
Any smart ideas? Hyōrinmaru asked the captain who was observing from a distance, hidden but still able to hear their conversation.
I only have to worry about one. Tōshirō said to his spirit who gave him a grunt of confusion. This was going to be much harder if he picked seasoned officers regardless of whether he stayed or not.
Are you looking down on the ninth? Hyōrinmaru asked, quite tickled with his captain nowadays. The man was always serious and some days were more boring than others but now, the dragon felt giggly at all the excitement especially since his wielder was a stickler for the rules sometimes.
Tōsen and Mugurama-taichō thought they created an elite squad of super soldiers... when in reality, they just created a hoard of strong 'yes-men'. Tōshirō also chuckled a little. And sometimes, you just have to be smarter than the yes men... not stronger.
So you won't engage?
Waste of my time. Tōshirō replied. Think smarter... not harder.
I think I like this sneaky side of you. Hyōrinmaru hummed.
... Don't get too comfortable. Hitsugaya said before turning. He bumped into someone. "Excuse—" He was stopped by the hooded figure who held his arm. His eyes widened in surprise but softened when he noticed who it was.
"They're all in a white box with a tree drawing on it." She said before putting on her hood and disappearing into the crowd. Tōshirō did not question how she had found him or how she knew what he was going after but took her word for it. She did know the division better than anyone else.
"Now we may move on to your second task." Kyōgetsu said as she circled the young girl for a bit. Yuzu watched the zanpakutō, very weary of what might happen. While she had to admit, the first test was incredibly helpful in breaking the so called façade she put up for years, she was still very distrustful of the zanpakutō. "Look down." Yuzu looked down only to see a trap door beneath her feet that wasn't there in the first place.
"Find your way back home. You have ten minutes." With that, the trap door opened and Yuzu fell inside with a scream, plummeting into a deep pit of darkness.
Muguruma-taichō never thought that something unpredictable would happen on his watch... especially with Mashiro not on his team anymore. But there he was, dealing with a flooding kitchen and flooding hallways after his division left the premise. What was worse was that he left himself with five academy babies who still have asauchi. "What the hell is going on!" He yelled at the newbies as water seeped from the walls.
"The pipes burst." One of the unseated officers said as they ran around, trying to figure out where the leak was coming from and how to get the water out.
"I can see that. Did any of you get someone?" He asked.
"Well I..."
"Then go get someone!" Kensei yelled, wondering why he didn't just stay with a few ranked officers or at least officers with zanpakutōs before stomping back to his office, wondering whether someone from the twelfth could come fix it but once he entered his office, he found the window wide open. "Did I open my window?" Kensei mused to himself.
"Taichō! The walls stopped leaking." An officer called after him. Kensei scratched his head, wondering what the hell happened.
The walls are going to start leaking again. Hyōrinmaru said as Hitsugaya camouflaged into the crowd, carrying a box and trying to look calm as possible. If he had used shunpo, he would call for too much attention, especially since he used quite a bit to his reiatsu for his little party trick of freezing the pipes until the burst. He had frozen the breaking points long enough to keep the water in but it would melt at some point.
Thanks to Mashiro, he had pinpointed the box right away and checked the contents quickly and it was correct. He wondered why there was a tree on it anyways but knowing her, it was probably an artistic choice. Not only did it have zanpakutō information but it had census information and prison records as well.
"Taichō!" Hitsugaya was glad his awareness was still with him as he side stepped and let Matsumoto sail past him in an attempt to try and smoother him... again. "Taichō! You're so mean." She cried. Hitsugaya didn't even say anything as he continued into the yard and Matsumoto watched him, noticing just how withdrawn he was from the division nowadays before picking herself up and following him.
"So... where have you been?"
"Nowhere."
"What's in the box?"
"Nothing."
"Taichō... do you trust me?" Hitsugaya stopped, turning around to face the older woman and winced when he realised how negligent he had been, not only with his division but with her. While he had no concerns that the division was managing itself well because he taught them how to not always depend on him especially during a time when he was always out of recon missions, he realised that Matsumoto was once person who he never let out of the loop. She may have been annoying, but she was his lieutenant for a reason.
He put down the box before bowing. Matsumoto guffawed in surprise and everyone else passing by whispered in surprise at the fact that the captain was bowing in respect at Matsumoto. They would probably ask her in the luncheon halls though. "T... Taichō, what are you—"
"For my negligence and my lack of confidence in my division and my lieutenant, I greatly apologize." Hitsugaya said before coming back up and taking the box.
"I... taichō..." Matsumoto scratched her head.
"Follow me." He said. "There's something that you have to be present for." Matsumoto blinked in confusion, looking at his captain walk off in the direction of his office.
"What is he thinking?" She scratched her head.
"Matsumoto!"
"Hai!" She called as she ran after him.
It was only after a while of wandering when Yuzu realised that she was in Karakura town, but the town was completely dark. Not in a way that night time was, she could see the buildings and the streets but it felt like a black fog was covering the town. At least she knew the town so she could identify the buildings she was near and go off of that. Right now, it looked like she was close to the park where she could normally see the larger industrial buildings of Shizuoka.
"It's a start at least." Yuzu huffed as she wandered around the streets in the direction she was sure was home. But something felt off... this was too easy. Why would she need to find her way back for her training? What was the correlation? It made no sense to her.
She sighed anyways and after ten minutes, the time she would normally take to get home, she was at the doorstep of the clinic. She opened the door to walk inside only to slip and fall into another hole. She screamed as she fell again before landing on the ground with a thud. She coughed, wondering what on earth was going on. She stared up at the empty space accompanied by a door behind her and for some odd reason, there was light coming in through that door to indicate that she had just been through that door.
"What on earth..." Yuzu coughed as she stood up. That made no sense at all only for the door to close shut and the world around her to shift again. Now she was in her high school. She heard an echo of a laughter that she recognised all to well. "Kyōgetsu! What is this?!"
"Careful." The zanpakutō laughed. "The more mistakes you make, the further away you get and once you are too far away, you won't be able to return." Yuzu's eyes widened in shock at her words,. realising there was much more at stake here than she initially thought.
If anyone asked her what the most ridiculous thing about a shinigami lifestyle was before today, Yuzu was most likely talk about how dumb the kidō spells sounded. But now, she realised that this was the most insane aspect of the shinigami lifestyle. Why did she need to acquaint herself with a part of her soul in such an antagonistic way?
She looked around the school halls and hissed before running out of the school. The world was still dark and eerie. She clearly couldn't go to her physical home because it was wrong but now she had no idea what to do. She looked around, trying to think on what she could have possibly meant by 'find your way home.' Maybe more like a place she came from?
Soul Society. She concluded as she rushed to Urahara's shōten. She must have meant that. It's also the place where people go after they die. It must be correct. She claimed as she pushed forward and ran as she searched for his shop. She was about to barge in but stopped, unsure of herself as she reached for the doorknob. Now isn't the time to hesitate. She yelled at herself but couldn't help but feel conscious that she was making the wrong move. There was something she was missing... something that wasn't making sense.
She gingerly opened the door and peaked her head inside. She knelt at the frame and placed her hand, deciding that if it was wrong, there would be no floor. But her hand felt the wooden flooring and she sighed with relief before standing up and putting her first foot inside, only for her to fall into nothingness again and hit the floor beneath. She stared wide eyed at the light coming in through the door she just came through, feeling frustration come over her. "Why..." She hissed. "Why is nothing working?"
"This is your last chance." She heard Kyōgetsu say. "You're getting farther and farther away from home."
"Where is home!" Yuzu yelled into the nothingness as she stared at her new surroundings, only to be shocked by the fact that her starting point was now her bedroom. What is the meaning of this? She questioned herself as she got off her bed. Nothing makes sense anymore
It isn't real.
It has to be.
No, it isn't.
Farther away from home...
Find your way back home
Find your way back home.
"It's an illusion." Yuzu realised as she looked around. "None of it is real... I'm getting further away from home because I thought that I wasn't home from the very beginning..." The patterns began to fade and she realised she was floating in nothingness. The reishi made the patterns of the buildings but now deconstructed, all she could see was particles.
"Hmm?" Kyōgetsu hummed, waiting for her next move.
Yuzu looked up at the ceiling before disappearing. She jumped into the air using shunpo and she finally recognised the light coming in from where she was. They were platforms. She jumped speedily and moved higher and higher up the pit until she was nearing the ceiling she came from.
"O Lord, Mask of flesh and bone,
All creation, flutter of wings,
Ye who bears the name of man, truth and temperance,
Upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws!
Hadō 33: Blue fire crash down!"
Yuzu chanted before thrusting her palm to the ceiling and letting the blue flames burn through it before jumping up the home she created. She flipped backwards in the air and landed in the white tiled floor. She was back in the white room where she began. Yuzu knelt to the ground, panting. She was tired from the amount of reiatsu she had to use to make that possible and if she had gotten any lower, she doesn't think she would have made the jump. So that's what she meant.
"What did you learn, Yuzu-chan?"
"I overthink and I get distracted too easily."
"... Correct." Kyōgetsu nodded. "The truth is simple and shows what is real. Reishi is real, it can be touched and felt... but it can also be manipulated. You stand in the middle. You can control the flow of spirit particles as part of that system. When you understand that, you can only imagine how simple your enemies will be. Enemies have mastered the art of distraction... they are no more powerful than the average shinigami. As difficult as it may seem, loopholes are easy to spot." Kyōgetsu looked at her and a smile touched hey features.
"What?" Yuzu asked
"You are a very interesting one, Yuzu-chan." Yuzu looked at her before standing, feeling a little shaky but she was still fine nonetheless. "I'm impressed by the power you possess."
"What is the meaning to all this?" Yuzu asked.
"You are the bearer of the truth." Kyōgetsu said. "If the bearer of the truth cannot do her role in the midst of manipulation despite knowing the truth then what good is she? My instructions were clear... find your way back home. Back. You never left your house. You're sitting on your roof. But you got sidetracked by taking what is at face value because it was dark. You got scared which caused you to be deceived. If you as the bearer of the truth are the only one who can ward off darkness then you must do it appropriately. Home is not a place... it's a mentality."
Yuzu stared at Kyōgetsu and her expression softened. That's why she could see through Karin's illusion in the mirror. Mirrors reflect light... and light reveals the truth. The real limitation is the human body. "Now we move onto your last challenge... would you like a moment of rest before we—"
"No." Yuzu sighed as she stood up straighter, finally catching her breath. "I'm ready."
Kyōgetsu looked at her then nodded. "Very well." She says before pushing back her robe to reveal two tesens made of metal that reflected light off of it. "Final challenge, fight me." Yuzu's eyes widened as Kyōgetsu disappeared and reappeared right in front of her. Yuzu barely had time to react as she unsheathed her katana and stopped the attack but the impact pushed her several feet away and she slid on her knees to come to a stop. "I'm afraid you're going to need more than that." She reflected her tessen to blind her and Yuzu winced from the glare and tried moving out of way but Kyōgetsu was too fast and used shunpō to move behind her and kicked her in the back.
Yuzu grunted as she was thrust to the other side of the room. Yuzu looked up at Kyōgetsu. "Stand and fight. Or be defeated."
Tatsuki frowned as she found another match from the evidence locker. She turned to the computer and looked at the newest match: Kurosawa Maki, 29... another hikimori who worked at a convenience shop. "This is getting out of hand..." Tatsuki muttered.
"What is?" Tatsuki jumped in fear and turned around, facing her superior, Fukugawa Yuutaro. "Have you been authorised by anyone to look into a case?"
"Well, I-"
"Arisawa-san, you are supposed to be supervised when using the laboratory, under authorisa-"
"I granted her authorisation, I'm sorry." Tatsuki leaned to the side a bit to see Kakeru walking over. "I needed help on my current case with a robbery and all the other scientists were preoccupied."
"Very well, Renbutsu Junsa-buchō" He said. "Just remember to run things by me."
"I understand, kaichou." He bowed. Tatsuki also bowed when Fukagawa turned back to face her before he was off. Tatsuki breathed a heavy sigh of relief but Kakeru slipped into the room and closed the door.
"Thank you." Tatsuki said
"No problem." Kakeru said. "You should be careful through. Interns don't have that much freedom around here. And the unemployment line is flooded with scientists to take your place if you make a single mistake so watch your back." Tatsuki sighed in annoyance. "So... what is it that you are looking for?"
"Huh?"
"If you want someone in the higher ranks keeping the watchers off of you then... you might want to let them in on what it is you want." He said. Tatsuki looked at the case files on the desk and back at Kakeru before letting out a heavy sigh.
"Sit down then." She said.