Its funny, I'll be starting on a new chapter shortly after I release the latest one, thinking: "I'm going to get this next chapter out nice and quick, I can work on it a ton in the next couple weeks!". Then, one month later when I still only have half of it worked out, I think: "Where did the time go and how?". Which, I think we can all agree, is becoming a regular thing. I don't really want that. But hey, my process is slow.
And with that, I'd like to thank everyone who sticks with me even if my releases take a while. And if the chapters aren't that long anyways.
On another note: you know what's really hard? Coming up with names for…well, pretty much anything. Like, say, chapter titles. So I am officially going to stop naming each one, because that takes a while and I'm super picky about them and it sucks. Plus the naming convention I had for them felt dumb after a while.
Also, slight format changes for my chapters. It works for other fics I've read, and there's no reason why I shouldn't learn from those. It makes things more simple.
ALSO. In the manga the capitalization isn't really shown at all because the font they always use is neutral. That doesn't work for this, so I've been training myself to use titles and such as they should be. Looked weird for a bit until I got used to it, but I think it's a nice consistency update.
Did I mention I'm a perfectionist?
Anyways. Thank you again. Enjoy!
Chapter 9
The notice of the returning expedition came sooner than expected. It wasn't unknown for patrols to return both earlier or later than planned, but the suddenness of the return was unusual; no message, no sign, nothing except for the sudden formation of a garganta outside the gate of Las Noches. It wrenched open a ragged gap in the horizon, much to the surprise of the sentries stationed there and causing shouts of alarm as hazy outlines appeared in the crevice, rapidly approaching.
They lowered their guard a moment later at the sight of several dozen Adjucha charging out into the moonlight in a rush, many stopping a cautious distance away, casting wary looks back as one final silhouette appeared.
Nel landed nearby just as Shin stepped out onto the sand. After a quick look around at the surrounding Hollows she moved closer, scrutinizing her charge. He stood stock-still, the only movement visible a muscle twitching oddly in his neck. Her eyes widened as she heard ragged breathing echoing from under his mask.
"Shin?"
She had to fight the urge to step back as his head snapped around to face her with startling abruptness. The black sclera of his eyes was visibly shot through with red, and the yellow of his irises had taken on an unhealthy tinge. He gazed at her for a tense moment before the visible area around his eyes relaxed ever so slightly. "…Nel."
She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding at the tone of recognition and smiled gently, still not sure if he was entirely himself. The fact that his voice was once again taking on that double-layered echo after it had finally faded away several months ago didn't escape her.
"It looks like everyone made it back in one piece. Good work."
Shin blinked, head swiveling to take in the crowd still staring his way, nodding jerkily. Nel glanced over to the bull-horned Adjucha that had returned with the group, motioning him over.
"What happened?" Nel asked as softly as possible, keeping one eye on Shin, who seemed transfixed by the slowly waning sliver of the moon above. The Adjucha shook its head ponderously, rumbling voice managing to be just as quiet.
"Nobody knows. We arrived on time, went our separate ways with him as the rallying point, then suddenly there was this massive…wave of power." At this, he nodded Shins way. "Nothing was destroyed, but most of the humans in the town passed out immediately. It, well-" The Adjucha paused, lost for words. "It definitely didn't feel right."
"Right?"
To her immense surprise, he shook his large shoulders uncomfortably. "It felt like a Hollows reiatsu, sure, but there was something more to it. Like there was something else mixed in, I couldn't place it. And when we did feel brave enough to get any closer he was just standing there radiating energy like a goddamned reactor."
Nel frowned. "Anything else?"
The Adjucha snorted heavily. "Oh, that's not even the half of it. The energy coming off of him? I've seen him fighting that Harribel lady, I know it's red. This was bright blue. Oh, and there were these weird black…bolts mixed in. They were frying anything nearby when they sparked off him. Didn't look like they felt very good either."
At the confused look Nel gave him, he shrugged one large shoulder towards the horned Vasto. "They weren't just lashing out at random. They were hitting him too."
Nel tensed in shock.
"I'm gonna guess that's not normal."
"No," she murmured, lost in contemplation. She'd never even heard of anything like this happening to any type of being, spiritual or otherwise. She vividly remembered the fight between Shin and Nnoitra when he had first arrived, and that final cero he had managed to release; the energy had been crackling with black strings of power, and had been strong enough to singe her some when she had swallowed it. But what had caused them to appear?
The Adjucha paused for a minute before continuing. "After a while he finally calmed down, the fireworks show stopped, and he opened the garganta without a word. Waited for us to all get through before he moved another inch. I guess your instructions from before made at least some impact."
Thank the gods for small miracles.
"You're dismissed, all of you." The big Hollow, and at the same time the rest that had been unabashedly listening in, nodded and made their way inside Las Noches. Shin remained still as death until the last one had moved out of sight, his sickly gaze drifting over the enormous structure with a trace of confusion. A sudden sense of foreboding hit Nel in the pit of her stomach, causing her to step forwards slowly.
"Shin, do you know where we are?"
His horned head tilted oddly to one side at the question, taking a long minute before he spoke.
"Of course. Las Noches. I've been here for centuries…"
She felt relieved until the last half registered, the words chilling her to the core. She watched in a sort of detached horror as he began to sway unsteadily, fingers gesturing at random places as he spouted out rambling sentences that ran together and things that made little to no sense.
"…That's where the true watchtowers used to be, what a sight they were…ah, but that was when the palace was but in it's infancy…and now look at the mess it's become…this is what you get, you old fool…"
"Shin!"
He stopped, not even looking at her, head lolling side to side to some unknown rhythm.
"What an odd name...it's not mine, is it? Or…no, no, no no no it couldn't be...it was…was…who am…I?"
He devolved into muttered words and eerie laughter, made only more manic-sounding by the strange echoing timbre that she could hear shifting by the second. Much to her alarm, he began to glow as his reiatsu erupted out, wreathing him in a red and yellow haze tinged with waves of blue and the odd streaks of black. They writhed along his shaking form, some snapping off at the surrounding desert. Several rent the air with loud cracks, lashing back and leaving scorch marks wherever they struck. Shin roared in a mix of pain and fury, falling to one knee and clutching his head, babbling out a string of incomprehensible words as the amount of reiatsu increased by the second.
Nel tried several times to get close, to either try to calm him down or failing that knock him unconscious, but the flailing whips of energy smacked her back with incredible force each time. The pressure and heat alone blasting out sent the wind billowing in all directions, rendering the area into a virtual sandstorm until she could only see his outline through the chaotic haze.
Nel grit her teeth after another failed attempt, wrenching her blade out angrily. If she couldn't get close with speed...
She didn't get a chance to test it either way as the storm surrounding him vanished with a loud crack, leaving the area in startling silence; a second later he thudded to the ground, comatose. Behind him stood the eighth Espada, an empty syringe in one thin hand and the usual expression of casual disdain on his features. He gave the prone body one last glance before tossing the needle away carelessly, light glinting coldly off the lenses of his spectacles. "That was dramatic."
--
Nel set Shin down gingerly, careful not to jolt him awake no matter how much their 'good doctor' might assure her it was impossible for the time being. Impossible wasn't something that had applied to this particular Hollow yet.
She heaved a long sigh, stepping back and rubbing her forehead. Somewhere in her mind she was simultaneously amazed and appalled that something in the world had managed to cause more headaches for her than her two fracción ever had.
That thought kept rolling around in her mind, having some difficulty really sinking in, when Szayelaporro strode around a set of bulky machines dominating the room. He took one look at Shin still passed out, made a single crisp nod, and hit a tiny button to the side; dozens of metal bands shot out of the table, wrapping around each limb and binding him fast.
"Hey!"
He raised one thin pink brow at her exclamation. "What? Would you like to risk him getting free if he wakes suddenly?"
Nel opened and closed her mouth several times, struggling for an answer. At the knowing smirk the man grew she crossed her arms grumpily. "I thought you said that was impossible."
"There is no such thing to a scientist," he admonished playfully, wagging a finger at her. The only time she had seen him this cheerful was in the cases where he had some horrendously grisly - if effective - experiment going on. She was going to have to keep a close watch.
After suspiciously eyeing several final bonds as they securely wound themselves around Shins horns, Nel resigned herself to sit nearby, keeping one eye on the Espada as he tinkered around the table. Her mind began to wander some as the minutes passed, mulling over details, trying to see the bigger picture...when it all suddenly made sense.
"What's happening to him?"
Szayelaporro turned his head briefly from his work at the question. "Well, I don't know. That's what I'm working to-"
"Don't lie to me."
The room went deathly quiet as he moved to meet her stare. A long pause later and one side of the man's mouth drew upwards. "Don't ever let anyone say that you are only a pretty face, Nelliel."
Nel held herself back from rising to the taunt. She had finally realized what had been nagging at her mind since Shin had almost spontaneously combusted: she, with all her skills or power, hadn't managed to get within ten feet. Yet Szayelaporro had. Seemingly without effort. The final realization made her lip curl up and she let out an unconscious growl.
The scientist muttered something under his breath that sounded vaguely like 'mother bear', sighing theatrically and tapping the machine in front of him into humming life. "Very well. Ask away, if you must."
Nel squinted curiously as a long mechanical arm swung out over Shin, a diode on the end sending delicate motes of white light down in pulsing waves. "Again: what's happening?"
"Hmph. Isn't that obvious? His soul is attacking itself."
She blinked slowly. Several times. "Oh, yes. Silly me, of course that's what it was."
"Dry sarcasm does not become you." A rapid staccato of keys and the particles became a sky blue, bathing the room the same color. "Are you trying to tell me that you haven't been able to sense the different kinds of reiatsu shooting off this boy?" Her confused look made him groan in disbelief. "And here I thought your pesquisa was quite acute."
He made a elegant display of hitting another set of keys, the particles changing to a lurid shade of yellow, shot through with black. He frowned at it before sending another command though, the light shifting slowly towards a lighter tone, eliciting a satisfied nod.
"In that case, I'm starting at the beginning. That is what you want, hmm?"
"Just…get on with it. And for my sanity, keep the theatrics to a minimum."
"You have no appreciation for drama." He took a seat across from her own, reclining casually. "I'll have you know that I wouldn't be explaining anything at all if I wasn't getting such interesting data out of all this."
"Lucky me," she growled. Szayelaporro took that as his cue, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking.
"So. You have now witnessed his power becoming fully unstable. Do you know why?"
"I have my thoughts on it, but I'm going to assume yours are more informed."
"Rightly so." The all too familiar smirk grew on his lips once again. "But all the same, humor me. If I remember correctly, the first instance of anything truly unusual - besides the total amnesia - was his initial conflict with Nnoitra Gilga. Can you imagine what was different?"
Nel furrowed her brow, thinking. "He was exhausted. At the end of his rope. The fight with Nnoitra had taken all he had…last I saw, he was practically out of reiatsu before he managed to release that last cero."
Szayelaporro grinned, appearing nearly giddy with excitement. "Yes, out of power. That's just it, isn't it? He was almost entirely depleted…of Hollow reiatsu."
"I don't follow."
"Nelliel, please. You're practically killing me." He held one finger up, stopping her retort prematurely. "Meaningless threats aside. Have you never wondered why exactly he is so powerful with his current state? He has no memory. No real drive, nothing but raw emotion. Which, let's be honest, is more than enough for most Hollows. But that much power? That much raw potential, from an empty shell? No. That doesn't explain it. Do you know what does?"
"I imagine you're going to tell me."
"Oho, most certainly. But I want to savor this moment of revelation." He sprung out of his seat, dashing to the controls for the device still radiating light down on Shin. With a complex command two more arms extended out to join the first, each diode on the end beginning to glow.
"So! What would explain the sheer power that comes out of this boy? What does he have that I believe no other Hollow ever has? What, that would theoretically raise the bar for what is possible for a single being?"
Nel shook her head in confusion, standing slowly as the three arms began to move together, drawing synchronized patterns in the air, the motes of light - she realized with a start it was some kind of reiatsu - turning back to a pale white.
"Thanks to my exam after he first arrived I saw the abnormality early on," the man continued, tapping away at various displays as the machine hummed louder and louder, making the room vibrate. "But even then I could hardly believe my own eyes at first. I was witnessing a literal impossibility. Something that should not and could not exist by natural law. If you wish to laugh at the irony of someone like myself saying such, now is the time."
Somehow she couldn't find it in her to make the joke. The implications of what Szayelaporro was saying were difficult to grasp, and somehow she didn't feel like knowing the specifics was going to help. Determined to nonetheless, and fairly certain this infuriating man wouldn't simply tell her otherwise, she cleared her mind as much as possible, trying to let what she knew fall into place on it's own. She was distracted as one of the diodes above Shin began to emit a deep shade of crimson.
The exact same color as...
Her eyes widened, darting over to see Szayelaporro witness her realization, smirking as he hit another key. The second diode shifted until it was raining a stream of pale yellow like before. Nel reached out with her senses, grasping at both. The red was clearly Hollow energy, and the other…
"It feels like a…Shinigami?"
Szayelaporro clapped his hands together sharply, looking pleased. "Correct."
Nel nodded, thinking. It would certainly make sense, with what she had witnessed herself. For a single soul to naturally have the power from both was no laughing matter; theoretically, such a being would be able to harness either side at will. She frowned after that thought, looking up at Szayelaporro once more. "I don't get it. What would cause his own reiatsu to attack him like that? I can personally think of several cases where a Hollow either consumed or took on Soul Reaper reiatsu and abilities, and nothing like this happened at those times."
The man just pursed his lips to hold back another smile, crossing his white-robed arms smugly. She could almost hear him gloating that she was missing something.
Grumbling, she scanned the room one last time, scouring for some detail she had skimmed over, not knowing what she did now. After several frustrating passes, her eyes fell upon the arms still going around in their dizzying patterns…all three of them. She stopped, staring.
"No..."
Szayelaporro raised his eyebrows in a question, still keeping quiet as she looked at him, having a hard time processing the facts she was being shown.
"He can't have anything else inside his soul, it would be entirely too unstable! He wouldn't have survived this long!"
He scoffed in response, walking back to the monitors on the side of the table once more. "Oh, and you would know that for a fact?" He began to type, sending in a much longer command than the other two. Nel heard a small beep, and the last diode emanating the white particles began to change, very slowly.
"What if I told you," he said, relishing every word as if it were the sweetest treat, "that not only was there a third and entirely separate aspect to his soul, but that it was - again, only theoretically - impossible for it to coexist with his Hollow self?"
She was at a loss. Several long minutes passed as she scoured her own memory, trying to think of any kind of being she had ever encountered that could be causing such a reaction. Finally she shook her head at the other Espada, who appeared rather disappointed. His only response was to pointedly look at the three arms rotating above; the last diode had settled on radiating a shower of pale blue motes, turning the air above Shin into a glimmering storm of color with all three together. She could feel the signature from the blue reiatsu clearly, it was entirely distinct from the other two, but she couldn't place it. The answer escaped her for what felt like an age, Szayelaporro seemingly happy to wait, when she at last had her answer.
But it made no sense.
Nel continued to ponder in silence until the other Espada interrupted in exasperation. "I can tell that you know the answer by now, don't keep me in suspense."
She threw him a nasty look, exhaling a heavy breath she had been holding in. "I don't know how it's possible, but…that's reiatsu from a Quincy."
She watched in an amused sort of stupor as the man grew a demented smile. He smacked his keyboard again, causing two separate arms with the same equipment to descend from the ceiling, pointing at each other. One glowed the familiar red of Shin's energy, the other shining the brilliant blue of a Quincy just after; the instant they met in the air, midnight-black lines of lightning erupted from the point of contact, writhing along the machinery as if sentient.
Nel gasped at the violence of the reaction. She knew the reputation of the ancient bloodline of those empowered humans that called themselves the Quincy; an order unparalleled in their gathering and manipulation of the reishi that comprised all spiritual beings and creations. Their dexterity with the shaping of it was such that they quickly established themselves in the old days as hunters of the supernatural that fed the human race: Hollows. They were known for forming bows and arrows of pure spiritual energy, using their skills with incredible accuracy to annihilate any Hollow they encountered. It was even rumored for many years that they had learned their hunting craft from a certain Mediterranean goddess, but nothing had ever been proven - and nothing probably ever would, considering their extermination at the hands of the Shinigami nearly a thousand years ago.
The two newest arms began to smoke dangerously, and Szayelaporro quickly had them stop and retreat to their compartments. Nel watched them go, thoughtful. "I remember the Quincy and their hatred of Hollows, but I don't understand what causes…" She gestured at the remaining haze in the room with one hand. "…that."
The eighth Espada seemed inordinately pleased at her recollection of the extinct order, taking his seat once again. "You are correct, the Quincy did indeed harbor a hatred for Hollows unmatched by any, even Shinigami. But did you know it was not simple hate, but fear as well?"
At this Nel reared back slightly in her chair, which only made the man grin wider.
"They developed their skills and chose their profession not out of hatred, but out of existential need. For there is one existence in this universe that is anathema to everything that they are as a species."
Seeing where he was leading and lost in the information, Nel murmured the answer before he could say it. "Hollows."
He nodded sagely, assuming a pensive pose with fingers crossed together dramatically. Nel had to hold back from rolling her eyes as he went on.
"Hollows, both physically and spiritually, are as poison to the body and soul of the Quincies. It may have something to do with their increased ability with spiritrons - or 'reishi', as you probably know it - but I was never able to confirm the theory before they were wiped out." He rubbed his chin, looking slightly regretful.
"In any case, that was why they were known almost exclusively for killing Hollows and Hollows alone. A single wound from one of us could fester and begin to destroy a Quincy at the atomic level, even it's soul, within minutes. Interestingly enough, whenever a Quincy did kill a Hollow, it completely erased that soul from the world as well. Isn't that fascinating?"
Nel saw the manic glint in his pale eyes and raised a brow. "If I didn't know better, I would say you sounded sad that they're gone."
"Of course I am! I had so many more experiments planned for their species! It's a pity the last subject I had was only some old man, too…"
Knowing the usual end result of his 'experiments', Nel shook that thought away before it stuck in her head, focusing back on her main concern.
"So then how is Shin even alive? With what you're telling me, he can't exist. Yet here we are." She looked back to the table where the man in question still lay unconscious; she was relieved to see he looked healthier already, the shower of mixed - but somehow still separate - motes of reiatsu still working away.
Szayelaporro followed her gaze. "That is the conundrum. As he has no memory, we cannot glean any clues as to his parentage, and his DNA of his spiritual body here shows all three as well. There's no way to determine what he was in life unless we find his material body, and that is a hopeless venture. Who knows how long he was in a dormant state before awakening as a Menos?"
"Right…let's focus on what is here in front of us. What changed to make him so unstable? He was just a Hollow when I found him."
Nel found herself on the receiving end of a surprisingly genuine smile from her peer as he stood and began to pace. "An excellent question. As you said and as we have seen, he is for the most part a Hollow. The key is his sense of identity. I can only assume his venture into the human world was some sort of shock to him, shattering whatever illusion of 'self' he had been building up during his time in Hueco Mundo."
"His image of himself as a Hollow."
Another pleased smile flew her direction. "Exactly. I assume that as that vanished, the rest of his soul rushed forth to fill the gap, showing the reaction we saw earlier."
One last thing was missing from the equation, but the Espada seemed to see the question coming before she could put it to words.
"As for the overall delirium he was showing, only one thing properly explains that: the souls of those he has absorbed so far."
"How? That's always supposed to stop when a one becomes a Vasto Lorde-"
"-Oh yes, because as we've seen he is just a normal Hollow." He gave her a much less entertained expression than before. "Assume that does not apply."
She felt slightly silly for falling back on given knowledge in this situation, picking absently at a small wrinkle in her clothes as she marshaled her thoughts together.
"So…what you're saying is that residual memories from the souls he took in as a Hollow are rising to the top?"
Szayelaporro adjusted his glasses crisply. "Correct."
"And from what you're implying, the only way to stop that from happening is still to recover his own memory."
"As it was when he first arrived, that is still the solution. Just to a different problem."
"And it's just as impossible to achieve as before. Lovely." Nel groaned as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. As enlightening these discoveries were, the way to fix everything hadn't changed. In the end, Shin needed to find who he had been before anything else.
And how the hell is he supposed to search in this state?
She was left alone with her problems for some time, the other Espada quietly tinkering around the table holding Shin as she mused. Inexplicably, the feeling that she might not always be around to help her young protégé appeared in her gut, and she stood decisively.
"What can you do to fix this in the meantime?"
Szayelaporro turned with one brow raised, regarding her tense stance with some amount of caution. He stared at Shin for a long minute, caressing his chin thoughtfully.
"You know that anything I do will most likely only act as a temporary fix. With how unstable he is, I can make no guarantees."
"I understand."
Szayelaporro suddenly fixed her with a suspicious look. "And what did I do to deserve such trust, Nelliel?"
To his great surprise she smiled; an all-too knowing gesture with too many teeth involved, but a smile nonetheless. "Because now I know that you want to see how this all turns out even more than I do."
The eccentric man made an amused snort, one finger on the bridge of his glasses. "Playing to my weakness, is it? Very well. You have my word, for whatever that counts, that I will do what I can to ensure he lives."
--
A day later she had Shin back in her tower, still fast asleep. Nel examined the devices that had been affixed to his wrists and ankles for what felt like the hundredth time, still not sure how much she trusted them to keep him sane. Each appeared to be a simple, if thick and bulky, bracelet of some type of ceramic and metal, glistening white and silver and placed just upwards of the strange tufts of crimson fur on each limb. On each she could just see an ornate five-pointed star engraved on one side.
"These will keep any trace of his Quincy power suppressed. The hope is that even if he does go out of control, he won't die by his own hand; or soul, as it were. I'm working on another to keep the residual memories in check, but the infusion of his Hollow reiatsu appears to have helped greatly. He should be able to continue the patrols as soon as he is up and about."
She mulled the words over again, exhaling heavily as she sat. Shin was safe, for the moment. He would even have another Espada keeping tabs on him, just in case. So then why did she still have this sense of foreboding?
--
"Finally, they're gone."
Szayelaporro glanced around at the sneering voice, seeing Nnoitra stalk into the room, massive Zanpakuto resting on one shoulder.
"What do you want?" He asked brusquely, in no mood to entertain the savage man. He tapped away at the display he stood in front of as the other Espada cackled in his typical manner.
"That's no way to treat an accomplice…"
"Acquaintance."
"Accomplice," the other barked, sneer twisting into an ugly shape. "With all the time you've been spending with that bitch and her annoying runt, I'm starting to wonder whether you'll keep up our little…deal."
Szayelaporro felt an unusual sensation strike him at the words: worry? Impossible.
And yet…
The events of the past several days flashed through his mind, the fascinating case brought before him, the sheer potential of what it could amount to, and he again experienced that strange feeling.
Raw curiosity.
When had he last known that emotion, truly? In all his long years of sequestering himself in his domain, performing one experiment after another in the search of simple knowledge, when had he last felt that spark of true desire? He knew what Nnoitra wanted, and he had to admit that until very recently he wouldn't have cared a single whit about the third Espada's wellbeing. But now she was tied to something unique, something truly special. Something that he may never witness again.
And he refused to lose the chance.
"Yes, about that," he said carelessly, not bothering to face Nnoitra. "We have a change of plans."
"The hell are you talkin' about?"
"Due to my recent activities, as you pointed out, I can no longer assist in your…vendetta. At least not in the way you might prefer."
He heard a loud thud and the ground shook, finally turning to see the Espada's thin features mangled into a furious expression.
"The fuck you aren't!" Nnoitra growled, leveling the blade towards the smaller man.
Szayelaporro regarded him coldly, shaking his head and snapping his fingers on one hand. With a crack the Zanpakuto crashed to the ground, it's owner following suit a moment later to the accompaniment of another bout of angry swearing. A panel near the ceiling had started to glow, a column of orange light seeming to weigh the air itself down.
"Let me remind you, Nnoitra," he said softly, crouching down, "why you came to me in the first place." He refused to talk any more until Nnoitra grudgingly met his gaze.
"You wish to remove Nelliel from her position. I neither know nor care why. But as I mentioned, I can no longer directly interfere. I am...involved now."
"You bastard...you were involved with my plan before!"
"Were you listening? I said I don't care."
Nnoitra made a show of scoffing incredulously, conveying as much scorn as he could from his position on the floor. "So what, I'm supposed to believe you care about her and the brat?"
"Goodness, no. Do what you like with her. And her two fracción. The boy, however, shows potential. The kind of potential that I am fully willing to ensure does not come to any harm. Do you understand me?"
Szayelaporro received only a glower at the question, one that rapidly disappeared as a shining scalpel appeared in the doctors hand.
"…Fine. I won't touch a hair on his little orange head. Happy?"
With another snap the pillar of gravity vanished, the Espada rising to his full height warily. "What about her two idiots?"
Szayelaporro had already begun to stride away as he spoke. "I will at least ensure they are away on a mission of some sort."
The tall Arrancar muttered something darkly as he snatched up his weapon once more and stomped away. Szayelaporro waited until he knew the man was out of his quarters to trigger a full lockdown of the facilities. He was rather exhausted of visitors today. As he moved to take a short rest, a macabre thought appeared in his mind: which of his associates would he bet on to survive the next day?
--Soul Society, Research and Development Division--
Vice-President Akon padded through the halls of the science division tiredly - or, as some would say, as the members of the Division always did. They were always overworked, whether by the regular duties of their profession or due to their own personal interests. With the lack of sleep the bags under his eyes had grown to impressive levels, scruffy hair appearing even scruffier than usual over the three tiny, asymmetrical horns that protruded from his forehead. He subconsciously rubbed them with one hand as he strode along, taking stock of the day.
Hiyosu should be done with his catalogue of the current gigai in for repair…Kuna and Torue were on the Soul Pill tune-ups…and Rin will be asleep by now…just like I should-
"President!"
He restrained himself from letting out a long-suffering sigh as the member in question came dashing down the hall, looking simultaneously excited and worried - also as per the usual. His dark brown hair, tied up in an odd little bun at the front, wobbled energetically as he skidded to a halt.
"We found something! So you had me look into that disturbance in the Northern quadrant that we picked up on the Denreishinki, and we finally found it and it's really weird and we can't make sense of it at all, not even Hiyosu, and we can't find the Captain or Nemu and we-"
"Breathe, Rin."
The boy had been growing blue in the face from lack of oxygen, taking a huge breath and coughing violently. Akon watched, bemused, as Rin turned a more normal shade, resuming as soon as his life was no longer in peril.
"It'll be better if I just show you. Come on!"
He grudgingly followed along to the central command center of the Division, dominated by the aforementioned Denreishinki, a massive layout of sensors and interfaces monitoring both the Soul Society and the human world; it was from here that they received much of the information that the thirteen Court Guard Squads utilized to plan their deployments.
Most of the main staff of the Research division were arranged around the primary data hub, intent on a large display above as Akon made his way over.
Hiyosu was manning the controls himself, large round head a pale green, teeth constantly bared in a grim expression with his golem-like lack of features. He glanced back with slightly protruding eyes as the vice-president approached, nodding once before returning to his work.
"Rin mentioned that spike in the northern area, did you figure it out?"
The man made a nasal hum. "I found the location, yes. As for what it was? No. Take a look." Another display lit up showing a detailed geographical map of the area in question, with a bright blue transparent overlay resting on top. To those who knew the system, it was designed to provide an accurate show of spiritual pressure in the zone indicated, conveyed as a layer of color indicating the type of disturbance.
Akon squinted at it, not recognizing the location. Unsurprising, considering there were only so many Shinigami; covering the entire human world was nearly impossible to do. As such, there were some areas that they didn't deploy to very often, if at all. The display zoomed in closer, showing snow-covered mountains and wide, winding rivers.
"Where is this, somewhere in Russia?"
"North-Western America. And now for the time lapse…"
The blue grid began to shift slightly, showing lighter spots of blue and green appear, some tiny flares of energy, human or otherwise.
"Now, watch closely," Hiyosu said eagerly, smiling in his odd way. Akon leaned forwards slightly in anticipation; they wouldn't have brought him into this if there wasn't something interesting.
A small readout at the top put the time right at sundown before he saw it: a massive spike of red and green on the outside of a small riverside town, blooming out over the surrounding landscape. He blinked in shock. Those colors meant Hollow and Soul Reaper energy, and in no small amount. The green display alone put it around the level of a Captain.
The frightening part was that the Hollow reading was even higher.
The others in the lab around him started whispering among themselves as he frowned. "We didn't have anyone in that area, did we? Any of our Captains?"
"Not even close. Would you like to know the best part? The energy readings are from the same source, not two separate entities. Something out there has both Shinigami and Hollow reiatsu."
Akon felt his spine go cold, hairs on his neck raising as an image flashed before his eyes of a messy-haired, white-robed man from years past.
Kisuke Urahara…
"And the residents of..?"
"Fairbanks. All were rendered unconscious from the surge of reiatsu, though they were unharmed physically."
Hiding his initial reaction, he inwardly considered the possibilities as he stared at the screen, thinking. He made to turn away before one tiny detail caught his attention. "Zoom in closer."
The view scrolled in slowly until the reaction was taking up the entire display: at the very center, barely visible under the green and red, was the tiniest flash of blue within the epicenter. They all looked at it incomprehensibly for a quiet few seconds.
"What is that?"
"I don't recognize the reaction…"
"Do we have it in the records?"
At that whisper from the crowd, Hiyosu tapped away at his station for a moment before motioning Akon closer. He pointed to a smaller screen lower down without a word. Akon stared at it in confusion, mind struggling to process the information he was being forced to face. With a sinking feeling, he realized he had only one course of action available.
"This information is to stay confidential until you are ordered otherwise," he shouted, striding away, fatigue gone. Hiyosu scurried after him, a worried expression on what remained of his facial features.
"Akon! Akon, what are you doing?!"
"You know exactly what I have to do." He wheeled on his shorter associate, face determined.
"I'm taking this to the Captain Commander myself."