I'm alive! And wouldn't you know it, it's been too damn long. My bad.
For one thing, I'd started writing this with the intention of it being a sort of 'interlude', focusing on events that weren't necessarily required for the main story progression. I kept going under that idea for a while, then got incredibly stuck when I realized it actually was kinda important. So, uh...oops.
Anyways, here ya go. This was meant to be out nearly a month ago, but I suppose a new years eve release isn't too bad. Happy Holidays to all, (whatever you happen to celebrate) and I'll see you next year.
Chapter 12:
"Oh no…where did the Captain go…?"
Lieutenant Hinamori was trotting around the Fifth Division barracks anxiously, head bobbing as she peered into each open doorway. She startled several younger division members as she swept around a corner, bowing and stammering out apologies before continuing her search.
"I don't get it," she murmured to herself, leaving behind yet another empty room. "I thought the new orders were to be available at any time, not disappear without a word…"
"Hinamori?"
Momo let out a strangled squeal, whirling to see the man in question standing behind her, sporting a nonplussed expression at her indignation.
"Why do none of the captains make noise when they walk around?!"
Captain Aizen, a kindly-looking man with ruffled brown hair and thick-rimmed glasses, gave her a wry smile in response. "An unfortunate side effect of being old and cautious, I'm afraid."
Properly mollified, Momo visibly calmed her racing pulse with one hand to her chest, sighing lightly. "I'm sorry, Captain. You vanished so quickly after the report and I panicked a little…"
"Perfectly understandable." The older man nodded, turning and motioning for her to follow. "I had some urgent business come up, but luckily it didn't last very long."
Aizen glanced back just in time to catch a curious look from his lieutenant, chuckling. "A bit of…preparation, if you will. Making sure certain plans are still in effect with everything going on."
Inside, she was glad that he didn't appear too worried about the situation with Rukia – he had made a second request to the Captain Commander to attempt to breach the entrance into Hueco Mundo, only to be rejected again, resulting in the darkest mood Momo had ever seen him in, but he seemed to be fine now.
I was worrying about nothing.
Momo smiled to herself, following along at her captain's side loyally. Something caught her eye as he turned a corner, and she glanced away for a brief instant. Seeing nothing, she turned back-
"…Um, Captain?"
"Hm?"
Aizen turned to face her, raising a brow curiously. She stared for a moment, rubbing her eyes in confusion. "I thought you had disappeared again…I'm sorry, I must be tired or something."
She missed the faintest flicker of an unknown emotion in the man's eyes as he smiled again, placing one warm hand gently atop her head. "You should get some rest, then. We may be rather busy in the near future, I can't have you falling asleep on me in a time of crisis."
Aizen laughed at her pout, waving back over his shoulder as he strode away purposefully. "That's an order, Hinamori. I'll be in my study for a while."
"Yes, Captain."
Even if it was out of the corner of her eye, seeing someone's silhouette waver like a mirage couldn't be a good sign for her health.
Momo sighed again, stepping towards her quarters tiredly.
I just hope nothing bad happens while I'm asleep…
O--O--O
"Ah, there you are."
Izuru Kira looked up from his paperwork curiously to see his captain striding up, his constantly smiling face somewhat of a comfort with recent events. "Captain Ichimaru. I'm sorry, were you looking for me?"
The other man waved one hand casually, thin lips smiling slightly wider. "No no, nothing urgent, don't worry. Anything unusual pop up?"
"No, not yet sir."
Ichimaru shrugged at that, leaning against a nearby wall. "Well that's annoying. With all the hubbub around here, you'd think something exciting would happen, right?"
Izuru fought back a smile at his Captain's clear signs of boredom. "I don't mean to sound like a coward, but I'd rather nothing happen at all, sir."
They shared a quick laugh, lapsing into a comfortable silence afterwards. Still working on his reports, he couldn't help but sneak a couple glances at the leader of the third division as he wrote.
Kira knew well enough the opinions of most other Souls Reapers on Captain Gin Ichimaru; carefree, untrustworthy, always up to something. While it was true his standard methods left something to be desired, Kira had never had reason to doubt his commanding officer's judgement. Many found the man's snakelike features to be unsettling, yet for years Kira had found an odd comfort in his unchanging demeanor in the face of whatever he encountered.
"Hey, Kira."
Startled from his thoughts, he blinked at his captain. "Sir?"
"Aren't you bored of that paperwork by now?"
"Er…no?"
"Ah, come on. Let's go for a walk or something."
"Our orders-"
"Were to be ready to respond, I know. C'mon, we'll just be on a patrol around the perimeter of the Seireitei. Besides, you look like you need some fresh air."
"…You always say that, Captain."
The man raised one thin eyebrow.
And he's usually right, too.
"Hah...alright, sir."
Gin's smile spread wider at that, already stepping to the door. Moving to follow, Kira took one last glance at the other man as he stood.
"If I didn't know better, Captain, I'd say you were expecting something."
"Hmm? Well..." Gin tossed a look back before tapping one long finger to his nose knowingly. "I guess you could call it a hunch."
O--O--O
Flitting over the shingled rooftops of the Seirieitei's outer limits, Captain Soifon's eyes methodically scanned the area, down to every last bird in the sky.
She had taken Commander Yamamoto's instructions very literally, scattering her scouts and stealth forces all throughout the Soul Society as swiftly as possible. Every so often, one would appear nearby with a report, but so far nothing had appeared out of place.
It struck her as odd.
Why would the Captain Commander order all forces to assemble if not in preparation for an attack? Would they not be better served to spread out among the nearby residential areas to respond to any threat?
Something more is going on here. Something that the Commander suspects.
"But what could it be?" She muttered, brows knitting together. With hardly a noise, she perched nimbly on one of the taller structures, scanning the horizon once more. Seeing nothing, she allowed herself to exhale slowly, feeling her shoulders loosen from their tense stance the slightest amount.
"You need to relax more, Soifon."
Snorting at an old memory, she glanced around just as one of her black-clad men appeared nearby. He fell to one knee, panting from exertion.
"Captain…in the western Rukongai, it's…!"
Soifon clicked her tongue in irritation and squinted into the distance, the blurry outline of the ragtag suburbs barely visible from where she stood.
Damn.
O--O--O
With the clanging alarms ringing out, the calm demeanor of the Seireitei was shattered. Groups of Soul Reapers were seen clustering around the perimeter, several larger gatherings dashing through the residences of the nearer Rukon.
High above, a white-haired boy soared over and past the detachment with casual ease, captain's Haori flapping in the wind. Skillfully landing and sliding along a tiled rooftop, he propelled himself another mile in a single leap, continuing to beeline towards the disturbance. A shout from behind had him glancing back with cool turquoise eyes as another Shinigami sped to catch up, silky mane of blond hair streaming out behind her shapely form like a ribbon.
"Rangiku."
Landing on another rooftop, they launched off at the same time as the woman frowned up at him. "You left me behind again!"
Visibly suppressing an annoyed response, the captain of the Tenth Division only scowled to himself, gaze fixed ahead. "There was no time, I had no idea where you were."
Rangiku sent him a similar scowl, her sculpted features hardly marred with the gesture. "I was in the barracks finishing the paperwork that you refused to help me with."
"You mean after I took half of your stack yesterday?"
Toushiro let a small smirk out at her outraged sputtering, keeping most of his attention on their path. His lieutenant noticed after a moment, sighing resignedly. "So what are we running into here?"
"No idea," he admitted, skirting to the side of a small lake in the center of another cluster of homes. "From the report, Kuchiki was able to hold this thing off for a while, so a Captain or two should be more than enough."
"…Big Kuchiki or little Kuchiki?"
Toushiro ignored her.
"The problem is how we contain it," he said, making a point to keep on track. "Every account says this Hollow is exceedingly fast, and apparently has high-speed regeneration to boot. I was thinking my ice might be able to stop that, but…"
He trailed off, one hand going back to trace the hilt of his zanpakuto in thought. Rangiku hummed, a finger on her lips. "Its whether you can actually manage to catch it, right?"
Toushiro nodded, eyes narrowing. "If it comes to that, I want you to retreat as far and as fast as possible, Matsumoto."
She blinked at his deadly serious tone, agreeing a moment later; she'd seen what his abilities could do if left unchecked.
Within a short time they hit the outer limits of the primary Rukon, the sprawling suburbs now broken by wide expanses of forests and fields, small gatherings of rustic houses and shantytowns dotting the landscape. Landing, they swiveled in some confusion, trading cautious looks.
"This is the spot, right?" Rangiku muttered, one hand fixed to the hilt of her weapon as she scanned the ramshackle houses nearby. Toushiro nodded silently.
"Besides that...where are all the townspeople?"
She had barely finished the question before a massive explosion rocked the area, several of the weaker buildings collapsing from the force. An instant later the young captain had to grab hold of his lieutenant, leaping away as the cluster of buildings they had been in was annihilated by a blinding flash of red energy.
Rangiku motioned she was fine, if slightly shaken, and he leapt towards the source of the attack. Reaching out, Toushiro finally sensed the Hollow nearly a mile ahead; the cero had carved a smoking fissure into the landscape all the way from where he could see its horned silhouette rising into the air amid another cluster of dwellings.
He went to draw his zanpakuto, halting in surprise as another form lunged out from behind the structures, bell-laden hair and jagged sword clearly visible.
"Zaraki?" He breathed in shock, skidding to halt in midair. Toushirou glanced back to the Seireitei in some consternation.
How…?
"How did he beat us here?" He jumped slightly at the sudden interruption into his own thoughts, whipping around to a nearby tree to see Soifon hidden under it's shaded canopy, hardly visible to even his keen eyes. "I was just wondering the same thing," she continued, clearly having seen his confusion.
Toushiro recovered some, releasing his weapon as they both watched the Eleventh Captain clash with the strange Hollow, the clanging of metal and the Soul Reaper's savage laughter clearly audible. He stepped down to the grassy plains, feeling restless all the same. Glancing back to the destroyed cluster of houses, he quickly realized the earlier blast must have been aimed at the Captain already fighting the creature.
"Are we not going to help? That Hollow was reported to be unusually powerful."
"Hmph. Have you ever tried to get between a wild animal and its prey?"
The younger captain chuckled. "Do you mean Zaraki or the Hollow?"
The hint of a smile threatened to lift one corner of her mouth at the joke. After another long pause of observation, Soifon crossed her arms, giving him a searching look.
"…What?"
The female captain snorted softly, tip-toeing her way out to the edge of the branch she stood on. "I was under the impression you were more observant than that, Hitsugaya."
Holding back a wave of irritation at her words, he settled for scouring the battle still raging on, the area around, and anything else he could think of. Frowning, Toushiro finally admitted nothing stood out. He received a resigned shrug from his peer as she hopped down. "Observation is my specialty, so I suppose I can't be too annoyed with you."
The nerve on this one…
She strode closer, still keeping a wary eye on the fight. "Do you not find anything odd about what's been happening? And I don't just mean in the Seireitei itself."
Toushiro blinked, arms crossing in thought. Certainly, recent events had taken a fairly unusual turn, but her words seemed to indicate there was something more. Some sort of pattern, maybe?
"Nothing stands out. At least, nothing more than a few strange incidents," he admitted. "A strong Hollow, a missing Soul Reaper…as much as I hate to say it, we see reports of such things every several months."
Soifon gave a nod in agreement, a bitter expression flitting across her face at the thought. "And yet, the Captain Commander called for a withdrawal from all fronts."
"You think he knows something more than we do?"
"Of course he does," she scoffed. "He isn't the leader of the entire Seireitei for nothing. The question is what, and I do not like the implications."
His full attention taken over by her deathly serious tone, he turned to ask more only to be interrupted by another arrival - Ichimaru Gin and his subordinate.
"Iyaaa, they're really going at it," The man exclaimed cheerfully, shading his eyes with one hand as another building nearer to the fight collapsed with a groan of splintering wood.
Kira watched the ongoing conflict as well, sighing almost in resignation. "Is this what you had a feeling about, Captain?"
"Beats me, a hunch is just a hunch sometimes. Ain't that right, Soifon?"
Toushiro saw her expression tighten at their fellow captains overly-casual remarks, and she huffed in annoyance. "I wouldn't know."
Gin made an odd humming laugh, thin lips pressed together in his typical smile, hands disappearing into his sleeves as he hopped up to perch on the nearby tree. Soifon turned to leave, clearly under the impression she was no longer required to stay with another captain present.
As she passed Toushiro, he felt the tiniest brush of something against his fingers before she vanished with a blur the next moment.
Against his immediate urge to look down, he closed the hand around a tiny rolled piece of paper he found there, turning away from Ichimaru in the tree just enough to block vision of his palm and peering down:
'Zaraki already here'
Concealing the note, he once again gazed out towards the man in question, who could be seen in the distance still clashing against the Hollow – a small part of him was surprised to see it wasn't dead yet.
Does she mean that Zaraki was already in the area before the Hollow appeared?
Toushirou surreptitiously looked up to Gin, still in the tree and watching the fight, and Kira standing at it's base.
Soifon clearly doesn't want Ichimaru to know. Besides, an area like this isn't often patrolled, so then why was Zaraki even here in the first place?
A cold feeling grew in his chest, which he consciously responded to by letting a trickle of his spiritual energy course into his hand, freezing every atom of the note until he crushed it with a quick twist, the remains fading into dust. Folding his arms again, he resolved himself to keep a watchful eye on the Third Division.
Only one thing was certain to the young captain: something more was going on underneath the surface.
O--O--O
Sajin Komamura stood atop one of the tallest white towers in the Seireitei, copper-colored eyes searching the horizon intently behind the slits of his helmet. He couldn't see the ongoing battle, not directly, but if he strained with his outer senses…just barely…
"I'd never taken you for much of a birdwatcher, old friend."
Ears flicking in surprise under the helm, he turned slowly. "Tousen."
The captain of the Ninth Division rose into sight with a gentle hop, touching down on the rooftop nearby. Komamura glanced back the way he had been looking before, noticing a flock of birds far in the distance making their way across the skyline; he'd been staring straight past them without realizing. Releasing a rumbling chuckle at the supposedly 'blind' man's propensity for seeing, he shrugged helplessly. "It seems I'm searching too much, and not realizing what already lies in my sight." Tousen smiled at the jest, joining Komamura at the lip of the roof.
"…I can sense it," he murmured after a long moment. "Zaraki is still fighting the beast, though…it appears Captains Ichimaru and Hitsugaya are also nearby."
"Impressive," Komamura admitted. "I can only make out the tiniest details from this distance." The large man shifted slightly under his robes; even with the assurance that several captains were already present, he could not help but feel uneasy.
The Soul Society had seen a long period of relative peace within the last hundred years; the occasional Hollow or other incursion had been quickly repelled, and no major incidents had reared their head…until recent years.
First was the disappearance of Captain Isshin Shiba of the Tenth Division; an incredibly capable man and a member of the once-honored Shiba clan, Komamura had only met the charismatic person a few brief times before he mysteriously vanished…and with him, so had the sightings and rumors of multiple Shinigami not returning from missions to the mortal realm. No trace of either the culprit or the captain had ever been found, the issue had been assumed resolved, Captain Shiba was mourned, and the Thirteen Court Guard Squads had never had any reason to investigate the matter further.
But what if that case all those years ago was related to this strange Hollow?
Komamura could not help but find the similarities strange; Soul Reapers, some of those very skilled fighters in their own right, found slaughtered…and more to the point, uneaten. Many without showing even a sign of resistance.
In addition, for nearly two decades there had been odd reports of patrols coming across towns all across the Human world that had been attacked by what seemed to be multiple Hollows at the same time, hunting and killing dozens in a single day, and vanishing before a patrol from the Seireitei arrived on scene. Initially, the signs of these organized raids had caused an uproar in the Soul Society; Hollows banding together for any reason was never a matter to be taken lightly.
Eventually, with no actual sightings of these packs of Hollows, it was generally accepted that these were unusual, but not an urgent concern; anomalies, possibly just one unusually powerful Hollow roaming to each town or city, then moving on. Most expected that a group would one day encounter the thing and exterminate it then and there…but it never actually appeared, nor did the seemingly random attacks stop. Sometimes there would be nearly a year until another attack came, and other times where they would seem to come multiple times within a single month.
And still no sightings or evidence was to be found.
Finally, only with the most recent report, was a group of Hollows encountered. The loss of nearly two dozen Soul Reapers and the disappearance of one of their most promising lieutenants had finally shown results. This distinctively-horned Hollow had torn through their ranks like so much chaff before Lieutenant Kuchiki held the beast at bay.
Many who heard the report had overlooked the most frightening thing; according to eyewitnesses, the Hollow had only engaged the compliment of Shinigami once the rest of it's group had fallen back through a portal to Hueco Mundo. Cinching proof that these Hollows were not only working together, but were organized enough to follow orders from a more powerful being sent a cold ripple flowing up Komamura's spine.
"There are no such things as coincidences…" He grumbled, forgetting Tousen standing nearby. The dark-skinned man tilted his head curiously, eyes inscrutable behind his visor. Komamura shook his head slowly, mind returning to the situation at hand.
"It's nothing, Kaname, my mind wandered off for a time. How does the battle fare?"
The other captain turned his head slightly. "Still raging I fear, though that may be due to Zaraki's influence...wait…" Tousen's brow furrowed and he leaned forwards slightly. "Impossible…"
"What is it?"
"Captain Zaraki has been struck down."
Komamura's mind whirled and he stared towards the battle in shock. "We must intervene! Come, Tousen!"
He made to leap off of the tower, only to be stopped by his friends outstretched hand. "Wait, Komamura. There is something else, closer…"
The huge Captain's lips had barely parted in a question before the structure of the tower shuddered, a massive explosion from nearby sending rubble streaking past them like missiles. Komamura deflected several instinctively with his armored hands before staring down in shock. From where he stood, he could just see the side of Soukyoku Hill through the smoke and clouds of dust; and more worryingly, the massive crater now carved into the steeper portion of the cliffs.
"An attack?!" Komamura gaped down, unable to believe his own eyes. Swiveling back towards the distant battle, he strained with every fiber of his being.
No, the Hollow is still far from the Seireitei…then what…?
He heard a slight scuff on the stone from behind. "I see," Tousen murmured, something resembling regret tinging his voice.
"Tousen?"
Komamura heard the rasping noise of steel being drawn before the entire world vanished into inky blackness, every sound muted into a suffocating, oppressive silence.
O--O--O
"Captain Commander!"
Yamamoto turned sharply at the shout, seeing another of the reconnaissance squad appear nearby. The man knelt swiftly, panting for breath before speaking. "Captain Tousen's Bankai has been sighted atop the Seireitei!"
The scout glanced up after the declaration, paling at the expression on the commander's face before he was waved away, vanishing with the soft noise of a shunpo.
Yamamoto continued on his path out of the First Division barracks, any in his way scattering in panic.
Suddenly, he stopped.
Squinting, he held his wooden cane to the side, it's form shifting and fading away into the shape of his zanpakuto; in a blindingly swift attack, he drew it and slashed forwards, wisps of fire curling around the blade.
CLANG
With a jarring impact and a bell-like noise, the weapon bounced off of thin air.
"Hmph."
Channeling another surge of power, the entire length of his zanpakuto was enveloped in fire, surging forwards with the intensity of a furnace – to no effect, the power washing over a flat, invisible surface. Scowling under his beard, the Captain Commander tapped it several times, the faint outline of some sort of wall appearing with each touch of his spiritual pressure. Under scrutiny, whatever it was extended both underground and curved above the entirety of the barracks.
With his experienced eye, Yamamoto could tell that while the barrier was incredibly durable, whether a type of Kido or otherwise, enough power would be able to break through. However…
Any technique of mine powerful enough would wash back into the rest of the barrier, and with the rest of the Division also present…I cannot guarantee their safety.
Heaving a long breath, Yamamoto leaned back onto his wooden cane, now reformed around his sword.
Someone has planned this well, whatever their objective.
Another long sigh made the ends of his beard flutter in annoyance.
…how impudent.
O--O--O
Toushiro's fingers tightened on the handle of his drawn zanpakuto, resigned to being the bystander in the fight between Captain Ichimaru and the horned Hollow.
Zaraki had, to their immense surprise, been hurled away by the creature in a bloody blur of movement, rushing their direction immediately afterwards. Ichimaru had intercepted it, an unusually serious expression on his snakelike features as they clashed. Even then the captain had nearly faltered several seconds into the fight as an incredibly loud noise came from the direction of the Seireitei, a haze of dust and smoke visible even from their location.
Were it not for the sheer distance, Toushirou would have immediately headed back; logic finally winning over his initial instinct, he realized that he had to ensure the Hollow had to be stopped at all costs. The rest of the Court Guard Squads would have to handle whatever was going on.
Gritting his teeth at the thought, Toushiro darted around the fight to where Zaraki was still sprawled out on the cobblestones. The Eleventh Captain's robes were slashed and shredded from the Hollow's claws, blood still seeping out from his myriad wounds and coating nearly every inch of visible skin. As his fellow Captain scanned him over, Zaraki managed to hack out a ragged wheeze, albeit as painfully as anyone had ever seen him make.
"You fool, Kenpachi." Toushiro muttered, trying not to wince at the damage the other man had received. "You should have just killed the damned thing, not played your idiotic games with it."
To his concern no response was forthcoming, and he rose urgently, reaching into his robes to find his communicator.
Even if I can't leave this place, hopefully a squad from the Fourth Division can make it out here in time.
An earsplitting screech had him whirling around to see the Hollow soar into a neighboring building with a thunderous crash, the glint of Ichimaru's zanpakuto stretching in between the two combatants. It snapped into it's normal shape in the Soul Reaper's hands an instant later, Ichimaru watching the rubble with deadly intensity.
"Keep an eye on this one, Hitsugaya," he stated, no trace of the usual levity in his voice. "Zaraki didn't lose to it by chance."
As if to prove his point the Hollow erupted out of the collapsed buildings, a glowing red orb humming ominously in each clawed hand. They both raised their blades in readiness as the beast charged them, roaring in fury.
O--O--O
Hardly a thing could be seen through the haze that enveloped the center of the Seireitei in choking clouds of dust.
A single form moved through the gloom, seemingly untouched by the grime, white robes seamlessly clean. It stepped closer to the cliffs of Soukyoku Hill, picking through the rubble almost delicately. It leaned over slightly at several limp bodies sprawled among the rocks, long black braid of hair waving gracefully. Finding no signs of life, it moved closer to the epicenter. Approaching a gaping wound in the sheer rock wall, it paused, seeing another in white appear out if the hole; the newcomer spoke.
"Captain Unohana."
The captain of the Fourth Division raised her head at the greeting, smooth features as calm as always as she identified the other. "…Captain Aizen."
The man in question hopped down to the ground easily, an unusually sour expression behind his glasses. "There's nothing up there, just some man-made cave and an odd little hot spring. Nothing that would cause such an detonation, not that I could find. Have you seen the Captain Commander?"
"No. I have only found those injured nearby and had them sent for medical attention."
"Good, good." Aizen said offhandedly, already beginning to stride away.
"…You seem distracted."
The man turned from his path, peering back curiously. "Of course I'm distracted, what with this rogue Hollow in the outskirts and this mess? What a silly thing to say!"
"That is not what I meant," she replied softly, but with enough force to stop her peer in his tracks.
The air seemed to chill, and suddenly Unohana bore witness to a startling change in Aizen's demeanor. The feeling of his reiatsu shifted, and she felt a seeping coldness there that she had never before seen in the years that Aizen had been in service. He straightened from his purposeful stance ever so slightly, and once he shifted to face her even she was shocked to see the cool, almost disdainful expression on his features. A thin-lipped smile appeared there, as if waiting for her to continue.
"I thought it odd that a single threat, no matter how powerful, would draw most of our forces out of the Seireitei," Unohana said slowly, as if mulling the words over herself. "Four or five captains at least, and many of the lieutenants have been drawn out by the beast, no? For a mere Hollow? And at the peak of the lowest security seen in the Seireitei itself in decades, this disturbance appears. It seemed too convenient to me."
She shifted, hands hidden away inside of the sleeves of her Haori. "What are you plotting, Aizen?"
He let out a humorless laugh at her accusatory words. "No 'captain'? So rude. What exactly-"
"Silence."
Unohana's eyes had narrowed, her own power seeping out in a way that would have left lesser beings trembling in fear, the taste and smell of blood saturating her reiatsu. Aizen simply regarded her with a cool expression, all traces of humor gone. After a moment of this the sensation disappeared, Unohana regaining her calmer disposition. "You will finish your business here, Aizen, and then you will be gone from the Soul Society. You are no longer welcome here."
Aizen raised one brow. "That's it?"
"My purpose here is to heal the injured. If you seek to cause any more strife today, only then will I be your opponent." The other captain regarded her with a distant sort of wariness, finally turning away and vanishing without another word.
Unohana released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, glancing up to the very top of the Seireitei's towers just in time to see the inky-black bubble of Captain Tousen's Bankai dissipate. A minute later three tiny silhouettes converged high above at the Soukyoku; without a sound, a pillar of light cracked through the sky, enveloping the three as they lifted away from the ground.
Shaking her head ever so slightly, she brought her communicator out of one sleeve. "All teams, please report."
Several voices crackles out of the device:
"Ma'am, the survivors of the explosion are all accounted for and stable."
"Third team, we have just reached Captain Komamura, now proceeding to emergency first aid."
"Urgent response team here. We've arrived at Captain Hitsugaya's location as per his request, but…"
She frowned. "What is it?"
The man over the line paused awkwardly before proceeding. "Captain, we aren't entirely sure what happened. When we got here, Captains Ichimaru and Hitsugaya were engaging the enemy, while Captain Zaraki was heavily injured nearby. We attempted to begin his treatment, but he just…disappeared."
Unohana blinked as he went on, sounding bewildered.
"The body faded away, and the Hollow blurred and turned out to be Zaraki himself; the captain of the Third Division, Ichimaru, also vanished at the same time. Zaraki nearly had to be restrained so we could begin to heal his injuries, though thankfully he wasn't nearly as hurt as expected. Captain Hitsugaya can't seem to make sense of what happened either."
She clearly remembered the abilities demonstrated by Aizen's zanpakuto, 'Kyoka Suigetsu'. Using moisture in the air, it could conjure visions to deceive and trick an opponent, mirages as convincing as reality. But they were believed to be just that, and were no more durable as the water vapor they were formed from; this was something else entirely.
In the end, the man was a traitor. Who knows what else he was concealing.
Another thought occurred to her. "Was there any sign of Rukia Kuchiki?"
A despondent 'no' came crackling through the line at the question as she bent over a larger piece of stone, wrenched from the side of the cliff; and more importantly, the blood and soot-coated arm extending from underneath. Feeling the lack of a pulse from the limb, the Captain whispered a silent prayer for the poor soul and moved on.
"Continue your work there," Unohana instructed, already stepping towards the First Division barracks in hopes of finding the Captain Commander. "I must secure the Seireitei, return as swiftly as you can."
"Yes, Captain."
Nimbly picking her way through the rubble, another disconcerting thought came to mind; if the reports were true, Aizen himself had not only defected, but had taken both Ichimaru and Tousen with him as well. And beyond even that, the manner of their exodus was exceedingly unnatural. No Soul Reaper had ever been inside the technique known as 'Negación', only Hollows and their kind. To begin with, only Menos Grande had ever been seen using it to rescue other Hollows that were in danger.
A single glance back to the sky showed the jagged scar from the dimensional fissure healed back to normal – the only thing still out of place was the gaping crater in the side of Soukyoku Hill.
Recalling her own brief observations, the fragments of a mysterious type of concealed Kido barrier had been present around the hole and the cavern discovered within. Unohana hadn't seen what it had been concealing, but she knew that Aizen must have had to retrieve something, and the barrier must have proved more resilient than even he had been able to deal with covertly, requiring the distraction of a 'Hollow' appearing in the outskirts of the Rukon.
She shook her head, clearly seeing the facts available, but also realizing that something else was happening, critical pieces of information missing.
More questions will have to wait. I can only pray that nothing else happens before the Seireitei can recover…
O--O--O
Momo stirred groggily from her sleep, peeling her eyelids open with no small amount of effort. She mumbled something along the lines of 'murgle' as she sat up, random strands of hair hanging over her bleary eyes. After several moments spent resisting the urge to fall back down into the warm embrace if her futon, she swiveled slowly towards the opposite wall if her room, looking at the clock there.
She blinked several times. And again.
Like a startled cat - and with a similar noise - she shot out of the bed, tossing her nightwear off and slipping her shihakushou uniform on in a split second. Less than a minute later she shot out of her room, fumbling with the lieutenant's badge on her upper arm as she ran towards the center of the Fifth Division barracks.
Sliding to a halt in front of a set of sliding wooden shoji doors, flinging one side open and bowing in the same movement.
"Captain! I'msorryIsleptsolongmyalarmdidn'twakeme…up?"
She looked to both sides of the captain's office, seeing the man in question oddly absent.
Mouth flapping like she was still attempting to apologize, she grew a rather confused expression and leaned back, glancing around the rest of the quiet hallway.
Too quiet.
Frowning, she tapped back down the corridor, looking each and every way.
Courtyard? Empty.
Dining hall? Empty.
Barracks? Empty.
Finally she came to the front gates of the entire division, a group of Shinigami milling about. She trotted over, gaining their attention. Many in the crowd traded looks as she approached.
"Does anyone know where Captain Aizen...is...?" Momo's question trailed off as one of the older members of the squad stepped closer, taking her hands in his own gently.
"Hinamori, I'm…not sure how to tell you this."
Several in the back were sporting shockingly bitter expressions as her elder spoke; though as she looked over, confused, she saw more than one shake their heads, something in their faces approaching…pity?
O--O--O
Toushiro turned at the call of his name, seeing Rangiku touch down on the grass nearby, striding up the hill. "How did it go?"
His lieutenant shook her head somberly, gazing out towards Soukyoku Hill in the distance. The clouds of dust had long since settled, the mysterious cave now open to the world.
"I told Commander Yamamoto everything, as you wanted," she said, glancing down at her superior. "I made sure he knew Captain Soifon's suspicions too."
"Did you learn anything yourself?"
Rangiku smirked. "Of course, who do you think I am? I do my job right, when it matters." Drawing a tiny smile out of the Captain at that, she went on. "From what I could gather, though some might just be hearsay, whatever Aizen wanted in that cave was shielded by more than just a normal Kido barrier; Captain Unohana guessed that it was linked to the Soukyoku."
Toushiro raised an brow, looking up from the cliffside to see the imposing halberd, easily a hundred feet tall, dominating the peak. Sure enough, if someone had managed to tap into the powerful relic to maintain a spell, no simple tinkering would be enough to penetrate it.
"So that's why he used Zaraki in the image of that Hollow to draw our forces away, he needed time to break the spell... " He mused, internally cursing at the effectiveness of the ploy. "And however he broke the barrier scattered or killed any near the actual explosion…what about the other captains?"
"Captain Soifon was still out in the Rukon, as was Captain Kyouraku. Captain Ukitake was unfortunately ill and unable to leave his quarters, while Captain Kurotsuchi was unaccounted for. The Commander wasn't particularly happy with him when I left."
Toushiro snorted softly. "And if I remember right, Kuchiki would have been stationed on the other perimeter. Of course, Captains Komamura and Tousen were to remain in the center of the city, though Tousen was also a traitor. Unbelievable." He rubbed one hand over his youthful features, somehow appearing older than usual in that instant. "With that, Gin did too. Vanished in front of my own eyes."
He heard a slight noise of agreement from Rangiku, glancing her way to see a complicated set of emotions flit through her eyes, and she looked away after a long moment.
The Captain left the matter alone; he knew enough of her past to not say any more.
They spent several minutes in quiet contemplation, watching investigative crews work over the rubble, still searching for survivors of the blast. Finally, and to his surprise, Rangiku was the first to break the silence.
"I found Hinamori."
Toushiro stiffened, but her outstretched hand and calm tone deflected his initial thoughts.
"She's uninjured. But you know how she looked up to Cap…I mean, Aizen. Her squad mates had to restrain her, she was hysterical after she found out what happened…"
Rangiku shivered at the cold rage that passed over her Captain at the news, but he managed to compose himself, heaving a long breath.
Add that to the long list of sins he's commited today...fuel on the fire.
"Let's go, Matsumoto," he said, icy in demeanor as he stalked away.
It doesn't matter what world he's run to. One day, the Seireitei will catch up to that bastard.
His hands clenched into a shaking fist, fingernails dug into his palm, almost drawing blood.
One day.