Hinamori's Apprentice
Chapter 28
"This is an unfortunate turn of events," Captain-Commander Yamamoto said to the assembled Captains, "We must use the information that Captain Hitsugaya has provided to stop this threat with great haste!"
"But we know no more about our enemy now than before," Shuuhei Hisagi said.
"Actually, we do know quite a bit. The names of our attackers, for instance, and the name of their plan," Ukitake said.
"Indeed, 'The Fourth Rising' I believe you say Karin Kurosaki's opponent called it?" Shunsui Kyouraku said.
"Yes, Karin told me that the arrancar said something about a 'Fourth Rising,'" Toushiro said.
"But what does it mean?" Hisagi asked. Yamamoto, Ukitake, Kyouraku, and Unohana exchanged glances.
"It was a long time ago. I doubt most of you would remember it," Unohana explained, "You see, there was a-"
"We will not discuss that matter until it is confirmed!" Yamamoto interrupted her, "I will personally leave Seireitei to confirm that this is really the Fourth Rising; until then, we will not speak of it!"
"But sir," Komamura said, "we must know who our opponents-"
"We will not say anything else on that matter," Yamamoto said sternly, "Besides, we have more pressing business. Namely, the Quincy, Uryu Ishida. Ichigo Kurosaki, he is a friend of yours is he not?"
"He is," Ichigo confirmed.
"It is clearer than ever that he is being targeted, and now we know why. The man who Captain Hitsugaya fought, Usagi, ejected several silver casings from his weapon. Captain Kurotsuchi studied them, and confirmed that they were Quincy Ginto – tubes containing spirit energy in liquid form. Quincy use them to make spells akin to our Kido, though it is likely that our enemy is putting them to different use," Yamamoto said, "It seems that they already have at least one Quincy on their side that is providing them with Ginto to use in their weapons. They probably want Ishida to join them to supplement this."
"That can't be; Uryu is the last of the Quincy! There are no others," Ichigo protested.
"Indeed, he is the only one that we are aware of," Mayuri said, "However, our program of monitoring Quincy has fallen in efficiency for the past few decades. It is certainly possible that there are more Quincy who have escaped our detection."
"Regardless, it is clear that our enemies have a strong desire to capture Uryu Ishida, and it would be in our best interests to prevent that from happening," Yamamoto said, "Ichigo Kurosaki, I will send you to Karakura Town to look after Ishida for the time being. Captain Hitsugaya will accompany you. Given the situation, neither of you will be punished for your foolish decision to leave Seireitei."
"Thank you Captain-Commander," Toushiro said with a bow, "When shall we depart?"
"Before the end of the day," Yamamoto said, "I will also be leaving. There are things I must investigate. Captain Kyouraku, Captain Ukitake, Captain Unohana, I will be leaving Seireitei in your care while I'm gone. The three of you will be making decisions in my absence."
"Yes sir!" the three Captains said.
---
"What did you want to show me, Momo?" Karin asked as Momo led her towards her residence.
"You'll see," Momo said with a smile.
"I wish you'd tell me. We were in the middle of training when you suddenly dragged me here. Are you feeling okay?" Karin asked skeptically.
"I'm fine, I've been out of Fourth Division care for several days now," Momo said, brushing aside the question as she stopped just in front of her home, "I'm just trying to give you a special surprise."
"What is it?" Karin asked.
"This!" someone said from behind Karin, suddenly putting their hands around and covering her eyes, "Guess who!" The voice caused Karin's eyes to brighten beneath the hands.
"Rangiku?! Is that you?" Karin said, pulling the hands away from her eyes.
"That's right!" Rangiku said cheerfully.
"This is great! When did you-" Karin stopped in mid-sentence when she got a full look at Rangiku.
Her face was marked by a huge scar that ran from the left side of her forehead to her right cheek. Karin felt the joy she initially experienced evaporate. She stared at Rangiku's scarred face in shock and horror.
"I was just released," Rangiku explained, "Momo arranged to wait to tell you so that it would be a surprise. Hey, is something wrong? You don't look so good."
"I-I'm fine," Karin said, forcing herself to smile, "I just…"
"Oh, this?" Rangiku said, pointing to her face and laughing, "This is nothing. Just a little reminder for me to be more careful next time. If you're worried about my love life, you'll be happy to know that with a body like this, guys can ignore a few facial imperfections."
"I don't think that's quite what she was thinking of…" Momo said, rolling her eyes. Karin still couldn't help but feel very sad to see Rangiku like this though, something that was obviously noticeable as Rangiku bent down and hugged her a moment later.
"I heard about what you did. You were very brave, and did better than I could have possibly hoped," she said, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."
"Thanks Rangiku," Karin said quietly.
"So, you're better now, huh?"
Rangiku let out a startled cry to see Toushiro behind her.
"Captain! Don't sneak up on me like that!" she complained.
"It's not my fault you weren't paying attention," Toushiro said, "I just came to tell you guys that we'll be leaving soon."
"We?" Karin asked.
"Ichigo and me, that is," Toushiro clarified, "We were ordered by the Captain-Commander to go to the world of the living to ensure the safety of the Quincy."
"They're sending you on a mission so soon after recovering? I thought Captain Unohana said that you needed rest for a few days after all of the stress you put on your body!" Momo said, "Wasn't that why your meeting with the other Captains was postponed?"
"I'm fine now, a Captain is resilient enough to handle such things," Toushiro said.
"All the same, be careful Shiro-chan. I don't know what I'd do if you were to get hurt again…"
"You take care too. And don't call me Shiro-chan, bed-wetter," Toushiro said.
"I don't wet the bed anymore," Momo said with a red face.
"Hey! You two are acting like you used to!" Rangiku said excitedly, "Does this mean…?"
"Yeah, we're friends again," Momo said cheerfully.
"That's fantastic! I'm so happy for you guys! We need to throw a party to celebrate!" Rangiku said.
"Didn't you hear me? I'm going to the living world, I can't go to some stupid party," Toushiro said bluntly.
"That reminds me," Momo said, "Rangiku, could you work with Karin on her training?"
"Um, sure. Why do you ask?"
"I'll also need you to keep her at your place again," Momo said, ignoring the question. Karin couldn't help but feel a bit hurt by this statement.
"Do you not want me around?" she asked.
"No, I just… need to do something, and you need to continue your training while I'm busy. You're really starting to develop your powers, and I have a feeling that you'll be needing them again soon," Momo said.
"Okay… but what will you be doing?" Karin asked.
"Oh, I have some special training to do," Momo said with a smile.
She suddenly drew her sword and held it out. It immediately began to glow, and a wind blew around it. The sword then began to dissolve, producing a glowing smoky substance, which immediately began to form take shape. Within moments, there was another figure present, a young girl who looked somewhat similar to Momo.
"Good luck Toushiro. Good luck to you too Karin," Momo said, "Now if you'll excuse me, we have important work to do…"