I awoke with a start. Lightening flashed outside the window next to my cot. I looked around in a slight panic before I recognized where I was. I hadn't been there very long and still became disoriented when seeing the strange room. I was lying in my cot in the small barracks of the 3rd division of the Gotei 13. I saw the few other forms that stayed there as well. We were new recruits to the division, many having fallen in the Arrancar War, as it was now referred to as. Fresh out of the academy, none of us had enough money to purchase a small apartment of our own, so we stayed in the headquarters of the division.

I finished looking around and saw that nothing was out of place. My Zanpakuto sat next to my cot where I had put in when I went to sleep. Nothing seemed wrong. Another bolt of lightening cut across the sky and was immediately followed by a crash of thunder.

Strange… I thought. I've never known it to storm in Soul Society. Maybe the captain will know what's going on. I'll have to remember to ask him tomorrow.

I rolled over to go back to sleep when I saw another person awake.

"Ah, Sai," he said. "You couldn't sleep either?"

I recognized the voice as my friend Hashibara Mitaro. "No Mitaro-kun. I just woke up. I think it was the storm."

"This storm certainly is strange," Mitaro looked out the window. "Do you know why it would rain in Soul Society?"

"Not a clue," I told him. "I'm going to ask to captain about it tomorrow."

"That's a good idea. I'll be sure to remem-"

"Hashibara-kun, Tsumiato-kun," a voice from the other side of the room interrupted us. "Your constant chatter is keeping me awake. Go to sleep. Talk in the morning."

Both me and Mitaro immediately rolled over. It would not be a good idea to anger that third person. Akage Sanosuke's temper was legendary. If you didn't anger him he was the most amiable man you would ever meet. However, he was known to have sent people to the hospital when angry. I closed my eyes and tried to blot out the thunder as I drifted off to sleep. While I slept, I dreamt. It was a recurring dream that I had been having since I came to 3rd division.

I was standing in a desert, at least it looked like a desert. All I could see for miles was sand along with a few bent, dead trees and rocks. Sitting on a particularly large rock was a figure. From where I stood I couldn't see anything about it. As I started to walk closer to it, a fierce wind kicked up and blew sand everywhere, as it always had in the dream. I tried to fight my way through the sandstorm but was unable. I was blown backward and into the waking world.

I sat up in my cot again. This time it was morning. Both Sanosuke and Mitaro were awake and getting dressed. I stood and stretched. Looking out the window, I saw that it was still raining. I rubbed my eyes, trying to fully awaken myself and donned my shihakusho. I slipped my Zanpakuto into my belt and laced my waraji.

"Allright, let's go and meet with the squad," I said to the other two in the room.

"Geez Tsumiato-kun," Sanosuke grinned at me. "We were just waiting for you to wake your lazy ass up. Hashibara and I have been ready for nearly 15 minutes." He threw his arm around Mitaro's shoulders and leaned down with a drunk-like grin on his face. "You really need to set your internal clock better."

"Ahhh, Akage-san," Mitaro stammered. "Don't put so much weight on me. You're too heavy. We're gonna fall." I could see that the way Sanosuke had his weight on Mitaro was about to cause them both to topple.

Sanosuke stood up to his full height. He towered over both me and Mitaro by at least 5 inches. He through back his head and laughed loudly. His muscular body shaking with each guffaw. His long black hair was unkempt as always. He slapped Mitaro on the back good-naturedly and said, "Hashibara, you always crack me up. I wasn't gonna fall."

Mitaro recovered from the strong blow and straightened. He was just about my height, but slimmer. His arms were muscled but they weren't as pronounced. I had heard people term him wiry. His hair was light and he kept in short. He grabbed his Zanpakuto from his cot and looked at Sanosuke. "You may not have fallen, but I was going to. I'm nowhere near as strong as you, Akage-san. You were gonna push me over."

"Relax Hashibara," Sanosuke said with a laugh. "I know you. You're springy. Even if you had fallen you would have recovered without a problem." Sanosuke was probably right. Out of all the people I met, Mitaro was by far the best at acrobatics and staying on his feet, as long as he didn't have a muscle-head like Sanosuke on top of him. Mitaro shrugged and turned away to make-up his cot. He always had been very meticulous, even during our days at the academy.

I smirked at the banter between the two and turned to at least make my cot presentable to the captain. Suddenly I felt Sanosuke's arms around me and was lifted off the ground in a full-nelson hold. I struggled for a few moments, my feet kicking the air mere inches off the ground.

"Akage-san, put him down. It's not fair, your so much bigger than he is and you had surprise on him," Mitaro's voice came from behind us. I couldn't turn to look at him because of my position, but Sanosuke obliged and turned around. Despite his scolding of Sanosuke, Mitaro was struggling to keep from laughing my predicament. Seeing that he was enjoying the spectacle, Sanosuke shook me from side to side. I attempted to glare at Mitaro for not helping, but the look combined with me being shook was too much. He burst out laughing and doubled over on his cot.

The shaking stopped long enough for me to catch my breath. I stopped struggling and hooked my legs around Sanosuke's. I grabbed his neck with my hands and pressed down on a pressure point.

"Huh?" Sanosuke grunted in confusion as his strength gave out and I kicked his legs out from under him. He landed on his knees and I on my feet. The force of the impact forced him to release me and I tumbled forward. I quickly rose to my feet to see Sanosuke struggling to stand upright.

"Damn," he coughed as he regained his breath. "I forgot that you were an expert in Hakuda." He stood up and stepped toward me. He clapped my shoulder and laughed, "Well, now that we've all had a warm up let's get going." The three of us finished readying and left for the meeting room.

Mitaro, Sanosuke, and I ran to the large open area that served as the 3rd division's meeting room and training room. We took our positions at the back of the formation as Kira-fukutaicho entered the room.

Kira Izuru remained 3rd division vice captain after Aizen's betrayal. He survived the Arrancar War and for the last 10 years he kept the squad together, despite its low numbers. Three years ago a new captain was placed in 3rd division.

"Attention," Kira-fukutaicho yelled. "Abarai-taicho has an announcement."

The captain entered the room. His crimson hair tied back in his usual style. His facial tattoos remained visible through the scars he gained during the war. His Zanpakuto slung comfortably at his hip. Abarai Renji, captain of the 3rd squad, turned and addressed his subordinates. "Good morning," Abarai-taicho said. "As most of you know, Soul Society has rarely seen clouds, let alone rain. And yet for the past two days and storm has raged over the Sereitei. Yamamato-soutaicho has had the 12th division under Kurotsuchi-taicho researching this phenomenon. 12th division believes that it is the result of an imbalance in spirit particles between Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the living world." The 3rd division members began whispering to one another about this fact. Abarai-taicho became irritated with the chatter going on in front of him. "HEY!" he yelled. The entire division became silent instantly and focused their attention on him. "That's better. As I was saying, an imbalance this large could be caused by only a few occurrences. Since there has been no major shift in power in Soul Society and the living world remains stable, we must assume that something is happening in Hueco Mundo."

I knew that everyone in the squad had the same question in mind, but no one wanted to ask it. Suddenly a voice called out, "Sir." I wasn't sure who spoke until I saw everyone staring at me. I swallowed and continued the question, not even realizing that I had called out first. "What would have happened in Hueco Mundo to cause such a shift in spirit particles?"

"No one is completely sure. Yamamato-soutaicho ordered a captain's meeting for today where we will discuss the possibilities. However, there was one thing that everyone agreed on, and this would be the worst possible scenario. Soul Society must be prepared. Aizen Sosuke, former captain of the 5th division of the Gotei 13, may be back to work."