Grimlocked Chapter 9: A Captain's Duty
Knock-Knock!
I hopped up from my seat to answer the door. It was about nine o'clock, the morning after my official installation, and the "ryoka" were transported back to the world of the living, my father included. Today would be my last time staying in my clan's estate.
I opened up the door to reveal Squad 2 Captain Soifon standing by her lieutenant, Omaeda. He was a rather big guy, rather bulky, but strongly built man who had a purple collar with his soul reaper uniform.
"Captain Soifon! Good morning!" I said in a cheerful welcome.
"Ash, there's no need for you to be formal like that anymore. You're a captain now; the same as your mother and the same as me."
"That's not entirely true", I scratched the back of my head sheepishly "Mom keeps telling me that I'll always be her little lieutenant. Speak of the rank, what's he doing here?"
Soifon closed her eyes and growled, "I'm coming to my breaking point in terms of training him! He can't adapt his fighting style to the Stealth Force! And he keeps on whining when I tell him that he needs to improve!"
"That's not true, Captain!" he complained to her, "Without my muscle to back you up, you'd be as good as dead!"
"However," Soifon said with a gleam in her eye, "You have a similar fighting style to him, in terms of weaponry. I would like to ask if you could train him. We can call it even for your kido training."
"Alright", I shrugged, "I don't see why not."
"But Captain-"
"No 'buts', Omaeda. If you don't do something soon, not even your clan will be able to keep you in the position of Squad 2's lieutenant!" Soifon stepped on his foot and walked away.
I grimaced at this in a sense of pain.
"Wait!" he called out to her, but Soifon had disappeared. He sighed and turned back to me, "Alright, let's get this over with." We flashstepped to the training grounds outside of the Seireitei.
"Come on, don't treat this so coldly", I said being cheerful about it, "It'll be fun! I promise!"
"Fun? Look, training has been many things, but fun was never one of them", he scratched his head.
"With gung-ho Soifon as your captain, probably not. But before that, I want you to come at me. Both of us will be limited only by our shikai. Show me what you can do."
"Alright then!" he whipped out his Zanpacto in a kendo stance, "Let's go! RRAAAAAAGH!" He roared in a battle cry and came at me.
I ducked and sidestepped his swings with little effort. He wasn't all too fast in his strikes, unlike Aizen was. But Omaeda definitely had muscle behind his strikes. Suddenly he flashstepped behind me, and I was forced to draw Banshi. He was faster than he looked. But I heard his battle cry before he struck.
"Okay, now I get what I'm working with", I smiled at him catching his blade in the middle of mine, "You have a fighting style of 'the best defense is a good offense', trying to overwhelm me with brute force. That would have done you a lot of good in Squad 11. But in the Stealth Force," I stuck and he slashed to protect himself. But I caught the hilt of his sword and wrenched it out of his hands without wounding him, "the force you put in can be easily be used against you. Again!" I said as we both took to the woods.
I ducked behind a dead tree and I tried to spot him again, but Omaeda had vanished.
"Crush! Gegetsuburi!" I heard him bark and I dodged out of the way of a giant spiked ball on a chain that turned that rotten tree into splinters. He whipped the ball back into his hands within a split second.
"So, what do ya think?" he said holding the ball on his shoulder, "Pretty impressive, huh?"
"Interesting. A weapon like that shouldn't be on the stealth force. But you can sneak around pretty easily. It needs a little improvement, but I see potential."
"Thanks! Let's go again!" He threw the spiked ball at me.
"Echo! Banshi!" I whipped out my scythe and locked my blade around the fully extended chain and yanked it. Omaeda yelled was he was yanked forward, and fell to the ground. I walked over and helped him up.
"This explains what your captain was talking about. The Stealth Force calls for close ranged combat, while you focus on long range."
"Isn't that what my zanpacto was made for?" he asked.
"No. At long range, you're left wide open in the event that your attack misses. You'll be killed before you can even bring your weapon back. And throwing your weapon requires the waste of precious energy."
"So you're saying that I need to be more conservative?" he said confused.
"Exactly!" I spun Banshi around with him out of range, "And I should know. You see, the very first thing that my zanpacto taught me was the fact that you can't just attack randomly. The secret is learning to strike multiple times with a single swing. In other words, chain attacks." As I said this, I began a long chain attack with an imaginary foe.
A lightbulb went off in Omaeda's eyes, "I get it!" He held the chain, about seven feet before he threw it like a bowling ball and followed up immediately by swinging it in a figure eight around his body in a chain attack!
"Hey! I'm doing it!" he laughed with delight as he rushed forward. But I saw that his strikes were slowly closing in on himself, until one swing was positioned to hit his legs!
"Jump! NOW!" I warned him, and in a panic, he jumped into a twisting front flip while still maintaining his chain attack. Time seemed to go slowly for both of us, and I saw a grin of delight cross his face as he realized what to do.
"RRAAAAAGH!" he cried out as he finished the chain attack by slamming his spiked ball into the ground with his landing.
"Did you see that?!" he cheered, obviously proud of himself, "That was totally freaking awesome!"
"It was indeed!" I said in agreement, sealing Banshi again, "But it's imperative that you reserve your shikai for when your cover is blown and you have no other way out. Your sealed blade is much more effective for sneaking around and silent assassinations."
"Yeah, silence…" he said sheepishly.
"Tell you what, whenever you have some free time, come by my place and I'll show you the manuals: the secret to all you need to be the world's greatest assassin."
"That would be?"
"Assassin's Creed and Metal Gear", I explained.
A hell butterfly from Mom flew in.
"Yes?"
"Where the heck are you?!" she asked.
"Umm…Soifon wanted me to help train her lieutenant", I explained.
"Ash, you need to be at Squad 5 in a few minutes!"
I face palmed, "Dang it! I forgot about the introduction!"
.
I'm glad that the safety walls weren't active, so I could fly right into the Seireitei without going through the gate. I flew up to the top of the Repentance cell in the middle of the Seireitei and took a quick look around.
"Let's see. There's Squad 8's Barracks. So that means…..That one's Squad 5." I said pointing to my eleven o'clock.
"Wrong one", Banshi deadpanned, "Squad 5 is the one directly to the right of Squad 8."
"WHAT?! What kind of screwed up positioning system is this?!" I face faulted, "They could have at least positioned them like numbers on a clock!" A strong spiritual pressure resounded from that building.
"That's Yamamoto!" Banshi said, "He's flagging us down!"
"Then Echo to the Skies!" I yelled and we rocketed over the walls and buildings below. Once the Barracks were in range, I deactivated flight mode and screamed, "INCOMING!"
The seated members of the squad backed away as I skidded to a stop in front of the Head Captain.
"Ash. You are late, again!" he reprimanded me calmly.
"Sorry about that", I smiled nervously, "I got the Barrack layouts mixed up and almost wound up at Squad 3. It won't happen again, Sir. Have they all been informed of Aizen's situation?"
"They haven't", he turned to the squad, "Officers of squad six. I'm sure you have all heard the news of Aizen's passing. Correct?"
"Yeah. Who hasn't?" An unranked officer stated.
"We regret to inform you that these statements are false", he went on to explain how Aizen had betrayed us.
"Momo too?" a woman asked.
"No. Unfortunately she was the first casualty in Aizen's raid. She will live, and with time we expect her to make a full recovery."
The Squad all sighed with relief.
"However", Yamamoto continued, "It is because of Lieutenant Momo's condition that we are here before you today. Under normal circumstances, we would have left her in charge, but her current condition does not put her in proper shape to lead a squad. Fortunately we have the opportunity of providing a new captain on such a short notice. Squad 5, this is Ash Kozuki, son and student of Lost Captain Lady Miharu", the Squad muttered to each other quietly "He has been assigned the rank of Reserve Captain, and will be presiding over your squad until a new candidate can come to light. I can assure you that he is very well suited for this position and will perform to the best of his ability. I would like to welcome your new captain!" The Squad applauded and Yamamoto flashstepped away.
We were in silence for a moment before I cleared my throat, "I really should have expected him to just ditch me and give a speech that I wasn't prepared for. I guess that's what I get for misjudging the Head Captain." A quiet chuckle resounded from the squad, "Now, I want to get this out of the way right now: the way I work may be different than the way you all are expecting or are used to. I'll be frank, I looked up to Aizen as many of you might have. But the thing is that he didn't just succeed in his deception because he displayed false information. It was because he didn't share enough. I've been thinking that the best way to avoid that is to break that barrier down a little between the captain and his officers." They all looked around to each other.
"You heard me right. I need a better connection to you guys. If you have any input regarding the way I run this Squad, or how it ought to be run, I encourage you to speak freely. Everyone has the right to express their opinions and beliefs in a positive way. If you have any ideas at all share them if you like. After all, the point of the squads is to work as a team. I cannot run this squad correctly unless your feedback is there. Am I understood?" The crowd began to agree and someone stepped forward, a man with short black hair who was twenty-four in human aging.
"Yes. But how do we know that you're really fit for the job?"
"There we go! Feedback right off the bat!" I clapped slowly, "I'll tell you why. My abilities helped me to see through Aizen's deception and uproot his plans. And Aizen was actually strong enough to defeat two captains in a matter of minutes", the Squad went wide eyed, "And the one who fought him to the point of him retreating was yours truly." An excited chatter began to grow, "With all of that being said I want you all to answer my question. Are you with me?"
"Yes sir", everyone said formally.
"Come on guys, no need to be formal about this. Let's really hear it! Let all of the Squads hear it! Are you with me?!" I raised Banshi high.
"YEAH!"
"WHO ARE WE?!" I called out.
"SQUAD FIVE!" the entire squad cheered, and the cheering continued for a few moments before I counted down on my fingers, lowered Banshi, and the crowd went silent all at once.
"That's more like it! Now, all patrols on shift resume your scheduled duties. I want you to know that I will be calling each and every one of you to my office individually and at a random selection. So I will need a full Squad roster by noon. You are all dismissed." And the team dispersed.
"Well done", Yamato said behind me, "It has been a long time since any captain has brought this sort of energy from their squad during a meet and greet."
"I just wanted to try something new", I smiled, "Oh, I almost forgot. Captains are….restricted in their Zanpacto usage. Correct?" he nodded "Well I have a request. I'm sure that you know about Banshi's two shikai states, fight and flight? I would like permission to have access to his flight form, for transportation purposes. I promise you that he is incapable of utilizing his other abilities in that state."
"I understand", he nodded, "You may use your flight form as you please in the Seireitei, but you may not activate your Zanpacto's scythe form. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Head Captain, and thank you" I bowed to him "And one more thing. Could you perhaps direct me to the Squad 4 Barracks?"
.
I could hear the officers talking as I walked through the halls with Captain Unohana
"I'm sorry for arriving on such a short notice", I apologized to her.
"It's alright. In fact, it's perfectly fine for a captain to come by if one of their officers is being treated", she smiled.
"That's exactly why I came. I just have to know. How is she?" I asked.
"She's out of mortal danger now, and thanks to my officers and Orihime, her wounds have healed. Still, she's been unconscious ever since Aizen betrayed her."
"Captain!" someone ran down the hall, "She's going into a state of stress. Her heart rat just spiked dramatically!"
"No", I muttered as I flashstepped down the hall and opened the door to Momo's room.
We opened the door to reveal Momo asleep on the bed with a doctor watching the monitor. The monitor showed just how fast her poor heart was beating, as Momo herself began to stir, mumble, and even whimper in her sleep.
"She must be having a nightmare", Captain Retsu hypothesized, "Looks like you came at the perfect time, Ash."
"How so? What can I do?" I asked.
"Momo's mind is in a troubled state, one that can negatively affect her health. With you here, perhaps you can console her, ease her into a calmer state."
I sighed, "Alright, I see where this is going. But I request that I be in here alone with her if it's safe to allow it."
"It's fine. But if that monitor begins to turn red, call us back in immediately", the captain said as she and the medics left.
"Why?" Momo whimpered, her left hand reaching for her sternum where she was stabbed. Tears dripped from the corners of her closed eyes.
"Momo", I sighed "Why did you have to suffer through this?" I put my hand to her cheek and wiped away her tears, "Banshi, can you give me a quiet Spanish guitar track?" I gave him a song suggestion.
"Wise choice", he said and a very familiar guitar solo played. It was the lullaby my grandmother played for me back when I was a toddler. Quietly I began to sing along to it once in English, then again in Japanese.
"Oh, you're my sunshine, my only sunshine.
Girl, you make me happy when skies are grey.
I hope you know, dear, how much I love you.
Because you're my sunshine each and every day."
.
Quite frankly, Grandma always said that I had an angel's voice, but I didn't believe her until my friends caught me singing to myself. Giving you an unbiased answer is impossible.
I continued to hum to her as I leaned over and hugged her gently. Moments later, her pulse died back down to their normal levels and her nightmare appeared to end.
"Who's there?" a quiet, shaky voice questioned. My eyes snapped open again.
"Oh, thank God, you're alright!" I said as I pulled back to look at her. Her eyes were only opened to a near minimum.
"Captain Aizen? Is that….you?" she asked reaching for me.
I sighed and took her hand, "Its Ash. Open your eyes a little more, Momo", I coaxed her and her eyes gradually opened completely.
"What happened?" she asked, but then her eyes widened as she remembered, "Aizen. He…." She reached down to her sternum to find the bandages covering the wound from Aizen's sword. Momo tried to finish what she said, but gradually began to weep, "Why?"
"He….", I started to reply, but the words just got stuck in my throat, "Aizen isn't important now. If you had actually followed Toshiro's advice, you wouldn't be in this sort of shape. You got careless."
"I was plenty careful!" she began to raise her voice a little.
"Then tell me how Aizen managed to give everyone in the Seireitei, but me, the slip. I respected him before, and I know that you held him in high standards, almost like he was a father to you. But I'm afraid that your emotions made you easy to manipulate."
"That's not true!" she sat up almost screaming. She suddenly reeled back from a wave of pain.
"He left you a note that led you to turn on Toshiro and side with Gin, who was in on Aizen's plan the whole time!" her eyes went wide in absolute horror, "You're lucky that I showed up when I did or you would be dead right now." Momo's eyes filled with tears as I said this. "I'm sorry, but the Aizen we all knew was nothing more than an illusion. He betrayed us all. Even the Head Captain has seen the proof with his own eyes."
A long pause followed.
"I…..I just can't believe it", she cried and she let it all out over a few minutes until she had no tears left to cry. Her eyes were bloodshot and she looked absolutely miserable.
I took a deep breath, "Momo, I want you to know that I don't entirely understand how you feel right now. But Aizen wronged everyone, especially you. And I made a promise that I'd make it right. That was exactly what I told your former Captain before he left. And now I have the means to follow my promise." I stood up and her eyes went wide when she saw my Captain's robe.
"You're a…Captain?" she said before she wheezed.
"Not just any captain, Momo" I said sitting down beside her and helping her sit up, "I'm your captain. Quite frankly you've missed out on quite a lot over the past two days. Aizen partnered up with Gin and Captain Kaname of Squad 9. All three escaped with the help of the menos. My mother and I have filled the spots for Squads 9 and 5 captains respectfully. Toshiro especially wanted me in this position to protect you while you recover."
"He...did?" she winced in physical pain for a moment.
"Momo, it isn't always the wisest decision to place your entire life into the hands of one person. When that person falls, you fall too. Aizen and Gin knew this, and they almost succeeded."
"Then what's the point?" she muttered turning her back to me, curling up a little, "If I can't trust a single person, how can I trust others?"
"That's why", I lay down beside her, "You have to trust more than one person at a time. You have to understand that you're not alone. So long as you have a larger system of support, one person's betrayal will mean almost nothing so long as everyone else is there to catch you, and vice versa."
She sighed, "But I...just don't know who to trust."
"How about a hint", I wrapped my arms around her and gently turned her head back to me, "Start with the guy who saved your life."
"Wait a minute!" she began to panic for a moment, but I leaned over her shoulder and kissed her lips. All was silent. We just sat there, lips locked and finally tongue entwined when she started kissing me back with tears in her eyes. She pulled back a moment later, almost gasping for breath.
"Momo, as your captain, and more importantly as your friend, I won't let you go through this pain ever again. Not even over my dead body."
(End of chapter 9)
.
MWA-HA-HA-HA! Beowulf returns!
Sorry it took so long, but I've been rather busy the past few weeks. I had finals had family coming in, and yesterday I graduated from high school! I should have much more time on my hands now.
Nothing new to say. If you like what you see, like, follow, review (please review), and tell your fellow readers.
Until next time, this is Beowulf and the OC Crew signing out!