"Don't even say it…"
"I wasn't going to say anything about this being an entirely futile and fruitless pursuit." Nakamura sat down on an overturned bucket, leaning back against the nearest building in the North Rukongai streets. Maeda folded his arms with a frown, stepping over and kicking his makeshift seat out from under him, dumping the 5th Seat onto the ground. "Stop being so lazy, Keisuke. This is an important task given to us by Captain Yamamoto, right…Captain?"
"Err…yeah." Matsumura gave a heavy sigh, leaning his own back against the Rukongai house. It'd been far longer than they'd expected to be out trying to capture the Adjuchas but up until that point, it had managed to evade their every effort to even catch sight of it. The dot on their scanner had continued to jump back and forth, speeding away just as they were almost on top of it. And then it had vanished just as they arrived in the North Rukongai district. "Yes…our mission is highly important and we have to track this thing down, chop its head off and then we can head back."
"Just can't wait for that…" Nakamura gave a musing sigh and looked wistful for a moment before Maeda smacked him around the back of the head again. Matsumura left his third in command to lecture the other man about the evils and risks of continuing to spy on the female officers when something caught his sixth sense and he held up a hand for them to both shut up. The three froze, tensing up as they realised they were being watched. Silence…and then the rooftops were suddenly lined with black clad figures, not wearing the shihakusho of the Gotei 13 but the form fitting uniforms of the Punishment Division of the Special Forces. Naked blades were held ready in their hands. He counted thirty of them.
Matsumura raised an eyebrow at the sight of their leader dropping down and approaching, reaching for what seemed to be a zanpakutou worn horizontally across the back of her waist. He sensed his two officers subtly moving up behind him, standing at ease but ready to act in a second. "So…for what reason do we owe the pleasure of being visited by the Special Forces today?"
"Don't pretend you don't know, Captain Matsumura. You and your officers are under arrest. You are to surrender your zanpakutou and be taken into custody, awaiting the judgment of the Captain-Commander."
"Excuse me…?" That surprised him. He hadn't had much experience with the Special Forces other than that they were under the command of his former apprentice. He frowned, crossing his arms. "Unfortunately, I'm in the middle of an investigation on the orders of the Captain-Commander. I don't know what the hell you're talking about but I don't have time to be…arrested here."
"You continue to deny your involvement in the 12th Division break in?" The lead figure drew her zanpakutou, holding it ready in her hands, point raised at eye level. "If you don't surrender right now, we will use force to bring you in."
"I told you already…I don't know what the hell you're talking about but if you think to use force to 'bring us in', we will defend ourselves. Where's your commander, Lady Yoruichi? I don't reckon she sanctioned you to go as far as that. Let me speak with her and we'll sort this out." Matsumura had a bad feeling about this. His former apprentice's bodyguard, Soifon, for that's who he was sure was standing before him, , was not one known for her diplomacy or patience.
"Lady Yoruichi doesn't need to listen to the filthy words of a traitor. If you won't submit then there's nothing more to say." Soifon charged, the other Special Forces operatives raising their weapons and descending on the three shinigami. Maeda and Nakamura drew their own zanpakutou, blades flashing and ringing as they met the charge head on. Black blurs seemed to surround them as the operatives began to use shunpo to try and find an opening in their defenses.
Soifon leapt through the fray, her zanpakutou slashing down for Matsumura. He stood his ground, waiting for the last moment before stepping in and stopping her strike dead, left hand catching her blade at the hilt and sidestepping. His fist closed, trapping her hand to the hilt and wrenching her around full circle, pulling her off her feet. With his free right hand, he drove a fist into her midriff, blasting her backwards to crash through the nearest building wall.
Operatives charged from all sides, coming in hard and fast, blades stabbing and slashing at the captain. Matsumura parried a blade with his right palm, pushing it aside and driving the same arm forward to strike the man in the chest and hurl him backwards. His right arm slashed across to block another stab and delivered his left palm upwards to the operative's chin, cracking the man's head back, dropping him instantly. The sound of a figure dropping down behind him reached his ears. He looked around, unleashing his spiritual pressure on the woman. She stopped dead in her tracks, shuddering violently before collapsing.
Maeda and Nakamura fought back to back, zanpakutou parrying a flurry of blades as they charged in, struck and then withdrew again to the black whirlwind that sped around them. Three operatives lay collapsed at their feet already unconscious. Two more leapt in simultaneously. Nakamura slapped the first blade aside with the flat of his zanpakutou before smacking his opponent in the face with the hilt. Maeda piled in, kicking the stunned enemy flying and spinning around to meet his own attacker head on, parried the attack aside and punched the operative repeatedly in the face until he collapsed.
That still left another...twenty-odd operatives and this was getting tiresome. Matsumura dropped into his fighting stance. Wind whipped around him and a surge in spiritual pressure made the surrounding operatives halt in their movements, staggering back. Then, as one, they seemed to build up their courage and lunged together, attacking him in one go from all sides. The captain's haori billowed out behind him as even his two officers drew back, stepping aside as they sensed their captain about to unleash one of the advanced techniques of his art. His lips moved, his whisper audible to everyone in the vicinity. "Tenrai Arashi..."
Matsumura didn't seem to move from his place, his feet remaining in the same stance as he struck in all directions with open palms. Time seemed to slow for a moment...then they were blown backwards as if an explosion had gone off. Every one of the operatives that had remained fighting crumbled, snapped blades clattering to the ground next to them. As the dust settled, Matsumura marched over to his two officers, brushing his hands together and frowning slightly.
"Right... This is...not a great situation to be in, I'm getting the feeling. I have no idea what's going on but I reckon I know someone who might be able to shed some light on this...without having to walk all the way back to the Seireitei." Matsumura stretched wide, scratching the back of his head in thought. "Especially if we have a ton of shinigami jumping out at us along the way. So let's go before these guys come around."
A rustle and groan rose from one of the buildings behind them as they made to walk off. They turned to see the figure of Soifon crawl to her feet from under a pile of rubble. Her hand still clutched her zanpakutou, her other hand running down the flat of the blade. "Where...do you think you're...going, Captain Matsumura. Sting all enemies to death...Suzumebachi!"
Her blade suddenly shrank down to a golden needle extending from her right hand finger. With a surprising burst of speed, she lunged for the captain, stabbing forward with it. When she was a metre away, a final burst of flashstep made her become a blur as she drove it into his extended blocking hand. A black butterfly shaped formed upon it. "Two strikes, Captain Matsumura...and you die."
"Hmm...that'd matter...if you got such a chance for a second strike." His fist closed, crushing her hand. As she winced with pain, he drove his open palm across her face, channeling his reiatsu into a blow that rendered her unconscious in a heap at his feet. The captain sighed and turned to walk off, gesturing for his officers to follow. "Alright guys. 'Now' we're done. Let's go."
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"So who the hell is this guy we're going to see anyway?" Nakamura's bored voice sounded from the back of the group. He was hunched over as he walked, zanpakutou across his shoulders and resting his hands on it. Somewhere he'd acquired a blade of straw, which now waggled between his teeth, one of his customary habits.
"Show more respect, Keisuke. We're going to see an old friend of mine. He may be retired now but he'll still smack you on your ass if you give him trouble." The captain led the group through the winding streets, passing by the stray drunk inhabitants before coming to a halt before a large building with a sign hanging over the door, indicating it to be a martial arts training academy.
Two men stood before the entrance, tall and broad. As the captain approached, they straightened to their full height, towering over him, overdeveloped muscles flexing in their bare arms. Looking entirely unimpressed, Matsumura crossed his arms, looking up past them. "Please inform your master that Shiro Matsumura is here and that he requests an audience with him."
"Who the hell do you think you are, blind man? You can't just request an audience with Master Hatake like that without forewarning. Clear off before we run you outta here." The first of them held a meaty hand out to halt him, barring his way. The other one had also stepped forward to back him up, arms folded. Matsumura held up his hand to forestall Maeda moving forward. Nakamura hadn't even bothered to help, looking away and whistling to himself as if he wasn't with them. The captain raised a hand to his eyes and lifted the strip of cloth over his eyes, staring at the two door guards and letting some of his reiatsu flow free. They dropped at his feet, blasted into unconsciousness by his spiritual pressure.
He shrugged, stepping over them and pushing the gates open, followed closely by his officers as they entered into a courtyard where a dozen odd young students were practicing a fighting kata. They turned and started towards the three men when their instructor waved for them to stop. The old man met Matsumura's gaze, seemingly examining him for a moment before smiling. The man's hair was streaked grey and white but he held himself tall and there was still power in his step as he moved in their direction.
"Hey captain. Still running a dojo at your age? Do a wrong turn and you'll dislocate your hip. Then you'll have to call Unohana-sensei to come and have a look at you. Or is that the idea?"
"Long time no see, Shiro-kun. Still as cocky and disrespectful as ever, I see. Follow me." Former 10th Division Captain and his own predecessor, Hajime Hatake walked over to them, catching Matsumura in a comradely embrace before shaking the other two officers' hands.
He led them into his office after signaling for his students to continue training. Closing the door behind him, Hatake took a seat and waved for them to do the same opposite him before speaking. "So…Shiro-kun. I imagine this isn't a social call since you don't really do social. So let's cut to the chase. What'd you need from a retired officer of the Gotei 13?"
"Just information, captain. And using your position as a former Central 46 member." Matsumura pulled his zanpakutou off his back as he sat, placing it in front of him as he regarded his former commanding officer. He related the situation with the recent Hollow activity, the increasing numbers and powers of them and then how Yamamoto had assigned him and Hikifune to investigate this. Then they'd tracked down the Hollows to the Rukongai and had been pursuing the smaller creature since that point.
"And then we just got attacked by the ninja cosplayers and they looked pretty serious in bringing us in. Not all that concerned with us being alive." Matsumura let the information sink in for a bit, waiting in silence for a moment. "So…what'd you think?"
Hatake sat musing to himself before looking over at him. "You're teamed up with Hikifune again, Shiro-kun…? You manned up and asked her out yet or are you still acting like the same little kid who only followed her around like a puppy?"
"Shit, captain. What the hell does that have to do with anything?" The embarrassed surprise reached his face before he could think to stop it as his two officers choked back guffaws at their leader's disposition. "Seriously, captain…this is important. Can you help me out here? Go see some of your old Central 46 contacts and see if you can find out why I'm wanted by the Gotei 13 and what the hell they're accusing me of having stolen?"
"Ha…just winding you up, Shiro-kun. You're too easy and it's been a while since I'd done that." Hatake rose and walked over to him, slapping him on the shoulder. "Alright then. For being such a good lieutenant back in the day, I'll go see what I can find out. There's a tavern around the corner from here. If you wait for me there and come back tonight, I'll see what I have for you then, alright?"
"That'll be fine, captain. I appreciate it." Matsumura got to his feet too, heading for the door. After a final handshake with Hatake, he slid the doors open and walked out into the streets with Maeda and Nakamura following. They made their way through the dusk-lit paths following the direction signs, the captain leading. As they reached the place, Nakamura spoke up from the back of the group. "So...captain. You and Captain Hikifune... You've known her for that long and only just snogged her? Considering how hot she is you two should've already f..."
"Okay...! Your permission to speak has just been revoked, Keisuke." Matsumura spun around, glaring. When the 5th Seated officer just shrugged and began to whistle again, the captain sighed and entered the tavern, slamming the door behind him. "Now go stand in the road on guard duty until the messenger comes from Captain Hatake. With any luck...it'll be pissing down before long."
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"You're taking it really easy for someone on a mission, Shiro-kun. But then I suppose even you deserve a rest sometime. If resting is what you want to do right now..."
Matsumura looked up to find the familiar face of Hikifune inches from his. He started slightly and she grinned at his reaction. She sat on the side of the bed, out of her captain's uniform and clad simply in a white kimino. Shifting her position, she slid a leg over his body, straddling him. Hands resting on his chest, she leaned in close, long white hair hanging down around them both as she brought her face to his again. Her hands were gliding down his chest, fingers parting the front of his shihakusho. Her lips parted slightly as they met his... Her sultry voice was barely above a whisper. "So is this what you've always wanted, Shiro-kun? I didn't know that for so long all you wanted to do was...
"Captain!"
"...fuck!" Matsumura jerked awake, sitting bolt upright as Maeda burst into the room, zanpakutou already drawn and with a serious look on his face. It was night outside but some great source of illumination cast dancing shadows on the wall behind him. Flames could be seen in the distance, giant black clouds of smoke billowing into the starless skies. It was coming from the direction of the training academy. He turned to his 3rd Seated officer, leaping off the bed and strapping on his zanpakutou. "Kiyoshi, what the hell is going on?"
"It's the academy, captain. It's been attacked and set on fire. We've gotta get there ASAP."
"Move it. Go. Now!" Matsumura and his team raced through the streets, shoving aside fleeing civilians as they made their way back. As they rounded a corner, they skidded to a halt at the gates...or what used to be the gates. They'd been shattered apart by a great force and as they drew near, they saw the two door guards from before lying face down, bloody holes ripped through their torsos. As the shinigami crossed the threshold, one of them stirred, groaning. He looked up and seemed to recoil as he caught sight of Matsumura, expression turning to a mask of bloodstreaked hatred as he tried to reach for a weapon but collapsing. His voice shook violently, coughing up blood. "You... You bastard, you think you can come back here after what you did. I'll kill..."
"Kiyoshi, Keisuke, you two try and find survivors and help them in whatever way you can. I have to find the captain." Matsumura vaulted over the collapsed guard and raced inside. The courtyard that he'd seen students training in was now stained with blood, the same students lying dead all over the place. A violent battle had taken place here though it had seemed very one-sided. No enemies were among the dead. But where was the captain? Matsumura headed for the office where they'd spoken before, kicking in the burning door and rushing in. He froze at the sight that welcomed him before hurrying over to the collapsed form of Hatake, doubled over with a hand held to his chest. At the sound of footsteps, he looked up to see Matsumura approaching. "Are...you the...real one then?"
"What the hell's that supposed to mean? What's going on, captain?" Matsumura knelt down, pulling his haori off and tying it around the older man's chest to try and staunch the blood flow. The wound was deep, running right through his body, blood pooling underneath him. Someone weaker would have already died from the wounds he had sustained.
His former commander regarded him a moment. He was dying already, judging by the extent of his injuries. What the hell could have done this to someone of captain-level strength…? Hatake's face had gone white and covered in sweat. His zanpakutou was lying at his side where his nerveless fingers had been forced to release the blade. Even then, as he drew near, the former captain's eyes snapped down on him, glaring at him through bloodied gaze. "Prove it already…that you're the real…Shiro-kun. When you…first joined the Division…what did you say your…goal in life was?"
"What? Ugh…" Matsumura shook his head, casting his mind back. He'd been a young teenager when he'd joined the 10th Division, having survived training at the hands of Captain Unohana. After turning over the countless conversations he'd had with his former captain, he remembered, groaning inwardly but realising that if Hatake was trying to verify his true identity, it was one of the few things that only the true Matsumura would know. "…marry Kirio-chan and start a family with her. Okay?"
Despite the pain he was in, Hatake gave a bloody smirk, gesturing for him to kneel down and lean in close to hear him whisper. "Okay, Shiro-kun… I had to check… Now…"
He reached into his blood-soaked shihakusho and pulled a fistful of parchment from inside, shoving it into Matsumura's hands. "Here… This is the report back from…my contacts still in Central 46. It's…well you'll see. I don't know…what you've been up to, Shiro-kun… But you're really in some deep shit…"
"Captain…"
"But…that's not all, Shiro-kun. Before you came…another showed up. He wore your face and spoke with your voice. The guards let him in...and I couldn't even tell he wasn't you at first." He coughed, his body shaking as blood ran from his mouth down the front of his uniform. Matsumura made to steady him but he waved him back. "He may have resembled you but...he didn't speak like you and when pressed, he proceeded to start killing...everyone. We fought...and well...you know how it ended... You've got to get out of here, Shiro-kun. There were...witnesses...to our fight. Maybe this'll get cleared up...but now the Gotei 13 will be...after you. I'm finished...but you still have a chance. So get the hell out of here. That's an order... Go!"
"Shit..." He could've said something...but they both knew that it was useless. And he had his orders now, a final order or dying wish from his former commander. Rising to his feet, Matsumura turned and ran from the building. As his two subordinates saw him, he gave a hand signal and they rose, hurrying after him as they burst from the burning academy. A flash and they were gone. By the time the Gotei 13 forces arrived, they had long disappeared from the district into the night.
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"Captain! Over here!"
Captain Yoruichi Shihoin pushed her way through the rubble of the burnt out academy to where her third in command, Kisuke Urahara, waited for her with the first recon squad. He'd been sent in first to try and locate any survivors and the master of the academy, Hajime Hatake. They'd only found bodies so far apart from two who had been found at the gates, their wounds bound with battlefield dressings. They had yet to regain consciousness. As far as she was concerned, the sooner they woke up, the sooner they could help make more light of the situation...and hopefully disprove the panicked accounts from citizens who'd been in the area at the time...those that had said that her sensei, Captain Matsumura had been there...and had done this.
Normally Soifon and her team were the ones who carried out Urahara's role when the captain herself was in command but she and the first squad had been found beaten unconscious in an alley several blocks away. Despite the indications they'd been going with full force, they'd been brought down without a single death on their side. It was further indication that Matsumura could be involved, taking down elite special forces without needing to use anything more than unarmed combat.
"What'd you have for me, Kisuke?"
"It's Hatake, Captain." Steeling herself, she walked inside the nearest building, the door broken in and the walls charred black by the extinguished flames. The bloodied sight that awaited her did nothing to ease her troubled mind. As she approached, Urahara gestured to the body of the slain ex-captain, kneeling by the man and pulling a bundle of cloth off him and handing it to her. Shihoin caught it and shook it out. It was a white captain's haori, soaked through with blood. The mark of the 10th Division was marked on the back. "Sensei..."
There was a commotion in the doorway. A momentary struggle and then one of her people went flying past her. Shihoin spun around to see another man enter the building, not wearing the uniform of her special forces troops or even a shinigami but noble's robes with a black cloak over the top. She made to draw her zanpakutou but before she had her hand closed around the hilt, the man was standing in her face, a hand resting on her blade and holding it locked in its sheath. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of his face, a gasp escaping her lips. But the man seemed to ignore her, looking past her to the body of Hajime Hatake. Then he turned to leave, brushing past the surprised 2nd Division members. At the door he paused, looking back to the captain. "I'll be taking the 4th Special Forces division, Yoruichi. After this, the Central 46 will want that captain's head. I'm going to get a head start on this by going now. I've always wanted to try my hand against Shiro Matsumura..."
When he was gone, the assembled troops in the building stood in silence, looking after the man who had just departed. After a moment, Urahara broke the silence, asking what the other 2nd Division members were wondering, having seen their captain overcome seemingly effortlessly. "Who...was that, Captain?"
"My father..." Shihoin shook her head to clear her thoughts and regained her composure. "Damn it...we need to report this back to the Captain-Commander. Move it! Now!"
As her troops moved out, disappearing as black blurs from the building, Captain Shihoin remained standing there, glancing from the body of the former captain to the blood stained haori clutched in her hand, her knuckles whitening as she gripped it tighter. She knew her sensei and he couldn't have done something like this. Anyone who knew him knew he couldn't have done this...but her father was right. Once they reported back, the Central 46 would want blood for one of their former number having been murdered, especially considering all the suspicion already heaped upon him. And her father was already on the way to hunt Matsumura-sensei down himself. Wherever he was now... She needed to hurry... Taking another moment to compose herself, she ran from the building, putting her title of Flash-Goddess to use to get back as fast as possible. Every second wasted was time lost where she could get to the bottom of this...and clear Matsumura's name. Preferably before he was killed by either the Hollows or the Gotei 13.