Fear I

"It is time." With those three words, the Captains and Vice-Captains of the Gotei 13 left for the real world in preparation for the battle that winter.

Omaeda gulped and heaved. The air was thick with tension. The sky was ridiculously blue; on any other day, this would have been a perfect weather for a day out. He was not used to such grand occasions, and felt somewhat puffed up with importance that he had been counted worthy of standing amongst the Captains and the Captain Commander on this day. He thought smugly of his superiority to Izuru Kira, Hisagi Shuhei, and the baldy and the narcissist from the 11th Squad, who were nowhere in sight and were evidently unworthy of being at the frontline of defense.

There was little time for self-congratulation, however. An overwhelmingly powerful wave of reiatsu washed over him, and his knees began to knock. He looked over at his Commander, who stood stoic and unwavering, her lips pulled into a thin, determined line. The fabric of the blue sky was ripped asunder and a black gap opened. Three men stepped out, and their combined reiatsu was more than Omaeda could take, and he gasped. He began to sputter slightly, and his hands wringed at the bulbous gold chain around his neck for comfort. His Commander lifted an eyebrow. "You can leave if this is too much for you, Omaeda." She turned away, indifferent to his fear.

"Taichou! I… I… no, I will s-stay." He huffed and puffed and tried to calm himself down, his heart hammering in his ears. He looked at the man in the centre, barely recognizing him as Sosuke Aizen, the traitor of Soul Society.

Aizen began to speak. To Omaeda, his voice was like a calm blue sea, deep and peaceful, with powerful undercurrents that could overwhelm you and drown you. To his horror, the betrayer already knew that the Karakura Town beneath them was a replica and not the real thing. He wished he was back in Soul Society with his family.

"Barragan. Harribel. Stark." The cold voice rang clearly throughout the winter sky, and three more garganta opened. Omaeda's jaw could drop no further. He thought they might have had a fighting chance if the entire Gotei 13 were pitted against Aizen, Ichimaru and Tosen. But with these newcomers and what looked like their Vice-Captains?

We should have rushed them while we had the chance. Why are we sitting around here making small talk? Now Aizen has brought in new people. That old man has the most subordinates – he must the most powerful. That women and her three assistants – all ugly. Quite unlike my beautiful sisters. The younger man looks quite harmless… is that a kid with him? What on earth are these Espada thinking?

A blaze of energy surged up near him, catching him off guard. A powerful blast of fire sped ahead of him and enveloped Aizen, Ichimaru and Tosen within a wall of flame. Omaeda was shocked that the Captain Commander had acted so early on in the battle, and resolved not to underestimate those who remained before him. He shook his head and sneaked a look at his Commander, who remained unflinching. He could not help but admire her strength and confidence even in the face of such powerful enemies.

The old Espada, Barragan, began to speak. His subordinates made a throne of bone materialize, and he seated himself and took command of the battle now that Aizen was cut off from the wall of flame. The more he spoke, the more puzzled Omaeda became. He did not understand what Barragan was referring to by the four pillars. Suddenly, four gigantic hollows materialized at the meridian points of the fake Karakura Town. They descended, and stopped halfway in the air, as though standing on a support. Slowly, four pillars materialized under their feet, and the gravity of the situation began to dawn on Omaeda.

"The… the pillars! If they are destroyed, the real Karakura Town will come back!" he said aloud to no one in particular.

The Captain-Commander's voice rang clearly and deliberately. "And do you think us so naive that we would leave these critical points unguarded? We have four powerful fighters ready to defend those pillars."

Four powerful fighters… but I am here and all the Captains are here… so who-

"Izuru Kira. Hisagi Shuhei. Ikakku Madarame. Yumichika Ayasegawa." Omaeda turned to Soifon. "Taichou! I didn't realize those four were going to be here! I… I…"

Soifon barely looked at him, but replied in a curt, detached tone. "What, did I not tell you about this after we were informed at the Captains' meeting? I guess I must have forgotten… These are four of the strongest vice-captains and fighters within Soul Society. That's why they have been entrusted with this very important task." Omaeda could have sworn he saw a smirk creep up the corners of her mouth. He felt put down, but he was not entirely sure why he felt this way.

The four Shinigami guarding the pillars easily dispatched the hollows. However, four of Barragan's subordinates were then assigned to take down the Shinigami and the pillars, and Omaeda began to bob and weave on the spot as he observed the battles, afraid of what might happen. When he saw Kira being forced to evade the metal feathers of the bird-like Fraccion, he remained smug, believeing that his own shunpo would have helped him much better were he in the battle. Nevertheless, when Kira beheaded the bird-man with Wabisuke, Omaeda felt a tingle of fear, understanding that Kira's zanpakuto could counter even the best shunpo. Although I'm sure taichou could get away quick enough. Yumichika had been swallowed up in an enormous black thicket of foliage. That thicket had dissipated after awhile, and Omaeda was unsure what happened inside, but it appeared that Yumichika was victorious. Omaeda could see him preening after the battle. The spinning scythes of Shuhei's zanpakuto finally reaped their enemy, and Omaeda secretly thanked the gods that he was too important to be assigned to defense of the pillars.

That left Ikakku. He was taking a severe beating from that huge Fraccion, and Omaeda began to bite his fingernails in nervousness.

The defeat came suddenly. Ikakku lay crumpled in a heap, and the pillar came crashing down. From that corner, the real Karakura town began to return to the real world, spreading in like flowing water. "Taichou! It's coming back!" He looked over at Soifon and saw her tensed up, her hand on the hilt of her sword, her body bent forward, as though she was ready to go up against the huge Fraccion anytime. She had a look of sheer panic on her face, and her eyes were wide with fear, which surprised Omaeda. He had never seen his Captain this affected before.

I never knew she had much regard for Ikakku Madarame or Karakura town…