Author's Note: I'm gonna be out for a few days on a school trip, so I'm not sure how soon future chapters are gonna get written. As penance, I spoil you with the longest chapter I have written to date.
Shuuhei stared blankly at the row of stony faces. Twelve figures, eleven of them split into unitary aisles on either side of Shuuhei leading up to one figure who faced him, locking his gaze. Twelve figures, twelve captains, twelve people with somber gazes and intense eyes full of age and with spiritual pressure rolling off them in barely-suppressed waves strong enough just to make Shuuhei's eyes water the tiniest bit as if he was looking into a bright light for too long.
As he made a brief report of the situation regarding his experiences with the portals alongside Renji, Captain- no, Captain-Commander Kyoraku gave no indication of being troubled by Shuuhei's explanation, although his hands were folded in front of his face, leaning in on his elbows in interest. He was an entirely different Commander than Captain-Commander Yamamoto, and not just because Shuuhei had seen him drunk. He was complicated, thoughtful for each shinigami in a way that Shuuhei had never imagined the previous Commander being.
In a way, that concern only gave Shuuhei more reason to fear the man. It made him feel like Kyoraku was actually expecting something from him, and Shuuhei was entirely capable of disappointing him.
Shuuhei's retelling of the recent events was accompanied by a solid gaze on a spot exactly six inches above Kyoraku's head. He didn't turn his gaze to his captain. He didn't see Captain Mugumura's expression. He didn't want to yet.
"… As I speak to you, Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki, Lieutenant Kuchiki and Lieutenant Abarai are preparing to journey to Huenco Mundo to destroy the pent-up energy and seal the rips between Huenco Mundo, the material world, and Soul Society." He finished. He restrained himself from casting a glance in Captain Ukitake or Captain Kuchiki. Neither happened to be new to the concept of their second-in-commands running off to accompany Ichigo on self-assigned missions, but Shuuhei wondered if they thought him irresponsible for not bringing them back with him.
Kyoraku leaned back in his seat at the end of the two aisles. It may have been his imagination, but Shuuhei thought he heard the fluttering of someone as small as Nanao's footsteps from outside the room. "Thank you for sharing this with us, Vice-Captain Hisagi. You've done admirable work as always, and brought back a new puzzle for us to consider. We are grateful for your time and effort."
From the sincerity in Kyoraku's voice, Shuuhei could not tell if he was being mocked or not. He was inclined to believe the latter.
"Would you mind excusing us captains to discuss what you have just told us? No offence meant against you, naturally, it's just that we do try to keep our bickering out of sight of the lieutenants."
They wanted to talk about Huenco Mundo. They wanted to talk about whether they should let the trio investigate unsupervised. They wanted to talk about what they'd do about Shuuhei if- when he never got his zanpakuto back because he wasn't allowing himself any hopeful fantasies about what could or might be.
"Not at all, sir." Shuuhei bowed, taking the dismissal as gracefully as he could manage.
No one saw him out of the First Division headquarters. All squad members were busy tending to their offices, to the orderly chaos that came with being in the division of the captain-commander. Shuuhei outranked every soul reaper he passed by, but something in him felt vulnerable compared to them. Each shinigami went about their business, their zankaputo swinging about their hilts. Some noticed Shuuhei, and broke into almost inaudible whispers. Vulnerable is what he was, Renji had made that clear. A declawed cat in a pound of dogs.
The massive front doors of the First Squad swung behind him with purpose, closing off any further chance of an audience he would have with the captains for a good few hours, at least.
Shuuhei repressed a sigh, scuffling his sandals against the polished stone of the stairs leading down from the doors. Now that he was back in Soul Society, the atmosphere seemed stifling. His adventure in the real world had been a surreal experience. A secret mission turned into an impromptu camping trip, it was scary and exciting at the same time with Renji every step of the way to experience it with him. Now was everything supposed to just go back to normal? Did he pretend that none of that every happened?
He reached the bottom step and picked a direction to walk in, hands stuffed into his pockets. He had no desire to put himself behind a desk just now, so there really wasn't much left for him to do other than go back to his quarters in the Ninth's barracks. What was Renji doing now? Probably preparing for going to Huenco Mundo tomorrow. He had better clean his sword, and maybe cleanse his spiritual pressure a little since Zabimaru was still pretty filthy from its overdrawn swim. Hollows and Arrancars, nothing- rust and bacteria were the real mortal enemies of the shinigami!
Shuuhei half-heartedly kicked a pebble out of his path, where it rolled and bounced along the cobblestone before coming to an uneasy rest. Shuuhei gave it another kick with his toe, sending the pebble soaring in a small arch through the air. The third kick was a bit too rough, sending the pebble shooting off sideways against his foot where it stumbled against the sidewalk into the grass.
"Something must be seriously wrong. You usually take your aggression out on much more responsive targets than rocks."
Shuuhei jumped at the voice, somehow not expecting to come across anyone during the workday. And yet, only a few yards away Izuru gave him a raise of his one visible eyebrow.
Kira Izuru was Shuuhei's best friend, but he was difficult to read sometimes. His body language said little, holding together just as tense as he usually was. To be understood, you had to read Izuru by his face, which was lit into a tentative friendly smile. Shuuhei realized the blond was happy to see him, but was nervous about it. Shuuhei couldn't blame him. He was probably rolling off some pretty negative vibes that freaked the younger vice-captain out.
"No one's seen you for a couple days." Izuru noted, tilting his head just a fraction. "You're more jittery for it. Are the rumors true, then?"
Shuuhei straightened himself, tried to look less like he was on the verge of throwing a paroxysm. "Hey, Kira. Fancy way to greet a friend back by telling him that people have been talking behind his back." Shuuhei mockingly chastising, clawing his confidence back together in what he hoped was a cool, self-assured smile, "What exactly have people been saying in these quote unquote 'rumors'?"
Izuru cocked his head in a thoughtful frown, "You should ask Rangiku. She knows more about them then I do. But…" Izuru gave Shuuhei a critical look. He did that a lot, despite the fact that Shuuhei was about eight years his senior. Then again, stuff like that rarely mattered in the spiritual plane. "They say that you and Abarai were given a secret mission from the Captain-Commander himself, and then something about a magic door that sent you back in time and you fought sea monsters together in prehistoric Huenco Mundo."
"Wow, really? Man, I wish that had happened." Shuuhei chuckled, leaning against the wall in an attempt to look casual, "That sounds a lot cooler than what we actually ended up doing."
"I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to tell us when-"
"Oi! Shuuheiiiiiiiiiiii!" A high voice called out gleefully. Shuuhei managed to turn around just in time to see a blond-and-black blur barrel into him. Rangiku crushed him in a hug, slender arms holding him with more power than one would have guessed they were capable of.
With her, Rangiku brought more with her welcome wagon. Behind her trailed Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Momo to see him back. None of them seemed at all eager to pry Shuuhei away from Rangiku, her grasp holding steadfast and her breasts smashed into his chest.
"Shuuhei, we were so worried! You and Abarai went missing and I thought you decided to ditch work without me!" Rangiku complained.
"Yeah, we did." Ikkaku agreed with a matter-of-fact tone, "But then we realized you were too much of an obsessive workaholic to do anything dumb like have fun, so that idea went right out."
Shuuhei snorted, not even bothering trying to squirm out of the vice-like grip of Rangiku, "Well I guess for once that statement is correct, seeing as I was busy away on a very secret mission. Extremely classified, as it happens, very hush-hush and whatnot."
Ikkaku's lips curled in a smirk. "Well, well. Maybe you were having fun after all." He elbowed Yumichika, who wore his own look of curiosity.
"When you say 'secret mission' how hush-hush are you talking, now. Word had it Abarai went A.W.O.L the same time you did. They don't just fling vice-captains off into the far corners of Soul Society and beyond for nothing."
Shuuhei struggled with an explanation. He could spill everything to the captains, but how much was he supposed to tell his friends and fellow ranked officers? "Well, you see…"
"Come on, Shuuhei! Spill!" Rangiku prompted, jostling him in her embrace and looking very much like her bosom was about to spill out of her haori itself.
It occurred to Shuuhei that normally, he would have been reduced to a sputtered, blushing mess the moment Rangiku wrapped her arms around him. As it was her breasts were often an obstacle in retaining his train of thought. But even though they were doing an excellent job of being a distraction with the way they jiggled when pressed against his person, it was easier than usual for Shuuhei to tear his gaze away from two of Rangiku's claims to fame.
He wondered why that was, but seeing as he had been locked in mental combat for the ability to do just that since he had first met the lieutenant of the Tenth he decided not to question it too much.
It was Momo who came to Shuuhei's rescue, who gently tugged on Rangiku's sleeve. "Rangiku, you're crushing him." She remanded, and the busty vice-captain reluctantly released her grip on Shuuhei.
Now that he was mobile, Izuru tugged on Shuuhei's haori insistently, demanding attention back to the topic on hand. "So what happened with Abarai? If you were on the mission together where is he now?"
"Most likely? Getting himself into trouble, as usual." Shuuhei said, taking advantage of his newfound freedom to rock back on his heels. At the cryptic response Izuru gave him a searching look that seemed weighted heavily enough to force Shuuhei's vision back to the ground, which was getting an awful lot of attention from Shuuhei lately. "I'd be out there with him right now but I, uh, was given the red flag so to speak."
"'Red flag'? Hisagi, what are you talking about?" Momo pressed. Something seemed to dawn on her and she lifted a hand to cover her mouth in surprise as she asked "Abarai didn't… ask you to leave the mission, did he?"
Yes, that's exactly what happened because I'm a worthless excuse of a lieutenant and a shinigami, thank you ever so much for asking.
"No, no it wasn't that." Shuuhei voiced, mentally smashing his internal monologue underfoot because it was absolutely not like that, "It's just that I sort of outlived my usefulness in combat since I sort of… lost my zapakuto."
Something like a heavy cloud of quiet overtook the scene. The silence that overtook the five lieutenants was almost impressive, if it hadn't been so damning.
"You… lost Kazeshini." Rangiku intoned with disbelief blatant in her voice.
Shuuhei nodded, eyes till cast downwards in solemn penance. "I guess I did."
"How do you lose a zapakuto?" Yumichika asked, almost accusatorily.
"I lost it by losing it! What part of this is unclear?"
Ikkaku blurted in response, seeming to be exasperated with Shuuhei's own incompetence, "The part where a zanpakuto's not a fucking pen you leave in your other pair of pants, Hisagi! You don't just lose a zapakuto!"
Shuuhei had planned to be mature about this. He had planned to be calm and professional and definitely not let semblance of composure slip out from between his fingers as he stammered under the stares of ten judgmental eyes, now painfully aware of how ridiculous his own recollection of events must have sounded. "Well, the portals… and then the rain… I jumped in to… mouth-to-mouth and…"
Ikkaku sighed woefully, letting his shoulders go slack and exhaling dramatically. "Well, he's finally cracked. We all saw it coming, we just didn't know when. Abarai did something to him that finally pushed him off the deep end."
"Now, now." Yumichika defended, tapping his best friend on the shoulder chidingly, "I'm sure that with the gentle guiding hand of Fourth Division's psychological department he'll make a swift recovery. In due time, I mean to say."
"Don't mind them, they're only obnoxious." Izuru gently assured Shuuhei, who was feeling much too mentally exhausted to raise enough energy to be mad at the jabs to his sanity. "However, I agree that if you were trying to make as little sense as possible, you did an excellent job of it. You honestly don't know where your sword is?"
"Last I saw, it was in Huenco Mundo. That was hours ago, though, so it could be anywhere by now." Shuuhei tried to explain, only realizing too late that this answer only served to befuddle his friend even more.
"Okay, now I'm worried that you're going crazy, Shuuhei." Rangiku said, pursing her lips and eyebrows knit.
"Maybe I am just a little bit." Shuuhei admitted, shrugging, "It's been a long couple of days, to be honest. A lot happened in a short amount of time."
Momo cocked her head, "If that's the case, maybe you should go back to your quarters and focus on recovering. I'm sure there will be plenty of time to figure out what to do about Kazeshini."
Shuuhei tried not to let it show that this was exactly what he was planning on doing, and was exactly what he had been on his way to do before being jumped by his own Welcome Back party. But then again, it felt like he had been resting a lot lately. Going out, facing a threat he would only realize in the moment he was vastly unprepared for, then napping it off. Truly the lifestyle of a warrior, the only problem being that he didn't have another opponent to fight before ducking off to lick his wounds this time. Or Renji to share his thoughts with either, for that matter.
"You're probably right, Hinamori." Shuuhei admitted, "I think it would be for the best if I just-"
Whatever it would be the best for Shuuhei to just was lost on the five shinigami, because at that moment a heavy hand clapped Shuuhei's shoulder and clung with a vice-like grip. Captain Kensei Mugumura barked a brief order to "Move it or lose it," although Shuuhei found that he really didn't have a choice in the matter.
He hazarded one lopsided wave goodbye to his friends, who stood with mixed expressions of surprise and amusement, before Captain Mugumura steered him away, dragging him down the rows of walls of the Seireitei like a wayward puppy.
"Thought you were in the captain's meeting."
"Captain's meeting was shorter than expected. Keep moving."
Maybe it said something about Shuuhei as a person that he didn't struggled against Mugumura's hand on his shoulder, or that when he was pressed forward in a clear indication that he should be walking he just let his feet move in the direction of Captain Mugumura's weight. Even if he did protest, Shuuhei knew, it would be pointless anyways since the silver-haired captain was destined to get his way.
From the way he was being marched down the Gotei's alleys, Shuuhei couldn't see his Captain's face. He didn't need to, though, because he knew without a doubt that he was wearing that one expression- gritted teeth, one pulsing blood-vessel visible under the silver-gray spikes of his hairline, the slightest twitch in one maliciously glinting eye that made lesser shinigami run for cover. Shuuhei wasn't worried, though. Mugumura was hotheaded but graciously he was not unreasonable. Kensei's anger had no direction in cases like this.
"When I took this job back, they assured me that you were the one to get in the least amount of trouble." Captain Mugumura announced in a low sort of growl, the kind Shuuhei had come to know signaled that the statement was meant specifically for him, compared to his louder growl which meant that he was meant to be heard by everyone within a five-mile vicinity.
"Well, from a perspective point of view I think I'm still doing pretty well on that."
"Yeah, from the point of view of a shinigami that happens to stumble into one of the hugest gatherings of hollows of this century! Did vice-captains get more reckless since I was gone or did I just get smarter than everyone else?"
Shuuhei didn't respond to that, although he wondered if he should point out to his captain that he had just gotten that shoulder healed so it would really be in bad form for him to get Mugumura-sized bruises in the shapes of fingerprints just now. But he decided that maybe that anecdote would not help his case at the moment. Perhaps it could be saved for a later time to make his captain feel guilty, should the chance arise.
"Now, I for one have to say that the brat of a substitute shinigami somehow manages to end up doing alright against all odds, and his gang of misfits seem to do well by him. If it were up to me I'd let them off the leash with this one and see what they bring back to drop at our feet, but since apparently I'm back under my 'obligations of captaincy' we can't just let soul reapers chase down whatever the fuck they want to. I in particular can't do that if my own subordinate managed to trip himself up in the damn mess!" Captain Mugumura said, and Shuuhei could quiet clearly visualize the exasperated eye-roll accompanying the laments of duty.
Shuuhei hummed in acknowledgement of the statement, "They'll be sending a back-up team then to see that they make it out okay, then?"
"Don't say it like that. Sounds like we're babysitting a bunch of rowdy children! Then again, we're doing that most of the time, but this is different!"
Shuuhei would bother to ask how this was exactly different then when they assembled support teams for any other situation in the material world but the words died in his mouth when he, pulled along by Captain Mugumura's unwavering grasp, marched right past the Ninth Division's headquarters. Wherever Shuuhei was being taken, it wasn't there.
"Where-"
"Keep walking!" Mugumura demanded. Shuuhei decided that wherever he was walking towards, he did not need to be told twice to get there.
The gates of the Tenth Division passed them by, along with the Eleventh, and the Twelfth. Only when they had reached the last, high-standing gate of the Thirteenth Squad was Shuuhei spun part way on one heel and shoved forward.
"Am I allowed to be suspicious yet?"
"Not 'til we stop, you're not."
Compared to the hustle and bustle of the Ninth Squad and the frankly terrifyingly efficient workings of the First Division, the interior of the Thirteenth's headquarters was rather peaceful. They saw few soul reapers who were not otherwise occupied or were taking a brief repose, and those that were spotted were polite enough to pretend that seeing a well-known vice-captain being pushed along like a shopping cart by his visored captain through another squad's offices was not vastly unusual.
Shuuhei appreciated that small kindness.
Past all the desks, past the two third seats of the Thirteenth who managed to be the only source of chaos in the building, was the captain's office. The door to it was shut, quite purposefully so. Shuuhei couldn't guess why such an approachable figure such as Captain Ukitake would close himself off so obviously like that, but if Shuuhei had been alone he wouldn't have dared to intrude to ask why.
Captain Kensei did not, however, have that same problem. In fact he didn't have any issue at all with barging straight into Captain Ukitake's office unannounced. Shuuhei wasn't sure whether or not he should be grateful to have a headstrong captain to do these things.
Captain Ukitake was, predictably, seated at his desk. More surprisingly, however, was the addition of Captain Kuchiki, Captain Hitsugaya, and Captain Otoribashi sitting before him.
Shuuhei had pretty much figured he was done and over with dealing with the captains today, explaining the tale of his failed secret investigation in ways that made the story seem a little more unprofessional each time he ran through it, that he could not suppress the feeling of dread at four more patiently waiting for his captain and his presences. The thought that he should be grateful that there wasn't more of them present nagged at him, so Shuuhei figured it was best to work with God's small graces.
Captain Ukitake smiled invitingly, seemingly unaware of Shuuhei inability to perceive any reasoning for why he could possibly be here right now. "Ah, Captain Mugumura, Vice-captain Hisagi! We were waiting for you. Please have a seat."
Captain Mugumura pushed Shuuhei into the office, moving past him to sit next to Captain Kuchiki. The gazes of the two captains met in a split second, and Shuuhei could only hazard on the depths of the nonverbal communication before each man seemed to reach a silent understanding and turned very pointedly away from each other.
There was a gap between Captain Mugmura and Captain Otoribashi, and after assuring himself that yes he was also supposed to be sitting down, decided that this seat was perhaps a better gamble than trying to squeeze himself onto the ends next to Captain Hitsugaya or Captain Kuchiki. When he did so, the blond visored captain offered him a small smile, the way you would to greet the child of a friend who had been brought to a group event out of obligations of courtesy to the parent.
"Now, Lieutenant Hisagi," Captain Ukitake addressed, thankfully driving Shuuhei's attention away from more self-esteem crushing observations, "Following your field report, there was a brief dispute among the captains to which you should be aware."
Captain Histugaya snorted lightly, and Shuuhei appreciated the young captain's honesty regarding the fact that any dispute among the captains was hardly ever "little".
"Since Lieutenant Kuchiki and Lieutenant Abarai are both currently on the mission, Captain Kuchiki and I felt it would be appropriate for us to decide on who would be on the back-up teams for them. Captain Hitsugaya and Captain Otoriboshi both volunteered their lieutenant's services, and Captain Kuchiki has agreed to oversee the support team. Do you see where I am going with this?"
Shuuhei's heart sank and there was a lump in his throat that he did not dare try to swallow. "Yes sir, I do." he bowed his head slightly, trying to focus on how an uneven crack in the floorboards suddenly became so interesting. "It was wrong of me to become engaged in the situation in the first place. I understand entirely if you think me unfit for duty and wish for me not to be involved in the mission any further. I respect your decision."
"That's nice, Lieutenant, but I think you misunderstand the situation." The voice of Captain Otoriboshi read amusement, and when Shuuhei lifted his gaze to look at the man the expression was also clear with a laughing twinkle in his eyes. The visored captain nodded his head towards Captain Mugumura, "This one over here dived right into a speech on why you should remain on the mission as soon as you left the room. He shot down anyone who tried to disagree with him from the get-go."
Shuuhei whipped his head around to Captain Mugumura, who was sitting his with one arm folded and the other pretending to be clean his ear, attempting to look every bit uninterested. When he noticed his lieutenant's look of surprise, he feigned one himself. "What? It's not like you're gonna be more useful anywhere else around the office until after his mess blows over!"
Remaining quiet up until that point, Captain Kuchiki continued to face straight ahead, but his eyes glances over to bore straight into Shuuhei's when he started at the sound of the noble captain's voice. "You seem to have vastly uninformed your vice-captain of the situation at hand, Captain Mugumura. Could it be that he does not wish to be further involved in the mission?"
Shuuhei's hand twitched, unconsciously and without effort. The hand that Renji had touched and promised that he would be okay in Huenco Mundo. Renji had said it with such conviction in his voice, like he was so perfectly sure that he had seen all that the worlds could throw at him and could handle twice as much. Renji had assured Shuuhei that he would be safe.
But he could be so much safer if Shuuhei was there, too.
He choked on air the first time he tried to respond, if only because the words came so fast they got jumbled together before they reached his throat, but the second time he clearly said, "Yes! I would very much like to be sent back on the mission!"
"Then it's settled." Captain Mugumura announced, "Hisagi, you're excused. Again. Go talk to the lieutenants of the Third and Tenth and they'll tell you where to meet for deployment tomorrow."
Shuuhei stood and bowed graciously, scrambling together some semblance of proficiency as he exited the office. He was back on the mission! He was going to help Renji and the others!
He took the long way back to the Tenth Division to talk to Rangiku and Izuru, and Shuuhei smirked to himself when he thought of what Renji would say when Shuuhei showed up on the back-up team. Without Kazeshini, Shuuhei might not be as effective a fighter, but he was a shinigami, dammit, and he would prove that in any way he could.
The day dreamy smirk grew when he thought of Renji's promise to bring back Shuuhei's zanpakuto. That was Renji for you- arrogant in the most thoughtful of ways it was practically mindboggling. And he had held Shuuhei's hand like that? What a drama queen. Okay, maybe it was only more like Renji touched Shuuhei's hand with his, but it was close enough to hand-holding for Shuuhei.
Continuing his walk, Shuuhei wondered to himself when exactly the last time someone had held his hand was. He settled on the memory of his first date, which had seemed exciting and terrifying and wonderful at the time but would be looked back on as being dreadfully boring. It had been in his early days of the academy with a girl who told him that she thought his tattoos were hot. Shuuhei was inclined to agree with her and asked her out not long after that. They had a dull meal in a dull restaurant that was cheap enough for academy students to afford and Shuuhei paid for her meal, then they took a dull walk in the park and she slipped her hand into his and it was nice.
And then she kissed him, which wasn't so nice. She smoked behind the school buildings between class periods, and not the kind of cigarettes that were nice and classy and had a ticklish scent that was tolerable. She smoked the cheap, gross kind with no filters and made her breath taste like misery incarnated into a flavor. But she was Shuuhei's first kiss and he pretended to enjoy it even though she tasted like he was licking a cigarette off the floor and she used way too much tongue. When they broke the kiss apart he gently tried to suggest that they not do that again and she got mad and they stopped seeing each other after that.
Years after that at some point recently following the time he was attacked by the hollow that gave him his three prominent scars, Shuuhei saw her again. She was flirting with a taller guy, an underclassmen that Shuuheu recognized by the telltale red hair and tattoos was one of the three freshman that had helped him fend off the hollows when he was injured before the captains could arrive to save them.
After she left, Shuuhei took it upon himself to try to warn the student about her ashtray-breath and overzealous tongue. He laughed and they began a conversation lamenting about their individual failures of love lives together which continued over a round of drinks and Renji and Shuuhei had been friends ever since.