"I guess I'm the little sister now, huh?" Karin hugged her twin, who was now almost ten years older than when they had parted. "It's good to see you, Yuzu."
"I missed you, Karin." Yuzu stepped away from her sister and smiled. "Dad's on his way. Brace yourself."
"Thanks for the warning." Karin and Yuzu stepped apart as their father flew between them and on to the ground.
"My beautiful daughters! Why do you abuse me so?!" He jumped to his feet and put an arm around each of them, pulling them close. "Let's go find that rotten brother of yours. It's been a while since we were all together as a family."
Karin only shrugged, but Yuzu grinned with excitement. As they walked, the two sisters filled each other in on what had happened since they last spent time together. Karin had earned a medical degree and worked side by side with her father for several years. Now she was planning to join the Fourth Division and continue working with him.
They found Ichigo sooner than they expected, as he was walking quickly toward the First Division. When he saw his father and sisters, he froze and the scowl dropped off his face for a moment.
He waited for his father to launch at him before he moved to Yuzu's side with a slight static crackle.
"Hey. I expected you to hang around the living world for a bit longer. Get tired of the old man?" Ichigo hugged his sister, then held out and hand to stop his father's next assault without looking.
"No, but I missed you and Karin, and I felt like I had enough experience that I could be of some use here." Yuzu shook her head at her father's antics. "And I guess it won't be so bad having his focus split between all three of us again..."
Line -
"Shunsui! Get out here!" Ichigo shouted at the door. "Ise, I'm going to kick your captain's ass, if there is anything you'd like to add on!"
"Oh, what has he done now?" Lieutenant Ise Nanao stepped out of the next door, a book gripped dangerously in one hand, ready to pile her own punishment on the lazy man.
"He's been teaching Kaien an endless stream of shenanigans to get him in trouble, and by extension, get me in trouble. Kaien went and died Byakuya's haori pink. I'm lucky I'm not farting flower petals." Ichigo turned back to the slab of wood standing between him and his target. "Shunsui, if you don't open this door, you'll just have to put up a new one tomorrow!" Nanao winced in sympathy, both for her captain, who was facing imminent doom, and for the orange haired captain, who had dealt with the wrath of Captain Kuchiki.
"Alright, alright. I surrender! I do apologize, Captain Kurosaki! Kaien just overheard Juushiro and I reminiscing over our academy days! I promise, I was not passing ideas along with the intention of corrupting the young minds of the Seireitei!" The captain commander of the Gotei 13 slowly eased the door open, hands up in a gesture of peace. For a moment, it looked like he had talked his way out of it. Then Ichigo snatched the book from Nanao's hands and smacked the man's head so hard his hat was left floating for several seconds before it reunited with its host.
"Don't you start with that formal crap! I've told everyone a dozen times, it is Ichigo! Captain Ichigo if you absolutely have to! I'm not going to put up with two people being called 'Captain Kurosaki'!" The orange haired hero returned the book to the startled lieutenant and sighed. "Hey, Ise, Lisa wants to know what night you have off. She wants to take off and catch up some."
"Oh! I am free tomorrow, if that is convenient for her." Nanao clutched her book possessively, slightly at a loss for what to do when she was not the one wielding it as a weapon.
"I'll let her know." He turned back to the older captain, who was sitting on the floor and leaned casually against the wall, as if he had not just been brutalized with a fantasy novel. "If my son puts any more of your stories in to action, you're head's gonna get introduced to the entire Seireitei library."
Ichigo waved his goodbye casually to the pair left behind him. Down the hall, Mizuiro chuckled to himself. He would tell his friend later that he was the one who suggested to the boy that he try out some of the experienced trouble maker's ideas. But it would be much, much later. Long enough that he would not be introduced to any large books.
Line -
"In cooperation with Captain Kurotsuchi and the Twelfth Division, I now have evidence to support a theory that will change the way we look at our place in the world." Kisuke Urahara stood in front of the room, no trace of his usual carelessness on his face or in his voice. "We have known for centuries that Hollows and Shinigami all have a limit beyond which no amount of training will help them reach. Until now, we have never know what exactly sets these limits, only that they are set in stone."
"However, that is only a small part of what our research has uncovered." Mayuri Kurotsuchi took over. "Urahara came to me with his theory a year ago and requested my resources in investigating its merit. Although I thought it was mad at first, further observation has revealed it to be close to the mark and a great step forward in understanding out world."
"Shinigami have always worked on the principal that we serve a unique function in the world. We purify Hollows and guide souls to Soul Society. But what if there were no Shinigami? Would hollows consume all the souls? It seems like the logical conclusion if we truly are the only way to Soul Society. But if we take a moment to think back, the Gotei 13 was founded only 2000 years ago, and there were plenty of souls here at that time. How, then did they get here? For that matter, how did Shinigami arise as a separate variety of soul?" Urahara watched the group carefully, seeing if he was pulling them along his train of thought.
"Our world has proven time and time again that it works on laws that we have yet begun to fully understand. It has also proven to be very cleaver in enforcing these rules. The world requires balance. It would follow that such a cleaver world would not naturally jeopardize its own balance, would it not? So why, then, would lost souls become Hollows if such a phenomenon would only lead to the collapse of the world as souls never returned to the living world?" Mayuri was rocking back and forth on the spot. He had not felt so excited about a discovery in centuries.
"It stands to reason that, in some way, Hollows maintained balance before Shinigami even existed. But how? They are creatures of pure instinct who are driven by an insatiable desire to devour souls to fill the void inside their hearts. What then? They eat and eat until they evolve. They ascend to Gillians. From there they become Adjuchas. Then they finally become Vasto Lorde. But have we ever observed what happens next? Not before now." Urahara turned to the door to the chamber and gestured. Hiyori rolled her eyes and knocked twice.
Outside, Akon heard the signal and opened the door, leading in a thin man with plain brown hair and sharp eyes, and a small girl who was casting distrustful glares around the room.. Shunsui Kyoraku and Juushiro Ukitake leaped to their feet and reached for their swords, but Urahara held up his hands for them to remain calm.
"In our search for answers, we found these two in the Rukongai. The former Primera Espada." Mayuri indicated the two. "We have checked the nature of their riatsu as well as their physical forms. They have no hole, which alone indicates they are not a hollow. Their riatsu confirms this. They are Shinigami. The death of the Primera Espada during the Winter War immediately preceded a large spike in the population of the Rukongai. Originally we carelessly attributed this to deaths in the living world. Now we know better."
"In his life as a Vasto Lorde and an Arrancar, they were a single being on a fundamental level. Now, they are two separate souls again. A Vasto Lorde typically contains several hundred thousand souls. The density of these souls is reflected in their power. It is accurate to imagine a Vasto Lorde, or any powerful hollow, as concentric layers of souls. The central soul is the consciousness of the being and the center of power. This soul has access to all the knowledge and collective strength of those beneath. As the layers pile up, those within have less power and less individuality. However, upon the death of the hollow, the souls are released. Now we believe the power is retained, proportional to the position of the soul among the layers."
"This would mean that every Shinigami came from the death of a Hollow. The more powerful the Shinigami, the more powerful the hollow was, and the closer to the core that Shinigami's soul came from. The next question we needed to address was how a hollow would die before Shinigami existed to purify them." Mayuri paced slowly in front of the room. "For this, we turned to a parallel model to the living world."
"In the living world, density has certain effects on the object. The most extreme examples are stars who's mass exceeded what their structure could sustain, and they collapsed in upon themselves. In the case of a powerful Vasto Lorde who has devoured millions of souls, the spiritual pressure caused by their density would exceed what their reishi constructed bodies could hold. As they cross that threshold, they would collapse, very much like a star. The souls would then be sent to Soul Society, and from their, they would be reincarnated into the living world." Urahara explained.
"The Shinigami created in this way would have the same limit as the position within their constituent hollow would allow. After a time, enough powerful Shinigami existed in Soul Society that they began gathering together. It was in this way that the Seireitei came to be." Mayuri turned his attention back to Starrk. "This man, now a Shinigami, will be able to achieve the same level of power as he held as an Arrancar, and not a fraction more."
"We know now, Hollows are not truly our mortal enemies. They are not evil. They were a natural part of the cycle of souls, created by this world to maintain balance, just like Shinigami." Urahara smiled as he saw the understanding in the eyes of the assembled captains. "And this is not only true of Hollows, but Quincy as well. Just as mass and energy can not truly be created or destroyed, souls can not be so easily obliterated."
"We saw Quincy killing hollows, but no souls coming to Soul Society and we made the only assumption we could. They were being destroyed, which was fundamentally abhorrent to Shinigami who took it upon themselves to protect the souls of the dead. Once again, we did not look close enough. When a Quincy destroys a Hollow or Shinigami, the soul does not return to Soul Society. It is sent directly in to the reincarnation cycle."
"This served to only exaggerate the imbalance we believed they were creating. In this, we were correct. The flourishing of the Quincy and their success in the destruction of Hollows was creating a terrible imbalance between the living and spirit worlds. However, with souls no longer in danger of annihilation, compromise could have been found. We have a chance to make such compromise now." Urahara made another gesture and three individuals came to stand at his side. "The Delta Division would like to request your cooperation and aide in making this knowledge public so that we can finally make peace with the Quincy and end unnecessary hostility with Hueco Mundo."
"You are certain of the results you have presented to us?" The Captain Commander asked cautiously. Mayuri and Urahara nodded together. "Then we will put it to a vote at once. Those in favor of making this knowledge public for the sake of peace?"
Shunsui Kyoraku watched as the hands around him rose. Soifon looked torn, but ended up voting in favor of the decision. Izuru Kira, Isshin Kurosaki, Shinji Hirako, Byakuya Kuchiki, Renji Abarai, Ichigo Kurosaki, Shuhei Hisagi, Toshirou Hitsugaya, Ikkaku Madarame, and Juushiro Ukitake all added their hands to the vote. Whether Mayuri abstained from voting because he was against peace or because he was acting as a scientist, not a captain, would remain unknown.
"Very well. The Gotei 13 have no objection. The Delta Division has our support in taking this step towards lasting peace." Shunsui stood. "This meeting is over. Have a nice afternoon, everyone."
Line -
It was a cool, clear day in the Seireitei. At the bank of the river, two old friends lay side by side, their feet dangling in the water. Shunsui had his straw hat hiding hald his face, keeping the sun out of his eyes and his pink kimono folded beneath his head as a pillow. His white captain's haori was hung over a branch in a nearby tree, along with that of his best friend.
Beside him Juushiro was stretched out on top of his black Shihakusho with his hands behind his head. His long white hair was tied back and his Zanpakuto was leaned against the tree together with Shunsui's. They had sparred for the first time in centuries and were enjoying the nice weather as they had once done regularly.
"We need to do this more often..." Juushiro stretched and yawned, grinning into the clear blue sky. "I haven't felt this good since our academy days, Shunsui."
"It's working, then? Isshin found a real cure?" Shunsui propped himself up on his elbows and studied his friend in profile. In only a matter of weeks, the difference the treatments had made was incredible. For centuries, Captain Ukitake had only had brief periods of time where he was fit for combat, and even then he was easily exhausted. Now he had all the strength and power of a man in his prime again. It had been the first time since they were very young that he had not been the one to call an end to their match.
"Yes... I think he has..." Juushiro closed his eyes and breathed deeply. His lungs no longer ached. His throat did not threaten to fight against him. "Who would have thought that the healers of the living world, without Kido, would have surpassed us in the art while we weren't looking? The human race is incredible."
"Indeed they are. A cure... After all these years, it was as simple as a little human medicine." Shunsui chuckled and looked up the river to where his Lieutenant and his friend's two third seats were enjoying their own day off. Ise Nanao had her back to a tree several yards from the water, reading a thick book. The other two were arguing and wresting in the shallows. Occasionally one would gain the upper hand and hurl the other in to the deep water, earning a long string of profanity for their trouble. "How did those two react?"
"They still want to do everything for me, but they are starting to let me resume some of my responsibilities as captain. I can at least take care of part of Rukia's work, since she has her time split between acting as my Lieutenant, acting as Ichigo's wife, and acting as Byakuya Kuchiki's sister and heir." Juushiro stretched and sat up, then leaped to his feet in a single, graceful movement. "Hey, Shunsui?"
"Yeah, Juushiro?" The dark haired captain grinned and pushed his hat back, rising to his feet slowly and turning to his friend.
"It's been far too long since I have been able to keep up with you and your mischief, my dear friend. What do you say to a little fun, like our Academy days? Surely the two of us could come up with a suitable plot or scheme to liven up our officers if we put our minds to it!"
"It is good to have my faithful conspirator back!" Shunsui laughed and leaned in. "I assume you have an idea, like you always did?"
Juushiro only grinned.
Line -
"Kaien! It hurts!" Kirio was laying on the ground, crying out in pain. From her mouth, eyes, ears, and nose came a constant stream of thick white liquid that moved to cover her face. "Help me!"
"Kirio! Hold on! I'll get my dad!"
"No! Please, don't leave me!" Kirio was clawing at the white substance, chipping it away almost as fast as it was hardening, but it was slowly gaining ground.
Kaien stood frozen for one moment, then lifted her and began carrying her toward the Seireitei.
"Kaien... I can't hold on..." Kirio's breath was coming in short gasps now, her eyes clenched in pain as her face was covered completely by a mask of bone. "Run... I don't want to hurt you..."
"No! I won't leave you!" Kaien concentrated and flash stepped several yards, but could not maintain the pace while carrying her. The roofs of the division were in sight now. "We're almost there... Don't give up..."
"You did well, Kaien."
The black haired boy recognized the voice instantly.
"Captain Hirako! She needs help!" Kaien almost collapsed as the girl was easily lifted from his arms. Shinji gave him a calm smile.
"We'll take care of her. Don't worry. You need to get to class, now. You're going to be late again, and she'll want you to get her missed work." The blonde captain turned and walked quickly toward the Fifth Division as his wife fell in to step beside him.
"She'll be okay, Kaien." Ichigo had arrived and put a hand on his son's shoulder. "She's as strong as her father and as stubborn as her mother. A little thing like Hollowfication won't keep her down for long at all."
"Are you sure?" Kaien leaned against Ichigo's side as his legs finally gave out from the exertion of carrying his friend at flash step pace. "What is she can't overcome it?"
"Her inner hollow doesn't want to kill her. She isn't a visored. She's like us. She was born both Shinigami and Hollow. It is a fundamental part of her, and in the end, it will never destroy her."
"Will I go through Hollowfication?" Kaien looked up at his father. Ichigo nodded.
"You will. And I'll be there for you when you do. Kirio will want you to be there for her this evening when she has recovered some. Shinji was right. You need to get to class."
Line -
"This is not a good idea, Captain!" Ise Nanao whispered urgently. "Of all the Arrancar, why would you choose this one to be the first to join the Gotei 13?"
"Ichigo recommended four Arrancar to act as test cases. Two of them are acting as ambassadors, and one is the acting queen of Hueco Mundo. Grimmjow was the only remaining option. I trust Ichigo's judgment on this." Shunsui brushed off his Lieutenant's complaints lightly. "From what I heard, he was one of the most eager to fight by Ichigo's side when he went to Hueco Mundo for allies."
"That may be, but..."
"Nanao." Shunsui stopped walking and turned to her, causing her to stop short and blush as she nearly ran into his chest. "I understand your concern, but what would you have me do? Choose someone that no one has any experience with? Refuse to give this a chance entirely? I think that this is the best balance between caution and taking a chance for peace. Will you support me?"
"Captain..." Nanao sighed and looked up at him. "Yes. Always, you know that."
"Thank you. If this goes horribly wrong, I give you permission to tell me you told me so." Shunsui smiled warmly at her then turned and continued walking. "We need to hurry or we'll be late."
"Yes, Captain."
When they arrived, Grimmjow was already present.
"Captain Commander Kyoraku. I'm here, just like you asked. What is this about?" The feral looking man glanced suspiciously at the woman holding the large book.
"A suggestion has been brought forward by the Delta Division. An act of good faith between the Gotei 13 and the Arrancar. We are going to allow you the opportunity to join our ranks. It is... kind of a pilot program. In the future, because of this attempt, it may be that Arrancar and Shinigami will fight side by side as frequently as they do with their own brothers." Shunsui explained.
"And who would I be working for? What captain is willing to allow a hollow in to their ranks?" Grimmjow crossed his arms over his chest.
"Ichigo Kurosaki will be your captain. I trust you have no objections?"
"Kurosaki? The kid is a captain now?" Grimmjow considered it for a moment. "Sure. If there is one Shinigami I could fight under, it's him."
"Good. In that case, report to the Eighth Division immediately. He's expecting you."
Line -
It was strange being in a place like this. His memories of his past life was hazy at best, but he knew it had been miserable. He had been so lonely... Lonely enough to split his soul to create a companion that would stay by his side... But now, she was no longer a part of his soul, and had no memory of him. She was the only thing he remembered clearly, and it hurt that she looked at him like a stranger.
"Something on your mind, Starrk?" Juushiro Ukitake sat beside the former Espada and offered a friendly smile. "Do you remember me?"
"Vaguely. I know you didn't hurt Lilynette even though you could have easily overpowered and killed her... Thank you."
"I love children too much to ever fight against them. It pains me to allow them to fight in the Gotei 13 at all. Hopefully we are on our way to a future where they will not have to." Ukitake looked around. "Where is your little friend anyway?"
"She... Doesn't remember me. The only reason your scientists found us in the same place was because I have been protecting her without her knowing since we died." Starrk slumped forward. "I wish I knew why I remember and she doesn't..."
"It's more unusual that you remember anything than it is that she does not. Time in the Rukongai erase memories of our past lives. Usually for our own benefit. Only a few in history have had bonds so strong that they transcended death."
"She was a part of my soul. She was my only real friend. Like a daughter or little sister. And now she's a stranger..." Starrk looked over at the man next to him. "What would you do?"
"Tell her the truth. Try to get to know her again. Look at things from her perspective. A strange man she has never met believes he knows her. You can see why she would be hesitant to trust you at first." Ukitake said. "But even though the Rukongai may erase out memories, some bonds are forever. You may find that even if she never remembers you, you fit together as if you have always been that way. You won't know unless you let go of the past and move toward the future."
"You're right, I suppose." Starrk stood up and looked around lazily. "I'll find her and tell her everything later. Right now, I need a nap."