damnit, Saturday snuck up on me again. also, apparently, it's Rukia's birthday today. good thing I swapped to Saturdays.
It was just before dawn and Uryu was standing in the warehouse that once belonged to the visoreds. He was currently supposed to be in charge of what was left of the Wandenrich, and that meant that he was a major target for anyone who knew. Fortunately for him, the fanatics were put in Olpie's Jadgarmees, and thus were fighting against Halibel's forces in Hueco Mundo. He was meeting today with one of the few Quincy who actually followed him.
"So, we're still meeting in this old dump?" Candice Catnip was his main liaison with the bambis, who formed the bulk of the strategic capability of his little cut of the now-divided Wadenreich. With Yhwach now the Soul King, the Wandenreich fractured along preset lines, those most fanatical to the former king, and unaware of his current status, were trying to continue the fight, then there were those who simply wanted the power of the king of the Wandenreich for themselves. Uryu wanted peace, and not a peace that was a pretense to war later, he wanted true peace between Soul Society and the quincy.
"My home is not exactly a secure place for us to meet about this," While his father may be sympathetic to any seeking to leave their former king behind, it was still in the single most heavily monitored part of the world by Soul Society, and if he was going to do what Chad relayed Kyoraku wanted them to do, he had to give his orders out of sight of the Visuals Department.
"Yeah, I figured those assholes would be looking at you with a microscope," Candice rubbed the back of her head. She as well as the other bambis basically owed Uryu their lives, literally in Bambietta's case.
That was when their guest arrived. A member of the Onmitsukido executive militia. She was a smaller woman, shorter than both Uryu and Candice. Her zanpakuto had yellow highlights and was kept on her back by a yellow obi, this likely marked her as the squad leader for this mission.
"I assume our mutual contact informed you of the situation?" The woman spoke with a voice that commanded authority but was completely sanitized of any accent or verbal tics. Combined with her fully obscured face save for a pair of steel gray eyes that conveyed likely centuries of experience, it made it impossible to identify her.
"Yes, we are aware of the situation," Uryu didn't dare say what that was in case they were tailed. This was a sensitive operation and he didn't want to see firsthand how the executive militia handled loose ends.
"Good, do you have the preliminary reconnaissance done?" The ninja looked over at Candice. It was clear she didn't like working with quincy, but was too pragmatic to refuse help from them in this regard.
"Yeah, it was hard to find, it's at site bravo," The former sternritter was referring to the site of the Xcution base. Site bravo was a place not too far from the original Xcution base, but far enough to not be obvious.
"Understood," the ninja mulled over this in her mind. Site bravo was not one they wanted to have to plan for. It was in a closely packed financial district, meaning that the distracting force would have to be rethought. "Suboptimal, but doable, I assume that you have restructured your vanguard?"
"Yes," Uryu pushed up his glasses. "The need for more precise fighting ability means I have reassigned assets Echo and Papa. Instead myself, Tango, Golf, and Sigma will be in the vanguard," he refused to give over the names of his allies out of due diligence. He was speaking to someone trained to kill at a moment's notice, informing them that Bambietta was alive was not a good move.
"I expect you to be in position at the agreed upon time," with that the ninja shunpoed away faster than either quincy could follow with their eyes.
"I feel like I stared a terminator in the eyes," Candice did not like their current allies. She had read the brief on Soul Society's Stealth Corps before the invasion when the Wandenreich was still a singular entity.
"You very well may have," Uryu knew them by reputation and knew that their current head, Sui-Feng, was a hot-headed, but calculating commander. The Executive Militia, however, there was nothing on them save urban myth. Whatever they did outside of protecting the commander of the Onmitsukido, Soul Society didn't want people to know.
Karin was just waking up. Her mind was still stuck in that early morning fog that caught the mind. Or at least she was until she heard stampeding footsteps heading for her room.
"GOOOOOOD MORNING KARIN!" her father burst through the door. Ichigo had warned her of this and so she quickly jumped out of bed, grabbed her father by the head, and slammed him into the floor.
"Why in the actual fuck do you think this is a good way to wake someone up!" Karin was livid. Her father had actually started doing this shit to her.
"Good, your reactions were sharper today, given enough time and I think you'll be able to match Ichigo's reflexes," that meant he'd continue doing it. And she wanted to sleep in today.
"Cool, get out of my room," Karin threw her father out of the room before slamming and locking the door before getting changed. As she took off her pajamas she was reminded about the most annoying part of her age and liniage.
She was growing out. She had already had her first period, which honestly wasn't as bad as she feared, but if her rate of growth was anything to go by, she was getting it with both barrels genetically. She could tell as she adjusted her bra for comfort and she basically hit the max of what she could adjust.
"Great, I'm going to need to get new bras again," she put on her shirt and a pair of gym shorts and started downstairs.
Yuzu had made breakfast already and her father was already stuffing his face. Yuzu however continued to cook, making lunch and dinner for that day. The reason was that she and her father were going to be making an extended trip to Soul Society. There were multiple reasons for this. First was that there was a celebration of the clan's reinstatement in a few days. The cover was that Isshin was going to a medical conference in the northern part of the main Island. So she was making lunch and dinner so that they didn't need to worry about eating on the train ride they were supposedly taking. She hated that she was lying to her sister like this, but if anyone deserved a normal life in this train wreck that was her family, it was her sister. So she played along.
When they were done eating, she and her dad got their bags, grabbed the food Yuzu made for them, and left for the Urahara shop.
"Are you sure she's safe on her own?" Karin was worried. Hollows didn't mess with the clinic anymore because the reiatsu around the area felt more like predator than prey, but Yuzu wasn't that strong. She was strong enough to be an attractive target for a hollow, and that's it.
"I called in a favor. She'll be safe," Isshin did not screw around when it came to the safety of his children. He had arranged for Urahara to send someone to help Yuzu look after the house and possibly fend off any hollows that got any ideas.
"If you say so…" Karin continued to walk. She just couldn't shake the feeling something was going to happen while they were gone.
Tatsuki was at the Urahara Shop with Orihime, Keigo, and Mizurio, waiting for the others who were going to go to Soul Society with them. Uryu said he had other obligations, which frankly sounded like bullshit, but she didn't press the issue.
They all had enough stuff packed for a week-long trip, though she suspected that clothing would be provided as Soul Society was more like feudal Japan than the Japan she grew up with.
That was when she heard people show up in the underground training area that she could swear violated every building code she could think of.
"I don't know if taking mortals through the Dangai is a good idea," the first voice sounded like that of a meek man, probably no older than her.
"Ryunoske, they can all see spirits, and two of them were part of the ryoka that rescued Lieutenant Kuchiki." the other voice was familiar, Shino if she remembered correctly. "Not to mention that Lady Shiba probably already got hell butterflies for them. So your point is dumb anyway."
As the two shinigami approached it was clear they weren't in gigais as they were in the black uniforms that were a signature of the shinigami.
"Hey Tatsuki, I'm assuming the new guy is Keigo?" Shino pointed at Keigo as she asked. It was clear that they were going to be guiding them through the Dangai for their visit.
"Yeah. Did you see Karin and Isshin on your way here?" Tatsuki and everyone else were waiting on them so Urahara could do the reishi conversion ritual and get them all ready to go.
"Yeah, they should be here soon," Shino had heard that Karin had gotten her asauchi already. It wasn't surprising as that didn't really require much special training, just having enough power to have the sword accept you as its master.
The sound of footsteps were heard as Isshin and Karin had finally arrived and put their bags in the area for conversion.
"Hey Karin, looks like you didn't wake up well," Shino teased Karin as she looked to have the enthusiasm of a bear.
"Blame him," she pointed her finger back at her father, who had just popped a soul candy into his mouth, causing his gigai to fall away, revealing his soul form, including the captain's haroi wrapped around his right shoulder.
Ryunoske was sputtering. He was not fully briefed on who the patriarch of the Kurosaki family was. Both he and Shino had become Shinigami after Hitsugaya had become captain.
"Yeah, my dad was a captain, yay me," with that sarcastic remark Karin slammed the substitute badge into her chest, causing her body to fall over limp. While her father had his shihakusho, Karin was still wearing an echo of what she was wearing before, but instead with her zanpakuto under her left arm with a strap going over her right shoulder.
The artificial soul now in her father's body simply picked up her body and walked over to the area where they entered, probably to go to cold storage.
"So, that explains how you and your brother are so strong," Shino remarked. Karin wanted to mention that it came from both sides before she remembered that mentioning she was a quincy was a bad idea.
"Yeah, kind of removes your chance at having a normal life," Karin was not really too fussed about it. Being able to see spirits meant she was likely to become a shinigami anyway, in this life or the next, she just figured it was best to get it over with.
"You could have said no," Ryunoske was from the inner Rukon, and grew up on stories of shinigami, failing to realize how scary the job actually could be. Nobody told him he'd be at war with the quincy within a decade of graduation.
"And leave you with no backup? You'd probably die from a stiff breeze," Ryunoske just had a terrifying realization as his head darted between Shino and Karin.
"Oh no there's two of you,"
Ichigo was sitting outside the Shiba family Senkaimon which he and his father now had access to. The gate had been locked pretty much since his father met his mother, and was just now finally cleared for use.
His father along with Shino and Ryunoske were guiding his friends through the dangai, though Uryu wouldn't be coming as he had 'pressing issues.' Most likely some other Wandenreich splinter giving him some trouble, or Xcution, so it would just be Orihime and Chad that would be coming from the original group that came with him to Soul Society four years ago.
Four years. Four years since he met Rukia, four years since that fateful night, four years since storming an unknown enemy to save a friend who had resigned herself to her fate. Four years since Aizen was defeated. Four years since the start of the darkest year and a half of his life started.
Ichigo sighed. He thought for the whole of that year that he could simply put down Zangetsu whenever he wanted. Hang up his shihakusho and go back to a somewhat normal life. Those 17 months shot that down hard . Not being able to do anything, not being able to protect his friends, not being able to see Rukia. It all hurt so badly that when Ginjo attempted to play him he fell for it hook line and sinker.
"You're moping again," Ginjo spoke out as he leaned on one of the pillars in the room with the senkaimon.
"Shut up," Ichigo had a rocky relationship with the now head of family security. Kukaku had explained how she had protected the three dead Xcution members from Miyuri and gave them shelter in the family, and while he was willing to give Ginjo that chance, he still didn't like him one bit.
"Look kid, I get it. Those seventeen months were hell. I've been there, and I'm not going to spoil the good favor I've earned with your aunt," He had several reasons for doing that. First was that she was the only one standing between him and a dissection table, and second, she scared the piss out of him.
Ichigo forgot Ginjo was a substitute as well, and was probably consulted by Kyoraku or another member of the Gotei on the training his sister is now going through.
"I still don't exactly trust you," Ichigo had been betrayed by him after all.
"You don't have to. I'm in charge of protecting those who haven't developed their powers," Gingo had a point. He wasn't there to ensure his safety. Ichigo had that well enough in hand. He was meant to protect the slowly increasing number of branch Shiba and subordinate families that were trickling into the compound as the news permeated across the Rukon.
The thing that grabbed Ichigo's interest was that some soldats had applied for subordinate status. Apparently most of the lower echelon forces suffered low to minimal casualties before Yahwach made for the Soul Palace, and once he had abandoned the forces left in the Seireitei proper, most if not all of then surrendered when all of the Sternritter other than his personal guard were hit by auswahlen.
This led to entire quincy families being in the holding camp, and their family heads probably saw the writing on the wall and hoped to preempt any attempt at execution by seeking the protection of the Shiba clan. The irony of the situation simply served to highlight how dire the situation could become for them. It was likely that many of these quincy may become shinigami if things went well, and that these abilities may permeate throughout the Seireitei's various families over time, but for now they were second class at best .
It was then the senkaimon opened, ripping Ichigo from his thoughts. Especially as two familiar voices cried out.
"ICHIGO!" Keigo and Isshin charged out of the senkaimon at full sprint.
Ichigo instinctually used shunpo to get out of the path of the attempted tackle-hug by his father and friend, putting Ginjo in the path of two adults who had already lunged in their direction.
"Oh shit," Ginjo, Keigo, and Isshin crashed into a pile with the volume befitting the speed at which Isshin and Keigo flew out of the senkaimon at.
"Of course you idiots had to do that," both Karin and Tatsuki spoke in stereo as they walked out to collect Isshin and Keigo respectively.
Shunsui was at the memorial for those lost in the war against Yhwach. If there was one thing he hated about war above all other things, it was how it never gave you time to grieve the lost, and the head captain lost a lot. First his mentor, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, the man who founded the Gotei 13, brought the roving armies of the Rukon to heel and turned them into a force for the protection of the Seireitei, the man who created the very infrastructure that the Seireitei now uses to build its forces, and his father in all but name.
Then fresh off of the heels of his death, with bearly a moment to cry, he was given his mentor's position and responsibilities and expected to do what the old man couldn't. It was a surprise he held himself together in the face of all of that alone.
Then he sacrificed one of the remaining pillars of the Gotei, Unohana, so that Zaraki could be at his strongest. The last of the original Gotei, the last of the captains with any experience fighting Yhawach's forces. He still wasn't sure if that was the right call, but he couldn't afford to hesitate, not when the next day could have heralded the next invasion.
Then Ukitake. His brother in all but blood. The man who helped him achieve shikai, and the one who had been by his side almost the entirety of their lives. His loss hurt more than the others. It was the result of a situation he couldn't have accounted for. One that neither he nor Urahara foresaw, and he hated it.
"I see the head captain is mourning the dead again," an oh-so-familiar voice spoke from the side of Shunsui's blind spot.
"What do you want Tokinada?" he didn't dare speak his title, that would only validate him.
"I am simply checking up on a former classmate and peer of mine, and also to mourn a friend," Tokinada spoke calmly, though there was a light, unsettling sweetness to the tone as he spoke.
"Whatever mask you tricked Jushiro with never fooled me. You're here to rub in that he never figured you out," Kyoraku was in a lose-lose situation. Tokinada knew Shunsui was in an emotionally vulnerable moment, it was why he was alone. But to leave would confirm to Tokinada that he had gotten under his skin.
"Jushiro was the kind of naive soul who sees the best in people, even when they are reprehensible monsters. He probably saw the kid who picked the wings off flies as a project, someone to save from their inevitable fall to darkness," Tokinada chuckled darkly. "The fool never understood that some people want to be evil."
"Why are you here?" Kyoraku turned to look at Tokinada.
"First, to remind you of your friend's greatest failure," his hand raised to point at Ukitake's body laying in state, "And to remind you that you are watched," then Tokinada left. Leaving the head captain in peace as his steps echoed further and further away.
so. that's another chapter in the book. if you have anything to say please feel free to leave it in the reviews. I read them all and receiving the notification in my emails is something I live for.