Longest chapter in a while. This may be a common occurrence for this particular arc. . . Anyway. enjoy!
Chapter 62: 1,000 Yr. Blood War Arc: Call to Arms
Byakuya's POV
The First has always been a division that could be depended on to remain constant in the face of adversity.
For as long as the captain commander has been leading it, the First has never fallen into a state of ruckus pandemonium that was a constant theme of the 11th Division. Nor was it a home of mysterious, unsettling, and likely unlawful machinations like the 12th.
It was a steady beacon that every other division should strive to emulate, even during the harshest of times. The Winter War. The Zanpakuto Rebellion. The Reigai Invasion. All events that threatened the Soul Society. All events that the First Division remained completely unmoved in its demeanor: a steady, always 'business as usual' attitude that others tried to emulate, and most failed to succeed.
This was one of the rare times things weren't 'business as usual'.
When Abarai and I finally reached the barracks, you could cut the tension in the air with a katana. The division members themselves moved about at more of a frantic pace, as if they were trying to take care of more than what they usually did and were failing to compensate.
It wasn't hard to see the tenseness in the soldiers' shoulders, or the worry in some of the younger ones' eyes. The older ones were still managing to hold a better sense of composure, but it didn't look like it was going to last long, as if they were finally reaching their limit, or was driven to it.
"Oi, things do not look good in here. . ."
"Captain Kyoraku?" I ask, turning my head to see the older captain walking up the staircase, his lieutenant following right behind him.
"Captain Kuchiki, Lieutenant Abarai, good to see you both again," he greets us with a tip of his hat. His eyes searching, as if he was looking for what was wrong. "I'm sure you saw the dark smoke in the distance on the way here, correct?"
"How could we not?" I ask as we start making our way to the meeting hall. "You would have to be blind not to see it . . . It must be the cause as to why the Hell's Butterflies were flying faster than usual to deliver their messages."
"Just as odd as it was to hear Fukudome give the message instead of Sasakibe. Yamamoto's right-hand man and I have been in our respective positions for many centuries now, and Sasakibe has always been the one to send the messages for the First . . . This is the first time I've ever heard someone else do it instead of him. Things must be bad to warrant such a change."
"How bad do you think it is, really?" Renji couldn't help but ask as we turn the corner. "Maybe they just wanted to switch things up a little . . ."
"I highly doubt it Abarai," was Kyoraku's quick reply. "The First Division has been remarkably constant in practically everything that it does. A change like this doesn't happen without a reason . . ."
"I ran into our division's Ninth Seat just as she was coming back from the area where the smoke is coming from," I hear Lieutenant Ise add from somewhere behind me. "She said that she saw around 100 members of the 1st Division going to that area for a scheduled training exercise. . ."
"Couldn't it have simply been an exercise gone awry?" I hear my lieutenant ask.
"This is the First Division we are talking about remember? Huge mistakes like that just doesn't happen with this division. The Twelfth? Obviously. Eleventh? of course. The First? That's as rare for them as you beating your captain in a sparring match."
I could visualize Abarai's scowl without even seeing it.
At least Kyoraku thought it was funny, judging from how loud his bark of laughter was.
For me, I felt Abarai's scowl would have deepened further if he saw me even smirk at that remark. I'm sure Rukia and Minata would find it hilarious if they found out.
"I hate to pile on when you're down Abarai, but think about it for a minute. Why would this meeting be called for instead of the issue being handled within the First itself?" I ask as I spot the open doors of the hall just up ahead.
"Uhm . . . Good point Captain . . ."
Falling back into silence - with my lieutenant licking his wounds from Ise's blunt, and likely ego bruising remark - when we reached the meeting room, most of the room was already occupied. Besides Unohana's and Kotestu's troubled looks - judging from how large the smoke was, a lot of damage happened, which meant numerous injuries needed to be tended to - everyone looked either ready to get this meeting over with, or curious to find out what the meeting was supposed to be about.
Only the 11th, 12th, and surprisingly the 1st itself, were missing. Zaraki and Kurotsuchi were known for being the last ones to arrive, so it was nothing new to the rest of us. However, the missing 1st Division delegation was something different, quite strange in fact. It was known that because the First was always the one to call for these meeting, Captain Commander Yamamoto and Lieutenant Sasakibe were always the first to the room.
I should know. I have been the second captain to arrive to numerous meetings in the past, and when I arrived, the captain commander and his lieutenant would always be the ones in the room before me, waiting for the rest of us to show up.
Considering the fact their division always hosted the meetings, it's not hard to see why they always arrived first.
"Ah Ukitake!" calls Kyoraku as he quickly walks over to the white-haired man. "Where's Yama-jiji? He's usually the first one here to greet us!"
"The lack of his presence before the meeting is strange . . ." says Ukitake as he shook his head, just as Squad 11 were making their way in, soon followed by 12. "He should be in soon though. When I asked one of the passing division members where the Captain Commander was, he told me that he was holed up in Fukudome's office discussing a few things with her."
Something quite pressing, I'm guessing.
"Now I wonder what they're talking about . . ." Kyoraku mumbles as I sense the familiar fiery presence of the commander's spiritual pressure in my periphery.
"We'll find out soon enough. . ." I manage to say before making my way to my spot-on line. His spiritual presence gets larger the closer he gets to the room, but the feeling is different than before.
There have been many descriptions of the captain commander's reiatsu over the centuries, but I must admit, Mina's analogy was probably one of the best to describe it. She has always said that his power was like a campfire, calm enough to give the necessary light and guidance to all around that needs it while maintaining its harsh edge, but when it's unsettled, it can go haywire quickly, destroying everything in its path in an ensuing wildfire.
Right now, he feels like a contained inferno.
The change in the atmosphere was becoming so apparent that some of the lieutenants were starting to visibly sweat, including Rukia. His spiritual pressure was so compelling and in-one's-face that I almost didn't notice the other presence following behind it. Unlike the contained inferno it was walking besides, this other reiatsu was quieter, like the calm before a terrible storm.
It was a presence I have become quite attuned to in the past couple of years.
"Third Seat Fukudome?" Lieutenant Iba uncharacteristically calls out, the sight of her standing at Commander Yamamoto's left side instantly catching some off guard, not as much as the look on the older man's face did though.
We were used to seeing Captain Commander Yamamoto address us with stoic certainty, but this was the first time we've ever seen him look so . . . murderous. If looks could kill, we would all be on the floor by now, waiting for our last breaths to seep out of our bodies, and this is him with his eyes closed.
Minata was the opposite, her expression was depressively grave, a look I've rarely seen these days, but was a common sight when we were younger. It was a look of emptiness, a look of somber realization, and I haven't seen it since the day she found out her parents were murdered.
It either meant that bad things were to come, or they already happened . . .
Things were not going to go well.
"I hear by call this meeting to order!" Yamamoto calls out once he was finally seated, striking his cane once against the wood floor as the doors sealed shut; Minata now standing on his left side. "I am sure the lot of you saw the large plume of smoke emanating from the area where the Black Ridge Gate is located on your way here, correct?"
"We did . . ." Kyoraku calmly states as he looked up at one of the oldest men in Soul Society, if not the eldest. "Captain Commander, what exactly happened out there? Wasn't your division conducting a training exercise in that area?"
"One of our large-scale ones in fact," said the Captain Commander as he slowly opened his eyes, showing us the unbridled rage within them. "115 members of my division were in that zone. Lieutenant Sasakibe was responsible for leading them, and as of now, I can confirm that only nine made it out of that area alive."
The room was so silent, you could hear the tiniest pin drop with perfect clarity.
"What the? You're serious?!" Shinji exclaims as he steps out of his line. "116 members of your division, and only nine are alive?"
"What kind of group could have done such a thing?" Soi-Fon angrily grumbles, her fists tightening at her sides. "Do you think it was an attack by the Arrancar?"
"It's quite a sudden one, but it does have the desired effect . . ." says Otoribashi as he shook his head. "We haven't had any major disturbances from Hueco Mundo since Aizen was defeated. It's possible that Aizen still had some sympathizers living within those desolate sands, just biding their time and waiting for the right moment to strike."
"Or it could be some other force that's entirely new to us," adds Komamura as he shook his head. "The Arrancar would seem like the obvious choice, but we can't make it the only one."
"Whoever they are, they must be strong if they were able to wipe out a good chunk of a division," comes Zaraki's callous response. "Exactly how many enemies are we talking here?"
"As Komamura mentioned, considering our past against the Arrancar, they would be the obvious choice," says Yamamoto, his gruff voice carrying a little more weight than it usually did. "However, they are not our enemies in this instance . . . I have an inkling on who this 'new' group is, but I will wait until Captain Kurotsuchi's analysis is complete before saying anything else on the group's possible identity . . . This faction is dangerous, so dangerous in fact, that I can confirm that only one of its members committed the atrocity at Black Ridge."
And the room became pin-drop silent once again.
"I would say that you were kidding with us, but you never kid around . . ." Shinji mumbles as he shook his head. "It only took one of them, which means we cannot take this group lightly, or else we'll all end up six feet under!"
"Captain Commander, what happened to Lieutenant Sasakibe in all this?"
Captain Hitsugaya's question made Minata close her eyes, as if the question was painful to hear. As for the Captain Commander himself, he turned to the small white-haired captain with a gaze that would make lesser men squirm, the hand on top of his cane gripping it a tad more tightly.
"Earlier today, seven other members of the group that claims responsibility for the attack appeared in my office to make a declaration of war," he announces, looking at each and every one of our eyes to drive the point across. "They call themselves the Wandenreich, and to make sure they made their point, Lieutenant Sasakibe was launched into my room, impaled on my wall by a large arrow."
"An arrow you say . . .?" Unohana mumbles, trailing off as her face goes blank, as if she was looking back on troubling old memories.
"Yes." says Yamamoto as he turns to face the rest of us. "Lieutenant Sasakibe . . . succumbed to his wounds a little after I managed to free him from the wall. For the time being, Third Seat Fukudome will act as acting lieutenant for my division alongside her usual duties as the third seat. . . Sasakibe's funeral and cremation will occur at noon tomorrow, followed by a second meeting to further address the coming threat. The rest will follow soon after . . . Pay your respects if you can but keep your divisions alert. Today was simply the warning shot. . . Meeting adjourned."
Captain Commander shunpoes out of the room as soon as he said his final word, leaving Minata to try to deal with the aftermath of what just happened.
"All good things come to an end I guess . . . This peace was fun while it lasted," Kyoraku mumbles, not a hint of teasing found in his usually easygoing voice, as Minata looked at the spot her superior was previously in. She out shunpos out of the room before any of could address her. "Oh poo, and just as I was about to ask her something . . ."
"It's best to leave her be for now Kyoraku. Considering what has occurred today, I'm sure she'll have a lot on her plate," Ukitake somberly points out before joining the crowd out the room. Soon enough, Renji and I were the only ones left.
"Captain, shouldn't we be heading back to our division too?" I hear Abarai before I see him, his gaze slightly perplexed as he walked into my line of sight.
"Go on ahead Abarai . . . I need to check on something first."
He merely nods before leaving, but the smirk on his face was obvious. Pushing that aside, I walk out the room and head towards Mina's office, bypassing some of the more somber looking officers within the division along the way. When I reached the door, Mina was already there waiting outside it, looking at the ground, as if she already knew I was coming to see her.
"I had a feeling you would come and see me before you left," she says to the floor before turning to me. "Quite a bombshell the Captain Commander dropped today hm?"
"It was quite, not what I was expecting," I manage to say as I see the strain in her eyes. "Are you okay?"
"I think I'll be, eventually," she mumbles, annoyed with herself. "Ask me again when I get home later. My answer may be quite different than the one I just gave you now, especially since I'm in charge of the group tasked with identifying and notifying all the deceased's family members, well, the ones that have any, to be exact."
"That tends to be one of the hardest jobs of a high-ranking officer," I mumble, knowing my answer was too blunt to be helpful. "I'm sorry. My answer wasn't helping in the slightest, was it?"
"No, it wasn't, but shows of emotions hasn't been your strong suit since we were teenagers. . . For the record, I don't blame you for that. That's all on your elders, minus your grandfather."
"Duly noted," I say, the sheepish look on her face so apparent now that it was too hard to ignore. "Is there something you're not telling me?"
"My thoughts are a bit jumbled at the moment Byakuya. There's just been a lot to process in such a short time, but I promise I'll tell you everything once I get home, well, if I don't keel over and fall asleep first and all," she mumbles as she pinches the bridge of her nose. "With all the work I have to get through today, I'm going to have to take a raincheck on lunch."
"My grandfather will understand . . . I'll have a bento box sent over, just to make sure you actually do eat something before you come home."
"What did I do to deserve you again?"
"For a start, I'd say staying by my side even through the worst moments of my life is one." I sincerely tell her as I take her hand in mine.
"That is a very strong point . . ." she concedes, her face leaning up to mine. I was only expecting a quick peck, but the intensity behind her kiss, and the fact that she was weaving her fingers through my hair, compelled me to prolong it for as long as I could. It was as if she was looking for a sense of reassurance through our physical contact.
With the day she must have had so far, I was more than happy to provide it for her.
"Sorry to catch you off guard like that . . ." she mumbles, bashfully looking off to the side.
"It was no problem." I tell her, adding a quick peck at the end to show that I meant it. "I should leave. I need to prepare my division, and you have your work here to get to . . . But I will see you tonight."
"You have permission to come back here to escort me to the manor if you feel I'm working too late tonight . . ." she adds as she opens her door. "And don't forget my bento!"
"I won't." I promise. She gives me one more smile before walking into her office, closing the door behind her with the softest of clicks. It took me a moment before I finally started moving again, mainly because I couldn't help but think over that smile, and the grave face she pulled when she entered the meeting hall earlier.
I know she had only been teasing it earlier, but maybe I should escort her home tonight . . .
I have a feeling she'll really need the company.
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