Chapter 70: 1,000 Yr. BWArc: Mourning
Minata's POV
"How did it all come to this . . ?"
I knew no one would answer me. After all, I was alone in my office, staring out at what remained of the Seireitei, still smoldering hours after the battle ended. . .
. . . A battle that cost us so much.
According to the 12th Division's preliminary findings, the Quincies fell back because they were working on some kind of time limit.
That time limit was, for now, our saving grace, but it didn't save us from everything.
It didn't save us from the loss of so many good shinigami. From rookies just out of the Academy to men and women with decades, even centuries, of experience, to even non-shinigami whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The Quincies were absolutely merciless, not only taking away so much life and potential, but also taking away our leadership as well.
I had only just returned from the Captain Commander's funeral, but there wasn't a body to mourn over. All that was in his casket was the broken Ryujin Jakka, a far cry from the cane form the Commander used to keep him in all the time. Scouts had searched the area where Yamamoto was last sighted for any trace of him, but all they found was his broken blade. There was no trace of his body to be found.
Not even a fingernail.
With the quick use of a few barrier spells and Mizukiri's ability to melt anything her acidic cloud touches, my group was able to dig out from the sudden cave-in we ran into. When we emerged, we came face to face with distraught coworkers that had feared the worst as they tried to dig us out with their bare hands.
It only took five minutes for the sudden happiness of our re-emergence to fall into despair when we were alerted to the Captain Commander's death.
Losing Sasakibe was like losing the soul of the First Division.
Losing the Captain Commander was like losing the division's heart.
Despite the heavy loss, I knew I couldn't break down. I would only let myself grieve when I saw the proof for myself. I was officially the leader of the Division now and I needed to keep the soldiers focused on the important task at hand.
After all, the Captain Commander wouldn't want us mourning him while the Soul Society was still in danger.
It just wasn't the First Division way.
It wasn't until Captain Kyoraku arrived escorting the group carrying Ryujin Jakka that I allowed some of the tears I held back to fall.
"Minata?"
"Nanao?" I say, recognizing her voice. I didn't expect her to be the first person to talk to me after my moment of solitude, but stranger things have happened before.
Turning my head, I raise an eyebrow as my fellow lieutenant steps into the room, closing the door behind her without making a sound. "I didn't expect you to visit."
"The past few hours have taught us to expect the unexpected, haven't they?" She asks in return as she steps over to my desk.
"You do make a good point," I concede, finally stepping away from my window. "So, are you here to check up on me?"
"Us SWA members have to look out for each other after all, right? Even in times of trouble. . ." She asks, attempting to make her words sound light, but the strain was there. Her effort was admirable though. "So, have you heard the news?"
"Unfortunately, my main focus has been keeping this division together in the wake of losing the man that led it for a good part of a millennia," I blatantly admit as I drop into my seat. "I haven't been paying much attention to anything else. . . If I try to think of too many things at once, I think I'll just break down, and the First doesn't need that, definitely not now."
"I can understand that. Any new information we get seems to not work in our favor. . . Even the good news comes with a catch."
It wasn't hard to imagine what she was implying. During the funeral, a Riteitai dropped in to announce the condition of both Byakuya and Captain Zaraki. Somehow, someway, they both survived their respective battles, but they were both comatose. It's been speculated that they may never wake up.
Byakuya . . . never waking up.
No matter how much I steel myself, I don't think I'll ever be ready for that future to become reality.
"It does feel that way. . ." I say, stopping myself from picturing Byakuya in a hospital bed. "Sometimes I just want to tune everything out, but on the other hand, I need to be aware of everything that's going on. . . And speaking of what's going on, what's this news that you wanted to tell me?"
"Well, it's not confirmed just yet, but it's pretty much seen as a given," Nanao mumbles, taking her glasses off to pinch the bridge of her nose. "The Central 46 are currently meeting to discuss the appointment of the next Captain Commander. . ."
". . . And Captain Kyoraku appears to be the shoo in," I finish, a simple nod from my fellow lieutenant being all the confirmation I need. "Well, the choice does make sense. . . If the Captain Commander falls during a moment of conflict, the natural choice for his replacement is the one with the most experience."
"If that's the case, wouldn't Captain Unohana be the next in line?"
"I'm sure her name was put under consideration, but her 'past' kind of hurts her chances. Don't you think?"
Captain Unohana always had an air of calm serenity surrounding her, but there were certain instances - her smile - that hinted that there was more to her than what meets the eyes. I had asked both my grandmother and Byakuya's grandfather about Unohana's past, but both remained rather quiet on the subject, saying that the woman's life was her story to tell, well, if she ever chose to. All that either was willing to say was that Unohana had a 'dark upbringing', and that was it.
I left it at that, but I was always curious as to what the background of the 4th Division captain truly entailed. Unohana was very much a walking mystery, a mystery that a very select few knew the truth of.
"Besides, I don't think even the call of the Captain Commander's chair will convince her to abandon the Fourth for the First," I add, shaking my head. "She's a healer, through and through. I can't imagine her in any other role but the one she's maintained all these years, even with the mystery of her past following her everywhere she goes."
"I can't imagine her leaving her spot either. . ." Nanao agrees. "So, with Unohana off the table, the next possible choices are Ukitake and Kyoraku, but Ukitake's poor health hurts his chances . . . so it falls to my captain."
"Hmm, looks like I'll be answering to a new commanding officer soon then," I concede, shaking my head. "So, how are things back at the Eighth?"
"We're managing. . . Cleaning up the damage, identifying the fallen. It's hard work, but we're getting things done," she mumbled, as her eyes looked around the room. "Wait a minute. Where's Mizukiri?"
"She went off to see some of the other spirits," I tell her, watching as she stood from her chair. "She wanted to see how they were holding up. . ."
"But. . ?" Nanao prods, knowing that there was a caveat to what I was going to say next.
"She genuinely wanted to go see how the other spirits were doing," I say, as I too stood up. ". . . But I can feel it through her bond. She's hurting . . . Senbonzakura's gone, and Byakuya may still be with us, but it's only a matter of time before he goes too."
"Don't be like that Mina," I hear Nanao say as I walk toward the door. "I know it's hard to stay positive right now, but you got to believe that there is some hope that Captain Kuchiki will survive his injuries."
"Nanao, it is known that when a shinigami's zanpakuto disintegrates, the shinigami that wields it is not long for this world," I remind her as we step into the hallway, somber and empty, perfectly fitting the division's, and my, mood. "Senbonzakura is gone. . . And with the gruesome injuries he has, it's only a matter of time before Byakuya's . . . gone too, no matter how much I want to hope that he'll miraculously recover."
I knew I was being a bit melodramatic, but it's pretty much an accepted miracle that Byakuya was even breathing when the Fourth medics found him and Renji. I don't even want to go into the details of his injuries. . . I'm sure I'll picture them easily enough the next time I go to sleep.
"When was the last time you saw him?" Nanao dares to ask as we make our way to the front, her tone indicating that she, thankfully, wasn't going to push any more 'hopeful' inclinations my way.
"This morning, before we both left for work." I say, looking back on the memory. "We had breakfast together, and I gave him a kiss on the cheek before we separated . . . That was likely the last kiss I'll ever give him."
"Well, second to last . . . if you go and visit him at the Fourth. You know, say a proper goodbye?" I hear her suggest, her words stopping me in my tracks. ". . . That idea never occurred to you, didn't it?"
"To tell you the truth, I've been so busy focusing on the First that the thought escaped me," I admit, ashamed at my lack of foresight. ". . . I know I should see him. No, I need to see him, but I'm afraid of how I'll react when I do finally enter his room. . . I've never been good with handling grief after all."
"Captain Kyoraku has mentioned this before," she mumbles, but I heard her well enough. Kyoraku has known me since I was a child, so he had personally witnessed me in all my grief induced glory after my parents died. "Look, I know facing an impending loss is not the best feeling in the world, but you need to go see him. . . It may give you some closure to be there for him in his final hours."
"Yeah. . . Maybe," I admit as we finally reached the main foyer. I watch her leave before turning to one of the lower ranked shinigami, telling her my whereabouts for the next few hours and to let the others know about it. I didn't waste time after that, my eyes trained in the direction where the Fourth Division lay.
If I was going to say goodbye Byakuya, I wanted to do it while he still could, at least, hear me.
Byakuya's POV
"Wake up . . ."
The voice was muffled.
It was there, but I could not hear it clearly, as if there was cotton stuffed into my ears. It was low, too low to be particularly feminine, but I could not tell if it the words came from a man, or a woman with a deep voice.
"Wake up Byakuya. . ."
"It . . . It knows me?" I say, somehow finding my voice, which was not as dry as I expected it to be. As for the strange voice I heard, it was clearer now, and obviously a man's. It actually sounded familiar, but I could not figure out who it belonged to. . .
. . . Well, not yet anyway.
"Wake up Byakuya. . ."
The voice was repeating itself, now louder as it pushed me to open my eyes. Stretching out my senses, I could not feel any spiritual pressure around me, so whoever was speaking to me either possessed no reiatsu or was exceptionally good at suppressing it. Either way, whoever owned the voice was likely my best source of information at the moment, so I did what I was told, opening my eyes to see a pitch black sky, the only light coming from the full moon that hung eerily in the sky.
"What? This sky . . ." I whisper, looking around to see where I was. My eyes widened, recognizing my surroundings to be my Inner World, and yet, it felt like it was not all at the same time.
My Inner World was usually a thick forest that surrounded a large field that held a lone sakura tree in constant bloom.
What I stood in was an endless field of death.
The trees were all ghosts of their former selves, withered to gnarled, skeletal husks with no leaves in sight. The green grass of the field I laid in was now bleached white and brittle to the touch.
"Byakuya. . ."
"Who is calling me?" I ask, looking around for any sight of the person that was speaking, only to see no one in sight. "Who are you!?"
"Come to the tree. . . The sakura tree. . ."
My eyes immediately go in the direction the voice was coming from, finding the dead sakura tree in the middle of the field. Finding my footing, I slowly make my way to said tree, keeping my eyes open for any signs of the presence that was talking to me.
When I neared the dead tree, a dark object laid at the base of its trunk, and as I stepped closer, a sense of trepidation enveloped my entire being as the object became clearer.
It was Senbonzakura's mask, weather and chipped as cracks crisscrossed the entire face, red smears that had to be blood dotting the crevices. If I turned the mask around, I would not doubt that more dry blood was splattered along the surface.
"Not a sight you were expecting to see hmm. . ? Then again, I never imagined your Inner World to ever look like this."
The familiar voice was closer, almost right behind me at this point. I turn around to finally confront the man that has been speaking to me all this time.
I did not expect the voice to come from someone that had been dead since I was a child.
A/N: As you can see, Byakuya is not dead. He's just going to be on a bit of a 'spiritual' journey while he's comatose. It is going to be a while. . .
As for Minata, she's in grieving/denial mode right now, but in the next chapter, she'll start to get a little better . . . A visitor will certainly help on that front, hopefully.
Plus, the Royal Guard is coming.
Anyway, please review!