Chapter 11: Everything But The Rain

Saturday. Just two days before Shugo's assignment to Karakura.

'Twas certainly an interesting day. Dealing with paperwork was still a headache for him, but he did it anyways. And to make it easier for himself, he blitzed through the paperwork after getting used to the various formats that were used by the Division. Whether it was because of his trait in learning things faster than others could, or because his own dread of the stack of papers, it was all the same in the end.

But that's not why 'twas an interesting day. No. That honor belongs to the fact that a certain Lieutenant from a certain division came by for him, accompanied by Third Seat Kotetsu.

"Shugo-san! I got someone here who wants to meet you!" Kiyone said as she opened the door to his office.

It was quite the custom within the Thirteenth. Most seated officers, or rather, all members of the division, refer to each other by their given names, aside from the captain himself who was still called by his family name while preceded by his title as the captain. The only difference being for seated officers, they tend to call each other by their seating first before their given name, if the one's calling the other is of a lower station. Those who has a higher station than the other may call the other by their given name directly.

"Third Seat Kiyone?" Shugo raised a brow before he looked past the Third Seat, seeing a rather familiar face that he met oh so recently.

"Lieutenant Ise? To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" He asked.

The poor lady was thrusted to the front by Kiyone, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"E- E- Ei- Eigh- Eighth K-K-Ku-Kure-Kurenai, I…I was…" Nanao was a stuttering mess.

Kiyone was really enjoying this. The straight-faced Lieutenant of the Eighth, the supposed strict and level-headed woman who's known as Ise Nanao, is currently a blubbering pool, having more in common with a fresh graduate from the Academy rather than her usual demeanor.

'I guess Matsumoto-san wasn't kidding when she said Ise-san was all over Shugo-san.' Kiyone mused.

Seeing that it wasn't likely that Nanao would come in on her own, being as she was at the moment, he sighed and gestured for them to come in.

"Please be seated. It would not do for my guest to stand on ceremony, yes?" He reassured the Lieutenant with a small smile.

Nanao blushed in embarrassment while muttering a small "…Yes.", coming into his office. Her chaperon, Kiyone, was holding back her laughs from the sight. It was a romcom all over.

The two took in the sights of his office, being connected to his bedroom as part of his personal quarters, some of his effects were for all to see in the room.

There were two banners behind his desk: One depicting the division he was currently in, and another of his clan's family crest, in the form of a three petals of cherry blossom flower, with three petals of leaves each between the seams of the flower petals.

Meanwhile, on the table, were stacks of paper already reviewed and signed by him. Beside it were the brush he used, the inkstick and the inkstone. Oddly enough, there was also an ink and quill. It was certainly an odd choice for writing.

'Huh, I never pegged Shugo-san to use ink and quill…' Kiyone noted, surprised by the odd sight of it.

Nanao was also surprised by the sight of it, though it was not the thing that caught her interest. It was the very thing that was her reason to coming there, being suggested by Isane-san during the SWA meeting yesterday. The smooth rectangle object laying on his table, the supposed "Tomestone".

"So, Ise-san. Please, speak of the reason for your visit." He gestured with a smile after the two girls sat down in front of his desk.

Seeing as Nanao was paralyzed by his smile once more, Kiyone instead spoke up in her stead, explaining the purpose of the visit.

…..

"…I see." Shugo muttered.

He was certainly surprised that they, or rather, Nanao, came to him for his "Smartphone". Certainly, it is quite something. He had received the Denreishinki in preparation for his patrol in the World of the Living in two days. To say it's unwieldy is not enough to describe it. One could even throw the phone at a person and the target could possibly suffer concussion.

Of course, in comparison to the ones available in the World of the Living, it's still quite "compact". After all, in the Human World, theirs are very much lethal bricks capable of actually killing others, but simply given the ability of a phone. He had been given some brief info on the current state of the World of the Living, hence his familiarity with the "phone" there and his apprehension of them.

He pondered for a few nonces, considering whether to cooperate or not. Frankly, he was somewhat sad that a part of his secrets was found out, due to one of the people he was close with especially. But he knew that it was impossible to keep a lid on such secrets. Though, it was more of a surprise that it still took them this long to ask him of it, considering the fact he had been here for around two years.

Still, it is what it is. There was simply no merit to withholding things that are already out of the bag. This one, in particular, is not of much importance in actuality. He never got to use it proper since there was no infrastructure in place to support the Tomestone back in the Source. Not to say there's no infrastructure per say, but rather there's none tailored for the Tomestone in particular. None that were active or in existence prior to his departure, anyways.

'Mayhap such is the reason why 'tis used as a form of currency instead?' He mentally raised his brow.

"Well, I suppose no harm, no foul, or so they say…" He muttered in the Common Tongue.

Both Kiyone and Nanao looked at him in confusion, not being able to understand what he had just muttered. Granted, souls technically don't really have a language barrier, even if they're from different nationalities when they were still alive. This was taught in the Shin'o Academy.

However, considering the fact that Shugo himself never actually died, and that Ascians (and by extension, the Ancients) spoke a tongue that none can understand save for him, speaks volumes on how this might be the case for the residents of the reality he was currently in.

'Never I would've imagined that the Common Tongue would not be recognized.' He chuckled inside.

"Pay no heed. 'Tis merely nonsensical mumblings." He waved his hand.

Of course, the two didn't buy it. But they left it at that.

"Regarding the matter at hand, however…" He paused for a nonce, rather deliberately at that while closing his eyes.

Nanao looked a bit tense, though Kiyone rolled her eyes.

'He's just teasing Nanao-chan at this point…' Kiyone shrugged.

"I see no reason to…not avail my cooperation. Though, some…agreements must needs created for this matter." He smiled teasingly at Nanao for the first pause.

The agreements, in his mind, were of the profits that will later come after the new denreishinki is developed and subsequently on sale. He doesn't necessarily loathe the fact he needed money; he knew that applies even in this reality. Especially for gaining influence or clout in some form, or even for getting better personal living quarters.

"In other words, you will agree to our request, under certain conditions?" Nanao asked, her "game face" was on as she pushed up her glasses.

Kiyone was humming with glee, seeing that the VP of the SWA finally got into her mode, no longer being the stuttering mess that she was earlier.

"Indeed. Shall we get to it, then?" He nodded with a smile.

He handed the Tomestone to her. That certainly got her confused.

"Kurenai-san…?" Nanao was baffled with his action just now.

"I believe there's a saying from the World of the Living: Seeing is believing, is it not? That should be apropos for this occasion, does it not?" He tilted his head as he gestured her to try it.

She nodded as she then fiddled with the Tomestone, beginning to inspect it and asking him barrages of questions on the many things it has.

"What are these three circles at the back?"

"Why is this all screen at the front?"

"Why is there a notch?"

"How do you power this thing?"

"…"

Plentiful questions were asked for the next two hours. He answered them with a smile, seeing how she's practically all over the device and with endless curiosity at that. The spirit of wanting to know… The passion for curiosity of knowledge… He was certainly pleased, because despite how rather…backward the nature of Soul Society as a whole in various aspects, some people like her would always exist.

Showing her how it operates, the many features it has… It certainly does give him a measure of joy. Then again, it might just be his nature that never changed, even after he was sundered, to help people.

…..

Using the various terminologies that he managed to scrape from his Earth counterpart's memories that he can somewhat recall, he helped Nanao in understanding the device and how to use it.

Suffice it to say, she was certainly surprised by it. Some of the features it might have aren't exactly new per say, but it requires a lot more time and effort to set up with what the Gotei had right now. Even she doubts that the SRDI could make it into something like this within the next ten years. Perhaps within the next twenty years, sure, but the next decade? Perhaps not. Though, this was solely based on what she few knowledges she has, according to Nemu's few descriptions during the various free times within the SWA when there's no important discussion to be held.

Listening to the side, Kiyone, while not having any technical knowledge, she knew the practicality of some of the things that the Tomestone had. Frankly speaking, it could certainly help in smoothing communications between members of divisions during operations on the field and pertaining evidence and such.

After the two hours, Nanao gave back the Tomestone to Shugo, with a satisfied sigh to boot.

"May I presume you're convinced, Ise-san?" He asked.

"That I have. Shall we get on with your conditions then?" She nodded and asked back.

He nodded with a smile.

"Okay. Please state your conditions, Kurenai-san." She nodded and gestured him to begin.

Taking a deep breath, Shugo looked again at the Lieutenant of the Eighth.

"First, I would like for the full ownership of the rights to the device once it's released. In other words, I require it to be credited under my name." He raised his index finger.

Nanao nodded in understanding. It was after all going to be made based on his device, hence it would made perfect sense for him to gain the credit for the device's invention to the Gotei, and by extension, the other governing bodies within Soul Society.

"Second, I wish to gain a share amongst the sales generated once it's released. Say…eighty percent? Per moon?" He raised another finger.

That caused her to frown a bit. Noticing this, Shugo shook his head. "If you consider this to be a tad much, then what say you…sixty percent?"

She was silent for a moment, before saying, "Seventy-five. Per month."

That certainly surprised him for a bit. "Seventy-five it is then." He responded with a smile.

She blushed heavily, before forcing herself to calm down and pushing up her glasses a bit.

"Well, well, Ise-san. Color me impressed. You certainly know how to negotiate." He chuckled.

Clearing her throat, she said, "I have to. If not, my captain will run the division to the ground with his attitude."

"Harsh words. But I suppose… That will be all. For now." He puts down his arm back onto the table.

"For now?" She raised a brow.

"Simply put, I plan to find myself a home, you see. However, there's something that I must needs checked beforehand for other matters." He explained.

Putting aside his weird way of saying it, she understood what he was saying. He might request some help later down the line, but for the moment, he had something else to do before that.

"I understand. I will see what we can do to help, should you need it." She nodded.

"Very well. I shan't hesitate to ask when the time comes." He smiled, before he asked, "I believe that we're done here. Is there aught else you wish to discuss?"

Pondering for several moments, she answered, "No. Thank you for your time, and your cooperation." She shook her head and stood up.

Kiyone, noticing the rather disappointed note in her last few words, suddenly grinned and held Nanao in place.

"K-Kiyone-san?" Nanao was surprised.

"Shugo-san, can you escort Lieutenant Ise back to the Eighth? I got something else to do. Bye~!" Kiyone cheerily said before literally scooting out of his office.

That certainly caused his jaw to drop before he sighed heavily.

"I-it's no problem, Kurenai-san. I can go back by myself." Nanao said as she exited the place, before being held by Shugo.

"It's…fine. Please. Allow me the courtesy." He shook his head and gestured her to follow him.

He's getting a rather bizarre feeling every time, well rather the two times, he met the poor Lieutenant of the Eighth. It's like the ladies seems to…for the lack of better words "encourage" the two whenever possible. If he had to recall a similar situation… Oh no.

This is a Curious Gorge all over again, is it not? And in place of Curious Gorge, 'tis Lieutenant Ise?

'Twelve forefend.' He mentally swore.

'You've finally realized it just now, love? Thank the Twelve, as you say it, that you're not as dense as that brute's mate!' Gurenbana laughed in his inner world.

'Well, well, Hero… Who woulda thought you'd get someone interested in you?' Ardbert's ridicule also rang inside his inner world.

'Oh, shut it you two.' Shugo scorned the two of them mentally, not that they cared.

He would even swear that he could hear Fray's chuckles, despite the man being supposedly silent. Ever the woes of he who has four others within him. All the while he was accompanying Nanao, who was clueless to his inner argument with the residents of his inner world since he kept quite the poker face plastered on his face.

…..

Kiyone was snickering. HARD. All because of the romcom scene happening right in front of her. Actually, she was shadowing Shugo who was escorting Nanao back to the Eighth after Nanao came to meet him at his office in the Thirteenth's Barracks. Granted, it wasn't necessary for him to do so, but Kiyone pushed it.

'All for the sake of materials!' She grinned as she secretly took pictures with the camera she had.

The walk back to the Eighth's Barracks was rather uneventful since the location wasn't far in the first place. This was due to the fact that the Thirteenth was basically the neighbor of the Eighth, in that their territory in the Seireitei were essentially next to each other. Hence, why sometimes, Captain Kyoraku could be spotted hanging around the Thirteenth's, putting aside his friendship with Ukitake.

By the time the two had reached the Eighth's Barracks, Kiyone had gained quite the number of pictures of the two together. Seeing that it would be a bad idea to remain now that the two were about to separate, she immediately fled the scene.

Finding her way back, she prepared to print the pictures. The supposed materials were actually requested by none other than Rangiku. After printing, she puts them inside an envelope and immediately left for the Tenth. It took a bit of time, probably around half an hour before she reached the Tenth's territory and eventually their barracks, after crossing the Third and Eleventh's jurisdiction.

Waiting outside the Tenth's Barracks was Rangiku herself. Seeing that her order had arrived, she was grinning from ear to ear.

"Special delivery, Rangiku-san." Kiyone smiled as she handed over the envelope.

"Thanks, Kiyone-chan." She took it and put it somewhere between her Kosode and Shitagi.

"And the payment…?" Kiyone asked.

"Don't worry. I'll get you the new denreshinki and the latest issue once it's out." Rangiku answered with a wide smile.

"Thank you, Rangiku-san! I gotta go back now!" Kiyone bid her farewell as she returned to the Thirteenth.

Waving her hand in goodbye, Rangiku immediately returned to the Tenth's barracks. Now that she has the precious material on hand, she could start making some issues for the latest in the romance corner of the Seireitei Communication. Of course, it wouldn't do if she actually mentions any names and the actual faces of the two in question.

She grins evilly as she writes down the ideas that sprung up inside her mind while looking at the printed pictures. Some of the subordinate Shinigamis would even swear that they could hear her wicked laughter coming from her office, which she rarely uses unless it's for certain purposes.

…..

Two days passed since then, and Shugo was still a bit hung up on the matter. He simply didn't know what to do with Nanao's possible affection for him. Regardless, the time finally comes as he's about to be deployed into Karakura Town in the World of the Living. In the two days since, he spent most the time dealing with paperwork and training himself.

During training sessions, sometimes Kiyone and Sentaro would join in. The two would begin to resume developing themselves in training, while on occasions, Rukia would come and observe. Since she's part of the Third sub-unit, under the leadership of both Kiyone and Sentaro, she was less than likely to ever be deployed for quite a while. The transition between the two and Ukitake in the workload has been progressing a bit, but it'll still take a while until Ukitake could get up to speed proper and take on the entire workload by himself. Hence, Kiyone and Sentaro still remains to help the captain.

"So, how are you feeling, Kurenai-kun? For your first deployment?" Ukitake asked with a smile.

Pondering for a nonce, Shugo answered, "Intrigued, mayhap be the right word? I've yet to lay my eyes on them, thus I cannot say much other than that."

"Interesting choice of words. Still, I wish you good luck in your first patrol!" Shaking his head, Ukitake bid him farewell with a smile.

Behind Ukitake was surprisingly Rukia. She looked a bit…down? Well, that certainly surprised Shugo. He wasn't even close to the young lady. Though she would sometime be present during his training session, he has no idea what's going on in her mind though.

"Kuchiki-san." He called her, snapping her out of her funk.

"Yes?" She looked at him.

"…Do not look like so. It won't do anyone a favor if you hang your head like such." He supposedly 'chastised' her.

Seeing her surprise, he shook his head with a small smile. He just doesn't know her well enough to say anything more. Perhaps within the next decade or so, but for now, that's all he could say.

"Farewell, Captain. I shall return in half a moon." Shugo bid his farewell as he left through the Senkaimon.

Guided by a Hell Butterfly, he walked through the Dangai, or the Precipice World. With Shunpo, it did not take long for him to reach the other end of the tunnel, with him emerging from the Senkaimon a mere fifteen nonce after travelling through the Dangai.

Multiple stories buildings, houses, shops, and such. The sight was certainly a welcoming one. He was a bit reminded of how it slightly resembled Garlemald before it was ruined by the ensuing Civil War. The concrete roads certainly made it more vivid, somewhat. Though, in comparison to the Garlemald he had been to, this place was malms better in comparison.

He then began to feel the reishi in the air. It wasn't as dense as it was in Soul Society, but nonetheless, it was dense enough for a world like this. He could feel the different concentrations within the area he could cover with his senses, in which by the by, he could cover even to the neighboring Naruki City, albeit he could only sense those with powerful enough spiritual powers for that distance. However, he could very well detect very much everything in Karakura Town.

'This place is certainly heavy in reishi. I'm surprised it hasn't mutated the entire population.' He mentally exclaimed.

Seeing as the reishi was abundant, he then dropped onto the street level. Feeling the aether around him, he was shocked to find that the entire town was brimming with it. However, there was a rather bizarre feeling about it. As if it was…Dormant? No, it's more like it's neutral. And rather inert in comparison to the abundant reishi.

'Intriguing. Perhaps due to the lack of usage in aether, reishi instead became the more active resource.' He noted.

Summoning his Tomestone, he opened the "Maps App", and finding himself surprised that the area he's in was already mapped out, complete with the landmarks of the area he's in. For the nonce, he was in the area known as "Komatsu". However, he could see the other remaining areas were still blurred.

'Perchance…' He had an idea as he Shunpoed to the east of Komatsu.

Not a nonce too soon, the area next to Komatsu was now visible as apparently it was "discovered" and mapped out automatically. The only landmark of note was a place called the Sukari Building, and apparently it was already abandoned since it's already named as the "Remains of the Sukari Building".

'Truly a discovery.' He smirked.

He simply needed to arrive at a different area that he hadn't been to yet, and the map will update itself. Allagan Technology at its finest. It may not have communications per se, but it still has other useful functions indeed.

With that said, he spent two bells on mapping out the entire town, while also getting some map data on the outskirts of the neighboring city that he touched somewhat. With more information in hand, he checked the map of the whole town for the landmarks within the town.

"Karakura Shopping District? I suppose 'tis akin to Kogane-dori?" He muttered before continuing to mutter, "Furin Hall? Mayhap 'tis a dojo of sorts?"

"Matsukura Hospital? Karakura Hospital? Ah, mayhap 'tis akin to that of the Coordinated Relief Station…"

"Hirohyaku Super…market? Mayhap 'tis a market of sorts? Why is it called Hirohyaku? Does that not mean Hundred Wide? And what does super even supposed to mean in this context?"

"Old Karakura Train Station… Hmm… Mayhap 'tis abandoned?"

"Mashiba Middle School? Karakura High School? Perchance, are these educational institutions, akin to the Shin'o Academy?"

"Parks? There are three of these parks… Mayhap 'tis a place for… recreational purposes? Since one is for children, judging by the naming, that might be the case…"

"Two rivers, Onose and Karasu… The former is by the town's limits, the other is within…"

"Sunflower Sewing? Mayhap 'tis a Sewing Guild?"

"Urahara Shop? A specialty vendor, mayhap? Like Rowena's House of Splendor in Mor Dhona?"

The town was certainly filled with quite the landmarks. Not as obnoxious as it was in Hydaelyn, but it's still precocious somewhat. Still, the last one certainly stuck out like a sore thumb. Few shops would even have the supposed name of their owner as part of their shop's name. He mentally noted that shop.

Since there was a lack of hollows that was within his senses, which as a reminder could sense the entire town and even extend to parts of the neighboring city without much issue, he went to the Sukari Building in Kinogaya. While no doubt 'tis located rather far from the town's center, it would do well as his base of operations, since 'twas abandoned and thus, not attracting any attention from the locals or in other words, unassuming.

…..

Within a few nonces, he arrived at the ruined location. Touching down onto the ground, he felt the ground as he scooped some with his hand. Even without actively sensing it, he could sense that it was saturated in aether. Strangely enough, it expels reishi instead of aether. Recalling of what he noted earlier, however…

'Mayhap the aether is contained within the star itself? With the life aspect of aether remaining within the ground, while the spiritual aspect of aether being expelled?' He frowned at the thought.

Shaking his head, he focused onto transforming the place into his base of operations. He then summons two of the residents of his Inner World: Ardbert and Fray, outside of his body.

The Warrior of the First stretched his limbs. He was certainly enjoying being outside of Shugo, judging from the grunts he made after finished stretching. Meanwhile, Fray didn't even make a peep of a sound.

"So, hero… What are ya planning?" Ardbert asked.

Turning to the two that were at a distance behind him, he said, "Keep a lookout for Hollows. I need a bit of time to make the place livable."

"Seems easy enough." Ardbert shrugged.

"'Tis what it is. 'Twas not as if the world needs saving." Shugo snorted.

"Heh, whatever you reckon, Hero. Fine, I'll do the bloody job. Least it's better than being cooped up inside that head of yours. And I get to see part of this new world as well." Ardbert shook his head as he jumped into the air and walked.

Fray didn't say anything as the man left like he didn't hear anything, though more likely than not, he scoffed at Shugo for taking on jobs like this again. At the very least, it wasn't a job because he was a strategic weapon or people needed him for something.

Seeing the two departing on a patrol, Shugo nodded in satisfaction as he began to work on the abandoned building, starting with inspecting the place. The building, from the looks of it, was originally a multi-story building, perhaps up to five or six. However, only the first two floors remained intact. The third and above were all seemingly…scorched? Crumbled? Regardless, the remaining upper floors were gone.

Meanwhile, the location was surrounded by walls as tall as six fulms, around two meters in conversion, so just a tad above his own height. It might not do much as security, well especially against others with any form of spiritual powers or Hollows anyroads, it'll do well enough for an initial deterrence.

'An illusion barrier, combined with a defensive barrier should serve well enough.' He noted after pondering.

Initially planning to cover the area around the building up to the wall that surrounded the building, he instead casted it only to several steps away from the building, leaving the remaining empty land as it was. The illusion barrier was based around glamour prisms that were used for glamouring gears that he had, with the only difference being the glamour displayed to lookers from the outside was the building at its initial state, ruined. Meanwhile, the defensive barrier was based on the Allagan barrier that was deployed in The Burn and Azys Lla, with the identification handled by his Tomestone in conjunction with his aether signature.

All of the knowledge on said barriers, however, came from the soul crystal of the Sage job not long after he participated in the Second Battle of Cartenau, alongside adopting the Reaper job in Ul'dah a bit later on. At this point, the two jobs remained at Expert rank, which certainly served him well enough, especially with the former for this particular work since Sages revolves around barriers.

With the decision in mind, he starts the work. First off, he bent down to the ground. Feeling the aether in the ground, he then tugged it to construct a set of Nouliths. He recalled the first time around he saw these in action, he was immediately reminded of the bit drones used by some Magitek mechs. Controlled via aether links, he could utilize them like so. Hence the reminiscence of such examples.

Slowly, but surely, four bright objects akin in shape to Nouliths were formed. Eventually, as it finished forming, it became solid in shape, clearly that of the aforementioned weapon set. Utilizing them as if they were intricate precision tools, he began to lay down the barriers. Each were forming one side, before going vertical and making the top.

This was entirely different than how it was usually done. Since this was meant to last for a very long time, this meant that it must be sustainable and not so easily dispelled.

SHIIING…. CLANG!!!

The illusion barrier was done. It was relatively easy, given that it was simply to maintain a mirage of the building in its previous ruined state continuously. The "program" inputted into the makings of the barrier was somewhat easier, given examples on the base that he had used. It includes camouflage, perpetual projection, aetheric scrambling emission, and automatic aether projection.

'The difficult part has now arisen.' He mentally noted, frowning a bit.

The defense barrier was the difficult one. Since it's meant for possible physical interaction, it complicates things as the necessary programs must include perpetual projection, automatic aether collection, identification, and self-repair. This was not mentioning the conditions of when the programs will activate.

He would then toil for another several minutes, since time for him felt like it was slowed down when he was constructing the programs. After that, he casted the barrier within the illusion barrier, with only a couple of steps in distance between the established illusion barrier and the currently-casting defense barrier.

SHIIIING… FOOONG!!

With the barriers done casting, he went into the building and began work on transforming the wrecked building into a proper base of operations. By the time Fray and Ardbert returned, which was around the evening, he had finished the base.

While it wasn't much, it resembled somewhat like his former estate in Shirogane, albeit more geared towards temporary housing instead of a proper one. Temporary lighting lit up the base, crystals made using aether that can be power itself down based on simple knob that was akin to that of an oil lamp.

This was done on purpose, since the building can still be brought down easily and the furniture(s) could be disassembled back into aether and seep them into the ground once more, should he need to move away for long periods of time.

However, one thing clearly surprised him.

"A girl saw me when I was facing down one of them Hollows." Ardbert said.

That got Shugo to demand Ardbert to explain to him immediately what happened.

…..

The bell rang across the school. It was time for the students to conclude their study for the day and head home. The sun was orange on the sky, verging to set as the skies slowly turned red from the azure blue. This was a common sight in various schools in Japan currently. However, right now, the focus is on a certain school in Naruki City.

A light brown, chin-cut wavy haired female student was making her way to the nearest bus station from her school. Accompanied her was her friend, who wore the same uniform as her, which was a brown school uniform with as red-hemmed skirt and a white collar with red pins that fell over the top of the back and was tied in the front with a red ribbon, as well as a pair of brown shoes and white knee-length stockings.

They converse on mundane topics relating to what was trending at the time. It didn't take long before the bus arrived, and the two entered the bus. Both were on their way back home as the bus goes on to their destination, which was Karakura Town, the neighboring town next to Naruki City. The friend sat near the hall while the girl sat near the window.

While chatting and giggling all around as the bus entered Karakura Town, the brown-haired girl suddenly felt something as she momentarily turned her head towards the window outside. She had her brow raised as she looked onto the sky, noticing a bizarre sight.

She saw someone, who looked like they came from some sort of a fantasy world. He was standing on the air, wielding his hefty giant ax that looked somewhat oversized. She continued to look as he brought down the edge of the ax upon the masked monstrosity she knew as a Hollow.

'Is that…a Human? Or some sort of a Quincy?' She raised her brow in confusion.

The bus had just cleared from the bridge over the Onose River that connected Naruki City and Karakura Town. Her friend was tugging her over, trying to get her attention.

"Hey, Masaki-chan? What're you looking at?" She asked.

Surprised, the brown-haired girl named Masaki looked at her friend, feeling rather awkward at her suddenly turning away.

"Ehehe… Sorry 'bout that, Naomi-chan!" Masaki apologized.

Naomi sighed at her friend. She knew instantly why. "You saw something again, didn't you?" She gave a deadpan look at Masaki, who winced a little.

"Ahahaha… You got me, Naomi-chan…" Masaki rubbed the back of her head awkwardly as she looked again at the man on the air.

She was suddenly surprised as she saw the man looking directly at her. His rugged look, piercing through her eyes and seemingly seeing through her, made her shudder. Before anything else happened, however, Naomi snapped her out of it.

"Masaki-chan? What did you see?" Naomi asked, with a look of concern all over.

"Nah, it's nothing! Really!" Masaki puffs up.

Seeing her friend wouldn't budge, Naomi shrugged. Being friends with her for some time since Junior High, she somewhat knew that Masaki could see somethings. But as to what, she could only guess as probably ghosts or something.

As quickly as she looked away from her friend, the topic was shifted into more mundane topics once more. The journey back to her home continued as the two chatted onboard the bus. After twenty more minutes, the bus finally stopped at a bus station near Karakura Hospital, which was also near the Old Karakura train station.

The two bid each other farewell as Naomi went back to her home, which was somewhere in Sakurabashi, which is located to the west of Komatsu. Meanwhile, Masaki walked towards another bus station that has routes going towards Kitakawase, since the bus she was on before wasn't operating in a route that leads to Kitakawase. Before long, a bus stopped at the said station, and after another ten minutes of ride, she arrived at a bus station in Kitakawase.

She then walked towards her home, or at least the home of the Ishida family, which was located near Kitakawase. After walking for some time, she saw the Ishida Family Manor coming into her view.

"I'm back!" She giddily said as she entered the manor after entering from the gate.

…..

Shugo pinched the bridge of his nose. He was certainly surprised that anyone could even see Ardbert, given his unique nature that even the phantom of Hythlodaeus could barely perceive the shard, let alone anyone else. Not that it complicated matters much, it simply caught him off-guard if anything.

"Mayhap 'tis due to the peculiar nature of this world." He muttered.

"Aye, mayhap it does." Ardbert agreed.

The nature of the reality they were in were somewhat absurd. The people living in the World of the Living are absurdly weak. At most, they're on the same level as most civilians back on Hydaelyn. Of course, with some knowledge on the situation in the Human World, it was easy to conclude, with certainty, that most of the Humans living here are very much powerless against anything that has any form of power that is above them, even if it was by a mere step.

Frankly speaking, it's far worse than back on Hydaelyn. At least some of the civilians on Hydaelyn could be empowered with even the miniscule amount of aether to be able to flee (not including the Garleans since they're the only one's incapable of manipulating aether without any external assistance in the form of devices or such). And this was not even using his Echo to actively see their true "power levels".

And perhaps the aforementioned girl might be one of those that Soul Society calls a "spiritually aware" person. That was what his intuition is telling him.

"Hm? Where did Fray went?" Ardbert asked.

"Him? He already went back inside." Shugo answered, referring to his Inner World by inside.

"I shall embark for the night patrol. Rest well." Shugo then said.

Ardbert shrugged. He puts down his ax, leaning it by the wall, while he himself sat down on a refurbished sofa, relaxing. In the meantime, Shugo left the base after exiting through the door and outside the barrier.

His first day patrolling as Karakura Town's assigned Shinigami began.

…..

The next day…

At the Tenth Division…

Yet another commonplace scene at the Tenth Division's Barracks occurs once more. A certain lazy captain was dozing off on a tree, while his lieutenant searched for him before immediately noticing the aforementioned tree. The two unfortunate subordinates of the division that happened to pass by had already given up on bothering at this point.

"CAPTAIN!!! WHERE ARE YOU, CAPTAIN!?" Rangiku shouted.

She was certainly not happy with how her captain went away to doze off who-knows-where. At the same time, two of the division's members were passing by.

"Lieutenant Matsumoto is at it again…" Izuna sighed, sweatdropping.

"Everyday too… It must be hard on her…" Hamada sweatdropped as well, agreeing with her opinion.

Hamada has a shaved head while wearing a pair of glasses, while Izuna had a short cut hair. Both were wearing the standard Shihakusho. The former was carrying a bag containing some supplies, while the latter was carrying a round tray.

The blond-haired lieutenant then turned around and saw the tree within the courtyard.

"Hm!" She grunted as her intuition flared.

She then turned towards Hamada and Izuna, as she came towards the two, which somewhat shocked them.

"Lend me that tray." She ordered.

"Eh! Ah…" Izuna fumbled as she registered Rangiku's order after taking a moment to register it in her mind and replying with, "Yes!" as she handed the tray to Rangiku.

Grabbing said tray, Rangiku turned and easily noticed the somewhat small rustle from the tree.

"I found you, Captain!!!" She grinned as she instantly threw the tray towards the tree.

THWACK!!!

Her throw hits true as the tray smacked the dozing captain on his face.

"GYAAAAH!" Isshin screamed as he fell off balance from the tree and onto the ground.

FYUUUH! THUD!

"Good, a perfect hit!" She was smiling smugly.

"Too baaad! I stopped it right before it actually hit me!" Isshin sneered, proving his words with holding the tray in front of his face, while behind it his face was not damaged.

This would soon be rectified by her as she kicked the tray onto the lazy captain, cracking it as it pressed onto Isshin's face.

BANG! CRACK!!

"GWAH!" Isshin yelped in pain.

"EEEEEK!! IT BROOOKE!! MY SHARP NOSE BROKE!! I'LL HAVE TO REST TODAY!!" He yelled.

His lieutenant did not look perturbed whatsoever though.

"A perfect hit." She deadpanned said it, before turning away and continuing with, "Come on! Either we go back, or I'll force you to work, Captain Shiba!" she threatened without a care.

Rubbing his broken nose, the head of the Shiba's branch family slowly got up from the ground and went towards Izuna.

"Sorry for this. It cracked because of Rangiku." He apologized while giving back the tray to Izuna who looked baffled.

"Don't blame it on me! It's your fault for running around and neglecting your job!" Rangiku retorted, a bit miffed at the captain.

Seeing that the two started to banter once more, both Hamada and Izuna decided that it was time to skedaddle from the place. It wasn't really productive to hear their argument.

"Jeez… I know you're only part of a branch family, but if the head of the Shiba family behaves like that, it'll affect the honor of the main household too! Get ahold of yourself!" She scolded the captain in frustration.

"Haha, that again?" Isshin sneered.

"You always use the family as an excuse to complain. I know that you want me to do my job so you get lesser workload and can have fun." He retorted at her argument.

"..." Rangiku had no words as she sweatdropped, since she pretty much was hit on the nail by his retort.

"I'm weeeell aware that you're actually slowly increasing my workload! Aw, so scary! Devil! Evil tactician!! Witch!!" He continued to sneer at her with a smug face.

That earned a tick mark from her.

"AAHHH, SHUT UP WILL-…" She yelled while almost elbowing while turning towards him, before it was grabbed by his hand.

SWISH! GRAB!

"RANGIKU!" He shouted.

"Y..yes!" She replied, flustered at her captain's sudden stern tone.

"Today…" He paused for a moment before continuing, "…because of the time you spent chasing me around…" sounding all serious, ending it with, "...your boobs are all shiny."

In his eyes, her appearance looked a bit sparkly, with her sweats glistening over her exposed cleavage from the sunlight.

"Nice...!!" He complimented in a serious tone, somehow.

Rangiku's face immediately twitched, with her veins popping.

BAM!

"GYAAAAH!!" Isshin yelped as he was punched.

THWACK!

"Eh!" She was totally pissed.

BAM!

"Hah!? Still not satisfied!?" She continued to beat the ever-living crap out of the captain.

THUD!

"Ouch! Sorry...!" Isshin pleaded, but it was ignored by her as she continued to beat him down.

…..

After some time, the two finally returned to the captain's office in the barracks. Isshin looking all bludgeoned and beaten, a bit winded while Rangiku was still puffing a bit.

"You're late." A young boy's voice reprimanded the two as they entered the office.

THUD!

A massive stack of paperwork was put onto the table. All of them were apparently finished sorted and reviewed.

"I finished these papers." Hitsugaya gave a deadpan look at the two.

Isshin suddenly got spirited.

"WOOOAAAHHH!!!" He exclaimed as he rushed towards the boy.

PAT!

"YOU'RE AMAZING, TOSHIRO!! WORTHY TO BE THE NEXT CAPTAIN!!" He exclaimed as he grabbed Hitsugaya and lifted him into the air.

"Wait!!" Rangiku interceded, certainly shocked at Isshin's statement.

"Considering my rank, I should be the next captain!!" She pointed that out.

Turning to look at Rangiku, Isshin was not impressed with this lieutenant of his. Hitsugaya did not look impressed with his captain either, while currently being lowered a bit by the man.

"What are you saying? If someone like you became the captain, our division would crumble down." He deadpanned at the curvaceous lieutenant.

"You're right. My Bankai training is going well. I'm sure I'll be fine." Hitsugaya shrugged dismissively.

"Hey, Toshiro!! Why are you agreeing with him!?" She groaned.

Toshiro was put down back onto the ground, with Rangiku going towards him and started to pinch the boy's cheeks with her hands.

STREEEEETCH!

"Hahaha! Don't pester him too much!" Isshin laughed at the two's antics, as he approached a cabinet containing his stored dessert.

THACK! THUD!

"Uh…?" Isshin sounded confused as he saw nothing was inside the cabinet's drawer.

"Did you see my manju? It was supposed to be here…" He asked, frowning his brows.

"!" Hitsugaya's attention snapped back at Isshin, after Rangiku finally stopped pinching his cheeks. It certainly felt sore a bit.

"Captain, I have something to report…" He turned his head, attempting to look as stoic as possible.

Picking up the report, he brought it to the table near the captain.

"It's about this…" He said, before Isshin interrupted him, "No, no. Let's talk about my manju."

Pointing his finger at the empty drawer, Isshin asked, "I hid it there to eat it afterwards. Did you see it? Did you?" while suspicious at the boy's sudden shifting of the topic.

"Sigh… How annoying." Hitsugaya sighed. "Who cares about a manju now? It was good!" He slipped up at the end while looking deadpan at the captain.

"SO YOU ATE IT!!" Isshin was pissed. "HOW DARE YOU TRY TO DEGRADE ITS IMPORTANCE! YOU'RE A BAD BOY!!" He was ready to fold the sleeves of his kosode, his hand already forming into a fist.

Hitsugaya ignored Isshin's outburst before proceeding on with the report. A diversion from the topic, but it was certainly something important, nonetheless.

"Do you remember the report from two months ago?" He asked the captain, who raised his brow.

"Naruki City, an average-sized city." He began to explain as he sorts out the reports.

"Two months ago, the Shinigami in charge died accidentally." He detailed it a bit.

Isshin pinched his chin, replying, "Aah… Yeah, I remember. Brought up the topic in last week's captains' meeting. Ol' Man Yama was pissed…" While recalling more of the details.

"Yes." Toshiro nodded, "I just received last month's full report."

"The cause is still unknown. Another two died last month." He further elaborated.

"So… What's the total now? Like… Fourteen?" Isshin had a grim look on him.

"Yes." Hitsugaya nodded, not looking at the captain since he's still sorting the reports.

And without any warning, Isshin bursts out from the office, catching both Rangiku and Toshiro off-guard.

"Ah, where are you going, captain!?" She asked, shocked by the captain's action.

"To investigate! I'm leaving the rest to you!" He waved his hand, posing a nonchalant attitude.

"EH!? Wait… NOW!? ALONE!?" She exclaimed with concern.

"Yeah! I'll be back in about two days, so do my work tomorrow!" He turned back and posed with two finger guns, all cheery and stuff rather suspiciously.

"What are you saying!? You have to report to the Captain-Commander…" She was reminding him since it was already an ongoing investigation.

Before she could continue her words, however, Isshin had Shunpoed away.

SWISH!

"Ah!!" She exclaimed as she saw the afterimage.

"Dammit! Let's go after him, Toshiro!" Rangiku started to run after the man, grabbing her Zanpakuto at her side.

But before she could actually run after the man, however…

"…No. Let him be." Toshiro said in monotone.

"!" She was baffled, before turning around and trying to reprimand him, "You…"

Toshiro shook his head. "The captain knows that this case is dangerous. That's why he's going alone."

"I know that!" Rangiku hissed. "That's why…"

"That's why…" Toshiro shot back, deadpanning at her. "…we must wait for him here."

Turning to look at the lieutenant, he asked, "…do you understand?"

"We have to wait." He iterated it again, keeping the same look plastered on his face.

"Considering our current power…" He had a thoughtful look while explaining this calmly as he can, "…we would only be in his way."

She finally relented and stayed. It was certainly not easy. Meanwhile, Isshin's eyes narrowed as he considered his options. Before long, he would arrive at the Senkaimon.

…..

Somewhere else…

"Today's the day, ain't it? Cap'n?" Gin asked.

With a glint reflecting Aizen's glasses, he replied with a smug smile, "Indeed. It's time."

The duo, along with Tosen who stayed silent, stared at the monitor that showed the feeds from various hidden cameras in the World of the Living. The Hollow was about to be deployed, since it had stabilized itself to a degree deemed suitable enough. Now it was time to test how stable and effective it was.

…..

Naruki City, late in the evening.

The moon lit the night sky above Naruki City, its shape in Crescent. It was rather cloudy in comparison to the week prior. Most of the humans living there were either still working overnight, already went home, or even asleep or whatnot. Unbeknownst to them, however, were the two Shinigamis patrolling the city, Shunpoing from roof to roof.

"It's getting cloudy…" Hayate said.

Hayate is a Shinigami from the Tenth Division, deployed since the week prior to replace the deceased Shinigami pair that was on-duty prior. He wore the standard Shihakusho, while having a dark hair and somewhat noticeably thick lips.

"Got a bad feeling 'bout this… The two guys here before us both died on a rainy night, if I'm not wrong… REALLY scary…" He expressed his thoughts out loud.

"C'mon man, don't say that…!" His partner, Yajima, reprimanded him, feeling rather spooked by Hayate's words.

It certainly doesn't help lifting the mood anyways. However, the two failed to notice a certain someone behind them, with only Hayate noticing as the said person spoke up.

"I see… So rainy days are dangerous?" A certain captain asked for confirmation, albeit jokingly somewhat.

Hayate turned around to find Captain Shiba behind him and Yajima, surprising the two.

"UWAAH!!!" Hayate yelped in surprise.

"Nice information! Thanks!" Isshin thanked them, his arms folded while looking somewhat comical.

"C-Ca-Captain Shiba!!!" Both Hayate and Yajima exclaimed their surprise on seeing their captain there.

"Hmm… So, I came at the right time." Isshin pondered at the side.

The two division members looked at each other in confusion, sweatdropping before Hayate spoke up, "B-but… W-why!?"

"I'm really glad I didn't come for nothing." Isshin remarked.

"Why did you come here, Captain!?" Hayate pressed on with his question.

Finally done with his own thoughts, Isshin turned to look at the two. His face looked very laid back.

"Hm? Oh. I was looking for a toilet and got lost…" Isshin gave his excuse, which was rather a pathetic one at that.

"LAMEST LIE EVER!!" Hayate and Yajima called him out in unison.

The captain shrugged. "Ah, right." He recalled the reason he came by.

"Tonight… If it rains, you two go home for a while." He requested.

This earned a baffled look from the two.

"I wanna pee alone." Isshin said in a serious tone, while also keeping his face professional.

Both Yajima and Hayate sweatdropped again. They knew that the captain was just bullshitting. No way someone like him came down for that kind of a reason. Well, not for this particular case anyways, since this IS Captain Shiba. But seeing their captain looking rather serious, they knew it wasn't one of those prank/joke times for the moment. It was something serious.

The clouds in the night sky were moving, carried by the wind as they passed the moon. Once the light of the moon shone after they passed, however, an ominous silhouette was appearing from the few clouds that were still chasing its brethren.

…..

At the same day, 20:36, Karakura Town.

The front gates of the Ishida Manor were lit with two lights on top of the gate posts. The right gate post had the Ishida name posted on it, with below the name plate being the intercom. Meanwhile, the manor inside the gate had lights on inside.

Inside the manor, Masaki was having her dinner, accompanied by the lady of the Ishida family.

"How about school?" Mrs. Ishida asked.

Masaki was still munching down on the steak, before being called out by the missus. "Masaki-san." She called rather sternly.

"Eh, ah… You mean me??" Masaki flustered as she munched the steak and trying to gulp it down.

"Uhm… Yes! I'm commuting happily every day, Aunty!" Masaki answered with a beaming smile on her face.

"I'm asking about the school, not you." Mrs. Ishida shook her head.

Fumbling around, Masaki answered, "The school… Ah! Recently, I found out that you can get extra servings of cabbage and pickles for free at lunch…!" pondering for a bit before she finally looked at Mrs. Ishida and gave her answer.

"Enough." Mrs. Ishida sighed, before she glared at Masaki and asked, "Well then… What about the Holy Training?"

Oh boy, did that got Masaki by her tongue.

"Ah… The Holy Training… Well… I'm doing it, little by little…" Masaki answered nervously, a bead of sweat forming on her forehead.

There was silence for a moment, before a boom occurred.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY "LITTLE BY LITTLE"!!?" Mrs. Ishida yelled.

"SORRY!!" Masaki tried to apologize, tears forming at the edges of her eyes.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR POSITION!?" Mrs. Ishida slammed her hand onto the table in anger.

BAM!

"Since your parents died and you don't have any siblings, you're the last of the Kurosaki family! And we accepted to raise you as fellow Quincies!!" She blasted Masaki, which was enough to even blow some of her hair away.

"Yes, I know… The meat is delicious… Eheheh." Masaki nervously acknowledged, laughing nervously at the last part.

"YOU…" Mrs. Ishida was ready to blast her some more before someone came into the dining room.

"Mother!" It called.

Glancing over, Mrs. Ishida saw her son, Ishida Ryuuken, coming in.

"Please stop. Your voice can be heard from the outside." He reminded her with his plead.

Sighing, Mrs. Ishida stood up from her chair, and went towards the dining room's door.

"…I'm going back to my room." She said after being silent for a bit.

Stopping at the door, she continued, "I'll have your food prepared now. When you're done, call Katagiri to clean it up."

"What about father?" Ryuuken asked.

She was about to exit the room when he asked, so she stopped and answered, "...He's at the Funfte Field. I'd like to know when he'll be back as well."

Ryuuken looked at his mother as she closed the door to the dining room before sighing. He then looked at Masaki, who had just finished the last piece of her steak and still munching it.

"…Masaki." He called her.

"Hm?" She turned to look at him.

"…Sorry. Please forgive my mother. She's lonely and is directing her anger towards you." He apologized to her, looking rather down despite his stoic face.

"What are you saying, Ryuu-chan!" She beamed as she stood up from her chair to answer him, "Forgive her for what? I'm not even angry! You shouldn't be worrying about that, Ryuu-chan!"

"Thanks for the food! I'm going back to my room!" She said as she ran to leave the room, still smiling.

However, when she got to the door, she stopped as she recalled something.

"Ah!" She said, before she turned to look at him, with her face somehow smug and said, "Today's Shrimp Gratin was really good. If you don't want it, I'll eat your share too."

Before he could say anything, she bolted through the door bid him farewell, "Bye byee!!" while skipping through the hall.

He was stunned for a moment, before Katagiri came from the opposite way of the Hall.

"Young Master." She called him. "The meal is ready. Can I prepare the table?" She asked, as she had a trolley behind her, two covered plates of dishes on it.

Shaking his head, he replied, "Yes please, Katagiri."

Before long, she brought the trolley into the dining room. She sets up his meal and cleaned up the table.

"…Katagiri." He called her as she was still setting up the table.

"Yes!" She turned and enthusiastically replied, "What's the matter, Young Master?" with a blush on her cheeks.

He was silent for a moment. Frankly speaking, Masaki was… He felt like he simply didn't deserve such a kind girl to be his betrothed. Putting aside the fact that they're still somewhat related by blood, his own nature is simply…undeserving for such a bubbly girl that he didn't know what to do. He wanted to obey his mother's wishes, even if the purpose was for the sake of a pure Quincy bloodline, but he also wanted to make Masaki happy. This had been on his mind ever since his family adopted her into the family. Right now, though… He's frustrated, indecisive on which to follow.

"Masaki…" He began to speak, the tone being rather somber.

"…she knows that my mother allowed her into the Ishida family for the sole purpose of protecting our family's pure Quincy blood." He elaborated; his voice laced with frustration.

Katagiri was surprised. "… Did your mother talk to her about it?" She asked.

"Does she think she wouldn't notice?" He snorted, raising his left palm facing his face. "She's not that stupid." Feeling rather melancholic about it.

As he gazed to the view outside from the dining room's window, he sighed, "… I'm not sure that she'll be happy to marry me." His voice laced with bitterness, more so towards the whole farce.

Katagiri immediately knew what he meant by that. Her look softened at the young master's kind heart, even if he rarely shows it on his face.

"Young master thinks that weddings amongst Quincy should be based on love." She remarked.

That certainly shocked him, as he turned away from the window to look at her. His eyes widened in surprise.

"How kind." She looked down a bit, bottling down her own feelings for the young master before she continued, "I think that your kindness will certainly make Masaki-sama happy."

Again, he was silent. His face now stoic once more, he looked away towards the window. The clouds were somewhat stifling the moonlight.

"…How stupid." He scoffed. "Why do you say I'm kind?" He asked her.

"The reason I want Masaki to be happy is that if you're not happy, you can't look at the future positively." He said, rather depreciatingly at himself perhaps.

"Not our future. It's the Quincy's." He looked down again.

Katagiri only stared at Ryuuken, certainly feeling sad that the young master felt that way. And perhaps, it's the reason she had the forbidden feeling of affection towards the young master in a romantic sense. Meanwhile, droplets of rain began to pour down on the outside.

…..

Over at Karakura, Shugo just begun his second day of patrolling the Town. Not to say he actually needed rest, mind you, rather that he simply enjoyed not being rushed in his duties. While rather lax in comparison to how he endeavored so much back on Hydaelyn, he still does things professionally, when push comes to shove.

During the first day, there wasn't any particular thing that was of noteworthy. The occasional Hollows, performing Konso, it was what he expected, no, predicted what his duties in patrol would entail, just from what he heard from Ukitake and others that would come to visit him during his office hours in Ukitake's office, and later his own quarters.

Of course, when he was relaxing at the base, Gurenbana would come out and continue to tease him. At that point, he had long since given up on reprimanding the female Zanpakuto spirit. Hence, it's why she rarely speaks when he was patrolling, because she already gotten her fill of having fun with him during the day.

But this time, she actually spoke up.

'Dear.' She called.

'Hm?' He raised his brow as he continued to Shunpo rather laxly from roof to roof.

'The threads of fate… They shall converge this night.' She spoke.

That stopped him on his tracks.

'Pray tell.' He frowned.

'Beneath the rain, the branch trembles.

The moon shadows the sun, eclipsing its light.

The sun sets, yet lifted by the branch.

The dark lost its light, never to touch the moon.'

She cryptically said.

He was digesting it for a moment, before he felt a sudden spike of reiatsu. He turned to look at the origin of the spike, only finding it to be at the northwest of Karakura, further towards Naruki City. Checking the map on his phone, he confirmed that the direction was indeed from Naruki City. Unsummoning it, he Shunpo's towards the source of the spike in caution.

All the while, the rain showers had slowly progressed further into a proper rain. Not that he didn't notice it, rather he was used to being in a rain.

…..

A few moments earlier…

Isshin stood on the edge of a building's roof. He looked up to the sky, a foreboding feeling washing over him as rain poured down from the clouds, changing from the earlier rain showers into a proper rain.

"…It started raining." He muttered, his captain haori and shihakusho were all but drenched in the rain.

Hayate and Yajima had taken cover under a small shelter, just below the building Isshin was standing on.

"What should we do?" Hayate asked Yajima, while glancing at Isshin who's at the edge of the building's roof. "He said to go home, but…"

"Idiot!" Yajima scolded at him while crumpling the sleeves of his shihakusho, trying to dry it. "Go back to Soul Society now!? If we do that, we'll get a demerit!"

"We can just stay hidden for the time being." He reasoned. "The captain will definitely do something about this."

FWSSSSHH…

The rain was definitely proper now. No longer a normal rain, it's now a heavy rain. Not that this matters much to Isshin, who was pondering on the case.

'…Shinigami being targeted could mean that they're the real target, or that it's a reaction to a powerful reiatsu…' He pondered, before an idea came to him.

'I could try to draw them out with reiatsu…' He thought as his left hand was already holding the scabbard of his Zanpakuto, while his right hand was slowly gripping the handle.

FWOOSH!!

Isshin released his reiatsu, which immediately blasted through the air, causing even the two who were in the shelter below to even feel the wind pressure from the blast of the reiatsu release.

"WOAH!?" Hayate yelped, covering the front of his face with his hand.

"Wow…!!" He exclaimed in awe.

"This is Captain Shiba's reiatsu…!?" Yajima was also in awe of their captain's reiatsu prowess.

However, this also marked their doom, as a silhouette slashed through both of them.

SLASH! SPLURT! SPLURCH!

"GWAH!!" Both Hayate and Yajima screamed before they died, with half of Yajima's face horizontally cleaved in two, cleanly to boot.

Isshin immediately noticed their screams and turned to look at the small shelter below where he stood. It had pools of blood flowing under it now, no doubt belonging to the two from before.

"SHIT!" He cursed. "So it didn't react to the power of my reiatsu!?"

But before he could drop down to ground level from the roof, something dropped behind him.

THOOMPH!

He slowly turned to look at the culprit. It was an eerie shadow, lit by the moonlight. Its blade hands reflected by the moonlight, combined with its all-black appearance with the fleshy part at the center of its body certainly adds to its menacing character. Not to mention the carapace-like armor covering it.

"What's… THAT…!?" Isshin muttered in shock, streaks of raindrops going down from his face.

He then took a better look at the thing. "A black… Hollow…?" He was confused with its appearance.

It then turned, as thunder roared in the sky, reflecting its menacing mask and two front-facing horns. Isshin kept a stern look on his face, as the Hollow opened its mouth and roared.

"ROOOOOOOAAAARRRR!!!!" It roared, releasing its reiatsu.

Isshin felt the blast of the reiatsu. It was nothing short of powerful.

"I see…" He muttered as he gripped his Zanpakuto harder. "It's completely black, and it's hole is closed…"

"But his reiatsu is definitely a Hollow's…!" He grinned wryly, before the Hollow charged at him.

He immediately went into extreme focus, drawing his Zanpakuto from its scabbard in one stroke, meeting the Hollow in combat.

SHING… SWISH!!

…..

"…What a surprise." Aizen commented, rather amused by the spectacle currently in display.

Back in the lab, the trio Aizen, Gin and Tosen were observing the events that were happening at the moment in the World of the Living. Specifically, at where they deployed White. Right now, the display was showing Isshin engaging White.

"The Captain of the Tenth Division." He remarked. "Why is he there?" He asked no one in particular.

Tosen was the one who answered, while being the one operating the equipment. "He didn't report that he was going there."

"Oh." Gin leaned in, keeping his signature smirk. "He went in without a permit. This is gonna cause some noise."

The display was showing Isshin looking back to an unspecified direction.

"But that's fine." Aizen waved away the worries. "It's an unexpected harvest." He said with a devious smirk.

"I want to see it closer." He said, without looking away from the monitor. "Is there a way?" He asked.

…..

Back in the Ishida Manor, Masaki was resting in her room. She was on her bed, sitting with her back on the wall near the window in her room. The only sound that rang in the room was the sound of the raindrops splattering onto the window of her room. It was all nice and quiet, until...

FWOOM!!

She felt that spike of reiatsu from a lengthy distance away from the manor. She looked up and turned towards the outside view from her window.

'I can feel an incredibly powerful reiatsu getting closer…' She thought. 'A Hollow… And another one…' She sensed.

Immediately, she bolted into the hall outside her room. Her destination? Wherever that reiatsu spike is.

TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP!

Running in the hallway, she was coming about an intersection, where a certain someone called her out.

"Where are you going, Masaki?" A certain young master called her.

But before she could say anything, he basically rescinded his own question.

"…Maybe there's no need to ask." He said, left hand in his pocket while standing near a wall. "Don't."

She turned to look at Ryuuken. "…Ryuu-chan." She said, a bead of sweat escaped from her.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" He was somewhat reprimanding her. "We Quincy should only come out after the Shinigami dies."

He continued, "And even then, we should let a Gemischt like Katagiri go in our stead."

"Masaki. You should be more aware of your position." He reminded her.

"You understand, don't you?" He reasoned with her. "You should care more about yourself."

Not that she noticed, but his voice was laced with half reprimand and half worry. Rather, he simply used his mother's words to compliment his own true reasoning.

"We Echt Quincy shouldn't waste our blood so easily." His voice sounded cold, but she didn't notice how false his words was.

"But Ryuu-chan…!" She tried to reason.

…..

POSH! POSH! POSH!

Back to the battle, Isshin was pushed back into the air. He held his hand onto the "ground" to slow himself down.

'This isn't good.' He thought, frowning a bit. 'I'm falling behind.'

In the meantime, the Hollow dashed towards him, before it swung its right blade hand onto Isshin, who promptly blocked it with his Zanpakuto.

CLANG!

'Can't get a handle on this guy.' He was contemplating. 'Its physical appearance is somehow still that of a Hollow, but it feels like… I'm fighting a Shinigami instead.'

He grits his teeth. 'This is gonna be tough!!' He had a grim look on his face.

He was pushed back by the slash earlier. It was certainly nothing to scoff at.

BWOOOOOOSH!

A distance was made between him and that bizarre Hollow. But before he could engage it once more, someone was calling him from behind.

"Captain Shiba!" A familiar voice called out; one that he hadn't heard in a while.

He turned to find Kurenai Shugo a bit in the distance behind him.

…..

"I'm surprised to find you here, sir. Whatever brings you to- "Before Shugo said anything further, he looked past the captain to see the bizarre Hollow.

'Twelve forefend… What is that…Hollow?' He frowned.

He could feel the Hollow's bizarre nature. It was… Utterly revolting. An amalgamation, much like the twisted nature of Sin Eaters and Voidsents.

'Damn! I went outside the jurisdiction boundary!' Isshin cursed mentally.

Overstepping into another division's jurisdiction is not allowed under normal circumstances, unless it was an extreme one, or it was by permission of the Captain-Commander and the Captain of the division in charge of said jurisdiction, which in this case is Captain Ukitake. Else, there would be consequences for such unsanctioned action.

Even then, Shugo knew that it wasn't like Captain Shiba to do such a thing. Lax as he may be, even if he does break the rules, it would be with a plausible reason. And Shugo need not much reason from the captain since it was facing the captain right now.

"!" Isshin was slashing at the Hollow, but it suddenly went past him.

He turned to look behind him, immediately realizing the Hollow's aim.

"SHIT!" He cursed loudly. "RUN!" He yelled at Shugo.

'Ikishoten!' Shugo immediately filled his Kenki Gauge as he drew Gurenbana.

Seeing the Hollow as charging a Cero between its horns, he held Gurenbana over his head, its blade facing towards the Hollow in aim.

'Hissatsu: Guren!' He slashed down, multiple waves of his Blade Ki slashes bearing down onto the Hollow, who had just finished charging its Cero.

SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING!

It was also in time, as the Hollow discharged its ranged attack.

FWOOOOM!!!

The energies of both attacks clashed with each other, as his Blade Ki was facing down the Cero from the Hollow. Both were equally powerful in measure. He had yet to release Gurenbana or even increase the threshold of his own reiatsu in his current state, thus the diminished power of the attack.

BOOOOOOOOM!!!

The two blasts cancelled each other's attacks. It was enough to cause a blast of wind to blow into the area all around, dispersing the rain in the immediate vicinity temporarily.

Holding Gurenbana firm, Shugo had a stern look on his face. Destiny shall play its card, and he was only there to be a part of it. For the time being, he has no intention of altering Gurenbana's precognition of the events to come.

…..

FWOOOOOOM!!!

"!!" Both Ryuuken and Masaki, back at the Ishida Manor, felt the clash of energies from earlier.

Seeing now that Ryuuken was distracted momentarily, Masaki ran to leave the manor and aid whoever that was facing the supposed Hollow and the other party.

"!" Ryuuken finally noticed Masaki who bolted. "Wait, Masaki!!" He yelled.

She stopped for a moment. "Ryuu-chan" She called him.

"You know, the fact that you acted as if you were thinking about aunty, the Quincy, the future, and many other things…" She called him out, revealing that she did notice his bluff. "…is something that I really like about you." She admitted.

"But…" She paused. "…I'm not you."

She turned around to look at him, while her body faces towards the exit of the manor. "To me, caring about myself means to do everything in my power, every day." She stated.

She had a determined look on her face. "If I don't do what I can today because of some custom, and someone dies because of it, I won't be able to forgive myself tomorrow."

She turned back and continued running to leave the manor, leaving behind Ryuuken. Seeing that his betrothed left, he shook his head. Despite trying to bluff her, she called him out.

'That's why, Masaki.' He thought as he pulled out a small communicator and pressed the Quincy symbol on the bottom part of the communicator.

BIP!

"Katagiri." He said into the communicator. "It's time to go out. Prepare the Reishi armor."

Sighing, he puts the communicator back into his pocket, and walked.

'That's why you are the future of what we should be, as Quincies.' He mentally remarked.

…..

FWOOOOOHHH!

The blast dispersing, revealing Shugo on the far side, while the Hollow on the other side. Isshin, who watched on the side, looked surprised. Not only on the Hollow, but Shugo as well.

"What was that…? A Cero!?" He wiped his chin, before looking towards Shugo.

"The new kid's nothing to scoff at either." He muttered. "Good thing too. At least he ain't dead, thank the Soul King." He sighed in relief.

He continued to look at Shugo briefly before he looked back at the Hollow, whose back was facing him.

"The fuck… That's not how a Hollow- That's not how a Menos fights…!!" He cursed again.

That fighting style was NOT how a normal Hollow, or even a Menos Grande, would do. Your normal Hollows fight on baser instinct, no recognizable tactics, organization or techniques. Even Menos, their more powerful versions, would still rely on instincts more despite showing some form of intelligence. This… This was more like an actual Shinigami! Or even a person in that regard!

He dashed forward, blade above his head. As if moving in sync, Shugo also dashed forward, his own blade coming from below. It was a pincer attack!

…..

Shugo noticed that the captain was surprised that he was able to hold out against that kind of attack, no, a Cero. He then looked at the Hollow, frowning once more.

'This Hollow… Nay… A hybrid. 'Tis not for the faint of heart.' He squinted his eyes.

'You would be correct, dear. For 'tis no mere Hollow, nor even 'twas natural.' Gurenbana agreed in his Inner World.

He nodded at Gurenbana's assessment. Even both Fray and Ardbert agreed, nodding silently. Nothing about it seems natural. He already faced Hollows a few times, including during his Graduation Exam and the first day of his patrol. He already knew the basic nature of Hollows, and this one doesn't follow any convention. Even the supposed Menos Grande, only mentioned passingly in the books in the Academy (and subsequently expanded upon during his first week in the Thirteenth), weren't known to fight in such convention.

He then noticed the captain staring at him for some time, before he apparently started to dash forward. As if it was done in near perfect sync, Shugo too dashed forward as well. Blade in hand, from downwards with its blade facing upwards, he closed in onto the Hybrid.

…..

PING! PING!

The Hollow held its two Blade Hands and managed to parry both their attacks, while it was facing the captain, who appeared to be the more immediate threat.

"…Hey." Isshin called it out. "There's no way a monster like you could exist without Soul Society knowing."

"Someone must be hiding you…" He deduced, before trying to ask, "Who's pulling the strings?"

KANG! KKANG! KANG!

It remained silent, clearly showing that it had no intentions to speak, or even if it could speak in that regard.

"…No answers, duh. Don't care." He shrugged. "Whether you talk or not, I'm still gonna cut ya down anyway." He pulled back some distance and held his Zanpakuto out, gripping with both of his hands.

"BURN, ENGETSU!!" Isshin released his Zanpakuto.

The blade was soon enveloped in flames, emitting heat.

He failed to notice, however, Shugo calling him out to his behind. By the time he heard Shugo's warnings, however, it was too late. He was almost upon the Hollow, only to feel his back getting slashed. A warm streak splattered out from his wound.

"Wha…" was his words before he fell down from the air.

…..

Shugo tried to push further against the Hollow, but he knew that he couldn't afford to change much of what destiny's playing right now. He pulled back at the same time as Isshin did.

He had a nagging feeling when he was pressuring the Hollow with Isshin. Someone was watching them. He couldn't detect the source of it, but his aether senses…

He saw as he pulled back. Three people in a distance a bit away from the captain, with one close enough to do harm to the captain. He knew because he saw that the one figure was wielding a blade of sorts. He didn't know if it was a Zanpakuto, or a manner of weapon specifically. But it was certainly shaped akin to a katana.

"Captain! Look out!" He yelled at the captain, only for the captain to finally noticing when he was already slashed in the back by the unknown assailant.

Visibility was poor; hence he couldn't see their appearance clearly. He could only make out three shadows, one doing the deed while another two waited at the back. But only from the aether, it was a certain someone he knew all too well.

"Curse you, Aizen!" He grits his teeth, the words seeping through his mouth.

It was loud enough for the other party to notice. Oh, how right he was.

…..

"A cloak that isolates reiatsu almost completely." Aizen stated.

"And by kneading some Kido into it, even one's body can blend into the air, rendering one almost invisible." He monologued as blood continued to spurt out from Isshin's back, the slash scarring the division's Ten symbol that was emblazoned at the back of the captain's haori.

"Uff…" Isshin grunted as he fell down.

"What a wonderful parting gift you left, Urahara Kisuke." Aizen remarked with a smirk, as he recalled his last encounter with the exiled captain of the Twelfth.

"Curse you, Aizen!" He heard Shugo calling him out.

He then looked at Shugo, who was very much ready to cut him down.

"Oh my. This is certainly interesting." Aizen remarked. "For you managing to notice me… As expected of the genius from the Academy- nay, former Ryoka, Eighth Seat Kurenai."

Before long, Isshin finally dropped back onto the roof he was standing on earlier.

BAM!

"Ugh…" He grunted as his mind whirled around.

'That slash wasn't from the Hollow… It was definitely made by a Zanpakuto…!' He deduced, gritting his teeth. 'It was a Shinigami… The traitor who's hiding in the background!!'

"WHO ARE YOU!?" He called them out in anger. "WHERE ARE YOU HIDING!? COME OUT!!"

"Whoops." Gin remarked with his accent. "Looks like he realized it wasn't the Hollow that got him."

"Not to mention…" He then looked at Shugo, who had recognized them. "That guy basically called us out. Cat's outta the bag." Sounding rather impressed.

"Indeed." Aizen nodded, having walked back from his earlier position, before turning away. "I'm going."

"Is it ok?" Gin asked, cupping his chin. "It's…"

Aizen glanced over his shoulder and reasoned, "His Bankai places quite a burden on his body. He won't be able to use it with that wound."

"If a Captain rank, or even an Eighth Seat, is able to defeat it with just a Shikai, it means that the sample was a failure in the first place." Aizen remarked.

"It's not a sample, please call it White." Tosen reminded him. "He's completely different from all the types of Hollows we've created so far."

He looked down as he continued, "It's the first one we created that's based on the soul of a Shinigami."

Aizen sighed in defeat. "…You're right. Sorry, Kaname." He apologized.

"However," He continued, "calling it White even though it's completely cladded in black armor just because of his inner whiteness is…something I find quite ironic." He chuckled.

…..

K-KANG!! PING!!

White raised its blade as it drops down from the air to slash the downed captain. Isshin brought up Engetsu and parried White's blade hand. However, his wounds worsened due to the pressure from White's attack.

SPLURT!

"Gh!" He grunted.

White brought down his other blade hand and swung it downwards, but Isshin managed to jump and stood on the blade hand that's now embedded onto the floor of the roof. Right now, they're in a momentary stalemate.

'Can't fix my reiatsu with the wound this deep…' He grits. 'At this point, Bankai's out of the window…'

He was pulled back to reality when White pulled his other blade hand away from Isshin's feet, causing him to lose balance a bit.

"Woah…!" He exclaimed.

"WOOOOAH…" The Hollow bizarrely lets out the sound from its mouth, before it swung the freed blade hand towards Isshin.

SWISH! BOOM!

The roof exploded as it already had cracked from the impact beforehand, with Isshin jumping back into the air.

"Tsk!" He grunted in annoyance.

White soon followed suit, jumping with enough pressure to complete the destruction of said roof, with the sound barrier being broken as he jumped.

"Don't underestimate me, you piece of shit…!" He snarled as he touched the wound on his back and practically gulped the blood on his hand.

He then held Engetsu with both hands, as the flame on the blade burns ever brightly along the length of the blade and the two clashed in flurry of reiatsu.

"OOOHHH!!!" He yelled as he unleashed a wave of burning reiatsu, while White closed in on him.

BOOM!!!

…..

Standing farther away was Shugo, who was silently observing the battle. At this point in time, he simply didn't have much of a choice: either help Isshin, or deal with Aizen. It wasn't so much he'll defeat Aizen, he simply needs to have enough in his memory so he could present it later to his Captain, at the very least. He then looked down and noticed that there was a girl who was observing Isshin and White's clash.

'Oi, Hero! That girl… She's the lass that saw me yesterday!' Ardbert exclaimed in surprise.

'Are you certain?' Shugo asked in confirmation.

'Aye, no mistaking 'ere.' Ardbert nods.

Meanwhile, Masaki stood on the ground, witnessing the clash between the supposed Hollow and the Shinigami. Despite being drenched by the rain, she kept her eyes on the battle happening above on the air. It didn't take long for the outcome for all to see, as something flew down and impacted the ground next to her.

FYUUUUNG! BOOM! THUD!

It was one of White's blade hand, clearly cut off from its body thanks to Isshin. She held a determined look as she observed once more, deciding her course of action. Rain continued its pour, not caring for the battle occurring under its shower.

FWISSHH!! BOOM!

The sound of the rain was accompanied by the sound of Isshin impacting the roof of another building.

"…Hah…" He gasped for air. "You're pretty good, even without one arm… Not bad…" He commented.

White once more dropped from the air onto him, with his remaining blade hand bearing down on Isshin, who held up Engetsu and parried the attack once more. Yet again, another roof of a building he's on was slowly cracking.

BAM!!!

"Gh…!" He grunted as he desperately held back White's attack.

However, White then peered its head over their blades, as it faced Isshin with its horn facing him. It then charged up another Cero.

"!" He widened his eyes. "SHIT…!" He cursed.

But before White could discharge said Cero, it noticed an incoming attack from below. It evaded to the right as a blue arrow from below flew towards where it stood once. Isshin, noticing the Heilig Pfeil, turned his head and saw Masaki, who had her Heilig Bogen.

"Who's…she?" He asked to no one in particular, in confusion.

Aizen, who was overlooking from above, looked surprised.

"A Quincy…?" He raised a brow in interest.

"This was not in our plan." Tosen said, "I'll eliminate her." As he prepared to intervene.

"Wait." Aizen held his hand on Tosen's shoulder, "Let's see what happens." With a look of interest on his face.

Seeing White charging towards Masaki, Isshin tried to go after it.

"Wait…!" He said as he tried to jump off, but his leg was also wounded in the prior clash, blood pouring from it.

SPLITCH!

"Ugh…!" He grunted in pain.

…..

At that precise point, Shugo jumped in. This time, he aimed for Aizen, seeing that Destiny's card has been played. It was now relatively safe for him to intervene in a different matter.

'Must we ignore her quarry?' He asked Gurenbana.

'We must, if we wish for a foreseeable future.' She nodded in affirmation.

Gritting his teeth, he charged towards the trio. But before he could reach Aizen, Tosen drew his Zanpakuto and blocked Shugo's attack.

K-KANG!

"Grr…" Shugo glared at the blind captain of the Ninth.

"No." He calmed himself down. "Not yet." He muttered.

He then pushed back the captain, showing his physical prowess even if it wasn't enhanced with his full power or reiatsu. Pointing Gurenbana at them, he kept a stern glare at them. Aizen only smirked at the sight of this, while Tosen was visibly angered and Gin raised a brow.

…..

Meanwhile, Masaki was continuously firing her countless Heilig Pfeil with her Heilig Bogen at White, who was coming onto her fast while dodging her arrows.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

'It's fast! I can't aim straight at it!' She frowned, before coming to a conclusion, 'In that case…' by dispersing her bow, basically inviting White onto her.

"!!" Isshin looked at her in shock, before yelling, "Idiot! What are you…!?" as White opened its mouth and chomped at her.

Blood coming down from her shoulder that was bitten by White, she called her bow again, this time in a smaller form with its arrow ready.

"Good." She smugly said, "I~~ goooot…you!" as she aimed the mini bow at White's head, holding it with her other hand.

PFWISH! BOOM!

The arrow blasted through its head, ending its life. But not before it fulfilled its purpose, whatever it was.

…..

All onlookers, be it Aizen's group, Isshin, or Shugo, they all look in shock, their eyes widen, as this teenage girl just ended White's existence with such a suicidal tactic by using her own body.

POOF! CRACK!

The last of the arrow's blast had dissipated. White's mask was cracking, as life slowly drained away from its body. However, an unexpected thing occurred. The pustule on White's center began to balloon, swelling out of its body. Masaki widened her eyes in fear, as she sensed the massive amount of reiatsu from the pustule that was ready to explode.

Noticing the massive amount of reiatsu from said pustule, Isshin immediately jumped towards her. He pulled White's body away and pushed both of them as far from the explosion area as he can.

In the meantime, Shugo also noticed it and immediately acted. He jumped towards just the front of White's pustule that was about to explode. Raising his reiatsu threshold to his maximum in a sealed state, or in other words four of fourteenth, he casted a barrier Kido enveloping White's body and ballooning pustule, attempting to contain it.

BOOOOM!!

The Kido barrier cracked and exploded, though said explosion was still contained enough that it didn't resulted in a mushroom cloud, albeit still causing enough to do some damage to the immediate area.

"It blew up!? Impossible…!" Tosen exclaimed in shock.

The trio make their escape, but not before getting one last glare from Shugo, with only Aizen looking back, staring at both Shugo and Masaki, before he too left. After they left, he dropped back onto the ground.

"Huff… Sigh…" He exhaled and sighed.

It wasn't easy, limiting himself like that. Even when he raised his reiatsu threshold, he was still under Gentei Reiin, meaning that it was only twenty percent of the supposed levels, with eighty percent being held by the Gentei Reiin. Thus, it was powerful enough to match high-ranking seated officer who are not restricted by Gentei Reiin, while also being in their Shikai.

He lowered his reiatsu back to one of fourteenth and walked towards the two that were conversing in front of him while he was dropping back onto the ground and was taking a breather.

…..

The wind caused by the explosion forced Masaki to cover her eyes with her arm, but it was only for a moment before she saw Isshin lying on the ground.

"!" She was surprised to see Isshin with his face down to the ground.

"Are you okay!?" She asked in worry as she went towards him and asked the same question again when she was near him.

"Yeah… Ouch…" He answered before yelping in pain, and continued, "Sorry, thanks…"

"How shameful…" He chuckled in pain. "For a Captain, to be saved by a girl…"

"That's…!" She didn't know how to react to that.

"You were the one to save me…" She shook her head. "If you hadn't shielded me, you wouldn't be this injured…"

"HAHA!" Isshin laughed, hard.

"Let's call it even then!" He smirked. "OK?"

Masaki was silent, before she sighed.

"…I'll heal you." She said, pausing for a moment before continuing, "Don't move."

"Yeah…" He shrugged.

It wasn't as if he had much of a choice, really. Wait, there was still Shugo, but he didn't know where he was. The pain was distracting him too much from sensing.

"But how could you defeat it alone…?" He then asked her, with another one added, "Who are you, girl…?"

That caused her to freeze.

'What should I do?' She asked herself.

'How should I reply?' She pondered. 'What would a Shinigami do, knowing I'm a Quincy?'

She closed her eyes, and grits as she answered his question.

"I am... Masaki." She said, before continuing, "A Quincy."

His eyes widened a bit, before he looked at her. All he sees is a teen schoolgirl, in her outfit. While she was looking worried, he knew she cared. If not, why bother telling him of her identity? He knew exactly what the Gotei would do if this were to spread out. Hence…

"I see!" He smiled. "A Quincy!!"

"It's the first time I actually meet one!" He continued, smiling at her out of gratitude.

She was dumbfounded at his reaction, as he continued on, "Jeez, feels kinda special to be able to see a real Quincy."

'What's with this person?' She was baffled. 'Is this how Shinigami are?'

She then asked herself, 'I wonder if they're all like this…'

Her mouth opened and she laughed alongside him, with her thoughts being, 'I hope they are.'

'Because in that case, I'm sure Ryuu-chan and Aunty and everyone else…' She held hope, perhaps for the impossible.

Meanwhile, Shugo watched from the side. He smiled, seeing the two being like this. Her being a Quincy certainly surprised him. However, he wasn't biased like those in the Gotei 13, or even Central 46 for that matter. He continued to walk towards them.

…..

Two figures were observing from the air. As light shone on them, it was Ryuuken, accompanied by Katagiri. Both were equipped with their Reishi armor. However, it looks like that it wasn't necessary. He oversaw how Masaki was laughing alongside a Shinigami, and a Captain at that, while another Shinigami was approaching the two, albeit not being hostile. He knew that more likely than not; the other Shinigami was the one in charge of Karakura, hence his presence.

"Let's go, Katagiri." He said to Katagiri.

"Masaki is alright." She noticed how he looked rather forlorn, but somewhat glad at the same time. "There were no issues."

"Understood?" He asked for her confirmation, without looking at her.

She looked away, as she answered, "Yes. As you command, Young Master."