Chapter 42 - The Mission IV

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[12th Division Research Institute]

Kisuke was staring at a huge monitor in the main room of the Research Institute along with the other Shinigami present, all keeping notice of the numerous red dots on the screen that depicted the location of the groups of Shinigami sent out, and at the edge of the screen was a bright blue dot and that was what had Kisuke's attention.

The device given to Itachi was an automatic energy scanner that would send in the energy reading of wherever it was real-time without needing to be activated.

So far, the marker has been going forward without any hiccups or weird reading from the reports it sent in, but something still unnerved Kisuke about everything.

He tried contacting Yoruichi but she was currently busy and he couldn't reach her, well he could if he used a hell butterfly but he chose not to.

"Tsukime, can you please pull up the reading of Itachi's location 4 hours prior before he left?" He asked one of the assistants who quickly pulled it up on a small section of the huge monitor.

He has been a tad bit paranoid when Itachi and Yoruichi pointed out the possibility that a Shinigami might be working with the Hollows.

He could understand why the Captain Commander didn't want to entertain such a thought as it would mean even his Captains were under suspicion and would cause conflict between the Shinigami body of the Gotei 13.

It was a recipe for chaos and discord.

Kisuke understood why even agreeing with such a notion was threatening, but he was also a logical man and the calculations were more in favor of a Shinigami behind the disappearing souls.

In other words, for someone to coordinate Hollow attacks from the Seireitei, it would mean that they have access to a Shinigami's location when in the field, and for them to do that they would have to have access to this room and it's files and know how to manipulate the system so that they won't be found if they tampered with anything.

With Kisuke's memory and his recent bout of paranoia, he had spent days going over every piece of information they had concerning the recent disappearances and the more he did the more he felt something was amiss.

Looking at the report on the screen, Kisuke's eyes skimmed over every single thing, down to the dots and spaces.

"Akido, the coefficient of Reishi diffusion in a stable environment is supposed to be the quarter of a minute, or am I missing something?"

The man called Akido looked confusedly at his pairs who looked just as confused as him so he turned to Kisuke and answered unsurely, not knowing what his Captain was trying to say. "Yes?"

"Right? Now someone compute that but with a 4 hour difference and compare it to the reading we have now." Kisuke ordered.

"Yes Captain!"

It only took a few seconds before another part of the screen was shaved off for the new report.

Kisuke scrutinized the two reports for any difference and other than some decimal numbers being different, nothing else looked amiss.

He was about to wave off this paranoia when something clicked in his head.

If the calculations were right the first time around and the same variables were used for the second one, basic mathematics says that both answers should be the same.

'And when it comes to miscalculation in energy imbalances…' Kisuke's head whipped to Akido who stood shocked, not knowing why his Captain was looking at him with a fierce expression.

"Sir?"

"Send out an urgent notice, now! 'All Shinigami out on mission in the Rukongai are to return immediately, Head Captain's orders!'"

The group of scientists looked at Kisuke in horror as he issued an order with the Head Captain's name when none was given.

"Why are you still looking at me, get on it! I'll talk to the Head Captain." He stormed out of the room and utilizing Shunpo, he headed straight for the Head Captain's office.

If the calculations were wrong in the energy reading, even by a small unit, the scanners the Shinigami carried would send back false readings as it was calibrated with the reading of the Research Institute which might've turned out to be out.

'But how could our energy readers be incorrect? It's been in use since Captain Hikifune was head of the Division.'

This was worse than he expected. The people aiding the Hollows were inside the Research Institute which would give them foremost knowledge about Shinigami outside the Seireitei.

'Hopefully it's all a false alarm and I missed something.' He hoped.

…..

[POV: With Itachi]

No matter how long Itachi searched for where the Hollows came from, he came up with the only conclusion he could come to in respect of his findings, or lack thereof, was that they came through the Garganta – the spatial bridge Hollows use to travel the three worlds.

"Can Hollow bait attract Hollows all the way from Hueco Mundo?" He asked himself as he trudged back slowly, very slowly, as his body wasn't in the best of shapes. Broken bones and bruised skin were the highlight of his day.

"Where should I go now?" He wondered.

If it turned out that the Seireitei or Yoruichi and some of the other Captains were behind this, then it meant that him going back was just him begging to be locked up and executed.

"But if it's someone else…" He was thinking hard on it and the other thing that came with it was him questioning himself if the Seireitei was that important to him that he wanted to go back. The answer to that would be no.

He didn't want to be an aimless wanderer in the Soul Society, that wasn't a way to live. Humans were social creatures and despite his hard countenance and off-putting behavior, Itachi cherished bonds more than anyone else, just like every Uchiha.

[H… llo. C…an you hear me?]

[Itachi Uchiha, please come in. This is Captain Urahara speaking, please respond if you copy.]

Itachi looked at the communicator and wondered whether to pick it up or not. He could use this chance to make himself M.I.A and go underground for a while before assuming another identity and find a life in the Rukongai. Maybe even find a way back to the world of the living and check on what has happened to it.

His choices were few and were ones that he could commit his life to without regretting or giving up halfway, but somehow it felt dull. Lackluster and vapid.

He silently cursed himself as he pulled the device to his ear and responded. "Itachi Uchiha, speaking."

[Thank goodness you're still alive or else I'm afraid Yoruichi would have demanded my head.] Kisuke joked with what seemed like relief, though Itachi couldn't be sure. [The Captain Commander issued an order for all Shinigami to return to the Seireitei posthaste.]

"Why?"

Kisuke sighed wearily, something Itachi could picture given how the Captain regularly looked.

[… It looks like your assumption was right, Itachi, at least that's how it's currently looking.]

"I see." Saying that he ended the call before Kisuke did but didn't make an effort to move, until an hour later when he finally pushed himself off the ground.

Going back to the Seireitei was without any of the fanfare Itachi expected. No poisons, sprung up traps, his best friend trying to assassinate him - except this one was impossible.

His summary of this mission Yoruichi has thrown at him was that it served no purpose. There was no Hollow trail to follow, no feeding ground he found, or any clue as to the weird behavior of the Hollows. He just went out, fought a bunch of Hollows, almost died while doing so, got severely injured, and now he was going back with nothing to show.

Crossing the west gates, he slowed down on his journey in getting to Yoruichi's office and when he arrived, the door was swung open by Soi Fon who was taken aback with how battered he looked before she ushered him in.

"What the hell happened?" Yoruichi asked, a little concerned as she saw the bruises and parts of his body that were fractured.

Itachi looked at Yoruichi, really looked at the purple haired and golden eyes woman who was waiting for him to speak, and ultimately ended up sighing.

"A stampede of Hollows, both Gillians and Adjuchas Menos." He said.

""What?!"" The two women exclaimed in shock as that was something would have killed even a competent Lieutenant, and more worrying when they didn't hear any news about such a thing.

He briefly narrated what happened to Yoruichi and gave her the device he was given for the mission before leaving for the 4th Division as instructed by Yoruichi.

Even he knew he needed some rest after what he just did. Thankfully the 4th Division was a place quiet enough to take a nap during his treatment.