"I can't believe Captain Higen himself gave us this task personally... we're gonna see this one through to the end.."
"I'm not surprised, in due to time I'll be among his top personnel, just like the tall blue haired guy who looks just like Higen's son."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, there's a reason he's leading us. He's not your average shinigami."
Jintou, Wakitoras, and Vain. These three unseated shinigami for 10th Division had been selected directly by Higen Kagayaki, one of the mightiest Shinigami in the Soul Society. Their strength was completely uncorrelated to their rank. All of them harboring the ability to communicate with their Zanpakuto properly and activate the first transformation, Shikai. They dwell in the unseated position, due to the incompetence of the Captain himself. One who recognizes their strength, yet does not reward them. Similar to one of his strongest members Kuro Yakimono, who has attained power far beyond normal seated members, but lies within the bottom of his ranks. This tragedy unfortunately leaves them in a limbo of obtaining a seated position....and being at the top of thousands of unrecognized soldiers who also receive similar recognition. Tonight was their golden opportunity though, a meal ticket per say. Completion of this mission, where they were selected as the entourage of one of Higen's premier seated members, and get a recommendation from said seated member himself? Their future's were undoubtedly brighter than they have ever been.
"What's taking this guy so long, I'm getting truly impatient"
"It's okay I'm about to message him, he shouldn't have had us wait here if he kne-"
A gust of wind had passed by the trio of shinigami. It's warmth was unprecedented, the atmosphere changed from one that was stale and tense, to one with vigor and energy. It was easy to tell a new body had approached the three, and as they turned around simultaneously they witness the gentle smile of the green haired oaf gazing upon them
"We ready to go?"
The three were all befuddled by the look on his face. Did he know that they were going on a potential life risking mission? Did he realize that this mission was literally the upmost important task granted to them by the Shining General himself. Does he not realize the sanctity of this situation is right now? Those were all of the thoughts swirling through their mind's right now. Due to their lack knowledge though, this Shizuka they were facing now was one who had grown significantly over his time in 10th. Battle-hardened, grieved through many times, and was on the verge of becoming transcendent beyond his own rank. His demeanor was shown to be carefree, but he was not carefree of the mission or the situation. He was beginning to learn body language and attitude was important, and to the people that he leads and bestows his warmth onto, they should be granted the sense of safety of being with their superior or leader. It was one of the things he was going to have to understand, if he ever wanted to reach Captain-hood.
"Uhh.. yeah, we're ready.... my name is Jintou, this is Wakitoras, and the girl is Vain"
"I've heard of you three... I heard you're all unbelievably exceptional for being unseated... It'll be a pleasure to work with you three tonight."
The trio felt it. The small jump in confidence they had been bestowed by his words. Their judgement of his personality was still in question, but they knew now more than ever, if they wanted to rise to greater heights, tonight was their chance.
"Without further ado.."
Shizuka stepped forward through the Senkaimon and the three followed behind him.
Northwest Seireitei---------------------------------Traveling to----------------------------------- Karakura Town
Per the coordinates of the skilled and talented in 13th Division, they were able to transfix their Senkaimon to open some miles near the center of the problem. The main issue that was going on in Karakura, to Shizuka's knowledge, was that there was a heavy influx of souls gathering in a centralized location. With shinigami like Katsuo Oda and Oyama Hoshi, out doing the more hefty tasks in 13th. There was not much room for others skilled within the division taking on this task without suffering some kind of major loss. Shizuka being called was the answer to this this problem, and while something like this was familiar to him. It was never to this extent....
Upon stepping foot within Karakura town, the four of them would be greeted with a soft plush of snow covering the entire street they stood in. Their feet being trapped within about 5 inches of the frozen precipitation.
"Oh great, snow, my favorite..." Jintou said sarcastically.
"Stop complaining about everything let's get in, do our job, and get out" Vain said frantically.
"What do you think we should do? Hyouzoku-san?" Wakitoras said curiously?.
Shizuka was quiet upon his entry. Ignoring the crunch of snow at his feet , and the sarcastic banter of Jintou. His eyes were fixated on his Denreishiki, using the tracking app provided to him by 13th. The slow rotation of the radar accompanied by the singular red dot located north east of their location intrigued him. He quickly snapped out of his trance and looked to Jintou, the one causing the small banter.
"We got our target up a few miles ahead going North-East. Let's move soldier."
He stared Jintou to give him a sense of importance of the matter. In the past he would've demoralized the young man telling him something along the lines of "shutting the f*** up", but this was also another example of his growth. He understood the weight that words hold from those above you meant. He knew if Captain Mukuro or Captain Nakamoto gave a task or anything directed towards him, he would carry out whatever they would say to him with no questions asked. It would make him feel acknowledged, therefore boosting his performance in the field.
Shizuka upon finishing his sentence immediately bled into a shunpo leading towards the location. Jintou stopped his banter and followed expeditiously, with the others in his rear view.
"Damn did you see Hyouzoku-san's face Vain, he looks like he means fu***** business."
"I guess so, you know this is a front right? He's widely known as one of the laziest shinigami in the Soul Society."
"SO I've heard, but he doesn't give off that energy. Well at least right now he doesn't. Regardless it doesn't change that we're about to get over him and take our spots as seated members today."
The conversation between the two behind Jintou, continued for the entire travel as they were jumping through rooftops. Their conversation was warranted for the most part. Shizuka has had a reputation for being completely lazy, unprepared, and has the tendency to avoid his work. There was no changing the past, and his previous reputation. What he wanted to do today was invoke to everyone he works with in the present that he is ready for the role of responsibility now. The only way to convince these naysayers and doubters was to perform not with words, but with his actions. In his mind, today was his meal ticket as well...
Shizuka and the trio finally reached their destination. With the dots on the Denreishinki becoming completely populated with multiple red dots surrounding their area. The red dots that were being pulled up were simply just... dead souls. Souls who had not passed on and are remaining in the world of the living waiting for their escape from the purgatory they lie in. Pluses, in the Soul Society's terms. They had no normal means of passing, but with the help of Shinigami, one could pass on easily and begin their life anew peacefully.
As the four of them came to a halt in the air, they were met with cries and abrupt wailing. The destination led them to Karakura Middle School but, the activity was placed directly within the playground behind the school. As they stared on, the lot was littered with the crying souls of dead children all standing aimlessly, lost within the mortal realm, unable to be seen by their loved ones who were still alive. Shizuka began to descend to the ground while others stood above watching him. Shizuka, being a Soul Reaper for so long, had often forgot about the true nature of his job description. He couldn't feel true pity for the souls of the children there, but he tried resonate with the feelings of being lost, abandoned, and let go of too early. Most Soul Reapers, after years of serving begin to feel indifferent towards these emotions. Spirits such as these lost children, would just be another inconvenience for them. Something to fill in the gap while they're out on patrol or slaying hollows. The true threats to the balance of life. Though this specific situation was something that carried equal precedent and probably even more than the Hollow threat.
Shizuka landed next to the first child he saw. A young boy who was weeping endlessly, to the point where he was oblivious to the Shinigami's presence as he landed next to him. Shizuka spoke gently to the Plus
"Hey little guy..... up here, why so many tears?"
*sniff* *sniff*
The snot protrudes from the young boys nose onto his shirt, and he begins to wipe his nose and face clear with his arm
"Because... because, I been here for so long and my mommy and daddy won't find me..."
"I've been looking forever, but when I checked my home they weren't there EITH-"
He continues to sob, not even finishing his story completely.
Shizuka face dons a look of grimace. He couldn't possibly fathom how gut wrenching an experience this could be for someone so young. Most likely the kid couldn't find his parents, because they died along with him, and got pushed on by a shinigami already. This was just one of the many kids in this playground that probably have the same problem or even something worse.
"It's okay, young one... this is exactly what I'm here for. I'm going to help you find your parents no matter what it takes okay?"
The kid looked up to Shizuka, his tears finally stopping from his endless flowing.
"Are you serious?"
Shizuka look directly in the child's eyes and broke into a comfortable smile
"I promise"
He stood up and turned around to all the children surrounding the two and he began to speak out loudly.
"This goes for all of you, I promise I am here to help you all. Come to me, if you want to be helped. I promise with everything I will-"
He was interrupted by a the abrupt ripping of space. A sound too familiar, one that he has heard on occasion way too many times. He instantly spotted the source of this location, deep into the snowy filed night sky. Staring directly into the depths of the hollow hole, the Garganta. Their terrifying hollow shrills, began to ring throughout the ears of everyone spiritually aware in the vicinity. Their combined symphony sending chills all the way down to the core, as their glowing yellow iris' encapsulated true fear. The young pluses, mainly the ones who were not closest to Shizuka, and the ones who didn't properly hear his speech, were completely terrified by this phenomena. Their tears became tears of fear instead of sorrow, and they began to panic as they were faced with the oncoming threat. Not knowing that this fear, was the main source of the Hollow's calling. Shizuka could clearly see as he surveyed his surroundings, the multiples of these fearful children, their Soul Chain's were constantly being shaved. At an exponential rate nonetheless. He had to act quick, he had to procure the safety of the children as well as pass them over. It was becoming too late for the ones on the cusp of becoming hollows, but he had to rally the ones he could to protect them from safety.
"All of you who want to be protected come to me! We're going to defend you from these fiends. PLEASE GATHER around me if you want to be saved! I want to help you!"
Shizuka held on to the boy next to him close, with his towering 6'7" frame over the young one, he held him closer to his thigh and signaled the others one around him to corral towards him. The young boy's quick grasp on Shizuka's clothing became a form of confirmation of safety to the ones who witnessed.
"Wakitoras! Jintou! Vain! Hold the hollows off with all your might! We can't let them get to their target!"
"We won't be able to hold off that horde by ourselves for very long, but we will try our best! You two, let's go! Shine, Karui Kiba!"
"Split, Tairiku No Shin!"
"Freeze, Tsumetai!"
The three shinigami warriors, all activated their shikai simultaneously and headed towards the Garganta. Their combined strengths would only last them for a few minutes with the endless wave of hollows. Shizuka just needed them to stall for time as he dealt with the ground situation. Shizuka had gathered what had seemed to be about 40 of the pluses in the area. At this point anything that was not next to the shinigami, was already a lost cause. The children lost, stirred by their emotions, frightened by the appearance of the dark hole in the sky we're beginning to hollowfy. Their soul chains had completely evaporated, and all that was the left was the hole in their hearts, the holes that signify a complete hollowfication. The children next to Shizuka began to fear the ugly transformative process that plagued their fellow children, and their chains were being shaved down with every passing second. Once again his voice was needed more than anything. Killing these hollows violently, in a brutal bloodbath would only serve to scar the children more. Literally giving the opposite effect of what he proclaimed to them earlier. These hollowfied children aren't the same ones that had just appeared through the gate that his comrades are fighting. To these children, they are still one of them, still a lost poor soul who had just been consumed by their fear. There's no way they'd be able to understand complexity of the situation at hand, but Shizuka was going to try to use his words to command the situation in his favor.
"There's no need to fear young ones.... There isn't. The fear in your hearts, every tear, every inch of doubt in your heart will turn you into one of them. I want to save you all from the beasts that attack from the sky and the lost souls surrounding us. Just please... please stay strong, don't be fearful. I'm going to protect you from this fate."
He had hoped his words had resonated with the children standing around him. The hollows approaching from all sides, had completely lost any form of humanity. They crave and are driven by the eternal and insatiable hunger to devour other souls, living or dead, to fill the void caused by their descent. The only thing that could cleanse them, is the main weapon of the shinigami. The Zanpakuto. Shizuka broke free from the tight grip's of the plus' holding on to his shihakusho. After separating from the pack he closed his eyes, used his keen sensing to establish the hollowfied signatures of everything around them. It was about 60 of them, all of them desperately savoring the souls of the plus' he had gathered. Shizuka was not going to let any of them get touched. He unsheathed his zanpakuto quickly, and upon it's unsheathing, it began to glow all around before transforming instantaneously into it's Shikai state.
"All of you, don't worry I'll get you out safely
Bankai....."
A pillar of reiatsu swirled around Shizuka for less than a second, before completely unveiling his form.
His shihakushos torso, was completely ripped to shreds, making way to show off the distinguished, yet volatile lightning armaments that covered his chest and arms. The lower part of his threads, shaved away due to the same reason. Greaves of lightning covered his entire leg area.
"Hirameku-Hitouchi, Hakai Na Nageku"
Shizuka wasted no time in his actions. In his form, his speed was insurmountable, he knew the young one's would be disgusted with the casual way of dispatching them. That's why it'd be better if to them, they just disappeared. Shizuka took one step, and his frame disappeared.
SWOOSH
In all but a mere 2 seconds, the Hollows in the front that were slowly approaching stopped. In the next second, they kneeled, the hollows behind them stopped. In the next second afterwards, the hollows in the front dissipated, the wave behind them kneeled, the third and final wave stopped.
SWOOSH
Shizuka reappeared next to the children in his previous position, as if he had never left. Slowly all of the hollows in the area had completely dissipated without a trace. The children were left, speechless of the phenomenon, the tears had stop flowing, the crying had ceased, but there was a still a lingering fear.
Is that what would've happened to us? What happened to them? I don't know what's going on, they were just going to kill us?"
Those were all of thought's that swirled to the children's head, but they couldn't ignore the shining knight that stood beside them. Upon returning to his position they felt the warmth of the his new form hold them tightly. Normally in his enhanced states Shizuka's Zanpakuto releases a scorching presence on those around him. Due to his mastered control over his abilities he's been able to tone down on the effect for those unable to withstand his vehemence. The snow around the playground had completely melted , turning back into the lush and vibrant field it was before this freezing weather. All that was left, was the threat in the sky. The trio had been fighting valiantly, in the sky preventing hollows from escaping through the garganta in one piece. Without a competent group, Shizuka would've been stuck fighting endless waves of hollows. Instead, with coordinated teamwork he was able to mitigate the damage by a lot. He would need to commend them for their skills later, but for now he was going to end the onslaught.
"Stay together young ones, I'm going to get rid of the dangerous one's in the sky, then everything is going to be okay."
Shizuka took one more glance before he left, he saw their soul chains halt their eroding process. He gave the children a smirk, before he vanished into a shunpo into the sky.
"Okayyyyy... and it's getting extremely tough for us here. I think we bit off a bit more than we could handle.."
"Did you feel Shizuka's reiatsu down there, i'm pretty sure he's going through the same thing we're going through, but by himself fight on"
"What th-"
The Hollows that were inching their way out one by one, scarring and cutting the unseated warriors, came to a halt. Some would disappear, get cut in half, have their mask almost completely shattered, all before disappearing instantaneously. Before the shinigami could even comprehend what was going on, Shizuka's frame finally appeared before them. All of them in shock, they witnessed as he launched his fist towards the wave of hollows in a straight line and completely evaporated them with a lightning strike. The hollows still creeping out of the Garganta, were witnessing this as well. Upon seeing their numbers being dwindled down in a sheer instance, the Garganta began to close instantly, leaving no room for any retreaters, if there were even any left....
"....."
"....."
"...."
Shizuka let out a sigh of relief. He depowered back down into his normal state, his Zanpakuto reappearing in his hand normally. His shihakusho was torn all over, leaving his chest and legs exposed completely.
"Jeez, I hate activating Bankai, I always have to get a new change of clothes."
"Sooooo??? You could've handled all of this by yourself. This super duper threat that needed a whole 'nother division to attend to annnnd you just did it by yourself basically."
Shizuka began to laugh at the three
"Hahahahahaha, you got it all wrong. I was only able to do that because you all did what you did. Without you guys stopping that horde from penetrating the streets and killing innocent living bystanders. I'd be stuck with having to do like 10 things at once. You guys actually saved my ass. Higen was finally right this time, maybe a little help wouldn't hurt."
He gave the crew the same smirk, he gave them upon entering Karakura Town.
"Thanks guy, Mission ALMOST complete"
The trio all felt a little better about themselves, but also toned down their ambitions slowly. In their mind's they realized that the path to being a seated member is going to take alot more than just being skilled. The leadership qualities Shizuka displayed to them was a key indicator for that. Shizuka and trio went back to the ground, and regrouped with the pluses that were left after the onslaught. Their chains had stopped eroding, and the tears that once flooded their eyes ceased. They had gained confidence in Shizuka, and couldn't fathom why he tried his hardest to secure their safety. Whatever the case was, they were grateful. Shizuka stood in front of the child he first encountered once more.
"Hey little one, me and my friends here are going to help you find your parent's okay? I'm sure they're missing you and they'd be glad to find you safe and sound."
"Okay.. *sniff* are you sure they'll be able to find me??"
"I pinky promise you"
He crouched down, and extended his pinky out towards the child to which the child resonated back with the same gesture. Afterwards grabbed the hilt of his Zanpakuto while it was sheathed and tapped the boys forehead with the bottom, performing Konso. The trio followed suit and did so for the rest of the children there, peacefully sending them. With the souls finally traveling peacefully towards the Soul Society, the mission was complete.
