Gateway 42

“All right, listen up!” I commanded the crowd in front of me in one of the clearer training grounds of the 11th.

Most of the division had shown up, as I ordered. Although I didn’t expect Zaraki and Yachiru to be here, sitting on the sidelines. But seeing them was a welcome surprise.

“These two,” I pointed to the two men beside me. Both of them were serious and nondescript, perfect for the job they’d be taking. “Are the new lifeblood of the division. Every piece of paperwork will go through them first. And yes, that means your pay, bounties, missions, and damage reports. I also gave them the authority to have anyone who harasses them skipped when mission assignments come up.”

“What’s stopping them from just doing whatever they want?” Someone from the crowd asked.

“First, they have no actual power over anyone 5th seat and above,” I said, nodding at the fire entering everyone’s eyes at that. “Second, Ikkaku has already been told to mediate any conflicts.” He was at the back, annoyed at getting even more duties. Sucks to be him, shouldn’t have tricked me into doing a year’s worth of paperwork. “And third, we’re still the 11th, if you have a problem that Ikkaku can’t resolve through mediation, just beat them up.”

I suppressed a snort at the gleeful faces of the lower ranks. If they thought our new members could be easily pushed around, they had another thing coming. They were decently high-ranking in other divisions, both with Shikai, but they wanted to step back from it for their own reasons that I didn’t care about.

What mattered was that they were fine with a pay cut if it meant they got to sit behind a desk all day, beating down the random moron who picked up a fight with them was just a bonus.

“Wait, we could have done this all along?” Zaraki asked, looking lost at how easily the paperwork problem was solved.

“Yes,” I smirked, waving the rest of the crowd off.

Yachiru started pulling on my shihakusho’s leg to get my attention, “Lupinin, what about my candy?”

“Already taken care of,” I ruffled her hair.

“How!?” Zaraki begged, his eyes glassy and unfocused as if remembering a traumatic memory.

“I asked Lieutenant Nanao if she knew anyone. It took her all of an hour to get me those two and an accountant to deal with most of the bullshit this division produces,” I shrugged. “We’ll still need to sign stuff, those two aren’t seated officers, but you’ll only see actually important documents, and I already told them to summarize things so you don’t have to bother reading.”

Zaraki finally looked at me, the fire back in his eyes.

“When are you leaving for your mission?” He asked, standing up.

Thanks to not getting to kill more than the one Hollow in the World of the Living, I had taken a mission out on one of the outer districts of the Rukongai. That way, I could use my Authority to go out and search for Hollows whenever I felt like it.

“As soon as Yumichika is ready, why?” I answered, holding my hand out so Yachiru could pass me some chocolate.

“Nothing! Stay out there for as long as you like!” He quickly answered, powerwalking away.

“Just remember that you have a Lieutenant’s meeting in two weeks!” Yachiru said, following after him.

“What was that all about?” I muttered before taking a bite out of the chocolate bar Yachiru had given me.

___

Compared to the Seireitei, the Rukongai was a shithole.

It wasn’t a gradual change. On one side of the gates, you’re surrounded by white walls and clean streets, while on the other, a completely rural setting.

The districts closer to the Seireitai walls were better maintained, and it was clear they made an effort to keep everything pretty. But as Yumichika and I moved away from the center, the degradation of our surroundings was apparent.

I only got snapshots of the places we passed. The ratty clothes and the ramshackle buildings were unmistakable between our bouts of Shunpo. Each passing district a lowering of quality. It was depressing to see that this was the afterlife in this world.

It took a few hours for us to reach our destination. I would’ve been faster by myself, thanks to the insight I got from watching Aizen helping me refine my skill, but I needed someone to guide me, and Yumichika was the only one who knew the region who was fast enough that I didn’t need to slow down too much for.

Sabitsura, Rusted Face, the 64th district of West Rukongai. The last place where one of ours sent a report from.

The district was rough. No footwear, torn clothing, malnourished bodies. But even then, children played, elders gossiped, and adults worked, trying to make the best they could with what they got. Life went on, even in the afterlife.

Our arrival hadn’t gone unnoticed. The people closest to us stopped what they were doing, most looking relieved, some distrustful, and one kid went off running when she saw us.

I looked at Yumichika, waiting for an explanation, but he acted as if this was normal and just stood where he was.

“Most people don’t really like to interact with us,” he said, looking in the direction the kid had run off.

“Why?” I asked, noticing how even the people happy to see us were avoiding looking directly at us.

“Because not all Shinigami are good people,” he sighed. “And out here, we don’t have a way to make sure they aren’t abusing their position. So they keep their distance and hope we’re not here for more than doing our duty.”

“Fuck,” I muttered.

“Yeah,” he nodded.

It didn’t take long for the girl to return, an old man following after her.

“Honored Shinigami,” the man greeted, bowing low. “I’m Elder Shoji Igarashi. What can we do for you?”

“We’re looking for one of our own,” Yumichika said, acknowledging the old man’s greeting with a simple incline of the head. “His last report came from here before disappearing.”

“Ah,” Shoji said, shoulders dropping. “I hoped he had heeded my warning and called for support, but it seems he didn’t.”

“Support for what?” I asked, noticing the bitterness in the man’s voice.

“There is something to the North West,” he said, voice dropping to a harsh whisper. “At first, a hunting party disappeared. We were concerned, but there are plenty of reasons for it to happen,” he stopped to gather himself. “My son was the strongest man in the village. He led the search party that went looking for them,” he paused, folding into himself. “They didn’t return either,” he finished with a barely audible mutter.

Yumichika and I locked eyes for a moment.

“So Rokuro went after them?” Yumichika said.

The old man looked confused for a moment before nodding. “The Shinigami? Yes. I told him that my son, Mamoru, was in the first class at Shin’o Academy before he gave up on his dream of becoming a Shinigami to come back here and support us…”

“First class?” Yumichika blinked. “Damn, Rokuro really dropped the ball on this one.”

At my confused look, he elaborated, “First class is the special accelerated class. Students from it come out of the Academy stronger than Rokuro is. He barely scraped by graduating, and in a decade, he hasn’t even been able to challenge the 20th seat more than half a dozen times.”

I nodded in understanding. Miyako and Rui from my expedition to the World of the Living were already strong enough to at least take the 20th seat, so someone who couldn’t get there in ten years was really out of their depth.

“How far away do hunting parties usually go in that direction?” Yumichika asked.

“A day and a half, there is a good game in the forest right after the valley,” the old man said.

“Well, guess it’s time for us to go, then,” I said, cracking my knuckles.

Yumichika nodded before looking back at the elder, “Thank you for the information, we’ll bring news once we’re finished.”

The old man nodded, the grief in his eyes weighing me down.

___

Even going slower to search for clues, it took us only half an hour to reach the valley mentioned.

Yumichika and I stopped a few feet away from the valley, both of us looking suspiciously at the shadowed path.

“So,” I said, focusing on the spirit pressure I could feel coming from inside the valley. “What do you think?”

“I’m not sure,” he frowned. “It could be Hollow, but there’s always a possibility of a strong soul moving through the districts, either as a bandit or a wanderer looking for a good fight.”

“Really?” I asked, looking at him curiously.

“Yes,” he smiled. “Captain Zenpachi, Ikkaku, and I were like that. I traveled with Ikkaku for years, until we heard that Zaraki Kenpachi had become Captain of the 11th and decided to follow after him.”

“Huh,” I muttered, my attention going back to the valley. “Think it’s a trap?”

He snorted, and that was answer enough. We looked at each other and nodded, ready for the fight ahead as we Flash Stepped into the valley.

We went straight for the source of the spiritual pressure, letting the darkness surround us as we moved deeper inside.

I stopped as I heard a loud THUD sound from Yumichika’s direction. I turned to look at him, ready to draw my Zapakuto, only to sigh at the sight of him rubbing his forehead while glaring at a tree.

I had completely forgotten that, despite their power, Shinigami didn’t have as many natural advantages as Campione. Advantages like night vision.

I rolled my eyes and waved my wand in his direction, creating a ball of light that’d follow him around. Hopefully, it’d be able to keep up with his speed.

“What’s this?” He asked, poking the orb of light.

“What’s it look like?” I stared at him. “It’s a light so you don’t keep hitting your head while we search.”

“Well, I don’t need it, so take it back!” He replied with a petulant look.

“You obviously do!” I said, pointing at the tree he was glaring at.

“No member of the 11th needs Kido! We do it all without that nonsense!” He exclaimed, quickly backhanding the light away.

I narrowed my eyes at him before letting out a short laugh, “Damn, that’s pathetic.”

“What did you say!?” He muttered, hand going to the hilt of his sword.

“You heard me,” I said, doing the same. “I thought the reason no one in our division used Kido was because we were the place where people without an affinity for it ended up. It made sense, we’re the division that focuses more on strength, so it’s a great place for those kinds of people to grow.”

“But from the way you said it,” my hand tightened around the hilt of my Zanpakuto. “It's because you lot think you’re better than using it. Is that right?” I didn’t let him reply. “Because right now, the Academy kids I met the other day were already good enough to be seated officers! It’s that the mark of the ‘strongest division’?” I snorted. “Zaraki is the one propping up that title, while everyone else without a shikai is painfully substandard. Face it, you’re in no place to deny an advantage in battle!”

Yumichika didn’t reply at first. He just stared at me, the rage in his face growing with each passing second. Until it finally boiled over and he screamed, drawing his sword and launching himself in my direction. I drew my sword and did the same.

We stepped past one another, with me blocking the Hollow that intended to attack him from behind, while he did the same for the Hollow that attacked me.

These Hollows were different from the ones I’d seen before, smaller, more powerful.

I jumped back, feeling Yumichika do the same. We stood back to back, ready for another assault.

“What the fuck are these Hollows?” I asked, warily staring at the Hollow in front of me. It was somewhat humanoid, but still unnatural, monstrous.

“Adjuchas,” Yumichika incredulously said. “They’re two steps of evolution above normal Hollows. But they usually don’t come to the Soul Society or the World of the Living.

“Well,” I said, feeling more of them start to surround us. “They’re here, and they brought friends.”

___

A/N: And that’s that.

As always, thank you all for the support! The next chapter should be out Friday at the latest.