Gateway 38

My talk with Isane was enlightening.

This world had a completely different system of magic, relying more on discovering spells than creating them.

The structure of those spells reminded me of runic arrays. Start with a classification: Bakudo (utility), Hado (offense), or Kaido (healing); add a number to denote power (1 to 99); and finish with the incantation (that suplanted the rest of the internal work of an array).

I lost track of time as I talked with Isane. The excitement of a new system of magic to explore, particularly one centered on spiritual power, was too great to pass by.

Unfortunately, Isane didn’t know enough to be able to explain the mechanics of how spells worked beyond the basic ‘chant and focus your spiritual power’. But she more than made up for it with her overall repertoire and by promising to introduce me to a few friends who did.

Of course, I shared some of what I knew as well, although I kept it to basic healing spells from Hogwarts, while she mainly shared Kaido spells.

We had just started practicing the most basic spells the other knew when the door opened.

A woman with blue eyes and long black hair styled in a braid walked calmly into the room. However, what caught my attention was the white haori that marked her as a Captain.

“Captain Unohana!” Isane exclaimed, instantly standing at attention, her face pink in embarrassment. “I was just about to call you for a more in-depth check on the patient!”

The Captain paused, giving Isane a calm and comforting smile while giving her a pat on the shoulder.

“I’m sure you were,” the Captain said, making Isane sag in place, her flush deepening at the comforting tone. “Were you distracted by our new guest, Isane?”

Isane’s blush went atomic while my senses suddenly sharpened, and my hairs stood on end.

The Captain’s tone was nothing short of motherly comfort with a little bit of teasing, but I couldn’t help the feeling that she was one second away from cutting my head off.

“Well, we were talking about the healing magic we knew and its differences,” Isaned said sheepishly.

“Ah,” the Captain said with a nod, as if the mere mention of new healing magic was enough to distract her Lieutenant, before turning to me with newfound curiosity. “So you’re a healer?”

“Not really,” I shook my head. “I was planning on learning more about it in the future…” I let the sentence trail off. I didn’t know how much they knew about my circumstances, nor if I was even allowed to join them while still alive, and I very much doubted Zaraki cared about the rules of the place. So better to play it safe than to face people who could kick my ass.

I hadn’t really expected to be in this situation, considering my status as a Campione, but I should’ve known that any place that could give me a weapon that’d keep up with me would have strong people around.

The silence lingered for a moment after I finished my sentence, until Captain Unohana sighed.

“So, why does he need a more in-depth check?” She asked Isane. “He seems completely healed.”

“He is,” Isane agreed. “According to Ibara, by the time Hiro got to him to start healing, Alex was already fully healed.’

“Hm, that is out of the ordinary,” She nodded. “What did you find?”

“I got to him just about the time the scar was finishing disappearing, but his other scar seemed to be going at a much slower pace,” Isane said, pointing to the scar in my upper-left chest.

“Let me see,” She said, approaching me.

I observed her as the hand hovering over the scar started glowing a lime green color, with the shade progressively growing darker as her brows furrowed. It wasn’t until the Kaido’s color went into a particularly dark shade of forest green that she stopped.

“I see the issue,” she muttered, still looking at the scar, before glancing up at me. “That scar is bathed in a type of power directly opposite to yours. Your power can counter it, and it is, but the spell that caused your scar seems to have been made specifically to avoid that, so it’ll take much longer than normal to be fully healed.”

I nodded absentmindedly as I remembered that day. Any time Odin launched his spear with true intent, he layered Runes before it. At the time, I didn’t understand what that meant, nor did I pay enough attention to remember their designs. Still, with what I knew now, it was obvious he did that so he could apply different effects on it without needing to make an overly complicated runic array on the fly.

The question was, why that specific spell?

But then I remembered. Me hanging from the tree while he tried to invade my mind, a perfect replication of his own myth. He wanted me to have the Runes.

“Can the spell be countered by the same power that it was used to cast it?” I suddenly asked.

“I’d need to test it to be sure, but I don’t see why not. It was made to avoid being dispelled by its opposite, not by itself,” she answered.

Divinity, then. Campione might have a God’s divine Authority, but we didn’t get the actual divinity, otherwise, we wouldn’t be mortal anymore and instead slowly turn into Gods.

Some of the pieces fell into place. Odin planned to heal me after I got the Runes, but why? Why go to all of that trouble? He mentioned one of his chosen being stolen by a Roman rat, but what did that mean?

And even when he lost, I still got the Runes. Did the Gods have a say in which Authority the Campione who killed them got? Did Odin really lose, or did everything go according to his plans? Knowledge was one of his domains, and he was known to be able to read the future.

Too many unknowns to answer, and I wouldn’t be able to even start looking until I was back home. So I let the matter fade into the back of my mind. I was six months away from being able to do anything about it, anyway.

With a sigh, I looked up to notice both Isane and her Captain looking at me in concern, so I gave them what I hoped was a disarming smile and asked if I was free to go.

It didn’t look like they believed me, but I was free to leave.

After I got ready, I saw Isane waiting for me outside the room.

“So, when are you free to meet up and talk more about magic?” I asked.

“I’ll have to see when Momo and Nanao will be able to, but their Captains are pretty easygoing, so I don’t believe it’ll take too long,” she said.

“Great!” I said, excited for a more in-depth look at the system of this place. “Thanks for that, Isane.”

“Ah, it’s nothing,” she bashfully said.

“Well, then, time to find out what position they’ll put me in, wish me luck!” I said as I walked out of the 4th’s barracks.

Once outside, I looked around at walls and buildings ridiculously similar to the 11th’s area.

“Where the hell is the 11th?” I asked myself before shrugging and going in a random direction, hoping for the best.

___

Retsu Unohana

She quietly entered the Captain-Commander’s office, calmly making her way to kneel beside Chojiro while Genryusai finished reading the paper in his hands.

They acknowledged each other with a glance and a small curving of the lips, but besides that, they stayed in perfect silence while they waited for their leader.

Time always had its weight, but she never felt it heavier than when the three of them were alone together. Not only because of the missing faces of the original founders, but also of all the ones that came and went in the past one thousand years.

Thankfully, Isane was a few short years away from mastering Kaido at a level she’d be comfortable with leaving the 4th in her hands, although she’d still need Bankai to be fully ready. And she knew all Genryusai was waiting for was for his chosen to amass enough raw power to unseat him.

Their time was coming to an end, and she was thankful for it. It was tiring seeing the youth being continuously stifled to appease the old systems, especially when she had a hand in creating them. It left her feeling like a relic of a bygone era, whose usefulness had long since passed but still stubbornly remained. All she had left to do after Isane was ready was to fix her sin.

The Captain-Commander let the paper fall on his table as he looked up at them.

“Report!” He ordered them.

“The disruption was caused by Captain Zaraki Kenpachi facing a new member of the 11th division during his run of The Gauntlet,” Chojiro started. “According to 3rd-seat Madarame’s report, unseated members of the 11th found him almost as soon as he arrived in the Rukongai, district unspecified, and decided from his spiritual pressure to bring him directly to their Captain instead of sending him to the academy.”

“And the Onmitsukido?” Genryusai questioned.

“The 2nd’s report tentatively corroborates this account, although Captain Soi Fon noted that this was because of the subject’s actions during and after his fight with Captain Zaraki, as none of her division noticed his presence inside the Seireitei until that point,” Chojiro said, a brief, uncomfortable look passed through his face before he continued. “She also noted that she’d be taking severe disciplinary measures so that such a thing doesn’t happen again.”

“Hm,” Genryusai nodded, stroking his beard before looking at her. “Captain Unohana?”

“He’s outside of our usual sphere of influence. Not Wing Bind,” she said, preempting his question. “Something new, he had no skill at using his spiritual power, and from what I managed to overhear between his talk with Isane, his magic functions on a completely different structure.”

“I concur on his skill,” Chojiro agreed. “The reports said he only started exhibiting awareness of his spiritual power after Captain Zaraki had taken his eyepatch off, and,” he hesitated, “That Captain Zaraki was training him during their fight.”

“So a new Captain Hitsugaya?” She asked, amending her earlier thoughts. If Zaraki thought he was worth the trouble to that extent, then her sin might be fixed without her input.

“Better,” Chojiro shook his head. “He developed a full bond with his Zanpakuto less than 2 hours after first holding his Asauchi. 3rd-seat Madarame posited that, if he keeps at this pace, it’ll only be a few months before he achieves Shikai.”

“So a powerful genius with a never-before-seen type of power,” Genryusai mused. “And his disposition towards the Gotei?”

“He fits in,” she answered, thinking about how he interacted with Isane and how the members of the 11th treated him. “Not seamlessly, as his arrival is still recent, but his excitement at learning about Kido and meeting new people was obvious, and the 11th already treats him as one of their own.”

“It is at the same time worrying and commendable that he has already forged such bonds in so little time,” he stopped for a moment to think. “I’ll allow him to remain in whatever position Captain Zaraki decides for him, for now,” Genryusai stressed. “But, he will be under watch until such a time we can be certain of his allegiance.”

“Understood,” she and Chojiro nodded.

“Lieutenant Sasakibe, send an order to Captain Soi Fon to have eyes on him at all times,” Genryusai nodded at Chojiro, dismissing him to fulfill his task.

As the door closed, Genryusai knocked at his table once, prompting one of the servants to bring in some tea.

They waited patiently as the tea was poured, and as the servant left, they took their time savoring the first sip.

“Retsu,” Genryusai started. “What do you think?”

He wasn’t asking about the tea.

“I think,” she stopped, choosing her words carefully. Genryusai may have softened in the past one thousand years, but she doubted he’d ever lose the edge and the strong adherence to the law that made him worthy of the position in the first place. One poorly worded comment could lead to stifling Alex’s growth until he proved trustworthy or, worse, to the Maggot’s Nest. “That he will be an asset for the Gotei, considering what we’ve learned.”

“Are you saying that because you believe it, or because he might fix your sin for you?” Genryusai calmly asked.

She held the urge to click her tongue. She should have known he’d go there, and considering how it was his fight with Zaraki that brought Alex to their attention, she couldn’t completely blame him for thinking that was the only reason for her support.

“We both know I will fix that myself when the time comes,” she sighed. “And it’s not only my sin he may be able to fix. He does have an interest in healing, and with his powers being something new…”

Genryusai tensed for a moment, as if angry she would go there after his accusation, but then he sagged, for once appearing his age.

“Do you think he’d be able to?” He asked, a tinge of hope in his voice.

“I don’t know. But that’s one of the reasons I want him to have a chance,” she replied honestly. “Keep watch over him, but don’t try to stifle his growth before it even starts. It’d be a waste to make a potential ally into an enemy because of paranoia.”

“I’ll think about it,” he nodded.

“That’s all that I ask,” she said, finishing her tea and making her way out.

She didn’t enjoy playing dirty like that, but when dealing with Genryusai, it was an unfortunate necessity.

Hopefully, he took her advice.

___

Alex

It didn’t take long for me to reach the 11th Division barracks.

I wasn’t really planning on getting there too soon, I wanted to explore a little before making my way there. But a nice Captain struck up a conversation with me and ended up giving me precise directions.

Honestly, I’d have been tempted to keep exploring anyway, but Aizen was just too kind to risk disappointing him.

Well, that and the fact I still hadn’t had any lunch.

As I entered the barracks, Ikkaku quickly spotted me and motioned for me to come over.

“I thought you’d be longer,” he said, casually sitting with his back against a wall.

“What can I say? I heal fast,” I shrugged.

“That’s good,” he nodded before getting up. “Come on, the Captain has to give you your new position.”

As I followed him, I noticed how the people around were staring at me and whispering, but I didn’t pay them any mind. I had fought their Captain, after all.

We entered a building with a big dojo inside, with racks lining the walls full of bokutos and shinai, all of it with signs of regular use.

At the side of the dojo, there was a door that led to a spacious office, which had a table and some pillows for seating/kneeling.

And Captain Zaraki Kenpachi, taking a nap to the side while Lieutenant Yachiro sat on his back, eating a chocolate bar.

Ikkaku banged his hand on the wooden frame of the door, waking the Captain and startling Yachiru into dropping her chocolate.

“What’s the idea, Cueball? You’ll have to replace that!” She exclaimed even as she grabbed the chocolate from the ground and kept eating it.

“Why would I have to pay if you’re still eating it!?” Ikkaku screamed back.

 “Because now it tastes like tatami and feet! I’m just eating it so it doesn’t go to waste!” To punctuate her point, Yachiru ate the rest of the bar, half of it, in one bite.

“Like hell I will!” Ikkaku responded.

Yachiru looked like she was about to go into a rant when a loud BANG sounded inside the office.

“WILL YOU TWO SHUT THE HELL UP!?” Zaraki screamed, slowly sitting up.

“Yes, Captain!” “Sure, Kenny!” Came Ikkaku’s and Yachiru’s instant reply.

Zaraki rubbed the sleep off his eyes and looked at me.

“Good, you’re here,” Zaraki said, reaching into his shihakusho and taking out Yachiru’s Lieutenant badge before throwing it to me. “Congratulations, you’re the new Lieutenant. Now go away, it’s time for my afternoon nap.”

Saying that, he laid back down and closed his eyes.

“Wait, what the fuck are you talking about?” I asked, staring at the badge in confusion.

“It’s what he said,” Yachiru piped up. “Me, Kenny, and Baldy talked, and we decided you deserved the position.

“Yeah,” Ikkaku nodded. “No way either me or Yachiru could have done what you did in that fight, so by the rules of the 11th, the position is yours.”

“Damn,” I said, touched by the earnest look on their faces. “I guess I’m the new Lieutenant now. Thanks.”

“Think nothing of it,” Ikkaku said, slinging his arm around my shoulder and guiding me out of the room. “Now, it’s time to celebrate!”

___

The next morning, I entered the Lieutenant’s office, my new office, to see a stack of paperwork as high as me on the ingoing pile.

I don’t know how much time I spent staring at it, I just know that, when I remembered Ikkaku’s and Yachiru’s earnest looks, all I could see now were malicious smiles concealing the trap they had sprung on me.

“I will have my revenge,” I muttered, walking out of the office.

___

A/N: And that’s that for this week, folks!

And things are heating up! Who knew our boy would make lieutenant so fast?

As always, thank all of you for your support, you have no idea how much it means to me.