BLEACH: The Dusk In Red

--Shino Academy

Chikako, the current vice grandmaster of Shino academy, overlooked the destruction being caused to the Seireitei while looking reasonably upset. Oddly enough, none of the Vasto Lords dared to approach the school, making this one of two safe spots in Seireitei. The students were protected, and any civilians nearby were offered shelter, yet he couldn't shake off this horrible feeling.

In his hand he gripped an opened envelope.

"Chikako, I've treated you very roughly these past couple years haven't I? It was for a good reason I promise. You were never physically strong, but I never needed you to be either. Your mind is your greatest weapon, and I've been doing my best to help you train it. There's a certain duty I need to carry out, but I fear I won't be able to accomplish it and come out unharmed. At the least, I won't be able to continue being the grandmaster anymore. Which is why when that happens, I want you to succeed me. If the worst comes to pass then what the next grandmaster will need isn't a powerful body, but a mind that can lead everyone to greatness. If you think this is a good bye letter, I'll make sure to shout at you later!

-Yamada Fujinishin."

Chikako suddenly began to cry as he shouted.

"If this isn't a good bye letter, then why the hell did you write it like one!"

...

Seireitei has kept a number of secrets under their belt. Whether it be the truth of the Soul King, or the countless number of horrors they committed to keep the peace. The secret that was about to be revealed, was another mistake which was buried in the past. A past which very few would be allowed to remember, along with the duty that came with it.

The secret buried within Shino Academy.

--In the depths of Shino Academy

Underneath Shino Academy, in its depths further down than its own basement was a large room similar in size to the Muken. The ground below was made up of grey cement slates, and 15 red pillars climbed into the darkness above, with lights of yellow embers glowing from them.

A chain extended from each pillar, with an array of talismans hooked onto each of them. They all led to a single point at the centre of the room, which was a Zanpakutō wrapped in ancient fabric. 

Yamada bid her time by looking at that Zanpakutō, waiting for something. As she did, she could feel the variety of Bakudo seals which were placed by the mightiest Kido users of the past, break one by one as something came.

Until eventually, they were all broken.

She turned around to see a man cloaked in a black fabric made of Seki rock.

"So you managed to sneak down here by wearing that? But that doesn't explain how you broke those barriers?"

"As long as it's Kido that stems from me, then I'll always be able to break it."

He took off the hood of his coat, revealing the face of Tachibana hiding underneath.

His once short brown hair was now extremely long. He had tied it into a partially tied up man bun while the rest drapes down his back. An additional bang draped down his face.

"I've finally come to take it back. That which rightfully belongs to me. My Zanpakutō."

Yamada slowly began to draw her own as she held her ground.

"This is the duty which has been passed down from one generation of Grandmasters to another. This is a duty which had been handed down, even before the creation of Gotei. A duty which was given to Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto from the Soul King. The duty to protect this Zanpakutō from you."

Tachibana laughed. The sheer amount of dedication to keep his own property away from him was admirable. It almost brought a tear to his eye.

"That boy managed to pass down his bothersome burden to some interesting people. Not like it would matter in the end. Even if its your duty, there weren't many secrets you were allowed to hear about me, am I right?"

Although she was hesitant at first. She was only allowed to know the name of Tachibana, and nothing else. In the grand scheme of things, she was nothing more than a puppet in the dark. Just like the other guardians which had come before her.

"3 questions. As the last act of kindness you will receive in this life, you can ask me any 3 questions. I will settle any curiosity's you may have in this life within 3 questions, and then you shall die gracefully."

A tempting offer. She could feel it, a cold touch on her back. The wind of death echoing in her ears, as well as the many questions that she had to ask, yet three was all she was given. In all the choices she temporarily become frozen. But then from the world of death, a memory flashed in her mind. It was one of Jūshirō.

"Death in fulfilling our duties is the mightiest honour we as Soul Reapers can have. But the only people who can die like that and feel fulfilled, is someone who isn't just brave but someone whose courage can outlast even this world. If all Soul Reapers were like you, then I think this place would just be a little more brighter."

She suddenly snapped back to reality.

"Yeah, I do have a question that's been bothering me an awful lot. Do you ever shut up!?"

She flash stepped in front of Tachibana while preparing to make a swing at him.

Once she did however, something strange began to emerged from his shadow. The ground beneath him began to stretch, and from it, a figure emerged.

It was a boy. He had black messy hair which was at a shoulders length. His eyes had no light but reeked of laziness. He wore the standard Shinigami Shihakushō but worst of all, was the weapon he carried. It was too big to be called a sword. Massive, thick, heavy, and far too rough. Indeed, it was a heap of raw iron.

Yet that thing was defiantly a Zanpakutō.

Without even pulling the entire thing out of Tachibana's shadow, the boy used it to block the initial strike from Yamada. She backed away out of both shock and surprise for what she was looking at.

"Another Shinigami!? What are you doing?!"

"Ah! he doesn't belong to your side. He is another creation of mine. His name is Omega and he'll be your executioner for today."

His spiritual pressure was defiantly that of a Soul Reapers, but it somehow felt otherworldly. That eeriness made Yamada cautious of him. Where he got his Zanpakutō from, where he got those powers, why was Tachibana doing this, all those questions finally ceased.

As Omega finished drawing out his stupidly big Zanpakutō, Yamada released her own

.

"Bisect the world, Ryōtō Mikoto!"