BLEACH: The Dusk In Red

The three worlds were split into Hueco Mundo, the world of the living, and Soul Society. The latter of the two were connected by the precipice world, allowing for slightly easier travel between the worlds, however Hueco Mundo was completely disconnected, and remained separated by the infinite void known as the Garganta.

It was a place that no organism should survive in, and yet a group of individuals had managed to survive there. Hiding in plain sight for the longest time, where no one could find them.

In that void, a massive floating ship appeared out of thin air. Part of its wing was destroyed, but the material it was made out of seemed to be alive. Slowly but surely, they began to reassemble themselves, reattaching to each other, piece by piece, bolt by bolt, until they returned together as one.

The inside of the ship was vastly different from the outside. On the surface it seemed to be just plain metal, but inside was eerily futuristic. They were at the deck of the ship, where a giant view of the Garganta could be seen.

There were many empty chairs along with holographic monitors and consoles in front of them. But most importantly was the giant globe in the middle.

There were 3 disks to mimic the three worlds. It even included a tube representing the precipice world connecting two of the disks, and a red glowing dot in-between the empty space signifying the ship.

"Make yourselves at home. I have some work to tend to, so Alpha, you show them around the place."

Shido quickly dropped Senjuro who he was carrying.

Tachibana quickly disappeared down a corridor, while Sakugo chased after him. Jinriyu and Shido finally took their hoods off while Alpha just looked at them awkwardly. Shido then noticed someone was missing.

"Where is Aikao? I thought she'd be here too?", Shido asked Jinriyu.

"She said she had something deal with in Soul Society and took off. And Tachibana just said that it would better if he had living eyes there as well, so he just let her go."

Meanwhile, Sakugo began to enquire Tachibana about some issues.

"Father? Are you mad?", She asked.

"No! Not at all! What makes you think that? I'm more happy if anything, what makes you think that?"

"Kenshi died, and he was meant to be the strongest of us too. Isn't that a problem? He was a piece of me as well... what am I going to do?"

He just patted her on the head with his usual caring attitude. 

"It's fine. I already have some ideas for a substitute, and although his death is a bit of a set back, I finally found the thing that I've been searching for, for a long while."

"Father? We're you really the one that killed him? I don't remember you ever leaving the ship?"

"No. I just said that to get him riled up. I was hoping that I could see a little of that swords true strength if I did, but I guess that was a mistake. Are you curious as to who really did it? I have a slight suspicion, but I'm not sure if you'll know them."

Sakugo asked for it anyway so Tachibana gladly told her.

-Soul Society

A day after the incident, all Soul Reapers and civilians that hadn't been killed, but were hurt and injured had been taken to the temporary squad 4 bases, spread out across Seireitei. Any fatally injured people like Kai and Albrecht were taken to the main base, however they were put under lockdown.

"Why won't you let me visit him!? He's my friend!"

Yukiko was arguing with Nurse Ameno who was in charge of the reception that day. She continued to deny access to Kai from her, but she was very aggressive and insistent that she saw him.

"He's too weak to talk to anyone right now, and he's been put on lock down too."

"On whose orders??"

"It was the captain commanders request."

Unknown the the two of them, Kai had already woken up. Despite how much he had overused the Jigoku, his body was fine. He looked around the room, and quickly realized he was in squad 4's barracks again. The vision in his right eye was gone, and there was some scars left behind.

His Zanpakutō's weren't with him.

He then remembered Shinten's death, and so he started crying once more.

The past, something that is set in stone. You can contemplate it all you want, but there is nothing you can do to change the results in front of you. If I did this, if I did that, different scenarios playing in my head, over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, AND OVER, AND OVER, AND OVER, AND OVER, AND OVER, AND OVER, AND OVER, AND OVER, AND OVER, AND OVER, AND OVER, AND OVER, AND OVER, AND OVER...

But no matter how unsightly, no matter how bad it is, we have to accept it. Because no matter what we do, we cannot take back the choices that we have made.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this."

--Squad 1 barracks

Mainly the area around the central underground prison had been destroyed, so most of squad 1's base still maintained its functionality. After this incident, a meeting between the captains had immediately been issued, following the report written by Nanao Ise. Unlike any previous meetings between Gotei, Ichigo had been granted permission to attend.

They had all gathered around much like before. With them each standing in two rows but this time, Ichigo stood in the middle. It didn't matter how damaged or injured they were, they all had to be hear.

"First up, I'd like to thank Nanao-chan for writing the report. We will be discussing about all the contents in here and after we should have some kind of Idea, on how to continue on into the future."

Nanao handed out a copy of the report to everyone, before taking the leads of the meeting.

"First of all, is the issue regarding the underground prison. Thanks to captain Muguruma, we were able to decrease the number of break outs somewhat, but the biggest issue is definitely with the prisoners of the 7th floor. Four have escaped, with their names being mentioned in the following report."

Kenpachi didn't even bother to read it, while Ichigo was already struggling to stay awake. As the others skimmed through the report however, Soi-fon appeared to recognize a name on the list. It was a family member that she wanted to forget.

Kyōraku then said, "Amongst the names on this list, we should make a priority in finding Deng-fon first. I don't know why he wasn't executed after what he did, but with the knowledge he has, he will be an issue. I hope I can trust you and the stealth force with that, Soi-fon?"

She quietly nodded which was atypical of her usual self. Even if no one asked, this was a target she was going after personally. Nanao then continued.

"Next is the sudden appearance of the Arrancar plus the Quincy. They granted us Aid against the hollows, but further investigation will be required. I tried to speak to the other two earlier, but they quickly left. And the Arrancar that we're treating still hasn't woken up."

This was something that Ichigo could comment on.

"I think I know why? When Nel initially came, she told me about how that ship had done damage to Hueco Mundo. They chased after it for revenge I think?"

Everyone's attention had simultaneously shifted towards Mayuri, who was meant to be in charge of communications outside of Seireitei.

"It's not my fault. Some moronic Arrancar on the other side keeps destroying all the bases we set up. It was the one with annoyingly blue hair I believe."

Typical Grimmjow. Nanao just simply moved onto the next topic.

"The Central 46 member, Shingetsu Azaemon is missing."

Everyone just looked at rose annoyingly. He was meant to be in charge of protecting him, but during the early moments of the attack, the two were separated by a horde of Vasto Lorde. 

He attempted to brush it off with a stupid excuse, "Alas, the hollows were just desperate to listen to the new Sonata I created recently. I can't help it, me and my guitar... were just that popular!"

They all just looked it him awkwardly for making a joke at a time like this, but the situation at the time wasn't very ideal for him. He may have been a captain, but a horde of Vasto Lordes should've been too much to handle with someone to protect. A search party would later be made to try and find him, but it was highly likely that he was dead.

And with that, Nanao moved onto the next topic.

"Next concerns Shino Academy. The current Grandmaster, Yamada Fujinishin is dead. Her body was found below in the schools basement by her personal assistant, and acting vice-master, Chikako Suzuya."

The much younger captains like Toshiro and Rukia were a little shocked. During their time in the academy, she was there as a teacher. Shunsui on the other hand, had somewhat seen this coming, so he had adapted quickly. Toshiro then asked.

"The cause of death here says it's redacted, but at the same time, it says the spiritual pressures of a soul reaper and a man named Tachibana were left around her. Any reason as to why?"

"When I went down to the place she died, a basement below Shino Academy, there was nothing there. I don't know why, but that place was connected to Muken. There wasn't any damage from a fight, but there were certainly residual spiritual pressures from one. It was really hard to tell if they really killed her or not."

Shunsui was already sure of it. The two that invaded the basement below the school with no one else's knowledge, had killed Yamada. Toshiro then said,

"If it was just to kill Yamada, then they should've been able to do it without going so far down. I believe that the purpose of this attack was to obtain whatever was being kept down there, and that Yamada was instructed to protect it. Although we managed to defend Soul Society somewhat, the enemy had already achieved their objective. The attack on Seireitei was a mere distraction to keep our attention off that place."

It was obvious something had been hidden down there, and whatever the purpose of this attack was, it was to obtain it. Unfortunately for Soul Society, they were successful. Ichigo then asked,

"What the heck was hidden down there that made them do all this? And why was it kept from you all?"

None of them knew. But whatever was being hidden, was certainty a weapon of great destruction. A weapon with power so great, that it was better that Gotei didn't know about it.

And with that, the talk moved onto the next topic. Nanao continued.

"The massive ship which I've code named: Soren. It horded hundreds of Vasto Lordes, but I believe it contained even more. The second they achieved their objective, the ship mysteriously disappeared, through a Garganta."

That ship was strange, it was capable of using Hollow techniques, and it's endurance was off the charts. And then there was it's ability which able to temporarily sub-due even Ichigo. The parts and fragments which had been destroyed, somehow also disappeared along with the ship. Mayuri then said,

"That ship was a marvel to look at. Although me and Kisuke have been able to replicate the abilities of other races to some degree, that ship did it at another level. I hate to admit it, but I haven't seen technological prowess that great in my whole life."

If even Mayuri said it, then that ship was no joke.

"Where could such a massive thing have been all this time?"

Since it disappeared through a Garganta, there is no way it could've been inside the Soul Society, but it didn't appear to enter through one, so it was likely it could've been a trick, maybe they were still above Soul Society as they spoke. Ichigo then asked,

"Would it be in the world of the living then? Maybe it's in space or something."

It was a possibility. The reaches of Soul Society in the human world only extended to Japan, and the very little islands outside of it. Anywhere else was too far for them too look. However, Shunsui would later task Mayuri with looking in the Garganta, the space between worlds. Mayuri then added,

"Those hollow's that invaded were especially strange. In the time that I've had, I examined them for a bit and discovered why the didn't affect three worlds."

The balance of the three worlds is dictated not just by the existence of the Soul King, but the number of Souls that exist in each world, namely Soul Society and the world of the Living. When it comes to the circulation of Souls, there are approximately 15-16 billion, however the existence of hollows stop that circulation as they consume them. Vasto Lordes are made up of souls that number in the thousands, so why wasn't the balance of the world affected when they appeared? The answer is revealed through Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

"The answer is surprisingly simple really. Those hollow's are only made out of one."

Everyone was rather alarmed of that, but this wasn't the first time this has happened. Like Ichigo's Zanpakutō spirit was originally a hollow made from a Shinigami, and the spirit's of the visored were forcibly fused with hollow's, these Vasto Lordes were likely created through a similar but different process. Shinji then said,

"That still shouldn't be possible, right?? If that's true, then where did he even find that many souls??"

None of them knew. There hadn't been any suspiciously large number of Souls disappearing in recent years, so there was nothing they could point it back too, at least until Shunsui thought about it.

Shunsui then said, "Roughly 8 years ago, to correct the balance of the three worlds when the Quincy's began to destroy hollow's, central 46 were in the process of making a decision to cull some souls on this side which would correct that balance. However Mayuri decided to act early, and wiped out district 64. If I remember correctly, the population of that village was just over a thousand? That would line up with the number of potential Vasto Lordes on the Soren."

Shunsui's intuition and quick thinking were on point. Despite how absurd it seemed, it was the only logical explanation. But even if that was the case, how were their souls even stolen in the first place? It could only be assumed it was thanks to the technological prowess of the Soren.

As the conversation continued, Tachibana was becoming an even greater of a threat than they realised, but alas, it was time for the topic to change once more. Nanao continued,

"There is the issue with that Quincy who came here with the Arrancar. I never got to see Yhwach in person my self, but I could tell by his remaining spiritual pressure in the ground, that boy over there is just like him."

Ichigo then suddenly remembered a conflict he got into a couple months ago. It had been a while, but then he remembered that he had seen the aftermath of the battle between Sakugo and Albrecht. Particularly, the resurrected Quincy King.

"That boy! I remember seeing him in the world of the living! He also attacked Ishida a while back too! Kisuke told me all about it."

Without a doubt, that boy had been considered dangerous. Although he was currently unconscious in Squad 4's barracks, it was decided he would be temporarily moved to the under ground prison while he was still asleep. Once he woke up, he and the Arrancar would be questioned.

Kurotsuchi made a sound of frustration to know that Urahara found him first. First the legs of the Soul King escape his grasp, and now this. His misfortune just keeps piling up.

"Thinking about it now... when I went to go collect the legs of the Soul King from that hollows corpse, it was obliterated by a unique spiritual pressure. It was the exact same one that shook Soul Society 4 months ago."

They all knew who was responsible, and thus the last topic of the meeting had been brought up. Nanao continued,

"The spiritual pressure, and the black flames, they all belonged to Kai Kureno."

Kai had also caused a stir when he released the power of the Jigoku Shihakushō in district 64. The attention of the captains had already been drawn to him, but now this was something that couldn't be ignored any longer. Kensei then said,

"Kai Kureno? I remember Hisagi talking about him a while ago. Wasn't he also in the tournament?"

Kyōraku simply nodded at Soi-fon, and she called upon a stealth force member who was hidden in the dark. She had intentionally been let in the room by Soi-fon.

The stealth force member immediately kneeled in the face of their authority. She wore the usual stealth force Shihakushō, along with mask that covered her face.

"My name is Nejire Hinata. I have been tasked with watching and keeping a document on Kai Kureno for the last 2948 hours, 48 minutes and 26 seconds. In the first month which he attended the school, he was relatively below average. He struggled to turn his Asauchi into a Zanpakutō, and he wasn't good at Kido spells either. At the end of that month, the grandmaster decided to let him and Yukiko Tsubokoniri learn in the world of the living, where the two became stranded. The Soul Reaper who was meant to be teaching them was killed."

he spy hadn't been able to go there herself as she didn't have a hell butterfly, but the Senkaimon gate was destroyed anyway, so it's not like she could go. The spy gave a report on what happened outside based on Kai and Yukiko's own words, as well as the casualty of two humans.

She gave a detailed report of Kai's life, even afterwards. The things he did, and even his training with Ikkaku. Although none of them knew, she had witnessed Kai release his Shikai for the first time.

"When I went digging through his life in the human world, I noticed something strange. I couldn't find any documents on him. Where lived, where he went, his family, and even when he died. I couldn't find any of that information in the ticket managements files."

When a Soul get's sent to Soul Society through a Konso, they initially get sent to the Seireitei. Then they are intensely investigated by several Soul Reapers, where they are documented on how they lived, died, and their history, until they are then assigned a district which is where they would live. But Kai had never been through that, and instead awakened in district 64.

Since he hadn't gone through the proper management, no one here knew who performed the Konso. This was the first time a case like this had appeared in all of Soul Societies history. Or perhaps this was the first time it had been found. Shunsui then said,

"If that's true, then we have no idea where this boy has come from. Ōtoribashi, you take care of this."

The meeting concluded.