Road to Ruin

Chapter 8: Last Stand

A/N: Hello my dear readers! I hope you're enjoying yourselves. A word of advice this chapter is really sad and the next one as well so I recommend keeping the sugar and the tissues near (at least if you are sensitive as yours truly because I cried while writing it 😅) So the song for the chapter is in Spanish but I found a video that has a good translation, if you want to give it a listen, I thought it fit Ukitake and Hanabira's relationship pretty well. I hope you all enjoy it! Thanks for reading! 🤗😋

©Bleach and its characters don't belong to me, they belong to Tite Kubo and Shounen Jump. Only Anna Maria and Hanabira belong to me.

Chapter 8: Last Stand

Denial is always the first step in the grieving process, followed by anger, which was the state she was currently in.

Hanabira felt the inside of her mouth fill with crimson, for months she'd known that the project was at risk but she still hoped they'd reconsider.

It was all over now, as the sheet of paper in front of her had a big red 'Rejected' stamped across it.

"Why? What could have possibly gone wrong?" she asked.

"Central 46 decided to reject the project on the bases of ethical concerns. They said it's unethical to use dead bodies for mod souls to inhabit."

"Then we can create artificial gigais for them! The artificial souls don't deserve to be discarded so carelessly."

Lieutenant Sasakibe sighed, she could tell he wasn't pleased with the news either. "I agree with you lieutenant Aizen, but the funding for that is too much over the budget. I've already tried to bargain with the noble clans but none of them want to fund the project, thus we are forced to shut it down."

"What's going to happen to the mod souls?"

She saw Sasakibe swallow hard. "They'll be destroyed."

"What?! It's bad enough to leave them unused, but they're getting killed!"

"I am sorry, but the decision was final. There is no way to sway them."

'Or is there?'

Hanabira didn't remember anything else as she got home, the only thing on her mind was the last blank pages she'd ever fill.

***
"I'm glad this course is over! Benihime kept slacking off and slapping me." Urahara complained.

Yoruichi rolled her eyes. "She's lazy like you, and she probably slapped you for flirting with her."

"I agree with Yoruichi-Sama. If you treat them nicely your zanpakuto is just like another friend, only this one lives in your mind."

"Perhaps she'll calm down if I tell her that. Redheads are always so feisty."

Sosuke smiled. It was entertaining to see how everyone else was dealing with their zanpakutos. In the past months, he'd made progress but preferred to use his kido ability.

"Only three more weeks and we'll be out on vacation! I was thinking we could travel to the world of the living." Yoruichi mentioned.

"Interesting, what do you have in mind?"

"I was thinking we could go to Japan, but since Sakoku it's still in effect that's out of the question. What about the Caribbean? Anna speaks Spanish so we're good to go." Yoruichi responded.

Anna smiled brightly. "I'd love to go see my parent's country! There are lots of beautiful beaches there and it's sunny all year long! Count me in."

"Urahara, Sosuke, what about you?"

"Well, I suppose we all need some time in the sun to relax. I guess I'll go as well."