Noble Love - Bleach (Kuchiki Byakuya x Oc x A bit of Various)

六十九

Ten years had passed since Yhwach's defeat by hands of the Substitute Shinigami. It might not have been easy, but everyone was eventually able to pick up the pieces to rebuild Soul Society, as the Wandenreich city was now replaced with what was once known as Seireitei. The Gotei 13 had to undergo several changes during the battle, with a few replacements here and there, especially with the Captains of the 4th, 7th, 8th and 13th Divisions. Things were finally returning to normal; until Akon picked up a strange reading on the sensors. That reading was similar to the Reiatsu of their enemy during the thousand-year war.

Byakuya, who was now back to wearing the three kenseikan on top of his head, were rushing towards where the alleged Reiatsu was. "It's thought to be remnants of Yhwach's energy, but the Reiatsu response is coming from the West 55th Block!" reported the Shinigami who was next to him. "That's the final area under reconstruction that connects directly to 13th Division's barracks!"

"Kuchiki!" called Soi Fon from above before she joined beside him. "13th Division's Captain left immediately once the ceremony ended."

"It matters not." he said. "It's been quite some time since Rukia and the others had any down time. There is no need to bother them with this. I shall handle it personally."

They then spotted Kurotsuchi standing across them. Ten years after Yhwach's defeat, his face was painted to resemble and black-and-white mask, with the white portion circling his forehead and covering his upper lip and nose, and the black portions consisted of his lower lip, chin, forehead, and around his eyes. He wore a large golden headpiece resembling a pair of ram's horns that curled backward behind his head. "Oh?" he said when he saw the Captains approaching him. "How peculiar. I don't recall informing anyone of this incident."

"You'd be wise not to underestimate our espionage and information networks." remarked Soi Fon.

"Since you're here, I'll assume the information we received was accurate." noted Byakuya.

"Accurate?" repeated Kurotsuchi. "Whether it was right or wrong, you're about to find out with your very own eyes." At that moment, a large mass of Reiatsu manifested in front of them, proving Byakuya's previous statement about the accuracy of the reports. But as they got ready for the mass of Reiatsu to attack, it completely vanished, shocking the Shinigami present.

Meanwhile, Asa was completing some documents inside her Captain's office. She had cut her hair shorter and tied it into a small, low bun secured by the golden kanzashi. She was wearing a light blue kimono jacket and her Shihakusho underneath. Putting away the stack she'd signed, she heaved a sigh and looked at the large pile of paperwork with an impassive stare. 'To think that ten years later, and Taichou's paperwork seems to have not decreased one bit.' she thought. 'Rangiku hadn't changed when it comes to paperwork.' She got up from her Captain's seat and made her way towards a ladder, dragging it towards the large pile of documents before climbing it to grab some more.

"What do you think you're doing, Asa-san?!" came a familiar voice from behind, causing her to turn her head and look at the person who'd just entered.

"Oh, welcome back, Taichou." she greeted casually.

"Don't "welcome back" me!" scolded Hitsugaya as he rushed towards her. "Get down from there now!"

The confused woman could only do as she was told, not before carrying a stack of documents in one hand. "If you say so." she said.

"You should know why I'm telling you so." he sighed, taking the documents from her. "I know I've stopped sending you for missions months ago, but that doesn't mean you have to start climbing around my room and risking your safety."