Wind's Calling

Discovery

(Y/n) opened her eyes again to the terrified screaming of the bount and stared groggily at the scene. The minute he turned to dust, Soi Feng was pulling (Y/n) up and supporting her to walk. "How long," the gravelly question made the other woman hum.
"A few minutes," Soi Feng replied. "I'm taking you to Captain Unohana. We both need to be back in the field right away."
"Did I-"
"I thought you died. I could barely feel your spiritual energy," the woman's voice was soft this time, almost in the state of concern.
"I'm hard to kill," (Y/n) tried to laugh, ending in a whimper.
"I don't know how you were fighting but you're bad at it now," Soi Feng sniffed. "You're training with me from now on."
"What? Want to master shunko," (Y/n) chuckled and grimaced. She needed to stop that before it caused something to really be penetrated.
"You mastered it," Soi Feng gasped.
"By instinct," (Y/n) stated quickly. "It wasn't while I was conscious but I can figure out the technique if I focused on it."
"You need to write it down then," the two went back and forth until they reached the fourth division. (Y/n) was placed down on one of the beds carefully, Captain Unohana herself coming forward.

Her grandfather stared at her, his hand out as she twisted in a restrained posture. She stopped her twisting, a cloth between her fingers as she took in where she was. "(Y/n)," he called out calmly, "Are you yourself once more or must I proceed?"
"I-I'm me," she wheezed. Her chest still hurt even though Unohana had done what she could. When did she fall asleep and what had happened? Why was she at her grandfather's when she had been escorted back to her office before? "What happened?"
"Who is the imposter within you," she made eye contact and she reeled back mentally. He wasn't staring at her as her grandfather but with the authority of his position.
"There's no imposter," she trailed off as she leaned forward on her knees. Her chin scraped against the ground as she used it to remove the mask. "I can't explain it, gramps. There is no imposter though."
"Captain Soi Feng may have been right to suspect you," he stated.
"Grandpa," (Y/n) snapped. Panic filled her as she pulled at the restraints of the Kido technique. "You're going to suspect me now? When you were the one that summoned me for my return?"
"You are a hallow," his rebuttal made her stiffen. "Had I known I would have ordered your death." Anger bubbled as he stepped closer, drawing his zanpakuto. He hadn't changed while she was gone, not even a little. His work was more important than his family still.
"If I was then why do I look the same," she yelled. "Why am I here? Why did I come back if this is what I get? I went through hallowfication but I'm still me you sociopath! You called on me! Or was that because my disappearance was a long enough vacation, Captain Yamamoto?"
The blade came down, (Y/n) unwavering. It was blocked, another blade crossing her tunneling vision. The cheap coat fluttered gently from the impact and the flash step that was used. Shunsui's timing was uncanny and his face was straight as he stared at her grandfather.
"Sorry for interrupting the family meeting," he chuckled.
"What are you doing, Shunsui?"
"I'm offering to monitor miss Yamamoto," the reply made (y/n) turn her gaze to him. His smile was small but tense and the blades hadn't moved from their positions.
"You are walking a thin line, Shunsui," (Y/n) glanced at her grandfather the anger still there but pain from his purpose pushing it down.
"With respect, this situation isn't black and white. I have been helping (Y/n) since she's been back, Captain. Even the hallow side of her, if that's what it is, came to report to you that she found the bount hideout," Shunsui stepped behind her and took the cloth from her hands, holding up the purple fabric. It made her grandfather's eyes open up slightly and (Y/n) stared at the mask on the ground.
Did the other her take the duties up with her? It made her shoulders slump from the thought; even her darker self had a sense of duty ingrained into it. The kido was released but (Y/n) didn't move from her knees, her hands falling to her sides. She was showing defeat, something that her grandfather taught her never to do. What else could she do in the moment though?
Shunsui took her arm and practically lifted her to her feet, the soft smile on his face. "Captain, give it some time and I'm sure you'll see what I have about (Y/n)."

(Y/n) scowled a bit as she stood with Shunsui and Jushiro, her arms crossed as they opened up the library. The fighting that was continuously happening outside could still be felt and a part of her tired form wanted to partake. Her orders had been clear though; she was now under Shunsui's command in the central library, assisting with the research. "There must be something here," Jushiro sighed.
"We know where to start though. You sure you can help, Jushiro? You're still sick," Shunsui chuckled.
"Our three heads is better than just your two," Jushiro muffled a cough with his laugh and (Y/n) rubbed her face. "Last I heard though," Jushiro looked to her and she turned her head away.
"Orders come and go, Captain Ukitake," she muttered. "We need to find what we can on those- those weird power sources though. That's why I'm here."
"She should also be recovering from that poison she was hit with," Shunsui hummed and patted her back gently. "I read Soi Feng's report. She spoke very highly of you in her own way, you know."
"Yeah, after she stopped suspecting me of betrayal," (Y/n) snorted and stepped away from him. The incident from the night before was still raging in her mind as she started wandering through the shelves. Shunsui probably thought different of her because of what the head captain had said and she was most likely being monitored. The three reconvened with piles of books and it was silent as they flicked through the pages for hours. (Y/n) was in shock at how much information there was on the Soul Society, how much wasn't taught.
It wasn't that she didn't know there were secrets, it was the sheer amount of them that were hidden away in the journals and reports. Her hands stopped a few hours into it, her gaze stuck on blurring words. "Do you two realize we keep repeating things? As soul reapers, I mean."
"Why do you say that," Jushiro coughed a bit into his hand, raising an eyebrow at her.
"The council was murdered off, right," (Y/n) mumbled. "Does the new council know all the decisions the old council made?"
"That's a good question that we can't really answer," Shunsui sighed. "We can only hope they do."