To Undo it All

Chapter 4: Revelations

'Think ya can handle this?' I mentally sighed, sitting on a bench right outside the captain's meeting with my leg bouncing with nervous energy. They were waiting on me, though I'm sure Yamamoto was getting everything else out of the way while they waited.

'I was gonna have to explain at some point. The longer I go without telling anybody, the worse things will get for everybody. This is the best for everyone.'

'While I agree that explaining everything to everyone early on is most beneficial, going through your memories before you are ready will do more harm than good for you.'

'I'll manage. The longer we go without telling them, the less time we have to prepare.'

'King/Ichigo…'

'I'm probably gonna manifest one or both of you while I talk.' There was a moment of frustration-filled silence from my zanpakuto.

'Fine.' The Old Man's silence was one of disgruntled agreement. Focusing on my breathing, I nodded to myself a few times before getting up and pushing open the doors of the meeting hall without giving myself the chance to psyche me out. Everyone turned to face me, some bored, others irritated, and some concerned, but all expectant. I focused my gaze on Yamamoto, and scanned the room with my reiatsu sense instead of looking around. Orihime was next to Kenpachi, the two had this weird relationship I would never get the chance to understand. Anytime I got near Kenpachi to ask, he would chase me down for a fight, and Orihime was Orihime, so it was a lost cause. Chad was near Kyoraku, seeing as the two shared different versions of the 'don't fight unless you have to' mentality. Uryu was beside Nemu, as he became violently protective of the I-don't-know-what-she-is once he saw how Kurotsuchi treated her. Yoruichi and Kukaku were on Byakuya's right, opposite Renji, and I could feel how pissed off the nobleman was from how close the werecat was to him. Ganju was next to Unohana, he probably realized she was the Captain of the division Hanataro was in. Rukia was beside Ukitake, and I had to remind myself that she was unseated right now. Gin was gone, probably in jail for like a day or so because he hadn't technically done anything wrong yet.

"Ryoka." I pulled in my reiatsu sense to focus entirely on Yamamoto. "We Captains have discussed all other important matters in this meeting. Some of those discussions remain unresolved, I trust your input will help resolve some of those matters. Begin whenever you are ready." Straightening my back, like I was about to give a report, I opened my mouth before blinking. I didn't know what to say. Or, more accurately, I had too much to say. My mouth slowly closed and my breath escaped me. My gaze fell down to the ground in front of Yamamoto before I looked the old man in the eyes.

"I don't know where to begin." The oldest Shinigami in the Seireitei stroked his beard once before lowering his hand again.

"We've time. The beginning." That narrowed it down a lot, but there were a lot of beginnings to explain. The beginning of Aizen's experimentations, the beginning of my existence, the beginning of the upcoming war. It took a moment, but I made a decision. Right or wrong, that is what I was going with.

"When I was nine, my mother was killed by a hollow. That wasn't my first experience with spirits, but it was the first time I realized what they were. From then on, I vowed to live up to my name, 'Number One Protector'. For six years, I defended spirits whose graves were disturbed and myself from those who thought I was some punk that wanted to be big on the street. Then, one night, a Shinigami entered my room looking for a hollow. She, of course, didn't think I could see her. At least, until I called her a burglar and planted my foot in her ass." Kyoraku attempted to hide his laughter with the least amount of effort possible. Yamamoto glared at him to silence him, but it did crap. "She informed me of Shinigami, the Seireitei, and Hollows, but I didn't believe it until a hollow attacked my home. Before you all go off on her for not realizing a hollow was about to attack the building she was in, my at-the-time uncontrolled reiatsu muffled her reiatsu sense, forcing her to rely on sight and sound to track the hollow." Yamamoto glared for a moment, before nodding for me to go on.