From Dusk...To Dawn - Sequel to 'Into the Sweet Darkness'

Chapter 2 - Intrusion

As promised, this chapter is dedicated to mnerie_!

Happy reading!

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Sana pov:

We stood in dread silence. It was suffocating. The look on Isshin san's face, the tense atmosphere around him....I couldn't take it.

I walked to him, looking dead in his eyes. I'm sure that my expression was one of extreme anxiety. "Isshin san, please say something! You're scaring me!" I begged, my heart pounding a mile a minute. If anything happened to Ichigo or anyone else, there was no way I could remain silent. I would have to do whatever i could to protect them.

I don't care even if I didn't fight. If I could just be there to heal them and protect them with my barriers, that would be enough. But Isshin san wasn't saying anything! He was silent and the serious look on his eyes sent me into more and more confusion and worry.

He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before looking at me again. "Sana chan, I think we should sit down and talk. It may take a while for you to understand what is going on." What he said didn't help my anxiety in the least. "I'll be waiting in your room." He jumped up, landing near my room window and going inside.

I took a few moments to calm down. Taking a few deep breaths, I put on the best and most convincing smile possible and I walked into the house. "I'm home!" I called out and Hotaru came walking to me. I handed her my bag and my sweater with another smile.

"Hotaru, I'm a little tired from work today. I'll be in my room for a while. You can call me when dinner is ready." "Alright, Sana sama. Ah, before I forget. You got this package." She handed me a box and I looked at it curiously. No matter, I could see it later. First I had to talk to Isshin san and make sure Ichigo and the others were okay. I just nodded to Hotaru and headed up the stairs without waiting another moment.

When I stepped into my room, I locked the door and put the parcel on my table. I turned to Isshin san who was leaning against the wall, his eyes closed and his arms crossed over his chest.

"Isshin san." He opened his eyes when I called his name. "What is going on? It has something to do with the Arrancar that appeared that day, doesn't it? Is.....is Aizen back?" If he said yes to my question, I would be both happy and worried. Happy because I would see him again, worried because I dreaded the new power he would have got to cause more problems.

Isshin san sighed and went to sit down on my bed. He rested his chin on his interlocked hands as he watched the floor intently. "No, its not Aizen this time. Its someone else, someone even more powerful. We are yet to understand the full extent of their power, but Ichigo fought one of them. He was an Arrancar, but there is something more that we don't know about."

I frowned, sitting down on my study table chair facing him. "What do you mean?" "There's something dangerous going on again, Sana chan. probably even more dangerous than when Aizen decided to take over Soul Society. I just want you to be safe and stay as inconspicuous as possible."

I didn't like the way he put his concern across. It was as if he was saying that there was a possibility that the enemy would come looking for me again. I wanted to ask that out loud, but the look in his eyes was enough to tell me that I had understood what he meant correctly.

I felt the uneasiness seep deeper into my heart now. What was going on? My abilities were sealed off and the enemy would not be able to sense me. But the whole of Soul Society knew that I was with Aizen during his reign of threat. They knew of my Zanpakuto and its abilities. So wouldn't these guys know too?

Its not surprising if someone came after me but I was more concerned because I couldn't use my abilities. At least if I could set up a barrier or absorb their reiatsu when they tried to attack me; I was completely defenseless because of the seal the Mayuri san had put on me.