Two Souls, One Story

Chapter 27

A day had passed and information was spreading through the Seireitei. How many died, how many captured and currently being interrogated for information -three squads full- and how many were involved in Izuru's rebellion... which was, to utter horror of every Captain, Lieutenant, and seated officer not involved, was half of the Seireitei.

From the execution order of one, none-seated Soul Reaper, Yamamoto unwittingly permitted the Seireitei to develop into three factions under his nose.

Even worse? One faction existed for almost a century. Waiting.

Yamamoto sat in his office, meticulously stamping the release papers of the innocent. Two were slated for execution and one locked away for "further evaluation" for every 20 souls proven uninvolved.

Aizen's control through his Zanpakuto allegedly does not fade away with time.

Another mystery yet to be solved.

"Captain?" Sasakibe uttered, tentatively entering the vast space with a modest stack of papers. Modern by today's standards, that is.

"More victims of Aizen's schemes?" Yamamoto sighed out. Feeling his age for the first time in decades.

"Sort of... it's Lieutenant Kira's captain application."

Yamamoto took the paper without question. "Let's hope he's a better captain than Ichimaru Gin."

(Linebreak)

"Oh yeah! I never got to meet Ichigo's friends!" Izuru suddenly said to Rukia while they were cleaning bandages for the wounded. The smell of medical alcohol and herbs soaking into their clothes. "They're still here, right? I would assume so. Ichigo would want to spend time with his mom."

"Yeah, they're scheduled to leave at the end of the week. Do you want to go meet them after we're done here?" She asked, wringing out the bandages she finished washing. Rukia grimaced at her pruned fingers.

"Mostly just Orihime," Izuru said, tucking his arms close to his body. "I feel like an ass, forgetting about her. I would have adopted her after her brother passed... at least she wouldn't have been left to the whims of that aunt of hers."

"There's no stopping you from doing it now." Rukia pointed out. "I'm sure she would accept... well... probably not." She frowned, rubbing her chin. "She's pretty independent. Though I don't think she'd turn down a family."

Izuru exhaled loudly. "Adoption seems to be stigmatized in modern Japan. Maybe I could sponsor her through college? My family's fortune isn't being touched, and putting Orihime through university won't even make a dent. I'm also gaining capital introducing technology to the Seireitei..." He looked up at the ceiling. "She should have a better home with good food. It'll be weird, but... not the weirdest thing I've done since I've taken over this body."

"Yeah?" Rukia chuckled. "You have a lot of love to give, and Orihime is easy to love. You'll have to convince her, though."

Just as she finished that sentence, she realized two things. One: There was more water everywhere than before. And two: All the bandages were clean.

"Oh." she mumbled. "Let's go find Orihime and see if she'll accept it!" She stood up, feeling semi-guilty. "After we clean up this mess." She laughed sheepishly.

"Nah, they got it," Izuru pointed over his shoulder as a couple of Squad 4's newbies with baby fat on their cheeks bustled in. Fresh from the academy. They started collecting the bandages and cleaning up the water.

Izuru pointed to his head. "Little birdie told me the new recruits handle this stuff until they master a healing kido. Supposedly, it encourages them to study."