Corroded Spirits

Corroded Spirits: 33

Chapter 33: Longest Hour

 There were a couple of gossiping officers talking in the hallway when their well-known laid-back vice-captain slowly walked through. "Oh! Good morning, Vice-Captain Rangiku!" They both greeted, bowing very quickly. "Good morning you two." The strawberry-blonde greeted back. They two officers looked on as she retreated to what they knew was the direction of the Captain's office. "Vice-Captain seems pretty out of it today. What happened?" One of them asked. "Don't be dumb." The other shot quickly. "Today's the day." He whispered.

 Rangiku knocked once at the door, before she opened it slightly and peered in. "Captain... Reporting in, sir--" But the empty room cut her off immediately. As she surveyed it, she could almost deduce that there hadn't been anyone occupying the room at all the previous night. With a sigh, she brought a hand up to her head. "This is such rough stuff." She said to herself, walking over to the desk in order to start the day as per order of her captain several days ago. Upon seating herself, she saw a note neatly folded on the desk with her name written on it.
 

She reached for it and began to read it immediately. "The paper work is already done, because I know that you won't do it. Have the Squad stand by and take the whole day off today. If you need me, I'll either be at the tower of Penance, or at Sokyokou Hill." The last bit caused the robust-chested woman to sigh once again. "It's time..." The letter ended, and this one, she read it out loud. Rangiku hadn't realized it, but she was crying. She wiped a finger at her cursed tear, and plopped her hands onto her lap. "How did this happen?" She asked to herself.

 As she looked out the window, she saw that God-forsaken, white tower, that for some time now, seemed to be visible to any location in Seiritei. The tower where they were made to wait. In isolation and solitaire. And she knew very well, that a group of voluntary Captains were there, standing watch, and also there, to escort the prisoner to their fate once the time had come. As of that moment, the time was in less than an hour. "Kami be with you, Inoue-san." Rangiku whispered into the air.

----At the Tower of Penance--

  Along the lofty bridges that served as pathways from building to building of Seiritei, Retsu Unohana was silently walking, headed towards the white tower where three of her fellow captains were waiting for. "Unohana-san. You finally made it." Ukitake said in greeting. "I'm glad you were well enough to be here as well." She replied. Toshiro glanced over the doctor's shoulders. "You left your vice-captain behind like we discussed?" He asked her. "Yes. And you have as well." Retsu returned. "Did you tell yours?" Byakuya asked from the side.
 

Retsu looked at him as she said: "No. I thought it better for her to be left out from this. I ordered her to stay at the Barracks with the entire squad. If the worst should happen." Toshiro's slightly wavered. "Same." And then he faced forward. "You think that Urahara Kisuke's plan will work?" He asked after a while. Byakuya only closed his eyes and Retsu simply glanced at him. So Ukitake answered the question. "Let us hope so." He said quietly, constantly looking up the sky.

 "Why is it, that whenever something terrible is about to happen, the sky is bluest?" He voiced out thoughtlessly. Not that anyone minded, because he had a point. How blue the sky was above them right now, in contrast to the dark meaning behind the current hour being played. Suddenly, a loud, thunderous thud broke the quietness of their conversation. It came from right behind them, and it was so powerful that it made the entire area around them rumble. Then came after it, was a sickening sound, similar to a shriek of an animal, the captains had to cringe a bit to keep their ears from dying.

 The thudding and shrieking continued in place of the captains' silence. There was no action that needed to be taken to silence the prisoner inside the tower, for it was, according to the Commander, only a mere tantrum and had become a habit ever since the tower's occupant had been transferred there. But since that morning, the shrieks were so loud it could be heard within miles, and the thuds so powerful, that nearly a half of Seritei could feel it. "How much longer?" Toshiro asked, the sounds still continuing in the background. "43 minutes." Byakuya replied quietly.

After this, the 4 captains finally remain silent, with only the loud pounding and animal cries of the girl inside the tower, as their source of sound.

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 There was the sound of a soft clink against the white stone chair, as Aizen laid his cup of tea on it. Since it was eerily quiet, he could hear the smallest of echoes that the cup omitted bounce back against the walls and back to him. "What a peaceful afternoon." He thought timidly to himself, looking at his view of the barren deserts and sand dunes of Hueco Mundo. The lone moon shone in a waning light, making everything else look even emptier than it already was. The traitor took comfort in the thought, and wondered if Karakura Town will end up in the same way once his plan was--

 A loud explosion from outside suddenly caught the Arrancar overlord's attention. The blast was powerful enough to destroy one of the dunes, sending sand particles and dust all over the night-like air. Aizen's eyes slanted in the slightest, when the door opened. "Reporting in on the obvious, Aizen-taichou." Gin said from the door, Chesire cat smile intact. "And here I thought it would be quiet until late." Aizen said, getting up from his chair, tea forgotten. "It appears that they have finally come." Aizen said, mostly to himself rather than his sneering second-in-command. "Should'a call for the 10?" Gin asked, even though he knew the answer. "Yes. Call for them."

 When Aizen said that 'they' have come, he meant it in the sense that Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends had finally arrived in order to retrieve Orihime, as what they should've done when she was first taken to Hueco Mundo. But the 'they' that was actually out in the barren wastelands of the World of Hollow, was Ulquiorra Schiffer. He had just finished setting off the alarms from the guard posts (undetected, of course), and had successfully placed the Spiritual presences of Ichigo Kurosaki and his allies across the perimeter of Las Noches after the explosion he just created.

 He looked back to the grand dome structure that was considered as the Arrancar's home. But not his, not for long. "It will be a while before they find out that there are no intruders. I must hurry to the meeting." He reminded himself. Ridding himself of any physical give-away of what he'd just done, and all of the other things that he still needed to do, Ulquiorra began a not-so-slow walk back to the dome, hurrying to get to the meeting on time. And while he was reminding himself of the plan that he was carrying out, he was also vividly reminding himself of the human girl that was waiting for him in her cell, under the ghostly moonlight. "It's time."