NOVEL NEXT Chapter 15: Retorta chapter 9
Hiyori is perfectly calm.
No, really.
For the first time that she can remember, she's completely, totally at ease. She's not terrified or furious or desperate. She's just happy. It's weird. She hasn't felt like this in… maybe never.
She'd probably enjoy it more if it weren't because she's sitting at the feet of the idiot who saved her, the newborn hollow in her chest purring a delighted alpha alpha alpha at her.
Don't get her wrong, her brain is busy being shocked and she'll rage about it later, but right now her instincts are utterly satisfied and content. She feels safe.
She doesn't like it.
Around her, the other newborn mix breeds are clearly reacting the exact same way, even Shinji, the eldest and most powerful of them. They're all staring at Kurosaki in shock. He, in turn, stares right back, looking equally disconcerted.
Urahara, off to the side, starts to snicker just as Shinji begins to demand an explanation.
"Ah, Kurosaki-san, you remember what we theorized about the social hierarchy of the more sentient Hollows?"
Kurosaki nods distractedly, golden eyes still fixed on the group in front of him.
"You mean the pack structure that lets them form Fraccions and basically keeps them from all eating each other?"
Hiyori blinks. Sentient hollows beyond the initial Menos? Like-- Arrancar? She's heard of them, quietly, but not before being introduced to the one that was now part of her had she seen one. To have enough information to be running studies on social hierarchy rather than escaping with their lives… she already knew that Urahara was a monster, but this is power on a different level entirely.
Urahara doesn't respond to Kurosaki's query, just waits, and is rewarded by a horrified yelp a few seconds later.
"You're not saying-- Geta-boushi, no . No way."
The assassin is still laughing, one hand poised delicately over his lower face. It's not a mannerism she's familiar with, but Urahara manages it with the ease of long practice.
Hiyori feels a sudden surge of sympathy for Kurosaki, having to put up with this idiot.
Kurosaki sits down with the rest of them, abruptly, and Hiyori kicks Shinji in the back as he starts to snicker as well. It doesn't deter the grinning blonde in the slightest as he swoons dramatically toward their savior-leader.
"Oh, yes , Alpha-sama, please take care of us, Alpha-sama, anything you like , Alpha-sama--"
Hiyori hits him over the head this time, and he yelps and faceplants into the dirt at Kurosaki's feet.
Shunsui is worried. Despite his carefree tendencies, this is not actually that unusual, especially lately. Part hollow shinigami and traitorous officials, and now an unknown Shiba with more power than anyone he's ever met, and that's including his mentor.
He doubts this is a good thing. He can tell Juushiro is affected by the stress, too-- his friend has dark circles under his eyes, his complexion is paler than natural, and Shunsui has seen him suppressing a hacking, painful cough at least twice.
He has to remind himself that a lawless rampage to murder everything that causes Juu stress is not the answer . For one, Juu and Yama-jii would both kill him, and for another, he doesn't actually think he could take either Urahara or the new Shiba in a fight. He might have more reiatsu than Urahara, might , but he knows damn well that the captain-assassin needn't rely on such things at all.
The Shiba could just flatten him with reiatsu alone and walk away. Or kill him at leisure.
Shunsui hasn't felt young since Yama-jii finished his rampage and decided to start a military, but--
He's acutely aware of how powerless they all really are against this new force, more so than anyone else who didn't live through the turmoil of the first years and the Quincy extermination. Unohana knows, but she probably doesn't overly mind, the madwoman. Yama-jii obviously knows, but the Soutaicho has long since tempered his roughest edges and submitted himself to the whims of the Central 46. Shunsui has quite a few opinions about that, but he has plenty of practice holding his tongue by now. Even if he'd rather trust his captain's judgment than that of a handful of spoiled nobles with no idea how life works.
Anyway the point is, they're all worried and on edge and it's doing nobody any good at all. Especially Juushiro.
The fact that half their captains and lieutenants are are now either dead, deserted, or abominations doesn't help either. Gods, even if there is no war, Shunsui still might die. The sheer amount of paperwork will kill him. Top it off that he's torn between terrified and furious at what happened to Lisa, to one of his, and he's not happy either.
The Soutaicho is insisting that they report to the Central 46, after the immediate threat response has been established, and Shunsui wants to groan. Frightened nobles who sense a threat to their power aren't at all likely to attempt to resolve things peacefully, or even bother to see reason at all.
Their power hungry, domineering, close minded way of thinking is going to get them all killed, if Yama-jii insists on obedience over all else. He will order the Guards to their deaths, and they will go.
All to make an enemy of a party that hasn't seemed even slightly hostile.
Yoruichi drops out of shunpo into absolute chaos. Hiyori is attempting to throttle a laughing Shinji, which isn't new, but Muramasa-- formerly the zanpakuto of a disgraced Kuchiki, how the fuck did that happen--and a bleached lookalike of Ichigo are tumbling over each other, rolling on the ground like very large, very deadly children. Captains and lieutenants scatter like startled chickens, trying to get out of the way. Ichigo has both hands over his face, and Kisuke is watching with a smirk she knows in her bones. She picks her way through the impromptu battlefield to stand at his side, and after a moment he answers her unspoken question.
"Ah, Muramasa-san intercepted Shiro-san when he tried to, hm, join the fun?
… and I might have implied that Shiro-san, himself, was not the alpha, since he too follows Kurosaki-san's lead."
Yoruichi snorts, resting her chin on Kisuke's shoulder as they both watch the chaos. Lisa has enthusiastically begun taking potshots at Shinji, Hiyori, and Ichigo's two spirits indiscriminately. Mashiro, never one to be left out, has tackled Kensei, and the two are now… well, Mashiro is wrestling. Kensei is doing a stunning impression of a brick wall. Love and Rose are laughing themselves sick, and Hachi is standing off to the side, hovering and fluttering like a nervous butterfly.
Something blossoms in her chest as she watches them, something bright and warm and airy.
It feels, she realizes, like it used to when it was just her and Kisuke and Tessai, younglings trying to navigate politics and power and above all survival, them against the world.
It feels like home.