-Squad 4 Barracks-

Things had not been going well for Natsumi Hanakage ever since the Ryoka decided to launch their little invasion.

What should have been a straightforward tracking mission for an intruder had resulted in a dismantling of her team and her own defeat at the hands of a foe that barely seemed to take them seriously.

Since then, she had been all but imprisoned in the medical area by an increasingly overworked Squad 4. More and more casualties poured in as the majority of Squad 11 was collected from various battlegrounds, their own attempts at stopping the Ryoka not really going any better than hers did and various Seated Officers were discovered after being defeated in duels. As such, Captain Unohana was making her way through the barracks making sure that no one was giving the medics any unneeded stress as they dealt with anything from near-death cases such as Lieutenant Renji Abarai, who had arrived barely an hour after she did, to worms like Sanji Ikari, a member of a minor noble family who severely sprained his ankle and was practically demanding priority treatment from one of the attendants.

At the time Natsumi had been trying to convince her own attendant to let her leave and report back to Squad 2, bruises and concussion be damned. She was even being polite to the clearly overworked girl! Mostly. Okay, her temper was starting to take over but she really needed to contact her Captain.

When Natsumi saw Captain Unohana walking towards her, she thought it would be perfect to explain the urgency of the situation so she could leave. Then Ikari opened his mouth and drew the Captain’s attention.

While the conversation between the two didn’t carry down the hall, Natsumi suddenly felt very afraid of the gentle Captain. Something about her smile was just sending all kinds of warnings that annoying her would end badly. Luckily for him, Ikari must have felt the same since he gave the attendant no more issues.

By the time Unohana reached Natsumi and politely asked if she needed anything, all thoughts of trying to leave before getting cleared by the medics had been thoroughly suppressed. Instead Natsumi simply thanked the Captain and requested the attendant to alert her Captain she was awake and needed a meeting, as well as to retrieve her reports so she could keep up to date on the situation even if she couldn’t leave.

By the smirk on the attendant’s face, Natsumi wasn’t fooling anyone. But they still granted her request and sent two messengers off, while Natsumi went back to her room.

Minutes later a different Squad 4 member arrived with stacks of paperwork and a message that Captain Soi-Fon was busy dealing with several immediate issues and would only have the time to see Natsumi in the morning.

After thanking the messenger, Natsumi followed him to a different area of the barracks where she was provided with another room. One meant for mostly recovered officers most likely, considering the desk along one of the walls.

She once again thanked the messenger, then sat down at the desk and began shifting through the various reports.

-o-

Early next morning, Natsumi was finally getting caught up with the full state of the disaster that had happened since the rest of the Ryoka forces had appeared.

Squad 11 was essentially wiped out. The rank and file had run into a few high level combatants and in their normal brain dead fashion simply tried to overwhelm the invaders in a straightforward fight.

Needless to say, it did not go well. Now 80% of the squad was getting patched up along with their third, fifth, and eighth seat officers. Other squads had taken casualties but the 11th was by far the worst. However, the other squads were dealing with other issues than massive personnel loss.

Squad 6’s Renji Abarai had been nearly killed facing the invaders. While that wasn’t any different from the information Natsumi picked up from the staff’s gossip network, what was shocking was that Abarai was promptly imprisoned after treatment on charges of dereliction and acts unbecoming of an officer.

That had the rest of Squad 6 running around like headless chickens trying to organise chain of command, patrol routes, normal day-to-day, and other things without bringing the attention of Captain Kuchiki down on them. Not that Natsumi could blame them, since the captain himself decided that an emergency situation was the perfect time to go insane and personally imprison his Lieutenant.

The other squads were doing a similar dance as various officers were disabled. Luckily most were only wounded, whether those were light or moderate wounds varied, but the officers could still perform most of their duties from a hospital bed if needed.

Squad 7’s 4th Seat Jirōbō Ikkanzaka was not as fortunate.

The large man had been found early into the main invasion of the Ryoka with several crippling injuries. Some so grave that his career as a Shinigami was likely over barring a miracle.

Natsumi was so caught up in her paperwork that she didn’t realize she was not alone until a cold voice startled her. “While it’s nice to see you take your job seriously Third Seat Hanakage, I believe there was a matter that you needed to discuss with me?”

Instantly she snapped to attention and spun to face her captain, launching out of the chair that had been provided to her in the process. “Apologies Captain, I didn’t notice you come in.”

The commander of the Stealth Force and Captain of Squad 2 Soi-fon was standing in the middle of the office/bedroom Natsumi had been provided when it became clear she wasn’t leaving. Thankfully while the captain did seem annoyed, it didn’t seem like Natsumi was the direct source of it.

Which was a very good thing since despite being a few inches taller than her captain, the sheer weight of her gaze made Natsumi feel an inch tall. If she was the cause of her captain’s mood there was no way she would feel capable of making her report.

‘Which might change very soon, anyway.’ she thought darkly. After all, her report wasn’t good news.

“Report. I want to hear every detail about your encounter with the Ryoka.”

Dutifully Natsumi recounted the entire encounter, explaining how a near textbook ambush failed so spectacularly, how a squad containing elites of the unit was taken down like academy initiates, and finally the conversation she had with the red and black clad invader.

Captain Soi-fon’s face was a picture of anger by the end of the report. Natsumi was doing her best to look calm, but inside she was trembling. An angry captain wasn’t something you wanted to be anywhere close to if it could be helped.

“Do you have any indication the Ryoka was lying about knowing the identity of the traitors?” The Captain asked once she calmed down some.

Natsumi was shocked, “I didn’t see any overt signs of lying, but surely you can’t be taking this seriously? Three traitors undiscovered for over a hundred years? Its unthinkable…”

“Normally, I might agree with you. However the Captain of Squad 5, Sousuke Aizen, failed to arrive for the morning Captain’s meeting. Something that has only happened a handful of times during his time as a Captain. Initially we thought he was delayed by something caused by the Ryoka, but now we will need to locate him immediately and confirm he wasn’t assassinated.”

Her eyes sharpened and focused on Natsumi, “Third Seat Hanakage, how exactly did the Ryoka manage to defeat you in one attack.”

It wasn’t a question. Just a slightly more polite demand for an explanation.

“I…” Natsumi began haltingly, fidgeting under the gaze of her captain. “...I let my guard down.” She finally admitted.

“When the Ryoka shattered my barrier and I caught her with Kusarihebi, I assumed she couldn’t use another ranged attack without either spiking her Reiatsu or freeing herself first. So I relaxed my defences while I waited for reinforcements. Then the Ryoka pulled out a device that was capable of firing something like a Cero and it disabled me.”

“She can use Cero?” The captain snapped, looking shocked.

Natsumi shook her head, “In form only, other than that the attack lacked the feel and power of even the weakest Ceros. But I left myself completely open and that was enough.”

Captain Soi-fon nodded at the new information, “Very well, under normal circumstances are you capable of defeating this Ryoka?”

Natsumi carefully thought about her answer, “It’s hard to say for certain since the Ryoka kept such a tight handle on her Reiatsu level the entire fight, but I don’t believe she is out of my capabilities.”

Once again, the captain nodded, “Unfortunately, the rest of the squad is tied up so I cannot send any support with you. Even so… Natsumi Hanakage!” Captain Soi-fon suddenly said.

Natsumi straightened up. “Captain!”

“I’m ordering you to track down the Ryoka and capture her. Report to no one other than either myself or Head-Captain Yamamoto until the identities of any traitors has been confirmed.”

With that Captain Soi-fon spun on her heel and made her way to the door. Pausing at the entrance to look over her shoulder. “One more thing, do not allow yourself to lower your guard again. Nobility politics may have forced that buffoon Omaeda into a position above you, but I will not accept your skills falling to his level. Is that understood?”

Natsumi bowed deeply, “Yes ma’am. It won’t happen again.”