You swallowed a lump in your throat, not able to hold back the inkling of terror that came with... y'know... saving the world.

"...Hmph. It would seem... that we have made it in time."

Aizen stared down at the Head Captain, a lazy and almost condescending look on his face.

"...In time? To what end do you speak those words? I am aware that this is not Karakura town, however that will not interfere with my plans in the slightest."

You glanced around at the powerful people beside you, your gaze lingering on Toshiro for a slight moment, and not one of them looked surprised.

This guy is so creepy...

"Starrk. Barragan. Halibel. Come."

Three more rips opened up in the sky, and the three Espada in question appeared at the entrance of these rips.

"If Karakura town is in Soul Society, then we will annihilate all of you and make the royal key in Soul Society. It is as simple as that."

You shifted your weight in the air, still not used to literally walking in the sky.

"Until then, I will entrust Las Noches to you... Ulquiorra."

The lump in your throat wasn't going to disappear any time soon. You've still never even used your Bankai or Shikai. What's the use of being able to use it if you don't even know if you can- if you don't even know what it does, for that matter?

"Tch... his reiatsu is friggin' monstrous, as usual..." Omaeda muttered, snapping you out of your thoughts. Soi-fon directed her piercing glare onto her lieutenant.

"You can run away if you're afraid, coward."

Uhh, how do I do this again? The... Shikai and Bankai junk?

Huh? But... Bankai?

"The problem is that there's no guarantee Aizen won't interfere while we're fighting with the Espada," you heard your captain mutter. You timidly nodded in agreement.

"...Isn't that the truth," Rangiku sighed.

"Everyone, get back."

Your eyes widened in surprise as the Head Captain pulled out his Zanpakuto. You backed away, following his demand.

"Reduce all of creation to smoldering ash, Ryuujin Jakka!"

You gasped as he was surrounded by flame and his own spiritual energy. Omaeda let out a shout, rushing away immediately.

"Get down, Ukitake!"

"I know!"

In one swift stroke of the sword, Aizen and co were trapped within a ring of flame.

"Joukaku Enjou. Aizen and his lackeys will not be able to emerge from behind that wall of flame for some time. Now then, shall we crush them at our leisure?"

Ukitake peered at him, making you smile despite the seriousness of the situation.

"Man... the Captain-Commander is rough..."

Shunsui put a hand on his straw hat, smiling grimly.

"That just means he isn't in a good mood, either, right?"

You turned back to your short Captain.

"Aizen..." he growled. The hatred and bitterness in his voice as he spoke the simple name almost scared you. You couldn't understand how he felt- you hadn't even seen Aizen until now- however, you knew it was the right thing to do.

You had to help.

So, you insisted that your Captain take you as well- the Head Commander relented easily, for he knew the extent of your power. You listened intently to the Espada's chatter. You smiled a little when a little green-haired girl- Lilynette- kicked her lazy-eyed friend, Starrk.

These guys would probably be nice... if only they were on our side. Oh, jeez, what am I thinking? These are hollows! Hollows!

"You said... that the Juureichi at our feet is fake. That you substituted the real thing with a replica you constructed in the Soul Society. The boss was saying, 'I should invade Soul Society and take the Juureichi'... but... is it really necessary to go through so much trouble?"

You narrowed your eyes at the ugly looking man, not sure where he was going.

"In the discussion earlier, the situation was something like this- 'We erected pillars in four directions and with their power switched the towns'. If that's the case... what happens if we destroy those pillars? Findorr."

"Yes sir!"

He whistled, causing large hollows to open rips into the sky.

"I know the location of the pillars. It is standard practise to construct something like that in the four cardinal directions at the edges."

"Uooouee! No good, the secret's out!" Omaeda choked out, dismayed. "If the pillars are destroyed, then Karakura town, which we went out of our way to send to the soul society, will return! The real Karakura town... will become the battlefield!"

You stared at Omaeda in disbelief. He didn't know?

"You damn fool. Did you think... that I would not have deployed anyone at such important locations? Some very capable people have been properly put in place."

Omaeda let out a choking noise. You rolled your eyes.

"Huh...? Huh...? Huh...? HUUUUUUUH?! MADARAME! AYASEGAWA! KIRA! HISAGI! They weren't holding down the fort in our absence?! And here I was getting the feeling like I'd won something, and thinking, "Look at you now! They're depending on me, not you!" Since they weren't at the meeting place... WHAT THE HELL?! Was everyone aware of this?!"

He turned to Shunsui, who tipped the edge of his straw hat ever so slightly.

"Of course."

He turned to Rangiku.

"Could you please not lump us in with you?"

Finally, he turned to his Captain.

"I told you. Perhaps you did not hear what I said, because you were crunching on your Abura Senbei."

"No doubt about it! You're an idiot, Omaeda!"

"WHAAAAAAAAAT?!"

"Hmph. Four soldiers, so what? If four ants are to protect the pillars, then I shall send out four dragons to trample them. Poe, Coolhorn, Avirama, Findorr. Crush them."

"Yes, sir! It will be as his majesty wishes!"

They immediately took off in four separate directions. Soon after, you could feel their spiritual pressures clashing.

I hope they'll be okay... although, I wouldn't be too upset if Yumichika ends up disfigured. Vain asshole.

Quite a while after, you snapped your head up when you heard a loud rumbling. A pillar was collapsing.

"What...?! Ikkaku...! No way!" you bleated.

"Madarame... has been defeated?!"

"One down..."

You gasped as Captain Komamura rushed off to the pillar, soon followed by his Lieutenant.

"Komamura Taich-"

"Leave him," your Captain ordered you. You nodded. Soon after, you could feel him release his Bankai. You stared in wonder a the giant that appeared. It slammed its hand onto the ground, causing a big explosion of rubble.

"Uoooahh...," Omaeda spluttered, for what felt like the 50th time. "No mercy!"

Soi-fon looked off to the side in annoyance.

"That's a good thing."

Rangiku sighed, rubbing the back of her head.

"He doesn't care if it's the real one or the fake one, does he...? I wonder if this'll put squad seven in the red for the current fiscal term."

"Captains pay for the damage they cause in their squad's battles out of their own pockets. They don't pass it on to the rest of the squad. Well, Komamura, at least, is that kind of guy."

You nodded in wonder at your Captain.

"He's nice, huh? And so cute. Like a pupp-"

"For real?! Awesome! Now we can fight worry free! Heehee~!"

"You're a different story. The stuff you break is taken from your salary, no ifs, ands, or buts."

You bursted into laughter, feeling some of the tension disappear. Toshiro shook his head at you, but didn't scold you.

"They've all been beaten... idiots!"

Your head shot up at that statement.

Ah, they're right... Komamura Taichou did it! Yes!

"Our deepest apologies, Barragan-sama! We shall go dispose of them immediately, so we humbly request that his majesty retake his seat and wait here!"

You watched silently as Soi-Fon and Omaeda stalked behind the Arrancar.

"Who are you going to dispose of?" the stealth-force leader questioned. "Do you mean Komamura and the others? Or do you mean all of us? Depending on your answer, I'll dispose of you. Actually, I'll dispose of you even if you don't answer."

Tension filled the air, and all of a sudden, their swords clashed. As if on cue, you rushed in front of another Arrancar, beside your Captain.

"Go assist Matsumoto. I will deal with this one."

You nodded obediently, knowing that you definitely had to follow your Captain's orders on the battlefield, and instead stood beside Rangiku. You glanced beside you, and realised that everyone else was assigned their own opponent- or opponents. You swallowed, feeling out of place as a third seat within Captains and Lieutenants.

I can do this.

You grabbed onto your necklace, and it immediately shifted into a Zanpakuto. It had a black hold and guard, as well as a thin, pure white blade. A white ribbon was wrapped around the hold. You stared down at it, then looked to the Captain-Commander for confirmation.

"...Now, then... at last, the real show has begun. Get ready!" he boomed.

"Put the entirety of your spirit on the line and crush them here! Even if your flesh is torn asunder, be as a steel wall down to your last shards of bone! You must not let them... take even a single step into Soul Society!"

~