Soul Society Reclaim Part 1, The Gathering

Grainné Xios was getting nervous. The day had finally come. The reclaiming of the Soul Society was about to begin. The planning and preparations were done. The only thing left to do, was to get it done. The following battle was going to be costly, but she knew that if everybody committed and believed in the cause, they would prevail. But there was another objective, one that's imperative to their survival. Preventing the release of Aizen. This was as important as the reclaim itself, for if he were to be released, there might not be a way to stop him. But there was a plan in place for that, and while she was wary of trusting Raiden, she had faith in Elayne to get the job done.

So they waited, the two sisters. Grainné was wearing her usual clothing, and she stood gazing at the sunrise, taking in all of the colors and hues, and feeling the breeze flow through her hair. She had assigned a gathering time for the others, but she and Diath arrived early. She swished her hair, as only she could. The only thing left to do was to wait for the heroes of the Gotei to arrive, and they could begin.

Sato Miyuki wasn't a hero; she was simply a soldier in the 11th. Her job was (in part at least) to see to the safety of her home and in this case that meant storming the streets of said home like an invader rather than as one repelling the invasion. Even still, she would do her duty - and proudly so.

"Sir. Ma'am." She said quietly to her commander and his second as she reached the rally point. Standing ready at attention she waited for the signal to begin.

Diath stood next to her sister at the gathering point. For a young introverted girl, Grainné really rose to the position of captain commander well, standing with an air of command, swishing her long black hair like only she could. Diath stood a little taller than her sister, and her hair was brown, but they shared the yellow eyes of the Xios clan. Diath for once had her Zan at her hip, but unlike the normal shinigami, she wore a leather jumpsuit designed for mobility in battle.

Diath caught the scent of a familiar person, and Jensen appeared on the scene. Standing tall as ever he wore his Haori with pride. The veteran captain had medium lenth brown hair and bright blue eyes. He approached Grainné and gave a slight bow. "Captain commander, vice commander. Good day for a fight, if you ask me." He said, as he spoke a soldier approached and adressed him. He looked at the girl. "Oh no lass, I'm just a captain. Miss Grainné Xios is the captain commander." He said, as he guestured towards Grainné. Jensen then took position at her left hand side and waited. Today was going to be a hell of a day.

Rai had snuck up and stayed behind the girl (Sato). When she was corrected, Rai couldn't hold his laughter. He actually walked out from behind her. He was wearing a dark blue, long tailed jacket with a black vest and a white T-shirt underneath. Blue jeans and red sneakers rounded out his outfit. His hair color was his natural hair color this time, but his right eye remained hollowfied. After quieting down, the boy stood at attention, and saluted both Captain Jensen and the Captain Commander.

"Raiden Arashi, reporting for duty!" His grin was wolfish. Like he couldn't wait for the fight to start.

Soon after, a figure appeared to Grainne's left. He wore a cloak and bucket hat, which shaded his face. But the voice and spiritual pressure should be recognizable by most people...since he was the former Captain-Commander. Emphasis on former. "Good day for a fight...I wish I could say that, Jensen...*lifts his head enough to see that it's Aki* I know I have a lot of explaining to do...and not just to you. *turns to Grainne* By the way, Chicago is done...just thought I'd tell you in case you didn't hear about it." The man looked at Rai's glare.

"You got weaker..."

Aki merely shrugged. "That's what happens when your soul sleep gets damaged..." And now they waited for the others to arrive.

Two figures then appeared near them. Parius, and Abel Ryukotei then walked to the point where they were in the group. Abel went and stood next to Jensen. He was wearing a black, sleeveless t-shirt, and black hakama, with the usual Shinigami footwear. His hair was loose, a first for those who knew him. Parius wore his customized outfit, but added an old favorite. His long, black coat was also on him, with the Vanguard symbol placed on the right shoulder.

Parius's long hair was tied in place by his headband. "Well, I'm here. As I promised." Parius stated, looking directly at Grainne. Slight amusement played in his eyes. "Hello, Diath, and Jensen. I'm hoping this will be a good time." He then spotted Raiden. "Raiden! Hoping for a good fight to?" He said, mirroring the small Vizard in smiles. Parius then spoke to the cloaked man. "I don't believe we have met. I am Parius Ryukotei. and you are?"

He appeared in after his captain, taking a brisk walk towards the front bowing before the captain commander and her lieutenant before standing straight. "Hello everyone, I'm not late this time if im correct." He stuck his tongue out for a second before addressing everyone else and greeting them also. He was anxious for the fight, he had prepared himself for the battle to come. Even already prepared what he was going to do after they reclaimed the soul society. He hadn't had time to change before leaving in a rush to make it on time this time around. His white hair spiked off in random direction messier then usual to give an appearance as to that he had been sleeping prior to leaving.

He was wearing a black vest with a white undershirt, black pants and a red coat over his vest. His zanpakuto was hanging around his waist by a belt the looped through a belt holding his pants up. His feet were covered by black combat boots that looked as if they had never been worn, but on the contrary they had been broken in over the years. His eye was still sewn shut showing that he hadn't found the time to replace his eye before the dead line had come. His smirk showed that he wasn't necessarily nervous but rather excited for the coming battle, as if he didn't care if he died or lived.

Garanzo, Kazama, and Asuma arrived together, having spent this time out of the seritei together and working as a unit to accomplish their missions. Garanzo was at the lead, wearing more traditional stealth corps garb, an unusual outfit for the usually flamboyant and outgoing shinigami, though the mask was down for now, his twin, short zanpaktou hanging in a cross on his lower back. He gave a quick salute to the head captain before leaning against a nearby tree and lighting a cigarette, a sign to those who knew him of how nervous he was. Ever since the disappearance of captain Kazma, the former stealth squad captain, Garanzo, who had only been promoted shortly before the captains disappearance, had been forced into the role of leader, a role he had always felt unprepared for. Now with the looming battle, and the remaining stealth corps soldiers looking to him for guidance, he was truly afraid.

Asuma on the other hand was very excited for the battle as he and Kazama broke off from Garanzo and went to stand by their captain. Asuma wore the traditional shinigami kimono, or at least part of it. He had removed the top layer for this battle, leaveing his scarred torso bare, with his zanpaktou strapped to his hip, and his long cornrows tied into a long, single strand. He saluted captain Jensen with a grin on his face. "A good day to die I think. Ready to go when you are sir." he said, falling in next to Jensen and then saluting the head captain. Asuma had not been happy with being forced out of soul society, and would have stayed with the resistance if circumstances had allowed. But now he was going back, and better late then never he thought.

Kazama was more partial to Asuma's thinking truly, also being excited to go back. But he was also torn. He said nothing as he saluted the head captain and then captain Jensen before falling into line, sunk into his own thoughts as he was. He wore the trasditional shinigami garb, his zanpaktou on his right hip, the hilt of which he was clutching tightly. Kazama viewed all life to be sacred, and the upcoming battle promised bloodshed. He couldn't help but woner, in the upcoming attack, could he hold to his vow to treasure all life, no matter how vile? Or would circumstances force him to choose who was more worthy of life......

Grainné closed her eyes and folded her arms, taking in all of the sounds and feelings that surrounded her right now. In her mind, she pictured the Seireitei as she remembered it. She remembered her Shinigami training, the training that gave her the means to fight. She remembered being installed as Captain Commander, an event that surprised everyone, herself most of all. Finally, Grainné Xios remembered her family and her home. It was this that gave her the most important thing needed to fight. Something to fight for.

Grainné absorbed the calmness of the surrounding area. That was one of the reasons that she picked this area as a gathering point. The tranquility should allow the maximum amount of focus before they encounter the frantic panic of battle. Then, the heroes arrived. Grainné stayed motionless with her eyes closed and her arms folded as they arrived one by one. First was Jensen Reinhart, Captain of the Offensive/Defensive force. Then, a young female arrived, Sato Miyuki. Grainné heard her address Jensen as Captain Commander, and she smiled to herself as Jensen corrected her. She opened her eyes and turned to face the young Shinigami. "Don't worry about it, happens all the time." She gave young Sato a reassuring smile.

Everyone else then arrived. After Sato was Raiden Arashi, who found Sato's mistake very funny. Then a familiar presence arrived beside her. Grainné's predecessor, Akihiko Iyou, arrived in a somewhat low-key manner. Parius and Abel Ryukotei arrived. Parius then made quite a meal of greeting everybody, which amused Grainné somewhat. After the brothers was Akira Tanaka, one of the integral components of the attack plan. Then the rest arrived. Ryokoshky Takeda, Garanzo, Asuma Tyrannus and Kazama. Ryokoshky looked hungry for battle, as did Asuma. Kazama looked somewhat excited, but also looked like he was fighting something inside. Garanzo looked nervous, lighting up a cigarette to calm himself. Grainné gave him a reassuring smile, like she did with Sato. She knew how these young people felt. The rest of the Shinigami force had a separate gathering point about a mile away. The gathering here was for the captains and selected others.


Taking a deep breath, Grainné stepped forward. "We are just waiting for Elayne. Once she arrives, Captain Iyou will say some things. Then we will go."

A few seconds after Grainné spoke, there was a blur of white and Elayne appeared by Raiden. She slapped him across the back of the head. "I seen that. Dont laugh at people Rai, its rude." she said to him, then looked at grainné. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be late. I got.." She was about to say she'd gotten nervous, which she had. She'd been standing off to one side for quite some time, hiding, and only decided to come out when she heard her name. She didn't want to sound like she was afraid to fight today, which she was, so she decided to alter her reason for being late. "I got distracted by a bug." Diath looked angry and Jensen shot her an amused look and she realised that wasn't the best choice of words. "Sorry, it wont happen again." She said, hanging her head.

Jensen had watched each person arrive, particularly the members of his squad. Abel moved to his side and he gave him a pat on the bag, then Kazama and Asuma arrived. Asuma had the usual battle hungry look about him. Not much had changed between now and back when they first met. Kazama looked nervous, and Jensen though he understood why. He gave the man a reasuring smile. "Sometimes we have to sacrifice a little part of ourselves to do our duty, Kazama. Otherwise we may end up regretting our inability to act." Jensen understood the feeling to well . He blamed himself for what happened to the ss, and he was willing to kill and die to fix it.

Rai took the slap to the back and pouted. "I'm sowwry." He acted like a little kid. In truth, he really didn't care. And just waited.

Aki seemed a little heart broken that there was zero reaction to him being there. Some of the younger officers he can see, but not Jensen or Akira! He was expecting something from them...whether a light scolding or questions being thrown his way...not...just being ignored. With the last person there, Grainne addressed him. Though one did ask who he was, even introduced himself. He recognized the name, and Aki grinned. "So you're the one that gave me those few extra volunteers. Thanks." He left it at that. He would hope the man would remember Yuri's call for volunteers to take down the former hollow fortress city of Chicago.

"I'm not a captain, Grainne-chan. Besides, I'm not even sure if my colleagues would accept me back as one of their own...let alone everyone else that still remembers me. If a speech is needed, we're not the only ones that need it...the troops looked...unsure...morale is certainly not where it needs to be...let's take it to the others as well. I should be the last one to make an appearance." He waited as everyone filed out to make an appearance to the general soldiery. If Grainne stayed just a little bit longer, and was the only other person in the room, he would speak some more. "I need to make this speech for more than just upping people's morale, which I think you might be a better fit to do than me. But I need some redemption...and need to answer questions." He followed after Grainne.

There were murmurs from the general soldiers as the officers and extra hands made their appearance. But when Aki was seen right behind Grainne, that's when it really started. Aki cleared his throat, demanding silence. They reacted just like that, quiet, unmoving, waiting for an answer of what was going on. The former Captain-Commander, rumored to be dead, here? Now? Where has he been all this time?

Aki's voice was loud and confident."Good morning. I know there are lots of questions about what happened to me after we were kicked out and I ordered the retreat. Let's just say that I was out cold, fighting for my life in critical condition for months on end. There was no way I could have helped reorganize, no way to stay as being the Captain-Commander. I still feel the guilt, however. I allowed Soul Society to fall and abandoned you. And now I stand before you, begging for your forgiveness, and hoping you would allow me to continue my quest for redemption.

While I was recovering, I was doing research, hoping to find a way to destroy the hollow fortress of Chicago. I achieved the goal as they attacked New York City. That was part 1 for my redemption. My part 2 is joining you in this endeaver. Some may ask and say: Why should we? You failed before, you'll fail again! Some hope you were!

Yeah...you're right. My plan failed. The Maggots were let out, and we had to leave. I wasn't the one to bring about a new era for us. Before you ask, Captain-Commander Grainne did in fact find me, and we spoke. I put my faith in her. I ask you to do the same. I may not be the Captain-Commander anymore, I may not be the new hope we needed...I may not be the man to reconquer Soul Society. But I'll be damned if I'm just let out in the cold and not do my part!

I don't know about you, but I can no longer stand by and wait as comrades at arms are still in Soul Society making the Maggot's lives hell! Now is the time to kick them out! For those of you that don't know, Captain Riku Tomoshibi is still there with shinigami from various squads. They'll last...but at the very least I don't want to leave them there any longer than necessary.

There is only one thing we should fear: the release of Aizen. I'm sure there is a plan in place for that. *Cue Rai holding his arm and Elayne's arm up and shouting something along the lines of leave it to us* That answers that question. Now, are you with me? Are you gonna allow me to help with this operation? To retake our home?" The chorus of roars of approval was deafening. Morale was up much more. He took off his hat, spun it on its edge and flicked it up. "Captain-Commander, the troops are ready. Any other captain with some words of encouragement?" He bowed towards Grainne. And awaited the word.

Parius watched as others arrived. He nodded to Aki, when the man spoke to him. "It was more along the lines of one. There were things I had to do, or I would've gone myself." Parius then remembered the battle in New York. Shaking it off,  he watched as Elayne showed up as well, and sighed at her reasoning for being late. Your not doing yourself any favors, Elayne. He thought. 

Abel felt the pat on his back, and nodded at Jensen. "Let's take this place back." He merely said, and waited for his orders. He was getting a bit jumpy, but Abel didn't let it show. He was wondering how Parius seemed so calm in this kind of situation. Parius smiled, as they walked to the other soldiers. He kept to the back, out of sight, as Abel was right behind Jensen. He listened to Aki's little speech, but said nothing. It wasn't his place yet. He looked around, wondering if anyone else would say anything.

He nodded his head and shook his head at times in the speech, as it neared it's end he had begun to try moving closer to the front. He regretted his decision to leave the back though as cheer began to raise up his vision became blocked and he couldn't find his way out, just deciding to cheer along with everyone else. Once the cheers began to die down slightly he began to navigate his way out again. Moving towards his captain, "We all made mistakes, and sadly we weren't at are finest. We figured that we didn't need to be at are strongest because we had never truly been taken out. Are arrogance is cleared however." A smile cracked his face as his captain's anger flared. He just nodded for his anger was suppressed waiting for the first maggots.

Kazama gave a half hearted smile to captain Jensen. "First time I will have been faced with such a decision sir. I would prefer......" he stopped, shaking his head as he realized the foolishness of what he had been about to say. They were going to war, cruel bitter war. People would die. And as much as he hated it, it was kill or be killed, or worse, have one of those depending on him get killed. As much as it pained his soul, he knew he would be forced into killing. A thought that sat well with him not at all.

Asuma smirked and punched Kazama in the shoulder. "Tell ya what, you knock em down and I will finish em off, no blood on you that way." he said with a grin. Despite his words though, he was also concerned for his friend. Kazama had never killed anyone before, he didn't even kill hollow, he had others kill them for him! And if Asuma and Kazama were together, then his friend could continue in his way of blood free life. But in the coming turmoil, Asuma would be needed elsewhere, away from his equally powerful friend. He could say all he wanted to comfort Kazama, but he knew that his friend would lose a part of himself in this fight. And it pained him to see his friend suffering so.

Garanzo gave the head captain a cocky little half smile he was known for among his men, doing his best to hide his nerves. Anyone who knew him well though would see right throw his façade. Gotta give up smoking he told himself as he blew out a large cloud of smoke, listening to the small speech by the former captain. He admittedly hadn't known him well, having become an officer after the man had left, and neither did he care about why he left. All he cared about was having an extra sword in the fight. How he wished they could have brought more.....

Jensen looked at Aki after the man stepped back from his speech. "Sorry.. You owe me nothing. Its good to see your alive. If i came off cold earlier, it was becuase I wasn't sure if you'd come back to try take over again. No offense, you made a good leader, but that girl is what the gotei needs, and I have no patience for politics and squabling over that kind of thing. Again though, glad your alive." He said. He wasn't speaking loud enough for most people to overhear, undoubtedly only people with high senses would hear what he'd just said. Captain Akira said a few words next. Jensen patted Aki on the shoulder smiled and stepped up to give a little speech of his own.

"I know many of you. We've trained together, faught together, Bled together. At one point, many of you expected me to step up to the plate and lead us, but I didn't. Not because I didn't want to, but because I do not have what it takes... However I seen something in the woman who leads us now, and I knew she was the key to our future the moment we met. Any of you who hold doubt in her should cast it aside now, for doubt will surely lead to failure.

"We must believe in our leader. We must believe in our friends and allies. But most of all we must all believe in the strength of our own soul! Believe in our will to right past failures, to fight for our home and our loved ones! We have been beaten, cast from our lands by criminals, but today we will show the worlds that we will not lie down and give in! We will show them that our will cannot be broken! When we set foot on the battlefield, stand tall! For today, you are all the heroes of soul society!"

Jensen stepped back then as cheers rose up again. He looked to the faces of those he knew who'd doubted Gráinne. Some were members of his squad. They were cheering now too.

Miyuki shivered at the mention of Aizen. She hadn’t even been an Academy student back when Aizen had mounted his (first?) attack on the Seireitei but she remembered the feelings of dread and terror that had accompanied the Winter War. And when the call for action came, her voice was amongst those shouting their agreement; perhaps the last time her voice would be heard until the end of the battle save for the release of Akatsukimi.

Background Music:


Gráinne listened intently to what the other Captains had to say. Akihiko Iyou stepped forward and spoke to the troops, addressing what had happened before as well as what they were about to do. The troops roared in approval, but Gráinne was lost in thought. When the former Captain-Commander finished his speech, he turned and offered the floor to the rest of the Captains. Captain Tanaka stepped forward and said a brief word, assuring Akihiko that no one person was to blame. In a rare show of emotion, Akira vowed to fight for his people and to succeed in the mission. There was a couple of quiet words shared between the Captains and Vice-Captains, before Captain Reinhart stepped forward.

It was Jensen's speech that struck her the most, as up until now Gráinne was sure that Diath and Diath alone was the only one that trusted her as Captain-Commander, and that the rest merely tolerated her as she came from a relatively low background. She was genuinely touched by Jensen's words, almost brought to tears by the revelation of his trust and belief in his leader. As Jensen finished up, amid the raucous cheers of the troops, Gráinne did leak a solitary tear, disguised with a trademark swish of her hair.

When the cheering had started to die down, Gráinne knew that her time was now. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and cleared her throat. Though she was not one for talk usually, she had learned from her new post that talk was sometimes necessary. She swished her hair again to calm her nerves as the area became silent.

"I'm not much of a talker, so I beg your forgiveness if I mess up." Gráinne gazed around at the faces of the soldiers that she was about to order into battle. They all stared intently back. "I realize that I am a relative unknown to most of you. I am also aware that it is difficult to trust an unknown in a position of power. I do not order you to trust me. After all trust is earned, it cannot be ordered from you. So my order is simply this. Do not fight for me. Do not put your life on the line for me. Do these things for yourself, and for all of your brothers and sisters that fight alongside you." Gráinne was drawing confidence from the murmurs of approval from the crowd.

"There is one more thing I must ask of you. Close your eyes. Take in everything in this moment. The calmness in the air. The peace in the ground beneath you. But most importantly, soak in the feelings of strength and empowerment you get from your comrades, knowing that everyone has the same goal."

Gráinne drew her sword and slashed through the air. The sword left a rainbow trail that formed into a massive Senkai Gate. "Remember all of this, for no matter what lies through this gate, you are not alone. Remember the calmness. Remember the peace. But most of all, if you find yourself in trouble, in a seemingly hopeless situation, with your back against the wall, remember - you are fighting for your brothers and sisters, just as we are fighting for you! You are not alone! You will never be alone!!!" There was a earth-shaking cheer as the Captain-Commander's last words resonated around the area.

Gráinne turned to the other Captains. "I guess we have a home to liberate." She walked over to Elayne and Raiden, and ushered them over to one side. "Now that that's over with, I can address you properly. I cannot overestimate the importance of your mission. We all know the price of failure. However, I do not believe that you will fail. I trust both of you implicitly. You can do this." She waited for a response from the two Vizards before opening a smaller Senkai Gate that would deliver them to a different location closer to the Maggot's Nest, but where they hopefully wouldn't be detected. She gave them each a hug. "Good luck." Gráinne then turned to the other Captains and Vice-Captains. She gave them each a warm hug, before stepping back and saluting them. "Shall we?"

Raiden stiffened when he and his sister were finally addressed. Compared to his more childlike behavior and the like, he was dead serious. "Naturally. Elayne and I have a plan. But we should tell you that when you feel our and the Maggot Leader's reiatsu disappear it does not mean that we're done. It means we just started. You'll have a while before we're back in the same dimensional plane if you finish before we do." Grainne gave them both a hug and wished them luck.

Aki spoke to Grainne. "I don't know what the plan is...but I'm not gonna leave your side unless an old rival shows up. I'll be watching your back. *turns to the other captains* You can probably expect some head hunting. Watch yourselves." When the Senkaimons opened...Aki was the first one through...and he wanted to be the first one in...