Prelude to a Revelation

Tsubine had found a new place to clear his head. It just so happened to be somewhere forbidden. The top of the Senzaikyuu wasn't somewhere most people could even get to. When a shudder of power almost knocked him off, Tsubine grew tense. It was similar to then. He focused in, trying to find someone he might be able to ask what was going on. Lilith... not here? Odd. J was though... until he disappeared heading north. There was only one source he trusted then. With a sigh, he stood and fell off backwards. He pushed off from the passing wall and headed in Mifune's direction. "Yo." Tsubine waved nonchalantly. "The hell is going on? Did another breach happen?"

Mifune had been right where he'd said he'd be, sitting quietly on the steps that lead to the First Division meeting hall. He sat on the top most stair, eyes closed and apparently calm. In truth he was concentrating, spreading out his enhanced senses to keep a metaphorical eye on the Seireitei. He tracked the changing energies far beyond the walls as well, following the movements of the Captains. One other energy signature caught his attention, and it was heading towards him. He raised a hand in a wave when he heard Tsubine call out, though he didn't open his eyes. "No. Several captains are currently working to...repair...the breach," Mifune said at length. His tone certainly implied there was more to it than what though.

Tsubine raised an eyebrow. "Figured out how to that fast, huh?" He pointed his thumb in the direction of the breach. ...or at least where he thought it was. "That didn't feel like a big roll of duct tape though. Should I be concerned?"Mifune considered his response, weighing the words carefully for longer than normal. He withdrew his senses, opened his eyes, and turned his gaze to Tsubine. "How close have you and Captain Blake become?" he asked with a steady tone.

Tsubine was taken aback by that question. He... had an answer. He had many answers. The silence while he selected one was probably enough for the most sensitive Captain to pick up on it. "I've... been crashing at her place with all this," he gestured vaguely around, "going on. ...Why do you ask?" Mifune's gaze was steady as Tsubine considered his answer, and gave a small nod before looking back out in the direction of the pulse. "Sealing the barrier requires someone of great power, giving up that power. And their life. After today, one of the Three Fists will no longer be with us. That is what my gut tells me."

With every word, Tsubine's heart raced. There was a slight head shake as he continued. His eyes went wide and he gazed in the direction of the pulse. "I'd ask if you were joking but I don't think you've got it in you." He let out a dry, empty chuckle. "She's just going to go up there and..." The man that was normally so calm and collected had a hint of fear and anger—as well as deep sadness—playing for control. "Without saying a damn thing?" Tsubine turned back to Mifune. "I take it that's where they all headed off to in a rush? Was it to stop her... or say goodbye?"

"I don't know if it'll make you feel any better, but she did not tell any one. Including the other Fists or Captain Arishima," Mifune said, a way of softening the blow. "Oddly enough, it does." If Lilith didn't tell Shor—Genpaku, then it didn't hurt him as hard... But he was still not at all pleased. "I suspect that Captain Blake, for all her years, has not figured out how to say goodbye." "She's never had the chance to." "Both, I believe. Some have gone to say goodbye, some plan to stop her." Tsubine sighed, then stared at Mifune's response to his question. "Tell me—honest assessment—do you think they'll be able to?" Tsubine hesitated for a moment before continuing the question. "...and do you think it's right if they do?"

Mifune thought on Tsubine's question for a few moments. "Yes. Commander Saionji and several others discovered the information somewhere, I imagine in some secret record kept by the Commanders of times past. If the process requires power, one would be hard pressed to say that any of the Fists could not provide that. As for whether it is right..." Mifune trailed off, considering it again. "If it is their decision, yes. We, each of us of the Gotei, have pledged to lay down our life to protect the worlds and maintain the cycle. If any one of them feels that making this sacrifice to provide a safe haven for the rest of us, who are we to say otherwise? Rough though it may be to accept."

There was a lot of thought on Mifune's words. He hadn't answered the question Tsubine meant... but he had answered one that Tsubine had thought to ask. Tsubine wasn't part of the Gotei. He didn't have the same righteousness that these other warriors had. They protected something intangible, but great. Tsubine thought he was protecting the tangible—the people and places here in the Soul Society. Yet now, was what the Gotei did the same? Was it not potentially greater than what he did?


Tsubine sighed and turned towards the direction of the pulse. He hadn't said anything in what felt like hours, but it was only minutes. "If I left now, I wouldn't get there in time I bet." As if on cue, the sky slowly began to turn red."...And that's if I knew where I was going." Mifune gave a gentle shake of his head to Tsubine's rhetorical question. As the sky began to change he closed his eyes again, muttering a subtle incantation as he reached out with his senses. At this distance he would normally have had a hard time truly differentiating who was who at this distance. But they were not talking normal shinigami. "I imagine once you got close enough, it would be hard for even you to miss if the Three Fists went to war with one another over something like this."

Tsubine let out a small chuckle. "You might have a point there... I'd just have to hope I stuck the landing." He placed a hand on Mifune's shoulder briefly. "Thank you for telling me." And as quickly as he appeared, he was about to be gone... and then, Mifune stoppped him. Mifune was about to let him go when things began to shift. He felt the energies out there begin to shift, and held up a hand for Tsubine to wait. "It seems there is...disagreement happening. Out there." He held quiet for a little longer until he felt one of the energies begin to rise away from the rest, and felt it begin to spread out towards the Edge. He opened his eyes, and stood. "It seems Captain Fujisaki...convinced the other two to let him take the task. One way or another." Mifune gave another bow in the direction of where the energy was.

Tsubine was in complete silence for a moment. Part shock... part trying to remember which Captain that was. "I get the feeling... it wasn't something the other two just let happen." Tsubine sat down next to where Mifune had been sitting. His legs went numb for a moment. "Can... you tell if she's fine?" Mifune rose back up, closing his eyes and reaching out with his senses. "At this distance I can't get much. I still sense her power, though it is faint. I imagine she had poured a great deal of power in before...whatever transpired."
Tsubine let out a long, deep breath. "That... is a relief." Tsubine stood. The familiar pep was back in his step—the same lazy smile across his face. But it was yet another mask of his, as anger and relief now fought behind the scenes. "Because I'm going to go knock... or at least talk some sense into her." Tsubine waved as he began walking down the steps. Mifune gave a rare smile to Tsubine as he started away, dismissing the kidou as he did before the headache came. "There may be a line," he warned before he took his seat again, and took up his post as he reached his senses out over the Seireitei.