Forget The Rails Arc 4 Chapter 4 Interlude

As Shunsui Kyoraku leaned back against a weathered tree, he felt the rough bark digging into his back, a small discomfort that reminded him he was still alive despite the chaos around him. It had been a long day, one filled with bloodshed and what felt like endless battles against the unrelenting swarm of immortal hollows that had descended upon the Rukongai. The echoes of anguished cries reverberated through the air, a haunting symphony of despair that clawed at his heart.

Worse, the sounds of those same hollows as they had been taken over- he shifted his thoughts away from Kaien Shiba's involvement. For all the joy he felt at Jushiro's happiness at that man's return, Shunsui felt something deeply off about it's timing.

He sighed heavily, casting his gaze toward the horizon where dark clouds loomed ominously. The sky seemed to mirror the turmoil within him, heavy and oppressive, casting shadows over a world already steeped in sorrow. "Nanao," he began, his voice barely breaking above the hushed sounds of the aftermath, "How are you holding up?"

Nanao Ise, his ever loyal lieutenant, stood nearby, her arms crossed tightly over her chest as if to shield herself from the unknown that had taken over their lives. "Captain?"

He gave her an easy, if somewhat uncertain, smile. "How are you doing?" He questioned gently. "A lot's changed recently- It's my duty as a captain to make sure my subordinates aren't over burdened." The words echoed out of him felt off, not in the sense they weren't words he'd ever use in that particular way- because they really weren't, but more that they felt almost resigned in a sense.

He watched as she processed his words, her gaze slowly lowering down to her wrapped zanpakuto's hilt before squaring back on him. "It's certainly been an interesting few months." She stated easily. "I can't say I am keen on learning much more these days," She finished with a sigh.

He let out a slight snort at that.

"I don't blame you," He responded, quieter than before. "It almost feels like every step forward comes with a thousand steps back."

"Well, at least now you know how I always felt as your second in command." The girl joked to his surprise.

Maybe Aizen really was onto something when he said taking up jokes and the end of the world tend to go hand in hand.

"I am not overburdened," The girl added on after a thoughtful moment. "As much as things change, my duty stays the same."

Shunsui wondered when he'd lost that spark of life. Or whether he'd ever even had it really. He couldn't tell anymore. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair, his heart heavy with doubt. "But at what cost?" he interjected, his eyes clouded with weariness. "Every time we beat back a calamity, another appears. I can’t help but feel we're caught in a cycle, one that never truly ends. Like it's a sick joke played at our expense."

Nanao took a step closer, her expression softening as she sensed the depth of his turmoil. "If you're still fighting despite that, it just means you care a lot. That's what makes you a great leader," she said, her voice gentle yet firm.

He chuckled softly, but the sound was hollow, devoid of real mirth. "Leadership is a burden, one I thought I knew well." Then Aizen Sosuke popped up from the future and he realised what it really looked like. What it truly meant to uphold the responsibility of others on one's back. "It feels like we’re trying to stop the rain with our bare hands. No matter how hard we try, it pours harder the next moment."

The silence between them grew, heavy with unspoken fears and shared burdens. The gentle rustle of leaves did little to ease the sombre air, instead, it felt like nature itself was mourning alongside them.

A year ago, they would've been celebrating the outcome of that little invasion. Drinks would've swept down their streets with the return of Kaien Shiba.

"Nanao," he continued, now looking into her eyes, trying to convey the depths of his thoughts, "Even with everything that's happened, I want you to remember your dreams, your hopes. I need you to find a way to hold onto that, even when it feels impossible…"

As expected, she took him at face value as she nodded slowly, her gaze unwavering as she absorbed his words. "I won’t forget, Captain. I promise." There was genuine conviction in her tone.

He really couldn't imagine ever having that kind of willpower in himself at such a young age.

For all that it felt empty against the timeless despair that had taken hold of their world- Shunsui felt a flicker of warmth at her resolve, a small flame in an unrelenting storm. "You’re stronger than you realize."

To his surprise, those words made her hesitate ever so slightly.

He wasn't sure what drove him to ask her following that hesitation, but something in him felt it necessary to, "after everything we've seen and learnt… do you think we did the right thing? Pushing back the hollows, returning to the status quo?"

She looked at him, surprise and hesitation flickering across her face. "...We fought to protect innocent souls. It’s our duty to ensure their safety. If we hadn’t intervened, who knows how many would have been lost? Surely letting the hollows roam free is worse than maintaining the Balance," she replied, confusion evident in her voice.

The Balance was the problem though and she knew that herself. It's why she obeyed him when he told her to stay close to him ever since they'd peeked into the Soul King's Palace.

That was the one spark of a difference that truly separated him and her, he supposed. He questioned the choice between the two greater evils, while she questioned the greater goods.

It was another stark reminder that as a Captain, he was still learning the pitfalls of the job. It was another stark reminder of just where he failed, where Aizen succeded.

Because that man harbored both those convictions, within his own soul. Aizen made his decisions like Nanao chose to, while his Zanpakuto made decisions like he himself did. Both sides of the coin were accounted for with every step he took and when the situation demanded for it- when those two paths crossed each other, Aizen and his Zanpkauto had the strength to make sure the more important choice was made.

He didn't have that in him, and so he didn't have the drive to truly answer his own question.

"But that’s just it," Shunsui countered, the weight of his thoughts crashing over him like waves. "The Balance is the enemy right now isn't it?" He whispered as the captain's meeting surged forth in his mind. As he recalled the horror he'd felt at Jushiro's sudden change.

Yes he was happy that his closest friend had been healed, had been freed of that thing's hold but... the sheer ease it had happened in, the sheer way it occurred without a single soul barring Aizen the wiser..? The fact it was that easy for something that grand to take place and not one of them had noticed...

A shiver crept up his spine at the very thought of it.

Nanao tilted her head briefly catching his attention again, the brightness in her gaze dimming as she processed his words. "Are you suggesting it would have been better to let the hollows do as they please?"

"No," he rapidly said, his voice firm yet tinged with vulnerability. "I’m not saying we should do nothing. We can’t allow innocent souls to suffer. But..." Whatever he wanted to add however refused to come out as he took in the sheer attention his words held on such an innocent mind.

How could he break whatever truths she still held, when it had brought him this low?

"You think we’re just… delaying the inevitable?" Nanao’s voice was soft now, almost fragile as she grappled with his perspective.

He sighed deeply, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know what our duty is... It's a curse." He let out with an easy smile. "Soul Society's curse." He added on, his voice tinged with something unrecognisable this time. "Soul Society's price."

Nanao looked away for a moment, gazing at the remnants of the battles they had fought. The bloodstains, the destruction, and the distant cries of those still mourning their losses. He wondered if he'd care as much had this event taken place a few years back, without the truths of what his world held. "Is that why you seem so distant, Captain? Because you fear that everything we’re doing is futile?"

Shunsui closed his eyes, each word tasting bitter on his tongue. "I didn’t think I’d ever question our cause and it haunts me every moment now that it does."

"But..." Nanao replied, her voice steadying with a newfound resolve, "If we do nothing, we doom countless souls. We have to fight since we're the only ones that can and even if we can’t see every consequence. We'd at least be taking a stand against some form of darkness and I think that counts for something."

"A large part of me knows you're right," Shunsui started before his gaze lowered from hers towards the ground beneath him. "...But what use is being right in a world whose rules were made by a monster?"

Nanao didn't have an answer to that yet her grip on her Zanpakuto's hilt turned steadier.

...

As the stars began to twinkle in the indigo sky, Shunsui Kyoraku felt a profound sense of unease settling in his chest. He turned his gaze back to Nanao, who was reflecting on their conversation, and likely couldn’t shake the same thoughts swirling in his mind. "Do you have something in your mind?" He questioned carefully.

She locked eyes with him, evidently somewhat startled- he'd lost track of how long they'd been in the same spot. The moment the battle had ended felt so long ago, yet he knew it truly wasn't. He wondered what the others were doing- he'd politely refused to gather with them around the newly returned Shiba, taking the time to rest his weary legs.

Her voice low and contemplative, broke through his thoughts, "You once told me that during the trial that Captain Aizen had with former Captain Urahara..." The memory surged through his mind with ease as he recalled the blissfully unaware mood he'd once been in, "that in the future, the Soul King died? That his death was the cause of the doom of Captain Aizen's future?" He blinked at that tidbit of information. "But... everyone's now saying the Soul King is the main problem?"

...That was...

Shunsui blinked as he processed the words again.

His expression must've shown his confusion as he noted the hesitant look that took over Nanao's face. "Something obviously changed but... I mean how did it go from stopping the death of the Soul King to... the Soul King being the one responsible for Hell's existence as a looming disaster?"

Worse, he quickly realised- it hadn't just been a threat all along. If Aizen's reaction to the memory was any indication, along with that memory itself- It was an entirely new threat. Aizen had likely known that Hell was his final obstacle but the Soul King himself playing a direct part of it wasn't a factor.

Shunsui felt a deep, unsettling, pit form in him at the thought of it all.

"I can't help but wonder," Nanao continued, despite her flickering emotions. "...If the Soul King has always been capable of just... rewriting history like recent events suggest then..." He watched as she bit her lip. "Why allow himself to be killed in a future with a Soul Society that dealt and suffered at the hands of one dangerous fire after another but forcibly intervene in one where a survivor from that timeline put out those same dangerous flames before they could spread?" He dimly noted that her grip on her blade's hilt had turned her knuckles a dangerous hue of white. "...You don't think we're meant to die do you?"

He opened his mouth to respond to that. To reassure the girl that she was likely overthinking it. To try and say anything that might stop her from gripping a hilt hard enough to bleed her own hands.

"...I... everyone saw that memory, Captain." She continued, her thoughts likely swaying through her mind without mercy as she slowly shook her head. "I can't begin to imagine the kind of power one has to have to... to manipulate reality at that level- that a mere memory of you, is capable of... of..." He heard the loud gulp that came out of her as he rapidly stood up to his feet, his captain's cloak billowing in the wind as he got closer to the girl. "...It's so heavy," She whispered, a pleading tone to her voice as he wrapped her in a hug. "It's never been this heavy," she shuddered into his chest, tears pricking at her eyes as her hands shook holding the weapon said to have split the Soul King's power.

...

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Should hopefully be released on the 14/01/2025