Shirou didn't understand Soul Society's law, so he had to trust the higher up to deal with Rukia. But the fact that she was going to be punished for helping someone was ridiculous. It was as if she committed a sin.
He had to trust that they would judge her fairly. After all, Ichigo saved their ass, didn't he?
"Hm? Ahaha, that's a silly worry. She won't be punished or even judged by anyone for that. Not anymore." Ukitake answered, laughing softly.
"Huh?" Shirou tilted his head in confusion.
"Also, I'd like for you and your friends to stay here and recover first. We will welcome you to my Division barracks. You can think of it as my token of appreciation for helping Rukia." Ukitake said with a smile.
***
Fuyuki City had always been burning in Shirou's dream.
Fire, destruction, and debris. Everything related to that incident in his childhood that wiped the city and claimed dozens of innocent lives. It was something he could never forget for as long as he lived.
In his dream, the burning Fuyuki City always appeared before his eyes.
Every time he tried to move away from his past it would return to haunt him without fail.
Whether it was due to his recent war to save Rukia or his realization upon his slowly changing ideal, the Fuyuki in front of him had always burned. The world was always red and orange, burning as if to mock him.
But this time was different. Something was off. He could feel that his usual nightmare had changed.
There was no fire. The sky above was bright blue. The buildings that should have fallen disappeared and the city that had crumbled down to ruin was nowhere to be found. The air that should have smelled like burnt and ash was fresh instead. The road beneath his feet wasn't covered in dust but a green grass.
The scenery looked exactly like the real one.
A hill stood before him, overlooking the entire plateau. He lay at the lowest point, gazing at the moving clouds. It was beautiful.
Calming, even.
An utopia.
Shirou stared at the sky and enjoyed the comfortable atmosphere. He had never felt such tranquility in his dream. Even the ones with the endless blade and swords didn't make him as comfortable as the current one.
So he spent hours looking at the beautiful sky. The gentle wind caressing his cheek and rustling his hair. The chirps from birds were heard as they flew, the rustling leaves and bushes were the background music to his ears.
And then, a soft voice whispered to him.
"Shirou."
Like a distant dream.
It was a girl's voice.
It wasn't Archer's voice.
"Shirou...."
Someone called out his name from a distance. It wasn't just his imagination.
He sat up straight and looked around, trying to locate where the sound was coming from. The grass moved in response and his clothes rustled softly as his eyes widened slightly in recognition of the familiar voice that reached him.
That was right.
He could hear her.
"Shirou."
It was definitely Saber.
Saber, Arturia, Arturia Pendragon, the King of Knight, and his beloved partner.
He could feel her presence. She was here. Somewhere close.
"Saber?! Where are you?!" Shirou shouted.
"Shirou!"
There, on the hill that stood above the grassland stood a girl in a white summer dress.
A long golden hair fluttered with the gentle wind. She was looking down at him with a sad smile. Her green eyes that were usually bright with life were dimmed.
Shirou stared at her in disbelief.
At that moment, everything turned to white and he saw a ceiling. The beautiful scene in his dream had turned to a white ceiling with a small light.
Tears were streaming down his cheek as he woke up.
"Was I dreaming?"
Shirou felt his heart clench painfully.
The dream of Fuyuki was always about his past. About the fire that destroyed the city. He always dreamt of fire and smoke. About the incident that took the life of innocent people.
And it had changed now that he was moving forward to change.
No longer was he bound to that dream.
He wasn't trapped in his cage, the place that had bound him.
Now he moved toward that utopia, the everdistant dream where he would never dream of fire again.
Sitting up from the futon, he looked at the window in his room. A clear blue sky greeted him, and the chirp from a bird was heard from the distance. And then he looked around. A japanese-style room with tatami mat, and wooden wall greeted him.
"Ah, I see."
He remembered now. He was in Soul Society, a place where Shinigami lived and worked.
13th Division Captain, Ukitake Juushirou invited him and his friends to stay at his barrack after Rukia's execution was stopped and the traitors, Aizen and his group ran away. So he stayed with them for a few days to recover and rest from the exhausting battles.
And today was the third day. The last day before he returned home to Fuyuki.
"Shirou-kun, are you awake?"
The shoji slid open, and Orihime peeked from the gap.
"Morning, Inoue." He greeted her with a smile, "Do you need something from me?"
She opened the door completely, entering his room. Her bright orange hair swayed behind her back. She wore a cute white dress that looked pretty good on her.
Shirou couldn't help but notice how bright she looked.
"Do you know where Rukia-chan is? I can't find her anywhere in the whole Seireitei."
"Ah, I don't know. Did she leave a note?"
"Not at all."
"Then you don't need to worry too much."
When Rukia tried to get herself caught in the Living World, she left a note to ease their worry. Shirou found the note after visiting the Urahara shop, so he wasn't sure about what he should have done at the time.
However, there wasn't a single trace of Rukia's note or message this time. So she might have been called by her Captain or brother to talk. That or she had something important to attend.
"I see." Orihime muttered, nodding to herself. "Then I'm going to find her. Thank you, Shirou-kun!"
The girl left while waving her hand excitedly. She was like a storm that came and left without a moment to rest.
"Man, Inoue sure has a lot of energy." Shirou mumbled as he went out to prepare for a new day.
The barrack wasn't that far from the hill they fought on before.
In fact, the hill was visible from the window. Shirou stared at the sight and smiled. The hill was no longer in ruins thanks to 4th and 12th Divisions that worked tirelessly to clean it.
And he also explained about Aizen's hypnosis as well as how to dispel it. At first some people didn't agree with his method, which involved stabbing themselves with a dagger to break the hypnosis.
No sane person would want to get hurt just because they didn't believe someone was capable of controlling everyone's mind.
Well, it was a good idea, at least. In the end, he couldn't do anything if he couldn't convince anyone.
Fortunately for him, Captain Unohana gave her testimony as the proof for his statement.
After that, Kyouraku Shunsui, the Captain of 8th Division became the guinea pig, followed by Kurotsuchi Mayuri. The 12th Division Captain looked pretty excited to analyze the weapon that Shirou projected, but he had to refuse.
Nothing good would come if someone like Mayuri got a hold of that weapon. He had that kind of feeling.
However, it was pretty limited to who would want to test the theory. Not many people believed that they were hypnotized, and it wouldn't be weird considering how prideful some people could be.
Only Captains, Lieutenants, and some of the seat officers volunteered to be freed.
The rest of the Gotei 13 refused to do so. And it wouldn't be a problem as long as the leaders were freed from Aizen's control. They were the ones who made decisions anyway.
After tidying up his futon and changing his clothes to hakama, he walked out to the yard.
***
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