The warehouse-like building stood tall and imposing when compared to the buildings that frequented the human world, repelling intruders away simply by its appearance alone. That, however, wouldn’t deter the woman standing right in front of it, determined to find the hidden Fullbringers. A strong amount of reiatsu emanated from this exact location when compared to the normal, extremely low levels of background reiatsu left over from Hollows over the millennia. It did prove, however, that whoever was inside it really needed to suppress their reiatsu better or at least erect barriers against that sort of thing. Of course, a spiritually sensitive being was a rare to come across in that particular area of Ireland but it was still possible. She was there now, wasn’t she? A hand came up to grip the handle of the massive door, turning it in an attempt to open the door. It didn’t budge, no matter how much strength Yuzuki applied to it, proving that the door was locked or barricaded.

Yuzuki didn’t wait to find out. Whirling around, she aimed a powerful back-kick at the door, shattering a man-sized hole through the wood. Her plans for an inconspicuous entry were ruined – she hadn’t had the patience to look for other means of entry apart from smashing in the front door. Nevertheless, Yuzuki was answered by silence. The interior was dark, boxes made from various sturdy materials making piles upon piles of stored things, whatever they were. As Yuzuki stepped in, her hand on her Zanpakuto, she almost expected to be ambushed by a couple dozen of kids. However, there was nothing, no presence of any living being as far as she could see, though she could still sense the reiatsu.

The decision took approximately two seconds – deciding to follow the reiatsu would be the best idea. She nodded to herself, almost as an afterthought, and focused on the pressure. It was strongest in the far right corner of the warehouse, where most of the boxes were stored. She set off at a quick pace to the corner, some fifty meters away. The place was truly huge, not even her quick strides afforded her to arrive quickly. However, as she got closer a small, inconspicuous glow in said corner was brought to her attention by a barely audible whisper. The whispering stopped suddenly, as if cut off or muffled by something and Yuzuki narrowed her eyes. She stood behind a tall stack of wooden boxes labeled with ‘this way up’ and ‘do not store with explosives’. That last warning piqued her interest and she prodded the box for a second before the smell of gunpowder assaulted her senses. Wrinkling her nose in distaste, Yuzuki shifted slightly and listened carefully for any more signs of human activity. 

Fifteen minutes passed like this, with no sound nor any indication of a being within the four walls. Not even Yuzuki was detectable, not to inexperienced Fullbringers anyway, her massive amount of reiatsu being nearly impossible to hide. That was exactly what Yuzuki had been waiting for. Apparently assuming that the intruder was now gone, the humans behind the boxes sighed in relief and the light flared up again, nearly blinding Yuzuki. She smirked, intent on apprehending the gang as soon as they came out. And that’s exactly what they did, making their way out between the boxes, only to be met with the smug figure of Yuzuki. More scared than anything, they scattered as much as possible, a running throughout the warehouse and aiming for the exit. Yuzuki was faster than that, using a bit of Shunpo to dart around and catch them like escaped animals. Soon enough, they cowered in a corner, much to Yuzuki’s dislike. 

[i]’What a bunch of spineless brats,’[/i] she thought, surveying them all with a displeased expression. Finally, she spoke. “So, you’ve all been hiding. Care to tell me why?” 

Silence spanned across the warehouse for a few long minutes. A man in his early twenties, who seemed to be the leader of sorts, said, “We thought you were one of those humanoid monsters.” Yuzuki perked an eyebrow at this, mildly amused at their description of an Arrancar. Why would there be Arrancars in the Human world? The last Arrancar had appeared 64 years ago, if Yuzuki wasn’t mistaken. Nevertheless, she wasn’t surprised that they couldn’t tell the difference between her reiatsu and an Arrancar’s. Arrancars had become unsettlingly similar to Shinigami in the last few centuries, unlike the ones she’d battled 600 years ago, when they’d felt more primal than anything. 

However, the fact that they’d sent two of their own to run after a suspected Arrancar didn’t sit well with her. Sending Ciara and Emmett into the lion’s den was dangerous and stupid, something Yuzuki didn’t approve of. They all should’ve either come together or stayed away together rather than sacrificing others, viewing them as expendable. Of course, sometimes it was inevitable but in this case, it was entirely avoidable. Just looking at the kids’ scared expressions pissed her off more than anything. Her previous assessment of them being spineless was correct after all. “Just so you know, they’re called Arrancars and they have the remains of a white mask on their head and face. I clearly don’t have one, therefore I’m not one. However, you shouldn’t have sent Ciara and Emmett to trail after me if you weren’t sure, while you sat here on your cowardly asses, risking their lives. I hope you feel better knowing I nearly killed Emmett.” Yuzuki glared a bit, not too much as she didn’t want to excessively scare the kids. No doubt it would’ve been good for them but Yuzuki found it far too much work to undo the damage she’d done later. “They’re actually going to arrive… now. I hope you feel ashamed of your actions.” Yuzuki berated the group, feeling two faint reiatsu signatures approach the warehouse at a fast pace. Just in time, Ciara and Emmett entered the building, taking in the embarrassed faces of their group that refused to meet their eyes. They were visibly surprised to see Yuzuki there and wondered what she’d done to silence the normally rowdy group. They didn’t wait to find out, however, and went to join the rest of the group, sitting down near the back. 

“You’re all a bunch of unfortunate cowards.” Yuzuki started. Her posture made her seem more like the feminine version of a military commander more than anything. “Unfortunately, I’ve been instructed to train you and your abilities. We have a war in my world and any help we can get is welcome.” 

The group seemed uncertain, some obviously unwilling to charge head-on into another world and tackle their problems, their war. The man that spoken before seemed unsure and leaned in to consult his companion, a boy in his late teens and platinum-blonde hair, a shade similar to Yuzuki’s. He nodded in response and their whispered conference continued for a few minutes, occasionally being joined by several other members. Finally, they seemed to come to a consensus. Yuzuki would’ve forced them anyway whether they’d liked it or not, one way or the other. She’d wanted to offer them the chance of saying ‘no’, however, and making their own decision so that they didn’t complain about having no choice later on. 

“We’ll do it. We’ve been chased out of our hometowns, shunned by our friends and families for our ‘abnormality’. We’ve been chased and attacked by monsters and their human counterparts for too long. We’ve watched too many of our friends and kind die. We want no more part in that.” The rest of the humans nodded in response, agreeing with his words.

Yuzuki nodded and clapped her hands in a military manner, the situation reminiscent of a boot camp. She motioned for them to stand up and pointed to the boxes that lay about. “You made the right choice; at least it shows me that your brains are functioning properly. Training starts right now.” Ignoring the groans of complaint from the younger ones, Yuzuki continued, “Move those boxes to the end of the warehouse and make sure they take up as little space as possible. Stack them if you have to. If they’re too heavy and you can’t lift them high enough, call me.” They nodded and dispersed, some more reluctant than others. Yuzuki didn’t move, surveying them sharply. “After you’re done, I want you all to run twenty laps around the warehouse. And no complaints!” She called after them, her sharp voice startling some of them. Her mannerisms towards training were undeniably identical to Captain Akimoto’s, which was understandable as she had spent several long centuries training with him. And that training had proved effective – Yuzuki was now determined to pass it onto the humans; she’d beat the cowardice out of them if she had to. 
---
Several weeks later, Yuzuki stood over Emmett, watching the crystal in his hands vibrate and shift around. She leapt away at the last moment as he flung it away from him just as it exploded into a million and one shards. Some of the larger ones embedded themselves into her arm, seeing as she was the one closest to the explosion. She barely registered the faint, brief sting of pain and pulled them out absentmindedly, her eyes on the clock that hung on the far wall of the warehouse. It had been stolen by a particularly stealthy teenager, nicked from a fairly wealthy house. She was visibly antsy, a foreign feeling of excitement settling in the pit of her stomach as she watched the hands of the clock move. 

The excited feeling didn’t fade away even as she watched over the others. They had improved greatly in the span of several weeks, taking to their training better than Yuzuki had initially thought. Some, like Emmett, had even mastered their Fullbring. Emmett was no capable of igniting and exploding most things, though it depended on the size, density and the material. She could see the kid was going to be an asset in Seireitei and though it had seemed unlikely at first, Emmett had taken to Yuzuki as well. He obviously liked her more than the others, often staying up late to keep her company as she kept watch outside the warehouse. She liked the kid more than others too, being able to tolerate his chatter despite nearly having suffocated him when she’d first met him. 

All too soon, the hour hand of the clock hit precisely three in the afternoon. Yuzuki felt her excitement and relief grow as she called the Fullbringers to her, motioning for them to stand together. “I need to leave for a while, possibly for a long time. I’m leaving you all in Emmett’s care until I find a competent replacement and until then, I expect you train diligently, like I never left because I might just come back for a surprise visit.” A few shuddered at the implications of that statement, the prospect of getting caught lazing around by Yuzuki not appealing in the least. Surprisingly, she hadn’t quite lost her temper with them yet and they didn’t want that to change anytime soon. 

Half an hour of goodbyes from saddened humans later, Yuzuki ruffled Emmett’s messy black hair and said, “Take care of yourself and the group kid. I expect great things from you.” He smiled in response and opened his mouth to reply, but Yuzuki was gone. 

She slowed down when she approached the open Senkaimon, eager to get out on the other side. There was nothing better than Seireitei, she decided, as she approached the two Shinigami stationed at both sides of the Senkaimon, third-seats if she wasn’t mistaken by the look of their uniforms. They both bowed deeply when they spotted her. “Welcome back, Lieutenant Ueshima.” 

Yuzuki walked out through the other side, finding herself standing right on the edge of Sokyoku Hill. She took and deep breath and smiled, glad to be back home. Rarely had she ever felt so happy, so glad to be back home that it showed on her face. Every trace of unhappiness and resentment at having spent a hundred years in the human world was gone. In an impressive display of Shunpo, Yuzuki leapt off the Hill and hurtled down towards Seireitei, landing lightly on a rooftop and making her way towards her Division. 
---
Little did she know that everyone already knew about her return. The opening of a Senkaimon required authorization from the Captain-Commander and a lot of paperwork to be done by Akimoto. The Shinigami in charge of passing on the paperwork to the Captain had noticed Yuzuki’s name on the paper and had nearly had a heart attack. The information spread like wildfire and whispers followed, the Shinigami quietly discussing Yuzuki’s return. Though no doubt most, if not all, in Seireitei knew of Yuzuki, only those that had been around in a hundred years ago had seen her alive, mostly the Fifth’s Shinigami. The rest undoubtedly hadn’t, seeing as she spent majority of her time in the Fifth Division. Nevertheless, her reputation was fearsome and the moment the information had got out, the Shinigami – even the ones not in the Fifth – had scrambled to put everything together to perfection, not wanting to be the recipient of Yuzuki’s wrath. It almost seemed as if they were getting ready for the apocalypse – the only difference was that no-one was running, as if accepting their fate and the inevitable storm to come.