In the quiet lull between patrol reports and paperwork, the Seireitei's calm shattered.
It began as a tremor — a subtle ripple of spiritual pressure that brushed across the edges of the Seireitei like a phantom disturbance. Weak at first… but familiar enough to make more than one captain freeze mid-step.
Then it spiked.
A pulse of raw, unrefined power flared across the spiritual plane like a beacon lit in the dead of night.
And it came from the Human World.
---
1. Captain-Commander Yamamoto Reacts
Within the First Division barracks, Yamamoto's eyes snapped open.
He had been meditating, his presence steady and ancient as the mountain his zanpakutō was named for. But the moment that spike erupted, his aura stirred like a slumbering dragon.
"...This reiatsu," he rumbled. "This should be impossible."
His lieutenant, Sasakibe, rushed forward.
"Captain-Commander, that surge—did it not resemble a captain-class flare?"
Yamamoto's eyebrow twitched.
"No. Not captain-class."
He closed his eyes again, senses extending.
"It momentarily surpassed that."
---
2. In the 10th Division Barracks — Hitsugaya Freezes Mid-Sentence
Hitsugaya was lecturing Matsumoto about her paperwork.
Again.
"For the last time, Rang—"
He stopped.
He felt it too.
Matsumoto blinked. "Toshiro? You look like you've seen a ghost. Well, a scarier ghost."
Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed, frosty and calculating.
"That reiatsu came from Karakura Town… but it didn't belong to any Soul Reaper."
Matsumoto stood up straighter. "Human? Hollow? Hybrid?"
"…Unknown," he muttered, and that alone terrified him.
---
3. Byakuya Kuchiki — Uncharacteristically Alarmed
Byakuya was walking through the clan gardens, cherry blossoms sweeping behind him. Even they halted mid-fall as his spiritual senses sharpened.
He recognized Rukia's faint presence nearby…
But beneath it?
Another spiritual pressure, exploding and collapsing in erratic waves.
Byakuya frowned — a rare crack in the noble composure.
"This level of fluctuation… yet no record of such a being exists in the Human World."
He turned.
"Notify the Captain-Commander. Immediately."
---
4. Mayuri Kurotsuchi's Reaction — More Excited Than Worried
Inside the 12th Division lab, alarms blared.
Monitors flared with unstable readings. Reiatsu graphs jittered so wildly they clipped off the charts.
Mayuri's golden eyes widened in fascination.
"My, my… what kind of delightful anomaly is this?"
Nemu ran in.
"Captain, the data indicates a spike surpassing even bankai-level output for 3.8 seconds. The signal originated from—"
"Karakura Town," Mayuri finished for her, licking his teeth.
"Ohhh, this is wonderful. Delicious. A brand-new creature? A mutation? Or perhaps an experiment the human world accidentally cooked up?"
Nemu swallowed. "Shall I prepare the deployment squad?"
"No, no… not yet. We must observe first."
His grin stretched.
"And wait to see if it does anything fun again."
---
5. Unohana — Quiet, Disturbed
Unohana paused while tending to patients as the spike brushed her senses.
The gentle smile faltered.
"That… was not a Hollow," she murmured.
"Captain?" her lieutenant asked.
Unohana turned, eyes soft yet sharp as a blade hidden beneath silk.
"That was something… new."
---
6. Decision in the First Division Hall
A flash of shunpo — captains gathered swiftly, each feeling that lingering echo of power.
Hitsugaya.
Byakuya.
Komamura.
Kyoraku.
Ukitake.
Even Soifon showed tension behind the usual frost.
Yamamoto opened the meeting with a heavy voice.
"A reiatsu spike has been detected from the Human World — one not belonging to any known entity."
Kyoraku rested his hat low.
"So… what are we thinking? Rogue Hollow? A Fullbringer with one heck of a temper?"
Byakuya cut in.
"Rukia is stationed near the spike's location."
A faint flicker of concern — quickly hidden.
Hitsugaya folded his arms.
"Should we send reinforcements?"
Yamamoto finally stood.
"No. Not yet."
They all turned.
"We will monitor. If the source shows hostility… then we intervene."
He narrowed his ancient eyes.
"But mark my words:
No human should possess spiritual pressure capable of reaching this height.
If one now does…"
He let the sentence hang, heavy as thunder.
"Then the balance of all three worlds may be shifting."
---
And far away, in Karakura Town…
Ethan exhaled shakily, unaware that his little 'accident' just put half of the Soul Society on high alert.