Just Another Sunny Day [Yuuto, ???]

Could this day be any better?

Ryōichi Kasagawa was just a man with a job. Nothing more, nothing less. He did his job honorably and with gusto, despite barely being a cog in the mighty Soul Society machine.

What is that job, you may be wondering?

Ryōichi delivered packages.

Some big, some small, all of which, in his hands, reach their proper destination. He has never failed in this unremitting mission, a fact he took great pride in. Others may not notice his stringent dedication, but those who do are always grateful for without him, their lives would be a modicum less convenient.

On the day in question, Ryōichi was traveling along a predetermined route, pushing his cartful of soon-to-be-delivered packages. As he strode cheerily through the streets of Seireitei, Ryōichi would wave and greet anyone and everyone he could, careful not to leave out. Having walked this very route thousands of times over the last half a century, he was intimately familiar with the people reciprocating his smiles and salutations. When a person he didn't recognize appeared, Ryōichi waved and addressed them as well.

"Hi, how are you--"

CRASH!

"Watch where you're going, you grinning idiot."

Ryōichi took stock of what had just happened as he dragged himself back to his feet and dusted off his uniform. That cloaked stranger he didn't recognize and practically slammed into him and his cart, sending both to the ground and scattering a smattering packages across the ground. Seeing what happened, a group of bystanders gave the stranger a look of annoyance as they rushed over to lift the friendly neighborhood deliveryman's cart back up and helped gather the packages back into it. Despite their complaints about the hooded stranger, Ryōichi assured them everything was fine.

"I'm alright, my deliveries are alright, and the day's still bright! Thanks for the help everyone, no need to be angry on my behalf!"

And so he continued on his route as if nothing had happened, whistling to the sun and sky as he did. Finally he was done...or was he? At the bottom of his cart laid a single remaining package, a simple brown box no bigger than good book. On it was written a very specific address, so specific in fact it even included the room it was meant to be delivered to. Seireitei; Gotei United; Hospital B; Recovery Wing; Room 313. Odd, Ryōichi thought, Don't often deliver to people in the hospital. "Oh well! Better get to it!"

With the sky beginning to darken, Ryōichi raced through the Seireitei's streets. He had his mission, now all was left was to reach his destination. Though unfamiliar with this particular hospital's layout, he was able to get help from the front desk attendant who kindly pointed him in the direction of the Recovery Wing at the back of the building. With every smile and wave, Ryōichi managed to brighten the day of even the most stressed Shinigami doctors and nurses, and somehow even the sick and injured felt a bit better as the ball of sunshine passed through their halls.

Eventually Ryōichi reached the nurses station in the Recovery Wing and the man behind the desk offered an outstretched arm and pointed finger to help direct the deliveryman to his final delivery of the day. "Be quiet though, I heard a Gotei Captain is in the next room!" they warned. With an acknowledging nod, Ryōichi took the package and made his way to Room 313 where there was...no one. No patients, no nurses. The pristine beds acted as proof nobody was currently staying here.

"Huh? That's wei--"

BOOM!!

A horrible explosion rocked the hospital to its very foundations. Not only was the Recovery Wing totally gone but almost half the entire structure had been reduced to ash in the blink of an eye. Alerts rang out through the remaining building and across the nearby Seireitei. By all accounts a Hollow had attacked as every sensor indicated a Cero had been the cause of the wanton and violent destruction that crippled an entire hospital in an instant. Black soot rained down on the wreckage, which mixed with the water flowing from rent-apart pipes on the ground level. To those still in the rest of the building, who's ears were ringing from the shocking noise, it wasn't clear what had occurred. Only one thing was certain: Disaster had struck.

It was a quiet morning, yet it was in that stillness where he felt nothing but dread. Perhaps that was just a byproduct of being stuck in the hospital -- again. Nevertheless, he had sent Mirai home, reassuring her that she had done nothing wrong, that he simply needed some time alone, to think and process everything that had happened. In addition, he just had a gut feeling that something was wrong -- or, rather, that something would go wrong.

Sat up in bed, he could hear the voice of a deliveryman outside, distant, yet jovial. A small smile teased at the edges of his lips at hearing it -- maybe he was worried over nothing. But, there was still something that bugged him, something that desperately shouted in the recesses of his mind. Raiu could hear it, the new, uninvited guest could hear it as well.

As he started to lay back down, he closed his eyes, sighing softly. Maybe this was a time when his instinct was wrong. His eyes began to close, unaware of the mask beginning to encroach and wrap around his face...

Until he was suddenly awakened by the feeling of pain wracking his body, the sickening stench of Hollow energy plaguing the air, falling, and crashing debris all around him. His body was already repairing itself, augmented by the mask the Hollow had forced on out of self-preservation, and he quickly got to his feet.

As the rapid healing finished, Yuuto forced the mask to dissipate. He could hear the screams and cries, near and far. His mind raced as he looked around, thoughts coming and going. But, he didn't have time to ponder that -- right now, he needed to get to work. He reached out with his Reikaku, attempting to sense all of the people around him.

Even as he was still recovering, his will burned bright in his endless crusade to protect the innocent. He had every intent to use all the tools in his arsenal to save as many people as he could.

Mirai had been sent home, and she was not happy about it. There was this feeling in the bottom of her stomach that told her to stay. Though her senses were nowhere near as keen as her Captains. To Mirai, nothing felt right when things like this happened, so she chalked it up to her own worry. Knowing that someone as strong as him could be hospitalized in this world could leave some of the bravest people she knew shaken. The doctors reassured her that he was fine and just needed some rest, but she had not left his side since he was brought to the room.

That worry kept her here, even though she wasn't supposed to be. She wandered the halls for a while at first, staying near his room, but out of his sight. Unless he was asleep, he probably sensed her there. She needed to convince herself to go home, not just listen to his sleepy-head orders. Finally, she stepped out of the recovery wing, waving to a jovial delivery guy as she left. As he passed her by, that feeling hit her gut again. It was like something was weighing her down, keeping her planted in front of the doors to the wing he was in. She wanted to stay, but she decided it was her own worry again. Mirai sighed the worry out and began walking.

She regretted it instantly. Mirai's body was suddenly thrown away from where the recovery wing had been standing and through a nearby wall. She didn't know what she landed on, but it hurt. Alarms went off, people were screaming, fire was everywhere. She couldn't see much, as her vision began to blur. Her body was going numb, likely from shock. She tried lifting her head to see the damage, but the strength wasn't there. She could tell she had hit her head, hard. When she tried to speak, she found herself lucky enough to be breathing. With no muscle in her body responding to her demands, Mirai's head hit the floor and her vision went black.

In the wake of him reaching out with his Reikaku, someone came to mind: he had sent Mirai home not too long ago. Was that enough time for her to...? Fear erupted in his chest as he dug a circle into the ground with his hands, placing his palms underneath the circle.

"Heart of the south, eye of the north, finger of the west, foot of the east, arrive with the wind and depart with the rain! Bakudo #58: Kakushitsuijaku!"

His senses and awareness heightened, he reached out to search the grounds for Mirai. Latitude and longitude numbers flashed before his eyes, and eventually, he found where she was, and his blood ran cold. In an instant, he was casting another spell, a ball of energy forming in his hand as he called out the name.

"Tsuriboshi!"

Modifying the spell to cause the ball of energy to remain in his hand, he fired off without a sound, immediately speeding off to find Mirai. It did not take long, and he was quick to pick her up, yet careful to hold her. Even in the soundless speed, he was gentle as he sped over to the still standing portion of the recovery wing.

He set her down, leaving her with the professionals, before immediately going back to the rubble and debris to find the injured. He kept his senses honed, reaching out to sense any remnant of spiritual power, before immediately running to find them at Mach speeds. If they were trapped, he'd use Daichi Tenyo to lift and get rid of the rubble, then get them to safety, using Tsuriboshi to keep them close.

Even when his arms were full, he continued to use and modify Tsuriboshi, as well as Sajo Sabaku, whatever spells he could use to wrap around and safely carry as many people as he could. No matter how tiring it was, he continued on, even as the muscles in his body screamed and burned and his energy drained rapidly from continual casting.

No matter how many he saved, he would still return to Mirai's side in the end, not leaving for a moment once he was done. He was not going to lose her this day.

The pained screams of the dying and living continued to fill the early evening air. Even as Captain Yuuto sprinted about, trying to save as many would-be victims as his legs would allow, still more suffered, their bodies either blown apart or trapped beneath rubble, helpless. Yuuto would not be alone however, as more and more Second Division first responders showed up to the cataclysmic scene. They quickly got to work removing destroyed sections of the building and proving healing Kidō to those who could still be saved.

In the aftermath of such devastation, one couldn't be faulted for wondering how there could be a silver lining. Dozens of patients, nurses, and doctors, including more than a handful of Second Division members, had been caught up and incinerated in the initial blast. Many more lay strewn across the rubble, previously recovering from illness or surgery, all now struggling to live minute to minute. Other casualties include friends and family of patients. With nearly an entire wing of the hospital destroyed, reconstruction would take a while and in the mean time other patients would have to be transported elsewhere, putting them further at risk.

So, how could there be a silver lining? What victory, no matter how small, could be claimed amongst all this loss?


Yuuto Hisakawa lives.