(Squad 8)
Kyoraku looked out his window as the alarms blared at the 12th division, signaling intruders in one of the facilities. Nothing else notable was happening until a Hell Butterfly came into his room to deliver a message. He was pondering its meaning as his lieutenant/secretary came into his office.
"Captain Kyoraku, should we go?" She asked urgently, ready to act on her duties as a Soul Reaper. Kyoraku only spoke with calm and confusion.
"Nanao. Do I have a file labeled, I.C.O.A?" He asked, surprising Nanao. Wordlessly she went to his records shelf and double checked, sure that she would've known about such a file. She was surprised to actually find it before giving it to her captain.
"I.C.O.A, in case of amnesia. Right here sir." He opened it up and looked through the contents.
"Well, this is shocking." He said, as calm as ever.
(Squad 13)
"Aizen betrayed us and we were saved by this, 'Ichigo Kurosaki'?" Ukitake said in confusion as he read through the files and records of the past few months. "And my new lieutenant is this, Rukia Kuchiki?" He was so busy trying to wrap his head around the situation that he didn't notice his two 3rd seats come in with another file.
"Sir! We found it!" Kiyone shouted, ruffled from rushing to get back with the information.
"Evidence that Rukia Kuchiki, or Kurosaki, is in fact your lieutenant!" Sentaro continued, giving the sickly captain the confirmation he needed.
(Squad 4)
"It also says we got married about a month ago after were restored you to your true strength." Unohana said to her husband, barely stopping their aggressive actions.
"Well that explains this situation." Kenpachi said, just as calmly. "Should we meet with the other captains?"
"Later, I'm almost done." She said with a lustful smirk.
(Squad 2)
"All right, Stealth Force, listen up!" Soi-Fon shouted to her assembled scouts and patrol squads. "We're searching for an unknown person. Subject is female, cropped black hair, on the petite side, 4'8½'', her name is Rukia and she is supposed to be the lieutenant of squad 13. Our memories are altered to forget her and there's a possibility that whoever she is with is likely responsible for that and is a danger to Soul Society. Find anything you can, DISMISSED!"
"Ma'am!" The gathered troops shouted before running off to search for the lost lieutenant.
"Omaeda, hold down the fort." Soi-Fon ordered as she began to head for the Head Captain's barracks. "Alert me if they find anything worthwhile."
(Squad 6)
Byakuya was standing in front of the picture of his late wife, set in a new altar for those he's come to consider his family. On it were two faces he no longer recognized until hearing the order to check certain files. After reading his I.C.O.A files, he visited the altar to give a silent prayer to the only woman he loved.
"Forgive me Hisana." He whispered as he steeled his resolve. "I may have forgotten my promise, but I will keep it." He finished his prayer before leaving for the meeting.
(Squad 10)
"Can you trust this?" Rangiku asked her captain after he relayed his orders. They lost their memories about major allies and a key figure in their future. "What if someone forged your writing?"
"Then they knew that I'd trust captain Shiba with my life." Toshiro said as he fastened his blade to his back. "Any child of his is worth that same trust." He finished before making his way to the meeting.
(Squad 7)
'Tousen.' The werewolf thought as he finished reading his reminder records. 'I imagine I was this shocked and angry when you first betrayed us. But I do not have the time to hate you now' He disappeared in a burst of speed. 'I pity you, old friend.'
(Squad 5)
"What do ya know?" Shinji said, reading his own backwards upside down writing in his own version of the I.C.O.A files. He was sharing a few drinks with Kensei and Rose when it happened. Their was a moment of shock and surprise that quickly died after they got the message. "Kid got us back to Soul Society."
"And to think you doubted him Kensei." Rose teased as he and his fellow Vizard captains prepared to return to squad 1 for when Yamamoto made the plan of action.
"He was shaking like a small dog, terrified out of his wits." The stern man argued back. "Of course I never thought much of him."
"Anyone who saw that smile of Lisa's would be terrified." Rose returned in Ichigo's defense. "That was a weird shota phase for her."
'I wonder how Love is doing.' Shinji thought to himself while his old friends got back to the old argument they had regarding their favorite freak of nature.
(Squad 14)
"All of you shut the hell up!" Love yelled out over the gathered masses of raging Shinigami and citizens of the Rukon districts. His voice echoed throughout ever area under his authority with the aid of hundreds of Hell Butterflies. Normally, Love Aikawa was pretty chill. Now he was pissed and laying down the law in the Rukon. "All Soul Reapers are to act as impartial police! You help the helpless, not abuse them! If I hear about ANY abuse of authority, I WILL FIND YOU AND KICK YOUR ASS! NOW DO YOUR JOBS!" His cries made the entire area shake as every person in the district calmed down and went about their business. Getting clean pants.
(With Ichigo)
"What the hell is it?" Ichigo asked, knowing something was wrong just not what. He tried to think of anything that might be the answer. Idly he heard his mother call him down for dinner, so he got up to join the women of his family before something clicked. 'When did mom wake up?' He bolted downstairs to see and hear his sisters crying out in surprise and joy, similar to his own feelings, except he knew she was awake for a while. But when it was eluded him. "Mom, when did you wake up?"
"Well, it was just after you..." She started to answer, despite Karin muffled cries of 'who cares'. "After you... who did you go rescue again?" She asked in return, feeling the gap in her own memory. Ichigo groaned in frustration, bringing his hand to his head when he saw it. A silver wedding band on his ring finger. At that moment, memories of Rukia came flashing through his head. Meeting her, fighting alongside her, rescuing her, dating her, marrying her, and now he remembered everything.
"Something happened to Rukia." Ichigo said suddenly as he got a text from his father, saying to get to the Shoten immediately. He looked at Kon who immediately got the idea and proceeded to extract the soul pill.
"Who?" The girls asked as Ichigo ejected from his physical body and stretched his body.
"My wife." Ichigo said as he flashed toward the squad's base, leaving a shocked Karin, a happy Yuzu, and a catatonic Masaki. He got to his squad's base of operations where his friends and Yoruichi were waiting. He expected the squad to be a mess, but they seemed pretty functional. "What happened?"
"Lisa was cataloging some files and papers when apparently, everyone forgot where they were or what they were doing." Uryu explained as they made their way through to the monitoring station, where Isshin and Hiyori waited.
"Isshin decided to act like a captain, and despite not knowing him, got the entire squad back on track." Yoruichi continued for them. "A few late patrols, but he got things running again."
"Can't help but ponder the frightful headway we'd make if dad took his job seriously." Ichigo mumbled as they got to the room. He saw Isshin with a serious and focused look on his face while Hiyori was snacking on chips. "Dad, do you remember Rukia?" The hybrid asked, getting a raised eyebrow from his father.
"No, I don't." He said before turning to Hiyori. "How does he remember this, Rukia?"
"Best ask Kisuke." Hiyori said with a shrug. "Meanwhile, watch this." Hiyori tapped a key and the screen showed a recording of Hiyori.
"Okay, video log 1. Hiyori Sarugaki. Intel support and comms officer of squad 12, working with squad 15. It's been a week since Aizen defected from Soul Society and our base was finished. Shortly after, Kisuke informed all the captains of the Gotei squads of this Hollow he called Subject: Memo-Eater. Some stupid name after a monster in this game, 'Dark Chronicle' I think. Don't care, Kisuke's a dork." The past her said, earning a few giggles from some of the people in the room. "Anyway, this Hollow is a parasitic type. Very rare nowadays as they tend to get killed fast for being weak. According to him, it latches onto a host with weak Reiatsu or is vulnerable and slowly degrades the memories while draining the host's Reishi. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem as we've been improving security throughout the whole of Soul Society. But something always has to screw things up for the rest of us because Kisuke had a theory and wanted a contingency plan for it. If this Hollow could merge with a soul with a great amount of potential Reiatsu and possibly a special Reishi, then the normal rules of Memo-Eater no longer apply. Since this Hollow affects memories, we've been advised to keep a record of major events to keep us all on track should something memory based happen. And since the captain here is an id-" Hiyori shut off the recording.
"I think we all understand what is happening." Hiyori said, trying to focus on the mission present.
"Yeah, Memo-Eater is on the loose and erased memories of Rukia." Ichigo said, giving a short explanation of who she was. "But why Rukia?"
"I doubt it's anyone in Soul Society trying to seize power." Yoruichi said while Hiyori was checking the monitors. "This is too risky a plan for anyone there."
"Aizen wouldn't let anything he couldn't control go." Isshin said, rubbing his stubble. "He doesn't take risks without guaranteed success."
"Maybe Memo-Eater is acting on it's own." Hiyori said, getting everyone's attention. "Or rather, its hosts are. Seems like Kisuke confronted two intruders that had Reishi signatures similar to Memo-Eater. Now the Commander's calling for all captains and Ichigo. Seems the old man wants Ichigo to get all the experience he can get in a variety of situations."
"That suits me just fine." Ichigo said, flicking his wrist to make a Garganta. "This is my mission." Isshin and Ichigo jumped into the abyss and made their way to Soul Society.
(With Rukia)
She slowly roused herself from slumber feeling a sharp pain in her head, almost like something was trying to force itself free in her consciousness. She was in an aged building with noticeable wear on the walls but it seemed like it would last a good long while. She found herself in a purple floral kimono, but she felt like so much of her life just disappeared. She stumbled onto her feet and made her way to the window to look over the city, one of the nicer Rukon cities in the lower districts. She recognized the place as where she grew up, a flash of memory of how she met her friends while stealing water. She heard someone enter the room and saw two figures in ragged clothes, a man and woman.
"Rukia!" The girl cried as she tackled her in a tight hug. The two fell over as Rukia tried to rack her mind, trying to remember things she knows is missing.
"Hey! What's your problem!?" Rukia demanded as she tried to get the girl off her. "Who are you?" She stopped when she noticed the girl crying out of relief. "Who are you people?" She asked, more gently after seeing the girl.
"Sister," The guy started as he joined them, "she's never going to recognize you if she can't see your face." She slowly calmed down and sat up.
"Yes, I know that." She looked Rukia in the eyes with a happy look on both their faces. "Look at me Rukia. Do you remember me now?" Rukia stared at the two, trying to wrack her mind to remember the two. They seemed familiar, memories of a time long past, but something else was struggling to come back to her. A man with hair of fire and clad in shadow and darkness.
(Squad 1: Captains Meeting)
The captains arrived, each one delivering a report on what they knew and remembered, who seemed to be missing, and what was currently going on. It wasn't until the very space at the end of the hall opened up to reveal Isshin and Ichigo did they really being to plan.
"We shall skip the formalities as this is a very tense situation." Yamamoto declared loudly. "Captain Urahara, what can you tell us about the matter at hand?" The scientist stepped up and activated the holograms, showing a recording of the intruders attack.
"During the night, Mayuri was finishing up reports and another project. A Reishi convergence device that we were planning to use to combat the Quincy, according to our files anyway. It was supposed to mix with Hollow Reishi to make the air like a toxin for them but before we could proceed to that stage of testing, the attack came." The scythe wielding intruder attacked and disappeared after taking the control vial. "I came onto the scene too late and Mayuri had lost his memories. I attacked them, but when they saw it was a losing battle they fled. Being who I am, I got a tracking device on the guy." The scene of the attack played out like he described, surprising the captains with some of the display. "It seems like our worries are realized as this is Memo-Eater's Reishi signature, and that scythe is like its tail. These two are powerful souls, the male has the attack capabilities and can seemingly cut out memories, but the girl seems to be able to teleport." The hologram deactivated as Kisuke continued to voice his opinion. "If possible, I'd like to capture them alive for study, they may become useful allies."
"But how can they remove our memories to such an extant?" Ichigo asked, a question everyone had. "If I had to guess, they attacked Rukia because I completely forgot about her."
"Everyone did." Kisuke continued. "We former exiles even forgot what we were doing in Soul Society before checking that message I sent. It's puzzling because we didn't forget Mayuri, but there's a difference. Much like how we all left video logs or files to record these matters, Mayuri made his own back up reminder. Unlike us sane people, he made a back up brain with recordings of his memories." Everyone looked at him with disgust and prayer that he was joking. "No, I am not kidding. Yes, it is disgusting. The guy is deranged, as I'm sure you all remember. Back to the important stuff, Rukia didn't have a back up brain to protect her memories and these two seem to defy physics on some level. Possibly due to their innate potential that mixed with the Hollow. So we ended up forgetting about Rukia, you disappeared from their minds, and if I wasn't who I am we'd be in the middle of a crisis. Just another day in Soul Society."
"Is there anything else important to add?" Kyoraku asked, prompting Soi-Fon to speak up.
"After I read my I.C.O.A files, I sent out a few teams to look for Rukia. It was a spur of the moment call since I didn't recognize her or lieutenant Kurosaki and he would be in the world of the Living." She said as a black butterfly flew in before landing on her finger. "They've reached the edge of Soul Reaper protected districts, district 25 on all sides. No such luck so far."
"Rukia was my wife's sister." Byakuya said, getting everyone's attention. "She came from south 78, Inuzuri. Same place as my lieutenant." Soi-Fon began relaying the orders to check out the Hanging Dog district. Kisuke confirms the return signal coming from that area.
"I also remembered Rukia." Ichigo said, getting everyone's attention. "When I looked at this ring, I remembered everything. What and how is that possible?" He asked, turning his attention to Urahara. The man took a second to think, remembering the details he read in his files.
"Well, back when you first became a Shinigami, you absorbed some of her Reishi." Kisuke theorized, scratching his scraggly beard. "Maybe because of that, you are more closely linked to her than the rest of us."
"Or you two had one hell of a wedding night." Zaraki said, completely calm about what he suggested.
"Also that." Kisuke conceded, prompting Byakuya to glare while Ichigo blushed.
"Enough!" Yamamoto shouted. "This Hollow is too great a threat to leave alone. We must recover Rukia and deal with this Hollow. Someone must go to Inuzuri and find them. It will have to be a small cell, Love needs all the help he can get to keep the peace in the Rukon districts."
"No one killed anybody yet, but the tension is still way too thick for anyone to be happy." Love confirmed, having reported that his own squad was about to break into a civil war. Some wanting to help the Rukon folk and others that wanted to rule the Rukon folk.
"I'll go." Ichigo said, stepping up to the plate. "Rukia is my wife and I will save her."
"Take Renji with you." Byakuya told him, feeling an innate trust in the boy. "He came from that district, so he should be able to guide you." The hybrid nodded in acknowledgment as Genryusai closed the meeting.
(With Rukia)
The day continued on as she slowly remembered the brother and sister she was currently with. It was long ago and they had no one in the cruel lower districts, so she took them in, cared for them. She was even going to name them. But they never got the names, her memory becomes hazy and painful trying to think back on what she came up with. Something attacked them and her memories become blank after that. Bits and pieces that seemed foreign keep coming to her, particularly that dark figure. But something about him made her feel safe.
(Illustrated Guide to Soul Reapers)
What Don Kanonji has been doing
"Be purified and rest in peace!" The exorcist yelled out as he planted the bottom of his staff on an earthbound soul's forehead. "Konso!" The area around him and the chained spirit swirled with a gale of wind for his spectators and camera crew, some would believe that it was part of the show despite seeing it live and no special effects crew near the site. Kanonji watched with a smile as the angry glare of the demi Hollow turned to one of serenity as the chains faded and light consumed him. Once everything settled down, he took his signature pose. "Bohahahaha! Another trapped soul freed! May the spirits always be with you!" He said as the show ended. Later he returned to his trailer for his personalized training regime that Urahara made. After meeting with Ichigo and Urahara, he learned how to properly send souls to the afterlife and he could actually feel the difference in what he was doing.
"Another great show Don Kanonji!" His agent cheered on the speaker, reflecting the rise in his ratings after taking on the new methods. "What are you planning to do next?" The exorcist paused in his hanging sit-ups to think about that question.
"How about we head back to Karakura Town?" He said, considering a visit to the person that set his path of redemption.
What's happening with the FullBringers
"Is everything alright out there?" Jackie asked her fellow empowered individuals. Tsukishima looked at her with a shrug.
"If they aren't calling us then Ichigo is handling it." Ginjo said as they all went back to their usual thing. No one noticed the forced amnesia set on everyone else because they weren't affected by forgetting Rukia. The reason? She had nothing to do with them.
Momo's current progress
Shinji hurried back to his office, needing to find ready and able men to help out Love keep the peace in the Rukon districts. Some questioned his presence in place of Aizen, but they were military grunts and their job was to follow orders from their superior officer. He returned to his office to see a petite girl with black hair that was tied in a bun. She looked at him like a lost puppy, scared and confused.
"Who are you?" She asked, seeing his Haori and glaring at him. "Where's captain Aizen!?" She screamed, demanding to know where her idol was. Shinji finally saw the armband that signified her as his squad's lieutenant. He knows he visited her in the hospital on occasion, but since the Memo-Eater attack he forgot what she looked like.
'Looks like she forgot about Aizen's betrayal.' He thought to himself as she continued to glare at him. 'This will probably help with her recovery, but....' He flashed in front of her and put his hand to her face, 'this is not the time for that.' "Tanma Otoshi." He said as his hand glowed and the poor girl dropped unconscious. "Since when did my squad become such a pain." He sighed as he had the girl brought to her room.