Summary: The twelfth division is holding a haunted castle as a fundraiser. It's all perfectly innocent. Or is it?
"I don't think this is a good idea." Ishida griped as they approached the castle.
"You didn't have to come." Ichigo shot back.
"If I didn't come, who'd watch your back?" Ishida sneered. "I'm telling you, this is some kind of trick."
"Just because the twelfth division is hosting this haunted castle doesn't mean it's a trap." Ichigo argued. "You're being too paranoid."
"You don't you think it's just a little suspicious that we got free tickets for this?" Ishida countered.
"All the captains were given free tickets." Rukia explained. "They gave six to each division as a courtesy. Ni-sama used one yesterday to check it out. He said it was fun."
"Byakuya actually said this was fun?" Ichigo asked skeptically.
Rukia blushed a little. "Well actually he said 'It appears to be a suitable diversion for you. You may use the rest of the tickets for your friends. However, if you choose to bring that boy, take steps to ensure he doesn't end up destroying half of Seireitai.' "
Ishida, Chad and Orihime laughed while Ichigo fumed.
"That stuck up, snooty so-and-so…" He muttered.
"I still think there's something fishy about all of this." Ishida said.
"Hundreds of shinigami have been through it so far." Rukia replied. "Nobody's reported any problems. As far as I can tell, it's just a fundraiser for the twelfth division. Ni-sama says they've made a lot of money so far."
"See." Ichigo said. "Nothing to worry about."
"Ishida-kun is just worried because he cares." Orihime observed. Ishida didn't answer her. He merely blushed and adjusted his glasses.
The winding path to the castle really set the mood. Artificial fog glowed in the moonlight as it drifted between the headstones of a graveyard. Many shinigami were already ahead of them following the twists and turns to the castle entrance while twelfth division members in scary masks, or possibly their actual faces, popped out from hiding places to scare people. The castle itself was silhouetted against the night sky, an imposing stone structure with crenelated walls and high reaching towers. Strange lights and ominous shadows moved in the windows. Everyone was ready for a good time when they got to the ticket booth. Akon was working the counter, cigarette precariously dangling from his lower lip. He accepted the tickets Rukia gave him and stamped everyone's hand.
"Wait right here until the group in front of you finishes going through." He instructed. "Also, you're going to have to give me your weapons."
"What?" Ichigo exclaimed. "You want me to give you Zangetsu?"
"It's a safety issue." Akon explained. "We don't want you wrecking the castle if you get too scared. Besides, we'll have them ready for pick-up when you exit. See?"
They looked over to where he was pointing. The last group was exiting the castle, laughing and smiling. As they came out, Rin dutifully returned their zanpakutos to them from a rack in his booth.
"Well, if that's the rule, I guess we have no choice." Rukia said handing over Sode no Shirayuki. Ichigo scowled, but he also handed over his sword. The group turned to leave.
"Wait a minute." Akon said. "You need to turn in your weapons too, quincy."
"What?" Ishida exclaimed. "You honestly expect me to trust your division with my tools?"
"Rules are rules." Akon laconically replied.
"Come on Ishida-kun." Orihime pleaded. "It's only for a little while."
Ishida frowned but eventually, he took off his bracelet. Akon stared at him. He pulled a Seele Schnieder out of his sleeve and put that on the counter as well. Akon kept staring. Finally, Ishida put a handful of silver tubes.
"That's it." He insisted. "That's all I have on me."
"Enjoy." Akon responded waving them ahead.
"Look at this, Nemu" Mayuri chuckled as he watched the nakama enter. "It appears my little gamble has paid off. Here come our test subjects now."
"Brilliant as always, Mayuri-sama." She replied in her usual monotone.
"Prepare the gurneys and lay out my instruments." He ordered. "We won't have a lot of time. We're going to have to make every second count."
"At once, Mayuri-sama." She responded suiting actions to words.
"That's it." Mayuri crooned at the figures on his monitor. "Keep moving, keep moving. Just a little further and you'll get a special tour of my haunted castle designed just for you. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha."
It was definitely one of the better haunted houses Ichigo had seen. The walls were black, of course, with eerie paintings of macabre scenes glowing under UV black lights. Skeletons and monsters would loom unexpectedly out of the darkness to surprise you, drawing shrieks and gasps from the group. Unconsciously, they all started to huddle as they inched their way down the hall, trying to anticipate what would happen next.
Ichigo yelped as a drip of icy cold water landed precisely in his collar.
"What's the matter, Ichigo?" Rukia laughed. "A ghost grab you?"
"I had some water drip down my neck, OK." He replied embarrassed.
"I think you're just a scaredy cat." She smugly declared. Suddenly she shrieked as a jet of cold air from the floor billowed out her hakama. She leaped into the air, then frantically patted the legs of her divided skirt, dancing in nervous reaction to the unpleasant sensation.
"Ha, ha! Now who's a scaredy cat?" Ichigo scoffed.
Rukia pointed her finger at him. "Hey, that air went right up my…it was cold, all right?"
"What's this?" Orihime asked looking at what appeared to be a kitten sitting in an eye level niche in the wall. "This doesn't seem to belong here. It's so cute!"
Reaching out to pet it, the 'kitten' split in half, revealing something with way to many eyes and razor sharp teeth! Screaming, Orhime desperately clung to the nearest person.
"Inoue-san" A muffled voice said. "I can't breathe."
Looking down, she noticed Ishida was pressed deeply into her substantial bosom.
"Oh, I'm sorry Ishida-kun." She apologized letting go of him. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine." He replied as he fixed his glasses. Chad poked the monster the kitten had been hiding, watching as the cover slid back as he pushed the thing back into the wall.
"Pretty clever." He observed.
"See Ishida-kun." Orihime said with a smile, "It's just a regular haunted house. Aren't you glad you came with us?"
"Well, maybe I was worrying for nothing." He conceded. He still didn't feel like dropping his guard yet.
"C'mon guys, there's something up ahead." Ichigo called.
They approached a brick arch with a sign over the top.
"Hall of doors." Rukia read aloud. "I wonder what that's all about."
Entering the hall, it seemed to be just as advertised. A line of doors stretched all the way down its length. Ichigo boldly went to the first door and pulled it open. He forced himself not to flinch.
"Hey, it's a funhouse mirror." He announced. The rest of the group crowded around to look, laughing at the distorted shapes.
"I'll get the next one." Rukia said. Opening it revealed a weird light show. The next had spider puppets leaping back and forth. The next, a room set for afternoon tea that spun around and around with nothing moving or falling down.
"Lot of strange stuff." Ishida said. "Let's see what this one has."
Opening the door, two skeletal hands shot out and dragged him in. The door slammed shut behind him loud as a a gunshot.
"Ishida!" Ichigo yelled running to the door. Opening it, there was nothing there. He entered it seeing nothing but bare walls. He pounded on all of them looking for a trap door or some other exit.
"Ishida, can you hear me? Where did you go? Ishida!"
"Calm down Ichigo." Rukia said touching his arm. "It's probably part of the ride. I'm sure he's OK and we'll catch up to him later. "
"That makes sense." Orihime agreed. "Splitting up a group would be pretty scary."
Ichigo stood there for a second thinking about what they said.
"I guess you're right." He allowed. "Somebody would have complained if people were being hurt or anything."
"Let's move on then." Rukia suggested. "The sooner we move, the faster we'll catch up to him."
Nodding, the nakama did as she suggested.
Nemu wheeled the gurney out of the elevator.
"Success, Mayuri-sama." She said.
"Excellent!" Mayuri exclaimed looking over the unconscious, strapped-down passenger. "I've been waiting a long time to get my hands on you, quincy. You'll be the first one I work on once we have all of you captured."
He turned his attention to the monitor, stroking his chin.
"Let me see. Now that we've got their thinker out of the way, I think we should focus on the giant next. Too bad there was no way to disarm him."
He typed some commands into the computer, then sat back to grin in satisfaction.
"That should take care of him" he said. He turned around to give Nemu more orders only to catch her stroking Ishida's hair, a melancholy expression on her face.
"Nemu! What do you think you're doing?"
She flinched and moved away from the quincy.
"Nothing, Mayuri-sama." She said with her eyes downcast.
"Go downstairs and fetch their weapons." He ordered. "I will need them present during testing. And make it snappy. I'll probably need you to bring in our next guest very soon."
"Yes, Mayuri-sama." She replied.
"Hall of Quicksand:" Ichigo read. "Let me take a look at it before we go in."
Walking inside, he didn't see anything alarming. The room was made up to look like a nasty swamp with slimy greenish-black vegetation everywhere. The "quicksand" seemed to be nothing but green, ankle-deep foam rubber that covered the floor.
"It's OK." Ichigo called back. "Come on in."
Rukia entered next, followed by Orihime then Chad. They quickly made their way to the exit on the other side.
"Ooh, springy." Orihime observed as she bounced along.
Chad had a different opinion. His feet sank deeply into the floor with every step. In fact, it seemed like he was being pulled down.
"Uh, guys." He said. "I'm stuck."
"Huh?" Ichigo responded. The rest of the group had already exited the room and were standing on solid ground. "How can you be stuck?"
"I think the floor changed." Chad answered.
He pulled his leg with all his strength. Instead of lifting clear of the foam rubber, it seemed to be encased in a translucent green gel that sucked his foot back down. Even as they watched, he began to sink down to his knees.
"I'll help you Sado-kun!" Orihime cried running to help.
"No! Stay back!" He shouted.
It was too late. Both of her feet sank into the gel as soon as she entered the room. It pulled her down fast.
"Ichigo, grab her arm." Rukia commanded. Each seizing Orihime by an arm, they heaved backward until she came free with a 'pop'. Her shoes were gone. Now up to his waist, Chad's arm shifted and warped as he activated his power.
"El Directo!" He shouted, firing a blast directly downward. The gel bubbled and swelled, but the attack had no other effect. Punching the gel only got his arm trapped.
"Hold on Chad!" Ichigo called. "We'll make a rope."
He and Rukia took off their belts and spliced them together. Chad was up to his collarbone when they threw the improvised line to him. He grabbed it with his free hand. Ichigo, Rukia and Orihime pulled backwards with all their strength. It seemed to help at first. Chad slowly came up from the ooze, the line taut as a wire from their efforts. Unfortunately, it couldn't hold. The cloth ripped, causing the team to fall backwards. Ichigo scrambled to his feet just as Chad's head disappeared beneath the slime. His hand waved frantically as he fought for breath. Soon, even that sank out of sight.
"DAMMIT!" Ichigo screamed. "Ishida was right! It's a trap! Why didn't I listen to him? Why?"
"What do we do now?" Orihime asked, shaken and confused.
"We get out of here and get help." Rukia asserted.
Orihime shook her head. "But Sado-kun? What if it's too late?"
"I don't think so." Rukia replied. "If Captain Mayuri is really behind this, he probably wants us alive."
"Then let's keep moving." Ichigo said. "The faster we get out of here, the sooner that bastard gets his."
"Kurosaki-kun. Look!" Orihime said pointing at the sign over the next arch. It said "Hall of Barriers."
"Be extra careful with him." Mayuri directed as Nemu wheeled Chad out of the elevator. "It would be hard to subdue him again if he were to wake up."
"Understood, Mayuri-sama." Nemu acknowledged. She set in IV in his arm laced with tranquilizers like the kind already in Ishdia to ensure he stayed under.
"This is almost too easy." Mayuri complained. "Let's see how the human girl does next.
As far as Ichigo could tell, it was just a big empty room. He walked the length and breadth of it, trying to guess what traps it may contain. Finding nothing, he went back to the girls.
"I don't know what he deal is with this one, so stay on your toes." He advised. "We'll stay back to back so we can cover each other's blind sides. If either of you see anything, you call out right away. Understood?"
They both nodded and took their positions. Slowly, cautiously, they made their way across the room. Nerves were stretched to the breaking point as they strained their senses for any sign of a threat. They had to fight the urge to panic and run towards the exit. Inch by inch, the very lack of action actually made the tension worse. When the wall came crashing down from the ceiling it was almost a relief. It slammed down with enough force to fill the room with a cloud of dust and debris. Rukia coughed and wiped her eyes to clear them.
"Ichigo, are you all right?"
"I'm fine." He said stumbling over to her. "How about you Inoue?"
There was no reply.
"Inoue! Where are you?" Ichigo shouted.
"I'm here." A voice faintly replied. Orihime was on the other side of the wall. As far as she could tell, there was no real change to the room except for being cut off from her friends.
"Are you all right?" She could hear Rukia yell.
"I'm fine." She yelled back. "I'm safe and there doesn't seem to be any danger."
She spoke too soon. As if waiting for her cue, two more barriers crashed down from the ceiling. They began to press towards her with a tortured groan as the solid rock ground against the paved floor. She was in a box that was growing smaller and smaller. A door opened in the wall behind her.
"What's going on in there?" Ichigo demanded.
"It looks like I'm being forced into a trap." Orihime called back. She jumped in surprise as spikes popped out of the steadily advancing walls.
"I'm going to try and get you out." Rukia shouted. "Hadō #31. Shakkahō!"
The wall separating them shook as Rukia fired over and over, but it did not yield. Running out of space, Orihime put her hands to her temple.
"Santen Kesshun, I reject!"
The walls screeched and groaned as they pressed up against her shields. The pressure was immense. Orihime poured all of her strength into maintaining the field. Sweat beaded on her forehead and dripped into her eyes. She ignored the discomfort, ignored the pain of putting out all of her energy as she pitted her strength against the merciless hydraulic pressure. Finally, weakened by Rukia's constant attacks, the wall dividing them fractured and crumbled. Orihime rushed out of the opening, collapsing in exhaustion. Rukia caught her and lowered her to the ground.
"Good job Inoue-san." She said. "You made it."
"Thanks." Orihime panted. "If I could just rest for a minute, I'll be ready to move in a little bit."
"Curses!" Mayuri swore. "Why wasn't she disarmed like the others?"
"It was an oversight, Mayuri-sama."
He growled and swore under his breath as he pulled up various options on the computer. Finding something interesting, he stopped.
"I think we can still capture the girl, Nemu, but I will need you to take part."
"I will do as you say, Mayuri-sama."
"Of course you will." He said as he executed the proper commands.
"Hall of Mirrors" Ichigo read. "This looks like it's going to be tricky."
"I have an idea." Rukia said taking off her belt. "We should all hold on to this. That way, we have less of a chance of getting separated again."
"Good idea Kuchiki-chan." Orihime agreed while taking hold.
Nodding his agreement, Ichigo took hold of the belt as well and led the way into the room. The hall certainly lived up to its name. Every surface was covered in mirrors. Their reflections streamed out into infinity, distorting and confusing them as they tried to find their way through the maze. More than once, Ichigo bumped his nose into a wall, completely unable to tell it from open space.
"How much further does this go on?" He complained, holding his hand out in front of him.
"Just be patient." Rukia counseled. "It can't go on forever."
"That's right Kurosaki-kun." Orihime said nodding "We'll probably be out of here before you…"
"Huh?" Ichigo exclaimed as he stopped. "What did you say?"
"Ichigo" Rukia said holding the cut end of her belt. "We lost her!"
"Kurosaki-kun! Kuchiki-chan!" Orihime called. "Can you hear me? The walls moved again. Kurosaki-kun? Kuchiki-san?"
She stared in dismay at the remains of Rukia's belt still clutched in her hand. It had been a good idea. Too bad it didn't work. Looking around showed her nothing but infinite reflections of herself. Nothing to do but press forward. Like Ichigo, she bumped her nose into the wall a few times before carefully feeling her way along the glassy surface with her hand. Seeing nothing but reflections of reflections of reflections, it was actually a relief when she turned a corner and ran into Nemu.
"Oh, ah, hello there." Orihime politely said.
"My apologies." Nemu said with a slight bow. Before Orihime knew what was happening, Nemu's hands shot out with inhuman speed, snatching her hairpins from her head.
At last, they stumbled out of the confusing mirror maze. Ichigo looked at Rukia.
"We have to go back." He said.
Rukia shook her head. "It's too late, Ichigo. The trap has been sprung. She's probably long gone."
"I have to try damn it!" He declared. Striding back in, he barely made it in one meter. The maze had closed. He began to pound on the glass howling with rage. Rukia ran to his side.
"Ichigo stop! There's nothing you can do!"
"I couldn't protect them!" He cried. "I let them walk into a trap and I couldn't protect them!"
"Stop it Ichigo!" Rukia commanded. "I will not stand here and watch you uselessly blame yourself. We all came here of our own free will. You are not responsible for this."
"I should have at least been able to help them." He insisted. "You've been more help than me. I can't even do kido. How can I protect you without my zanpakuto? What good am I?"
"You are Kurosaki Ichigo." Rukia replied. "You are someone important to me. Important to all of us. It's not up to you to protect us Ichigo. It's up to all of us to protect each other. If we fail, then we owe it to the others to keep trying. You owe it to me to keep pressing on and to do what you can to succeed. Just as I owe it to you."
Ichigo took a deep breath. "You're right. I know that. It's just…I don't want to fail you too."
"You won't." she said flatly. Her upright stance and determined face would allow no argument.
"How touching." Mayuri sneered. "Let's see how this next challenge tests that sentiment." He grinned widely as he typed in the necessary commands.
"Hall of Wind." Rukia read.
"Gee, I wonder what this one's going to do." Ichigo sarcastically wondered aloud. "Here Rukia, take my hand. I'm not losing you on this one."
Taking his outstretched hand, she gave a resolute nod. She was ready to face whatever came next with him. Together.
There was nothing to unusual at first. The room was set up to look like a cave with stalagmites and stalactites lining the walls. There was strong wind as expected, gusting and blowing from all angles. It was difficult to keep their feet. Supporting each other, they stumbled about in the dim cavern for a long time.
"Look Ichigo." Rukia shouted over the wind. "There's the exit."
Following her pointing finger, he eventually saw it too.
"OK." He shouted back. "Keep your eyes peeled. I smell a trap."
Sure enough, the wind changed at that very moment. It pushed against them with hurricane force, pushing them away from the exit.
No you don't Ichigo thought as he pushed back against the wind with all his strength. You aren't stopping us this time. He tightened his grip on Rukia's hand, holding on for dear life. He would get her out of this no matter what.
Suddenly, the wind changed again. Now, it pushed against his back, just as a three meter wide strip dropped out of the floor in front of him. Rukia swept past him, her feet dangling over the edge of the pit. He seized her hand with both of his and pulled her back, grabbing her around the waist and holding her close.
"There's nothing down there." She shouted in his ear. "If we fall, it's a long way down!"
"We'll have to go back." He yelled in her face.
Hugging her close to his body, they struggled against the wind the way they came. Unfortunately, that way was gone. The floor had dropped out there too. The wind changed to push them towards the new pitfall. Strips began to fall from the sides of the floor as well. It didn't take long for Ichigo to notice the pattern. The floor was following a spiral, giving them less and less room to stand on. Soon, no matter what they did, they would fall in the trap.
"No!" Ichigo howled. "I won't let you have her you bastards!"
All around him, the air shimmered and glowed as he prepared to use all of his strength.
"Ichigo, what are you doing?" She asked.
"Brace yourself!" He answered.
Picking her up by the waist, he aimed her at the exit.
"Are you crazy!" She yelled.
He leaned back in a pitcher's stance. "Here you go!" He shouted as he launched her across the void.
Rukia was glad the wind carried away her screams. She tucked herself into a ball just before impact. Although it knocked the wind out of her, she landed safely in the exit's hall. She forced herself to get up and look at Ichigo. He leaped after her, hands outstretched as he sought to join her. She held her hand out to him, only to see him smashed against the wall by a gust of wind.
"ICHIGO!" She cried as she staggered towards the doorway.
He slid off the wall unconscious and dropped into the pit below. A metal door slid down from the ceiling, cutting her off from the room just before she reached it. She pounded on the shiny surface calling his name.
"Ichigo! Ichigo!"
As his sight came back, Ichigo's first impression was light. Regaining focus, he could see it was a florescent light. A muzak version of "The Girl From Ipanema" played in the background. He didn't feel strong enough to raise his head yet. Weakly testing his limbs, he could feel he was restrained. He heard, rather than saw, the elevator doors open. He felt himself being wheeled out into the room.
"Excellent, excellent!" Mayuri cackled. "I finally have all the specimens I wanted in one place."
"Will you also want Kuchiki-san, Mayuri-sama?" Nemu asked.
"No." He sneered. "There's nothing special about her. Still, go ahead and bring her here just in case. It wouldn't do to have all my plans upset by the little brat."
"As you wish, Mayuri-sama."
Ichigo heard the elevator doors close again as she left.
"Now let's take a look at you, eh?" Mayuri chuckled standing over Ichigo. He leaned back in surprise. "What's this? You're awake? I guess I should have expected you would need more tranquilizers than these others. No matter, you won't be strong enough to be any trouble for hours."
Mayuri left him to go rummage around in a medicine cabinet. Finally able to turn his head, Ichigo saw Chad and Orihime lined up against the back wall strapped to gurneys and dressed in hospital gowns with tubes running into their arms and noses. Ishida was on the slab in the center of the room, only his groin covered with surgical cloth, his body covered with lines, a tray of sharp implements at the ready by his side.
"What are you doing to them?" He managed to croak.
"Science, of course, you dullard." Mayuri answered. "The quincy and the fullbringers have long been on my list for experimentation. You wouldn't believe how many times my requests have been turned down by that short sighted old fool in command. Even appealing to the Central 46 got me nowhere. No, if I was ever going to satisfy my curiosity about their unusual abilities, I was going to have to take matters into my own hands."
He held up a glass bottle with some sickeningly green fluid in it, drawing some into a syringe. Going over to the slab, he injected it into the IV line. Ishida gave out a pained groan even though still unconscious.
"It's not an ideal solution." Mayuri admitted. "I will only have tonight to perform as many experiments as I can. Of course, when done properly, even one night can seem like an eternity, hee, hee, hee."
"Bastard!" Ichigo grated out. "Leave them alone!"
Mayuri turned to him with his eyebrows raised. "What? I'm allowing you to witness my genius in action and you complain?"
"You'll never get away with this." Ichigo threatened. "Even if you kill us, you'll be found out."
"My dear boy, I don't need to kill you." Mayuri assured him. "Once I'm done with you, your memories will be wiped clean. The only thing you'll remember was the wonderful time you had at Mayuri's Haunted Castle. You'll even recommend it to all your friends. Won't that be nice? Now if you can't be quiet, I'm afraid I will have to make you."
Forcing Ichigo's mouth open, he stuffed a rag into it, then went back to the slab.
"Now, quincy, let's see how your brain differs from the baseline, shall we?"
He picked up a bone saw and revved it up. Ichigo was helpless to do anyting except watch as the whirling blade was brought lower and lower to Ishidas's skull. Neither he nor Mayuri noticed when the elevator doors opened.
"A thousand pardons Mayuri-sama." Nemu said. "I'm afraid I underestimated her hand to hand combat capability."
"Eh? What are you talking about you stupid girl?"
Turning around, Mayuri's eyes widened in alarm to see Nemu strapped to the gurney. Rukia shoved it at him with all her strength. Mayrui dropped the saw in his effort to dodge it. Rukia used the distraction to attack.
"Hadō #31. Shakkahō!"
To her dismay, her attack had little effect.
"Foolish girl." Mayuri chided as he drew his zanpakuto. "Did you think I wouldn't be prepared for you in case something like this happened? I took the precaution to have myself grounded against all kido attacks."
Looking around the room, Rukia spotted Sode no Shirayuki and Zangetsu on a rack against the wall. Following her gaze, Mayuri guessed her goal and placed himself between her and her weapon.
"No you don't." He sneered. "Now why don't you save me some trouble and surrender now?"
Continuing to look around the room, she desperately looked for something she could use. Spotting a broom in the corner, she snatched it up. Mayuri laughed.
"And what were you planning to do with that, infant, sweep me to death?"
Rukia held the broom in guard position.
"Actually, I was going to do this!"
Thrusting the top of the broom down, she smashed it perfectly against the tip of Mayuri's big toe. As he yowled in pain and hopped on one foot, she swept his other foot out from under him. Leaping over him, she ran to the weapons rack and removed her sword. It only took a second to cut Ichigo loose. He gratefully accepted Zangetsu from her. Now Mayuri faced two armed shinigami.
"You think you've won?" Mayuri said as he got back on his feet. "Two against one or not, you still face a Captain! Rip, Ashisogi Jizō!"
Rukia was unfazed by Mayuri invoking shikai.
"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"
Mayuri tried to get out of the way of the rapidly advancing ice wave. He almost made it. Only his right arm was trapped. Unfortunately, that hand had his zanpakuto in it. He tried to pull his arm free as Ichigo implacably advanced. He shoved Mayuri against the ice wall and put the edge of his blade against his throat.
"All right you twisted freak." Ichigo snarled. "It's time for you to face justice. I'm going to see to it that you get what you deserve."
"A letter of reprimand!" Ishida yelled. "He tried to cut us into chunks then scrub our brains clean and all he gets is a letter of reprimand!"
"Calm down please." Isane directed. "You're still not completely healed."
Ishida tried to do as he was told, lying back on his cot in the fourth division's ward. Even as he did so, it was obvious he was still quivering with rage. Orihime and Chad, though still in treatment, were already better and Ichigo had refused to be looked at, swearing he was fine. Rukia was relaying the Council of 46's decision on Mayuri's punishment.
"He also has to pay a hefty fine and has been put on probation." She said. "Also, the haunted castle has been turned over to the Shinigami Women's Association for the remainder of the season."
"That hardly seems like adequate punishment." Ishida grouched.
"He is shielded somewhat by his unique skills." Isane explained. "Even when we can prove he's been up to no good, it's difficult to do anything to him because his work is so invaluable."
"Still not right." Chad rumbled.
"No, it's not." Rukia agreed. "However, there is a completely separate punishment for harassing a member of one of the Four Families. Ni-sama will be stopping by tomorrow morning to administer it personally."
"Really?" Ichigo asked with a grin. "I'd like to see that!"
"That does make me feel little better." Ishida
"Kuchiki-san, Kurosaki-san, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Isane said. "Ishida-san's blood pressure went extremely high after talking to you and I'm afraid it's still not going down."
"Oh, sorry." Rukia apologized. "We'll be out in the waiting areas when you're ready to go home."
"Yeah, we'll see you later guys." Ichigo said.
After taking their leave, Ichigo and Rukia went to sit down in the waiting area. Rukia picked up a much thumbed copy of the Seireitai Bulletin and began to skim through it. Ichigo nervously fidgeted. After a while, he spoke.
"Hey Rukia, I've been meaning to ask you something."
"Um?" Rukia murmured still reading.
"Keigo said he was having a Halloween party tomorrow. I was wondering if you wanted to go. I know it'll probably be pretty tame and quiet after all this, but…uh…I thought you might want to come."
"You mean with you?" She asked coyly.
Ichigo turned beet red as he scratched the back of his head.
"Well, yeah. If you want to."
Rukia hid her smile with the magazine.
"I'd like that." She said. "Tame and quiet sounds pretty nice about now."
Ichigo leaned back into his chair, relieved.
"It sure does." He agreed.
The End