Disclaimer: Do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo.

Chapter 2 - City of Lost Souls

(11/01/2018)

It is said by Shinigami that when konsō is performed on the wandering deceased souls of the World of the Living, they will either go Hell for the bad deeds they have done or come to the Soul Society and live peaceful lives for the good they have done. However, what Shinigami fail to mention is that when is performed konsō, they are randomly transported to somewhere in the Rukongai. The majority of the time, most souls will end up in one of the nicer districts between District One and District Twenty-Five while the others would end up in the lower districts having to fend off for themselves or die and reincarnate back into the World of the Living.

Right now, in District One, one can see the happy expressions on the deceased. To them, they are living good lives after death. To them it is heaven. The children playing, men and women conversing, and the elderly simply resting peacefully in their small homes like any other day in the Soul Society.

Unfortunately, today wasn't going to be one of the days.

The sounds of explosion coming from the skies above caused panic amongst the resident of District One as they hurried inside their homes.

"Everyone get inside!"

"Momma what's happening!?"

"Take the children and elderly inside quickly!"

"Is it Hollows attacking!"

The Soul Society has now been invaded!


Moments Ago

"We are now inside the Dangai everyone!" Yoruichi called out to everyone behind her. "Let's get a move on!"

In awe of the ghastly appearance that is the Dangai, all except Yoruichi and Ichigo returned to their senses and started to run towards whatever was ahead of them. Running in the Dangai felt never ending as the walls around them seemed to ooze without end and the darkness that was in place.

"Are we there yet?" Tatsuki called out from as she was running, with Yoruichi and Ichigo running in front of her, Orihime to her right, and Chad running to her left carrying Uryū due to almost getting sucked in the walls because of his small cape.

"We're almost there! Just keep running!" Yoruichi exclaimed as she kept running.

Yoruichi and everyone kept running and running as fast as they can to reach the exist that has not been spotted yet. As they kept running, the dark pathway started to become less darker and and more and more light seemed to be present every passing second.

"Something is coming from behind!" Uryu called out from the back.

Yoruichi glanced from behind to see what the boy was talking and was immediately regretting that she did.

"Shit! It's the Kōtotsu!"

"The what!?" she didn't turned to focus who it was that asked but guessed it was Tatsuki.

"A cleaner that appears once every seven days!" Yoruichi exclaimed as she picked up the pace, along with everyone else behind.

"Not the worst chase I've experienced but definitely an interesting one!" Ichigo yelled, running alongside Yoruichi with everyone else behind.

"Can everyone please shut up and focus on running!" yelled Yoruichi "We are being chased by a damn cleaner that can crush us to death!"

"Want me to do something about it?" Ichigo asked.

There was a moment of hesitation that passed in Yoruichi's eyes. The logical response should have been to say yes. He was more than capable of handling, even stopping, the Kōtotsu without endangering everyone else. She knew he had the tools necessary to deal with circumstances such as these. It's why Kisuke asked for his help!

However…

"Don't make contact with the Kōtotsu or you'll doom us all!" Yoruichi responded as she kept focusing on the exit ahead that was beginning to get bigger as they got closer and closer.

Unfortunately, her message didn't reach everyone.

"Santen Kesshun! I reject!" Orihime shouted as a glowing, orange barrier was produced and stood facing the giant cleaner that was coming closer and closer to them.

"Orihime! Put down the barrier before-" was all that was said before the cleaner came into contact with barrier.

BOOM!

Everyone running was caught in the explosion caused from the Kōtotsu's contact with the barrier and blasted out of the Dangai toward the exit. One minute they were running, and the next thing you know, they were blasted out of the Dangai and out into who knows where! There moment of panic was short lived as everyone soon came into contact the with the ground, now to the present time.

The sounds painful groaning and moaning can be heard as the dust made from the explosion started to clear up.

"Is everyone okay?" Ichigo groaned out as he picked himself up and shaked off the feeling of pain from having been launched out of the Dangai and into the ground. He was met with responses of groans and a 'fuck you' from Yoruichi.

"That was fun!" Orihime exclaimed cheerfully, being the only one who seemed unscathed by what happen. Unfortunately, this expression earned Orihime a headbutt to the face from Yoruichi.

"Did you not hear what I said!?" Yoruichi yelled "Do not make contact with the cleaner or anything in the Dangai else you get sucked in and trapped!"

"I'm sorry Yoruichi!" Orihime said "I was only trying to help!"

"Cut her some slack will ya," intervening Ichigo before Yoruichi could say anything else to Orihime "She did just save our lives, yours included!"

"Are you blaming me for this!" Yoruichi exclaimed, forgetting about Orihime and focusing on the infuriating man infront of her.

"I'm not blaming you for anything!" Ichigo retorted back at the feline, already jumping to conclusions with him "Though if you didn't want the girl endangering us, you could have let me handle the creepy-looking bullet train rather than telling me not to!"

"Really!" Yoruichi not buying what he was saying "And pray tell what did you have in your bag of goodies that could have stopped the damn cleaner from crushing us!"

"Time Bubbles." was Ichigo's only response to Yoruichi.

"You don't know that!" Yoruichi replied heatedly, glaring at the orange-haired man "For all we know, the consequences could have been much worse!"

"Bullshit and you know it!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Umm..guys?" Tatsuki called out.

"From what Kisuke told me about the Kōtotsu, the damage is only serious when it comes into contact with any form of reiryoku! The energy that's stored in my Time Bubbles aren't reiryoku!" Ichigo stated.

"Don't you dare get smart with me! We both know that it's only a theory from Kisuke!" Yoruichi countered.

"Guys?"

"I thought you trusted Kisuke!? No wonder he asked me to come along if you're going to start second guessing every step of the plan!"

"So I should be more like you!? Following orders? Become a ruthless killer like you!"

"Guys!"

"Coming from a former commander who specializes in assassination and trained an entire squadron of would-be assassins!? That's just fucking perfect!"

"Do you wanna throw down!? I have no problem in kicking your stupid ass to the fucking ground just to teach you a lesson in humility!"

"GUYS!"

"WHAT!" Both Yoruichi and Ichigo turning their attention toward the spiky-haired girl.

"Where the hell are we!?" While most would coward at the glare coming from those two, Tatsuki wasn't going to have any of that bullshit. Yoruichi and Ichigo took a moment to calm down before checking out their surroundings.

"I'm guessing this is the Soul Society?" Ichigo turned to Yoruichi for answer.

"Yes it is," Yoruichi answered, calming herself down and focusing back on the mission in hand. "To be more precise, we are in the Rukongai, a place where the souls of the Living World get transported to when their time is over."

The rest of the group looked at their surroundings. This is where they might go when they die back home. The old wooden houses that would be possibly be their homes once they die and the people that they've once encountered back in the Living World will be here when they die.

Speaking of people…

"Where is everyone?" Uryu asked as he noticed the distinct lack of residents around them.

"There most likely hiding due to the commotion that we have caused," Yoruichi answered "They must have assumed that we are either Hollows or invaders coming to attack."

"Hey Yoruichi!" The black cat turned her attention to Tatsuki, "How come those buildings over there look nicer than the ones around us?"

"Those buildings over there are were the Shinigami live" Yoruichi answered "home to the Gotei 13, compromised of the strongest Shinigami in the history of the Soul Society."

Alas, her warning had the opposite effect on the spiky-haired teenager.

"If that's where those Shinigami bastards live then it's time to kick some ass!" Tatsuki yelled as she sprinted towards where the Shinigami lived.

"You fool! Turn back now or you'll get yourself killed!" shouted Yoruichi.

Just as Tatsuki was going to turn around and ask what she meant, giant walls came crashing down from the sky and forming a wall surrounding the home of the Shinigami.

"GAHHHH!" Tatsuki screamed as we just one foot away from being crushed by the falling walls and the clouds of dirt created from the impact.

"It's been awhile since someone has tried to come through my gate without permission."

Once Tatsuki managed to get sense reigned in, she noticed a giant shadow covering her. She looked up and could not help but gaze in awe of the giant behemoth standing before her.

"I am the gatekeeper of the White Road Gate; Jidanbō Ikkanzaka!" the behemoth introduced himself loud and proud.

Quickly getting over the sight of the giant, Tatsuki readied herself, grasping her Zanpakutō hanging on her waist for the inevitable battle to come.

"Excuse me!"

Both Tatsuki and the giant turned their attention towards the orange-haired man casually walking towards the two as if nothing was wrong.

"Can I help you stranger?" asked the giant gatekeeper.

"Actually you can," Ichigo responded "You see, this Shinigami here told me that I can't go over there because that's where the Shinigami live. That made me curious as to why and now I get the idea."

The gatekeeper had an unsure expression, not sure if the boy was telling the true.

"Is he telling the truth Shinigami?" Tatsuki turned her attention towards the giant. She wasn't sure if it was good idea to lie or to tell the truth and fight. Personally, she thought that she could take the giant but the orange-haired man seems to have a better plan if he lied. If that's the case, she decided to play along.

"Yes! I told this moron not to go there but he wouldn't listen to me!" Tatsuki answered.

Jidanbo looked at both the girl and the boy suspiciously. This was an odd encounter for him. Granted, in his 300 years of service as gatekeeper, he has encountered situations such as these so it wasn't exactly off but it was still interesting to see.

"What about the group behind you Shinigami?" Jidanbo asked.

"They came here with me." Tatsuki answered, unsure if her response was the right one.

Jidanbo analyzed the group far behind the Shinigami. There appeared to be two males, one giant dark-skinned individual and the other scrawny and a bit pale, a female, a pretty one he thought, and a black cat.

"Interesting bunch you have there." commented Jidanbo before directing his attention back to the two in front.

"You are an odd Shinigami," said Jidanbo "Did you just graduate from the Shin'ō Academy?"

"Uhh...yeah" Tatsuki replied nervously "Just graduated and ready to fight Hollows!"

Her answered seemed to have amused the giant as he let out a chuckle.

"Don't act so nervous young one," Jidanbo advised "Granted it's your first day on the job but you shouldn't be tense. A Shinigami's duty is to protect the souls of the living and dead from Hollows but to also set an example for the other souls."

"Right!" replied Tatsuki.

"That's good!" Jidanbo said "I'm happy to see fresh recruits ready to serve and protect the Soul Society!"

Though lying, she couldn't help but smile back at the giant. He wasn't so bad as she thought he was going to be. Kind of reminded her of Chad. Her train of thought was soon interrupted when she heard the sounds of loud grunting and the small tremors that briefly occured.

She turned her attention to Jidanbo, who appeared to be lifting the gates with his bare hands.

"What are you doing?" Tatsuki asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" replied the giant "I'm opening the gate to let you in!"

It was this moment that Ichigo decided to intervene.

"Actually," called out Ichigo, grabbing both Jidanbo's and Tatsuki's, along with those in the back, attention "She kind of promised to show us around the Rukongai since me and my friends just died. Is that okay?"

The giant looked at the orange-haired man for a bit till he turned his attention to the girl standing next to confirm if what he said is true.

"I just want to make sure they know what to expect here at the Soul Society and to also inform them of the laws!" Tatsuki replied a bit nervously.

The giant nodded in reply as he proceeded to let go of the gate, letting it slam back at the ground, creating a bit of a tremor and dust clouds.

"When your finished showing them around," said Jidanbo "Come back so I could let you in."

Tatsuki nodded as she turned around headed back towards the group along with Ichigo.

"What the f-"

"Let's talk someplace us where we aren't so close to the thousands of Shinigami on the other side of the gate okay." Ichigo said as he motioned the girl to hurry in order to catch up with the rest of the group. Once they reached the group, Ichigo motioned them to follow him, telling them the same thing he told Tatsuki so they can talk privately elsewhere.

After much walking and out of the clear from the giant's sight, Ichigo guided them inside one of the wooden houses, after he made sure it was empty, and told them to stay here while he makes sure the area is secure. Minutes pass as it feels like they have been waiting for hours for the guy to return.

"When is he coming back?" asked Uryū, leaning against the wall of the wooden house.

"He should be about done scouring the area for anything or anyone watching," Yoruichi replied before directing her attention to Tatsuki "In the meantime, why don't we talk about the dumb decision that Tatsuki almost made today!"

"Shit" muttered Tatsuki. She had a feeling that she was going to get chewed out for this by the cat but she kind of hoped that it would have been forgotten.

"What were you thinking in engaging Jidanbo!? You could have gotten yourself killed!" said Yoruichi.

"I thought I could take the big guy." Tatsuki answered

"Really?" asked Yoruichi "And then what? What do you do after you beat Jidanbo?"

There was no response to Yoruichi's last question. Tatsuki knew at this point where she fucked up and that there was no right answer to the cat's question. If she beat Jidanbo, then he wouldn't be able to open the gate, and even if he was willing to open the gate, they would only be met by the Shinigami that would have been waiting for them in the otherside.

"I would have fucked up" Tatsuki concluded.

"Yes, you would have" Yoruichi said before deciding it was best to change the subject "But now that we are here, let's discuss our next move okay."

Yoruichi motioned everyone to gather around as begun to lay down the next course of action.

"As of right now, we are in the first District of the west side of the Rukongai" Yoruichi explained "Our first step will be for me to find one of my contacts here in the Rukongai. Once I locate them, I need to get them to send a message inside the Seireitei. I know someone who will be able to help us get inside undetected."

"I have a question!" called out Orihime, having her hand raised.

"What is it?" asked Yoruichi, a bit amused that the girl had her hand raised as if she was in school asking the teacher a question.

"What's your relation to Ichigo" Orihime asked with a curious expression on her face.

Yoruichi looked at Orihime annoyingly before noticing the curious expression on the other teens' faces. The little outburst between the two earlier did give them idea that there was something going on between the two than just two people having different opinions on a mission. Unfortunately, that was the case.

"He is someone that I have worked with in the past," answered Yoruichi "I did him a favor in an important job he did and he is simply repaying the favor back."

Before anyone of the high schoolers could ask to elaborate further on the relation between the two, the sound of knocking grabbed was heard outside the wooden house they were staying. Everyone turned their attention to who it was, revealing the orange-haired man they were just asking about standing in front of the doorway.

"What you are guys talking about?" asked Ichigo as entered the building.

"We were just talking about our next move." Yoruichi quickly answered, not wanting anyone else, especially Orihime, to ask more questions about their past. "We are going to one of my contacts in the West Rukongai and ask them to send a message inside the Seireitei."

"You know someone inside?" asked Ichigo, mildly surprised about this.

"I do," Yoruichi answered "She has been a close friend of mine for a long time. I'm certain that she'll give us the edge needed for this rescue mission to succeed."

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Ichigo asked.

"We go look for the elder in this district" Yoruichi answered "The elder will know where my contact to the Seireitei is."

"Then let's get moving!" Ichigo announced, motioning everyone to move out of the residence. One by one, they all left the building until it was Yoruichi being the last to leave. Just as she was about to exit outside, a boot appeared between her and outside. She looked up to see Kurosaki kneeling down beside her to be at her "eye" level.

"I'm sorry for what happened earlier." said Ichigo.

Yoruichi's expression seemed tense a bit when he apologized. They both knew it was a bit of her fault since she jumped to conclusions in thinking that she was blaming him for the Dangai incident. She knew he had the means that would have helped them inside the Dangai. She was getting personal in this mission.

"It's alright" replied Yoruichi "I should have kept a cooler head."

"Let's try and keep our personal feelings out of the mission" Ichigo advised "I don't think you want to endanger those kids with our problems, much less know about them."

Yoruichi nodded in response as both herself and Ichigo exited the residence and left to go search for their person of interest.


Meanwhile; Seireitei, Soul Society

"I can't believe this actually happening." spoke lazily the flower-kimono wearing, captain of the Eight Division; Shunsui Kyōraku, as he made his way to the captains meeting that was being called for.

"This is an important matter." said the white-haired, sickly captain of the Thirteen Division; Jūshirō Ukitake, "I'm sure that after the meeting is done you can go back and take a nap. I'll even ask your lieutenant to not disturb you."

Shunsui smiled in response as they both finally arrived to the First Division barracks where the captains meeting was being held. Upon arriving, they saw one of their fellow captains waiting outside.

"Captain Aizen! It's good to see you!" greeted Shunsui, waving at the mild-mannered, bespectacled captain of the Fifth Division.

"Greetings captain Kyōraku and captain Ukitake!" responded Aizen with a smile to his colleagues.

"How have you been Sōsuke?" asked Ukitake as he and Kyōraku arrived at the entrance at where the captain's meeting was about to be held.

"I've been good captain Ukitake." responded Aizen.

"Why are you waiting outside?" asked Kyōraku "Don't tell me that the old man is in a bad mood?"

"The Captain-Commander is not in a bad mood," Aizen assured Kyōraku "I just want to make sure that my colleagues make the meeting on time."

"Are we the last ones to arrive?" asked Kyōraku.

"No, only the captains from the Third, Tenth, and Eleventh Divisions aren't here yet." replied Aizen.

"It's better if we just go in already," said Ukitake "I'm sure the rest will arrive shortly."

Aizen nodded in response as all three captains proceeded to go inside the First Division barracks. Upon entering, they were greeted with the sight of their fellow captains lined up vertically on both sides with the Captain-Commander between at the center end. On Yamamoto's right stood the petite captain of the Second Division, as well as the commander of the Onmitsukidō, Suì-Fēng. Next to the petite captain stood one of the most beautiful Shinigami in the Soul Society, captain of the Fourth Division Retsu Unohana. Then there's the stoic captain of the Sixth Division, and the head of one of the Great Noble Clans in the Soul Society, Byakuya Kuchiki. Skipping two spaces, you have the last captain on the right side, the madman of the bunch, captain of the Twelfth Division and the current president of the Shinigami Research & Development, Mayuri Kurotsuchi. On Yamamoto's left, stood the tallest of them all, the armored captain of the Seventh Division, Sajin Komamura. Next to the giant stood the dark-skinned, blind captain of the Ninth Division, Kaname Tōsen.

"I see you have decided to come in Captain Aizen" spoke the sage Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

"Forgive me Captain-Commander," said Aizen, bowing his head in apology "I merely wanted to make sure that all captains were present for this important meeting."

The Captain-Commander merely gave brief nod in response before motioning the three captains to take their place for the meeting about to begin. Aizen moved to stand next to Sajin's unoccupied side while Ukitake moved to stand on the left side, opposite of Mayuri, and Kyōraku moved to stand next to Kuchiki's side.

"How long do we have to stand and wait for the others to arrive?" asked Tōsen "It is disrespectful to make the Captain-Commander wait."

"I'm sure that our fellow captains will arrive shortly," assured Unohana "You know how Kenpachi always gets lost coming to these meetings. As for the other two-"

Right when she was about to mention the last two, the doors to the meeting hall were kicked open. Everyone minus the Captain-Commander turned their heads or glanced at the source of the commotion. Standing at the entrance was the sly, trickster captain of the Third Division, Gin Ichimaru, along with the battle-hungry, sword-loving captain of the Eleventh Division, Kenpachi Zaraki.

"Sorry the delay everyone," Gin said as both he and Kenpachi took their places with their fellow captains in line "I stopped to chat on the way and I simply lost track of time."

Many of his fellow captains gave him a disapproval look, not liking that he wasn't taking his duty as captain seriously.

"What about you Zaraki?" asked Kyōraku "Did you get lost on your way?"

"Yeah I did." responded Zaraki, who appeared to be bored.

"So the only who's left is the captain of the Tenth Division?" asked Gin.

"This is insulting!" exclaimed Suì-Fēng "That man should be setting an example for others because of his position but instead lounges around like Kyōraku and leaves all his work for his lieutenant and 3rd Seat Officer to do!"

"Hey! Why you go insulting me!" said Kyōraku.

"That's enough from both you," said the Captain-Commander calmly "He's already here."

Before any of them could ask what he meant, the sound of the meeting hall's door opening caught everyone's attention. Standing at the entrance was the lazy, carefree captain of the Tenth Division and head of one of the Great Noble Clans in the Soul Society, Isshin Shiba.

"You're late captain Shiba." said Yamamoto.

"Sorry old man!" said Isshin "Kind of got sidetracked on the way."

Yamamoto simply gruffed in response before telling to get in line with the other captains so he could finally start the meeting.

"This meeting will now commence!" announced Yamamoto, slamming his cane to the ground to signify the start.

"Captain Suì-Fēng report what you have found!"

The captain of the Second Division nodded as she stepped up front and begun to deliver her report.

"About three hours ago, you've all received the alarm that there was a breach in the Soul Society. My men spotted several Ryokas at the White Road Gate and were sent to investigate. Once they spotted the Ryoka, they were given orders to neutralize them and bring them back to me for interrogation." explained Suì-Fēng.

"I'm assuming that it didn't go as planned." guessed Kyōraku.

Suì-Fēng nodded before continuing her explanation. "When my men spotted the Ryoka, they were told to assess the situation, whether they were a threat or not, to which would be the best course of action in capturing them. After watching and waiting, men reported that they two of the Ryoka were simply conversing with the gatekeeper before ending their conversation and leaving, giving my men the opportunity to capture them."

"And what happened captain Suì-Fēng?" asked Komamura.

"All my men that were sent were neutralized." replied the petite captain.

This seemed to get some reaction from all the captains present minus the old man, who had already read the report delivered by the captain.

"They were all killed!?" exclaimed Isshin.

"Not killed," clarified Suì-Fēng "They were knocked out cold and scattered across the West Rukongai. I have my lieutenant looking for them in order to get an assessment of what happen. But it doesn't end there."

The other captains wondered what she meant before motioning the captain of the Twelfth Division to explain.

"As most of you don't know, I have several surveillance bugs all over the Rukongai to monitor the residents of the Rukongai, to see if anything catches my interest." explained Kurotsuchi.

"Did something happen to your surveillance?" asked Ukitake.

"I am about to get there so please do not interrupt" responded Kurotsuchi before continuing "As I was saying, I have surveillance all across the Rukongai. So when Captain Suì-Fēng approached me to locate the Ryoka, I was more than willing to help. But as I was about access the records of surveillance in the lower districts of the West Rukongai, they were all terminated."

And like Suì-Fēng's report on her men being neutralized, they were equally surprised.

"When this occurred, I decided to send more of my surveillance bugs as a means to get a perimeter of the area of where the individual responsible destroying my bugs is hiding but they proved to be more cunning than I've anticipated."

"Meaning?" asked Aizen.

"It seems that whenever I send my bugs near the West Rukongai, they malfunction and stop working entirely."

"How are they being jammed?" asked Unohana.

"The manner of it being done must come from technology designed to interfere with surveillance, but the fact that it's able to jam my technology is very impressive." responded Kurotsuchi.

"This suggests a high level of preparedness from the Ryoka" added Suì-Fēng "While we don't know their motives on being here, it is best that we send out search parties in the upper districts of the West Rukongai to find them and bring them back for interrogation."

"How do you know if they are still in the lower districts of the West Rukongai?" asked Tōsen "It is possible for them to have moved up to the upper districts or moved to one of the other parts of the Rukongai."

"My men were able to get sketches of only two of the Ryoka. We're working on getting sketches for the others." responded Suì-Fēng as she produced to papers from her haori with rough sketches of the two Ryoka. One paper had the sketch of a young woman with spiky black hair while the other was a young man with spiky orange hair.

As each of the captains took a moment to memorize the looks of the Ryoka, one captain was feeling strange in looking at one of the pictures.

'He seems familiar' wondered Isshin.

"With the report given by both captains Suì-Fēng and Mayuri Kurotsuchi, we have a basic outline of who the Ryoka are. A more detailed report will be sent your quarters after the meeting" said Yamamoto "As for our next move, we will be sending search parties to the lower districts of the West Rukongai. I want officers from Divisions Five, Six, Ten, and Eleven to find and bring back the Ryoka alive. Understood?"

"Yes Captain-Commander!"


A/N: Thoughts on the chapter? Leave a review.