Chapter 2: Assessing Damage
"Uh…Captain," Renji said tentatively, "I don't suppose you have any idea where we are?"
Byakuya gave him a withering glare.
"Ah…okay, sorry," he muttered, looking around, "So…what are your orders, sir?"
It took every bit of patience the noble could muster not to turn and knock the daylights out of his subordinate. Instead, he ran his eyes over the darkened landscape and reached out in all directions, figuring that if he could sense Las Noches, he could angle towards it, use it to orient them, then turn off in the direction of home. He couldn't sense the fortress itself, but he managed to locate a center of hollow activity…and that meant the chance of an outpost. From there, they might find a trail or be able to sense more. He turned back to Renji.
"What do you sense?" he asked.
Renji blinked.
"What?"
"You heard me, Abarai. I asked you what you sense."
"Yeah, I heard…sir…but…"
"But what?" Byakuya said calmly.
"But…you and I both know that I suck at reiatsu sensing," Renji objected.
"And…?"
And we're not exactly in a great place for a training activity…"
Byakuya crossed his arms.
"Humor me, Abarai," he said, frowning, "Tell me which way we should go."
Renji gave him a look that bordered on rebellious, but looked left, then right…and pointed.
"That way."
Byakuya was, as always, surprised at his subordinate's ability to do the right thing without having any idea why. The only problem was…to pass the captain's exam required more than stellar intuition (or luck). To pass the exam, Renji would have to be able to explain how he chose the direction and "It just felt right" wasn't going to cut it.
"Why?" he asked solemnly.
"Huh?" Renji asked, scratching the back of his neck and looking at the noble questioningly.
"Not quite the answer I was hoping for…" Byakuya commented dryly, "Try again, Abarai."
A soft red glow began to form around the redhead as his patience grew short and his stomach growled.
"I don't know, Captain," he said, irritation, "Why does it matter when we both know I suck at this and you don't?"
Byakuya sighed, closed his eyes and shook his head in annoyance.
"Perhaps something might be interfering with my perception or I might sustain injury and be unable to sense reiatsu properly."
"Then I'd say we would be pretty much screwed," said Renji, starting forward and leaving Byakuya standing and lightly pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.
He flash stepped forward and as they walked, attempted to keep a mental clock running. He wasn't certain how he would keep track of time with no rising and setting sun and no change in the stars and moon over them. It seemed that Hueco Mundo was made to confuse them…and considering Aizen Sousuke's presence there, it made sense that the leader of the hollows would use something like that to his advantage. In addition, the desert was just endless dunes without too many large rises and valleys. The valleys didn't tend to be very noticeable ahead of time, but appeared suddenly…meaning that one had to watch himself or an errant flash step might lead him to his doom. He began to sense other things…a cluster of traps, set by crafty hollows to snare their brethren and any assorted creatures of poor fortune who (thanks to stupid inventions) found themselves wandering the depths of the desert unprepared. He angled around it and headed forward.
One moment, he was walking ahead, and the next, he was lying on his stomach in the sand, with Renji holding him down.
He knew better than to struggle, as such behavior was unheard of in the younger vice captain, unless the situation demanded it. And just as he suspected, a moment later, Renji released him and they crawled to the edge of a drop off he had been approaching…and they found a hollow outpost.
There were many of these places…these little way stations between Las Noches and other destinations. They were used to supply hollow armies and to house them as they moved from place to place. Had this one been down to a skeleton crew, they could have easily slipped inside, purloined much needed survival gear and food, and slipped out again unnoticed. As it was, they would still infiltrate, but much more cautiously…the reason being that they hadn't been planning on even an overnight excursion and except for the small bottle of water he always carried and the candy he always kept in his shihakushou for when Yachiru popped in unannounced and he needed to quiet her, they had no supplies. Granted, food was not a necessity, but they would operate with lesser power without food and would require more rest.
"How did you sense this when I did not?" Byakuya asked as Renji's eyes scanned the scene below them, "Did you arc your reiatsu and use touch points on the surface of the sand? See a reflection or odd shadow?"
"Uh, no, actually," Renji answered, blushing.
"Then…how did you know?"
"Ah…Captain, not to be rude or anything, but…"
"Did I misperceive something? Make a wrong turn?"
"Oh, erm, no…"
"Then, for kami's sake, what was it? Tell me!" the noble demanded.
"Ah…erm, Captain…I'm like three inches taller than you. I just…saw it first because of that…"
Byakuya turned his head aside, dropped it onto the sand and rolled his eyes.
I am a failure at this…
XXXXXXXXXX
"So, how do you want to go about getting in, Captain?" Renji asked softly, resting his chin on his arms and gazing down into the hidden base.
"How would you go about it?" Byakuya asked, and instantly, he felt his vice captain's annoyance at his steadfast refusal to answer a simple question.
"Huh…" muttered the redhead, thinking, "A small diversion that would seem to be a disturbance caused by a creature who lives in the region?"
"Do you have any idea what kinds of creatures live in this region that might cause a disturbance?"
His lips quirked at the sight of the redhead thinking hard, reaching an answer, but not liking it, thinking again and reconsidering. Byakuya blinked and gazed at him patiently.
"Abarai?"
Renji met his eyes, stared for a moment and sighed in frustration.
"Aww, hell, I don't know, Captain…"
"Yes, you do."
"What?" asked Renji, frowning.
"Your instinctive answer…the one you didn't want to tell me because you thought it was too stupid. What was it?"
"Hey! How did you know…?"
"What was it, Abarai?" Byakuya asked again.
"You want my instinctive answer? My stupid, just happened to pop into my head answer? That answer, Captain?"
"I asked for it, didn't I?" Byakuya said archly, "And I have already repeated it. So…before we weaken from hunger, Sousuke Aizen becomes king, or we all die of old age, please answer my question."
He thought that the pink flush that rose on Renji's cheeks was actually quite charming…
"Uh…okay…hollow swine."
"Hollow swine…" Byakuya repeated, "That was the first thing that popped into your head?"
Renji's flush deepened.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you think of hollow swine?" Byakuya asked, raising an eyebrow.
Renji sighed resignedly.
"Because they're everywhere around the shinigami base…and it reminded me of the packs of wild swine in the Rukon…they make good bacon…"
"Abarai?"
"Ah, sorry. Anyway, those things are everywhere. They are a complete nuisance that everyone knows about and anyone can tell you how fucking loud they are and what a mess they make."
Byakuya had to work to suppress a smile.
"And do you think you are capable of emulating a pack of these hollow swine?" he asked, thinking briefly of his visit to Renji's apartment before their mission.
"Uh…sure, Captain. In the Rukon, we would do that to distract the merchants so that we could steal food."
"Well then," Byakuya said, looking down into the encampment, "You will do your best imitation of hollow swine and I will infiltrate the camp and gather some stores."
"Wait…why do I have to make the distraction?" Renji complained.
"Because I have never imitated a swine before," Byakuya said, "And with any luck, I will never have to…"
"Nice, Captain," Renji said, rolling his eyes.
He moved off to the side and scanned the area quickly. He spotted a set of rock clusters not far from where they had concealed themselves. He carefully watched the motions of the hollow guards, and as they turned, he flash stepped across the open space and appeared in the cluster of rocks at the top of the hill. Byakuya watched closely as he began to work his way down. He had made it well inside the base when the rock shifted beneath his feet and sent a shower of rocks tumbling down the incline. Immediately the guards turned towards the sound and Byakuya flash stepped past them. They started towards Renji's place of concealment. Byakuya held his breath, preparing himself to bail his vice captain out, but waiting to see what he would do. His heart pounded as the guards moved closer to Renji. All at once, there was a soft rumble, an explosive cloud of sand and a set of pealing squeals that made the noble captain cover his ears in surprise.
"Idiot!" he hissed, "They will never…!"
But as he watched, the guards stopped and groaned.
"Damned swine," one of them muttered, "into everything and no matter how many we eat, more come to bother us. What a fucking nuisance!"
Byakuya barely managed to contain his surprise enough to take cover before the guards returned to their positions. He shook his head and continued into the camp, taking cover in the shadows and keeping his hood in place when he had to cross an opening.
He remembered from his initial survey of the camp that there was a place where hollows seemed to come and go constantly…and from that and the disturbing smell, he took it to be the commissary. He worked his way to it and slipped into what he took to be a stockroom. The air was freezing inside and he pulled his cloak more tightly around him. An even harder chill went through him as he read the labels on the shelves. There was a shelf marked 'Human Remains (for Stewing),' another marked 'Shinigami (Prime)' and one more marked 'Hollow Source (Mixed).'
"There is no way in the three worlds…" he murmured.
I wouldn't even dare take something that seemed acceptable because I would forever wonder…What if they made a labeling error?
He stood, staring in disgust for a moment, then silently incinerated the entire contents of the meat locker, and breathed a prayer for the victims as he moved on to a second storeroom.
This room was still chilly, but not nearly as cold as the last, and to his delight, he was able to gather a store of fruits, vegetables and even a few spices. He located two canteens and filled them from a large water dispenser he found. He noticed a few stray Arrancar uniforms stored in a corner and took two of them. Then he left the storeroom and started back in the direction he had come.
As he moved through the shadows, a group of guards turned into the corridor he occupied and headed towards his place of concealment. He slipped further into the space between two buildings as they passed, then started back out into the corridor. He froze as two male voices rose up somewhere behind him.
"I have to say this was a good idea, Sousuke. That illusion you left was one of the best I've seen. They have no idea that it's not us attacking the shinigami base," said a voice he recognized at once as Gin's.
"Snake…" he whispered, moving closer.
"Yes…" Aizen's voice answered, "and when we attack the dimension wall, they will have no idea what's happening either. They haven't a clue that I found something that would penetrate the wall and allow us to destroy it. And by the time they realize I have lost interest in making the king's key, we will be through and to the spirit king's palace."
Byakuya caught his breath softly.
That had better be wishful thinking on their part…but in case it's not…
He moved closer.
"So what was all of that ruckus near the listening post?" Aizen asked.
"I'm not sure exactly," answered Gin, sounding amused, There were reports that two shinigamis…unknown at this point…broke into the area near the outpost and then quite clumsily tripped our security by making too much noise."
Byakuya rolled his eyes.
Thank you so much, Urahara…
"And then…just when it was sure that our forces had them trapped, they sacrificed their lives in making a huge explosion that completely destroyed the base and everything for a mile around it!"
And I had Abarai carry it…so it was bound to explode…but of course, even in exploding by accident, it did the right thing. How very…'Abarai'…but now everyone will think we are dead. Perfect...
"It will take months for us to repair the outpost. But then…it no longer matters since we will be attacking the palace in a matter of days."
"Yes, Gin," Aizen sighed, "but send back orders to have the crews begin rebuilding. We want to keep the head captain guessing about our intentions. The longer we keep them believing we are in Las Noches and planning to make the king's key…"
"A thousand pardons, sirs," said an unfamiliar voice.
"Speak," said Aizen.
"The disturbance outside was a lone shinigami…"
Renji!
"Our guards spotted him on the edges of the camp and killed him."
"Bring him to me," said Aizen, "I want to know who it is."
"My apologies, sir, but the patrol that killed him used an explosive blast. There are no remains, I'm afraid."
Renji…
Byakuya closed his eyes against the words and edged forward, straining to hear as the voices grew softer.
"He was dressed in ragged clothes…probably just a stray who got lost on one of their recon missions. We swept the surrounding area thoroughly. There were no signs of any other shinigamis. He could even have been one of theirs that was possessed by the spirit wolves. Those are common in this area."
"Well, maintain vigilance…and send messages to the leaders of the teams watching the head captain's movements. I'll want to know if he shows any sign of suspecting."
The voices faded away, leaving Byakuya chilled and alone in the narrow space between the buildings. He concealed himself in an alcove and carefully opened a reiatsu cage. Slipping inside, he rested against the back of the concealing cage and forced himself to eat and drink.
I don't dare try to leave now. Even if I did manage to escape the outpost, I would be alone, lost deep within enemy territory. I can use the Arrancar uniform to conceal myself…and the darkness here will help me remain hidden when the troops are moving. After they leave the outpost is the best time to try to find and destroy the device they are going to use to penetrate the dimension wall. I have to destroy it…everything depends on that…
He tried to rest, but couldn't fall asleep. Strangely, his ears were still filled with Renji's voice…his objection to having ice-cold water thrown on him to wake him up…his imitation of the hollow swine…his frequent apologies…everything. He wondered why it hurt so badly inside to think of those things. It hurt even more when he considered having to tell Rukia that Renji was gone.
I must be feeling this so deeply because of his connection to Rukia. That has to be it. What else could it be?
It hardly matters now…
Renji Abarai is gone…
Why do I feel like this is my fault?
"Renji…" he whispered, closing his eyes and letting his head rest in his arms on top of his bent knees.
But even once he did drift off, the ghost of his vice captain continued to haunt his dreams.