What crew there was aboard the Scarlet Reaper was not sober, not by a long shot. Renji reached the port a few hours after midnight, the lively sounds of the active taverns and brothels lost on him as he halted the borrowed horse at the dock where his ship was tied.
He strode down the wooden pier, his mind twisting through the implications of Rukia's abduction, adding salt to mental wounds he'd scarred over months ago.
It wouldn't have happened if he'd stayed, if he'd still been in charge of her safety. That he knew. She'd never gotten injured when he was answerable for her.
He took the gangplank in a few steps, glaring at the crewman on dogwatch at the quarterdeck rail.
"We're sailing," he said as the man looked to him. "How many of the crew are back? How many sober enough for detail?"
"Not many and even fewer, Captain," the man called back, belching from his earlier revelry. "Sorry, Captain, but we've got a dozen in the forecastle, sleeping off their rejection."
Renji sent a glower to the forecastle at the front of the ship. "Since when do whores get picky?"
The man chuckled, nodding. "Port's closing up, Captain. I hear the dock master won't let any ships leave. We ain't got our official notice yet, but it's coming."
Renji looked down the rows of docks to where the pricier vessels were located. Three large, well-quipped ships with oar ports bobbed in the warm night, their imposing design obvious even with all sails furled, oar ports closed. He often thought a Kuchiki ship was recognizable even to a blind man, something about the very air of the ships that reeked of their noble owner.
"Then we'll leave before we get our official notice," he told the crewman, the precious minutes between him and the large island of Hueco Mundo seeming to magnify. "I'll bet they'd let a Kuchiki ship leave port; maybe we should commandeer one of those for a good cause," he added, eyes narrowing on the closest of the nobleman's vessels. "We could use a back up plan for ill winds."
"You'd still need oarsmen," a voice countered from the deck behind him.
Renji turned to see Ichigo Kurosaki standing on the dock. He refused the first impulse to spit somewhere at the sight, but allowed the newcomer a nod.
"It wouldn't do you any good anyway," Ichigo said, hitching up the heavy baldric that crossed his chest.
Renji gave him a short chuckle, shaking his head at the orange-haired man. Barely a man, he decided, but old enough for a fiancé, he knew. "You think Kuchiki would have a problem lending me a ship to retrieve your betrothed?"
The words grated with Ichigo, but he let it pass. "All the Kuchiki ships are already under port law. None of them are allowed to leave. The whole port is going under maritime attack laws, Abarai."
Renji headed for the forecastle. "I'm not and I'm not staying around until I am."
"I'm going with you."
Renji halted on the deck and glanced back as Ichigo crossed the gangplank. "What the hell did you —"
"I'm coming with you." Ichigo's posture stiffened as Renji turned and met him. "If you can get us out of here, Renji," he said, voice lowering as two port guard walked by the ship at the far end of the dock, "I'm going, too. I want her back safe as much as you do."
Renji estimated the younger man. Ichigo Kurosaki's reputation was known across Seireitei and other parts of the continent as a lethal contender at any swordsmanship tournament, but he still didn't like the thought of him on the Scarlet Reaper. He also knew he needed any good swordsman and anyone's devotion to Rukia to attempt assaulting a fortress like Las Noches.
"She's got a better chance with two of us going," Ichigo said. "We need every chance we have."
Renji glanced to the town side of the dock as the port guards stopped another ship's captain. He gave Ichigo a nod, consenting to the idea. "You'll be pulling ropes. I've got a short crew and don't have room for dandies on this voyage."
Ichigo grinned, but it was pale for more reasons than the clouded moon's dim light. "Then let's set sail."
It was a quiet moment as the Scarlet Reaper slipped away from the dock ten minutes later. Ichigo stowed his sole bundle of luggage in the acting first mate's cabin a few doors from the master cabin below the quarterdeck and went back deckside to get his first taste of nautical rope burn.
The ship got halfway to the port cove's outlet to the sea before being spotted by the authorities. By then it was too late, and Renji knew it. He watched from the quarterdeck raised over the master cabin, seeing in the moon's light rippling over the waters the short bustle dockside as the port guards blamed each other for allowing a ship to see. No one followed them.
He turned on the quarterdeck to see the main deck behind him. Ichigo and the few remains of his less inebriated crew were straining at the mast ropes, the canvas sails slowly inching up the derricks until the ship gained speed. He jumped down the short stairs of the quarterdeck and joined the two crewmen at the aft mast ropes.
Ichigo tugged at the rope with the two other crewmen. "Is this all you've got for a crew?"
Renji knew the question was directed at him. "Not usually. Kind of a sudden departure," he snapped.
They tied off the ropes and spent the next ten minutes securing any barrels and gear that had taken a roll at the abrupt cast-off.
Ichigo went to the starboard rail, his gaze on the dot of island south of the ship.
Renji followed his attention. "That's not Hueco Mundo."
"I know that; it's Weaver's Isle." Ichigo turned to the dark water ahead of them as the ship cut silently through, the only sounds the hulls creaking over the waves and the filling of sails overhead. "I should never have let her come to the tourney banquet. Byakuya wanted her to stay home, but I wanted her with me."
Renji's focus left the island for his new deckhand, the use of the nobleman's first name eluding him. "She was with you when she was abducted?" he grabbed a fist of Ichigo's tan shirt. "You let her get abducted by Aizen?"
Ichigo threw off his hand. "I didn't let her! She was with my sisters, and the next thing –"
"I don't care about the next thing!" Renji tore his sword from its holster, the point nearly at Ichigo's throat when Ichigo countered with his own draw, the blades pressing intently against each other. "Damn your idiot pride, Kurosaki! How could –"
"Hey, hey, are we fighting already?" Izuru steadied himself with a hand to the rail as he stayed clear of the swords. He squinted through drunken bleariness at Ichigo. "Who are you?"
Renji shoved Ichigo away, the sharp sound of metal screeching in the night. "If she's not safe with you, she doesn't need you," he growled, watching Ichigo lower the sword but remain cautiously alert. "You're supposed to protect her."
"I know that. I failed." Ichigo chanced to sheath his sword, hoping for the same from Renji. "I will protect her. I'll never fail her again."
Renji nodded, deciding against further action. "We're going after Rukia Kuchiki," he told Izuru, doubting the fair haired man would remember it in the morning. "How many men are below?"
Izuru wanted to shrug, but thought better of it. "Four, I think."
Renji looked around at the half dozen crewmen busily tying down the ropes and stowing crates against the hull sides. It was the slimmest crew he'd ever attempted. Perhaps it was better, he decided, holding Ichigo's stare, which was dropping some of its guilt. The less spectacle they made docking at any port in Hueco Mundo, the better their chances of approaching Las Noches undetected.
"Is he your first mate?" Ichigo asked, nodding at Izuru who was sinking into a sitting position against the rail.
"I don't have a permanent first mate," Renji told him.
"You're that hard to get along with?" Ichigo attempted a weak chuckle. "Rukia was right about you."
Renji decided against contradicting her. "Damn right."
It was a three day voyage to the large island nation of Hueco Mundo, a land known for its rugged deserts and onyx mountains and savage occupants. It had been rumored that the neighboring countries had deposited their worst felons and death sentenced prisoners there rather than house, feed and execute them, but no government would acknowledge the fact. No one knew how the country had managed to populate itself in just over a century, either.
Rich in sand and sky, Hueco Mundo lacked water and irrigation to make it anything else. Most towns were located on the coast, the trade life busy with pirates, smugglers and legitimate ships blown off course or in need of repairs and forced to dock. The only establishment of any mention that ventured into the interior was Las Noches, a self-contained collection of compound and keeps that had been overthrown and controlled by one of some country's worst prisoners. No country claimed Sousuke Aizen, nor did anyone want him back.
Left to his own means, Aizen had made Las Noches into as close to a haven as any hole in the arid desert could be. But it had come at a cost.
He ruled his domain with a few loyal followers, some more loyal than others, most of his devotion built by fear, promises, and threats. All that would change, he told them and his hostages when he decided to amuse himself with one, when he was finally in the position to take the luxury that Seireitei offered.
Renji and Ichigo knew most of this or stories similar to it. Renji figured docking at the far western end of Hueco Mundo at one of the busiest ports was best. He also decided their departure, should they make a successful assault on Las Noches, should be from a more obscure location. He chose a port further north for the departure home, hoping Izuru could remember his short stint at navigating enough to rendezvous with them there.
They docked at the busy port of Blue Haven four days later, spending one day fringing the coast, observing the comings and goings of the merchant and pirate ships.
The day of study ate at Ichigo and Renji both. It wasn't quite Renji's nature to observe for too long before taking action, but this was not a battle he wanted to rush in to. There was too much at stake.
It was just after dawn that he and Ichigo left the Scarlet Reaper in Izuru's care and distinct instructions on where to sail her before they headed into the port traffic. The heavy trade of Blue Haven met them with a wave of smells, mostly ill-gotten spices and oils that were displayed along the thoroughfare by shops, stalls and tented visiting vendor stands hoping not to get driven out by the locals. The dust was at a minimum, but the thronging pedestrians, camels, and horses created a loud buzz of various languages and curses.
Ichigo scowled over the seemingly endless, crowded street that stretched before them. "Let's just get through this and move on."
Renji nodded, but not in agreement. "We've got a better chance of getting into Las Noches if we go in quietly." He pointed to a tent selling long robes and rolled carpets. The pudgy, bearded shop owner waved greedily to them. "He looks willing to talk."
Ichigo had his doubts, but nodded.
Renji was right. It took a small bag of coin and a few purchases, but within twenty minutes they were attired in gray robes to protect them from the scorching sun and wind and had a lead on horses and provisions. The new robes sufficiently hid every strand of red and orange hair, leaving barely enough room for faces, making Renji and Ichigo nearly blend into the scarved marketers and shoppers of Blue Haven. It took considerably more coin to purchase two horses and what they hoped was an accurate map showing Las Noches' location, but Ichigo insisted on making those sales. Renji let him.
By noon they were following a straggling caravan of gypsies and merchants down the sand blown trade road out of town. It was a haphazard bunch of vendors, most with a sizeable amount of wares left after being evicted from the market streets by the local merchants for competitive reasons. Renji and Ichigo tagged along, hoping to appear with a group but not any particular one.
It went well, and Renji took the long hours under the blazing heat to survey the land. The sand dunes gently sloped as far as the eye could see, the only interruptions being the occasional patch of craggy rocks or low mountains in the distance that cropped up, appearing to swim in the heat waves that shimmered from the sand.
He gave the few camels, horses and riders ahead a covert glimpse above the scarf pulled over his face. Even at the distance he could smell the wares in the carts lumbering behind a few of the gypsies. He recognized most of them, had even transported similar loads of them at times aboard the Scarlet Reaper. Cinnamon and cloves, eucalyptus leaves and precious oils like amber and sandalwood left a heady trail of scent; he knew it was probably from Weaver's Isle, part of what made the island so coveted to so many nobles and wealthy families on the mainland. The lone governor of the island was very particular about whom he traded to, and who he even let dock in the few ports.
Renji had never been there, but many of the ships he'd come into contact with, one way or another, had. He glanced to Ichigo. Much as he despised parts of Rukia's future, he knew her fiancé was devoted. He'd met Ichigo Kurosaki twice before, once to estimate him as Rukia's husband, and once when he'd told Rukia he was leaving the Valley.
He let his thoughts focus on the expanse of sand ahead. There was little talking among the merchants around them, most grumbling about losing the trade at Blue Haven, some anticipating the market in Las Noches.
"Renji," Ichigo said, pulling his horse closer to his, face mostly hidden by the tan scarf and robe. He nodded to where the sand ahead of them dipped before a swell that hid a walled city emerging from the heat waves. "I think that's it."
Renji nodded. They'd been on the trade road for six hours, and according to the map, they should be close. He pulled his scarf down a few inches. "We'll keep with this caravan and slip in, then split up."
Ichigo frowned. "Do you know how big this place is? No one on the mainland knows much about it."
Renji's hand gripped the reins tighter, every nerve in him ready to heel the horse into a dead run to hasten Rukia's freedom. He steeled against the instinct, forcing himself to let the mount plod along after the slower camels and pack animals. "I know she's going to be in a guarded keep. Kuchiki has already sent ships and men after her. Aizen won't be completely unaware."
Ichigo tensed in the saddle, sharing the urge to quicken their pace. He didn't, eyes moving over the walled city coming into better view ahead of the line of merchants. The walls rose tall, completely hiding the complex from view save a tower in the midst of the interior.
He cleared his throat, voice dropping lower. "Thanks for coming along, Renji."
Renji didn't look at him. "You're the one who tagged along."
Ichigo didn't contest the difference as they followed the pack of gypsies and merchants to the wide open gates of the walled fortress of Las Noches. The caravan and animal drivers fell quiet as the traders were funneled into the opening, a tall blue-haired guardsman checking them through.
Renji looked over his shoulder to the line of merchants and traders behind him. A few had wagons, a few carts covered with tightly tied bundles, but most wares were on pack animals, camels and a few donkeys making up the bulk. He turned back around and pulled his horse up nearer to Ichigo.
"I'm hanging back," he said as the line slowed to allow the disdainful, bored-looking guard to admit them.
Ichigo looked to Renji.
"There' a better chance of one of us getting in if we split up," Renji said, his tone low as the line moved forward. "Try to look like you belong with the group in front of us and I'll hang back with the ones behind."
Ichigo nodded and urged his horse ahead to assimilate into the merchants proffering copper pots.
Renji let his horse lag, his attention on Ichigo as he moved to the outside of the gypsy merchant, farther away from the scrutiny of the guardsmen waving the clan ahead through the gates.
Renji slowed the horse more, letting the gelding dissolve into the noisy merchant pack that included a wagon clanging with iron works and lengths of chain coiled at every post of the tall sides.
Ahead of him the guard stopped a couple men on horseback, and then nodded at their excuse for visiting Las Noches, waving them impatiently through. A simple mention of 'trade' seemed enough for the guard, until a large wagon stopped at the gate. The guard's eyes shifted over the vehicle, and then he waved it to the side where another wagon was being inspected by a tall, stringy-haired guard.
Ichigo pulled his cowl scarf higher as the merchant's ware was with paused by the guard. The guard looked without much interest at the bowing merchants, gaze resting on Ichigo still astride the horse.
"Don't screw this up," Renji muttered under his breath as he watched from further back in the merchant line.
He saw Ichigo give a slight nod to the guard, who gave him a sour expression in return, and then waved them through.
Renji glanced to the wagons pulled to the side, the heat of late afternoon permeating his robes, the sand gusting into the cowl he kept against his mouth and nose. The lanky guard with stringy black hair was chuckling, enjoying his thorough search of the rug dealer's ware in the back of one wagon. Renji nudged his horse along with the others.
"Purpose?" Grimmjow barked at the merchant pack Renji was with.
"Trade," the old, bent gypsy said, patting the rattling wagon of metal-ware, bowing as low as his old bones would let him.
"Pass," Grimmjow said, eager for anything more than gate detail. He glanced to Renji as he passed.
Renji nodded, restraining from kicking the horse into a more urgent gait. He received a nod back, and then continued through the gate, glancing around for Ichigo.
Inside the walls the city was barely that, more fortress than town, most of the buildings clumped in the center around a tall tower. The merchants were setting up stalls and tents in a large half circle around the collection of buildings. Renji's eyes moved over the buildings. He recognized the prison easily. Further back was a taller, better kept building of limestone.
Residency, he thought, gaze returning to the low buildings, dropping to the barred windows at ground level in a few places. The activity of merchants and tents erecting was punctuated with shouts of white robed overseers trying to direct the new mess into something less disorganized.
"Hey," Ichigo called from Renji's left.
Renji looked there, and then took his horse over.
"Some of the gypsies were talking," Ichigo said. "I couldn't understand everything they said, but I think they meant that some of the prisoners were being moved from the tower to the dungeon."
They both looked to the prison, expressions matching in distaste at the idea of Rukia being housed in anything like the subterranean dwelling.
Renji glanced to where a group of merchants were tethering a few horses and donkeys. "I'm leaving my horse there and looking into the prison. The gates will probably lock at night and we've got to get out of here before that."
Ichigo nodded, eyes on the tower. "I'll check if she's there."
Renji's gaze rose to the stone tower. It had few windows, and was partly covered in scraggly vines that had braved the sand and desert heat to climb the stone sides. "If you find her, take her and get out. Meet the ship on the —"
"We'll wait on you," Ichigo said.
Renji turned in his saddle, sharp look on Ichigo. "Just take her and go, damn it. Got it?"
Ichigo nodded slowly.
They left the horses with the animals the gypsies had tied at one end of the tall walls. The donkeys and camels were barren of packs, the horses tied off away from the camels. Two more animals drew no attention from neither guards nor merchants setting up camp.
Ichigo set off for the tower nestled inside the shorter buildings and Renji wove his way through the crowd to the prison.
The building was open at one end, the dark interior yawning ominously as Renji stepped into it. He let his eyes adjust to the stone and brick surroundings, seeing little of interest. The dank smell was in contrast to the bright sun and dry heat of the exterior, and he warily made his way down the first long room that curved down into a narrower avenue. It was mostly broken carts and stable tack in the first section, and he got the impression the above ground part of the building was more blacksmith quarters than prison. He passed an unfired smithy furnace and followed the next section of corridor.
The passage was much narrower, lit only intermittently by short-burning torches that sent shadows dancing over the walls and floor. The dank smell was combined with rot and soiled straw, the stench increasing as Renji made a turn in the next junction of corridors. A few voices drifted to him, female tones that squabbled in argument, neither of which struck him as prisoner in the stony depths, and definitely not Rukia.
He paused at the next turn of passageway that dipped lower as he followed it, the sounds from above diminishing. Most of the doors in the hall were open, black spots sunk into the stone walls, and he cautiously looked into a few of them. From what he could see, the small cells were empty save dirty straw, overturned buckets, and empty chains attached to the wall or floor. He moved on, hoping Rukia was not in a cell like these.
He followed the twisting passageway, occasionally hearing a few voices, mostly men chuckling or belching. Guards, he assumed, although there seemed to be little to guard. Perhaps the majority of prisoners were already moved elsewhere or yet to be moved in. A louder call of voices ahead in the dim passage made Renji press into the shadows, holding his breath, one hand on his sword hilt, senses acutely aware of the direction of voices.
Behind him came the sound of shifting chains, a short rattle that made him turn. The filtered light was lower in the inlet of cells, most of the six doors open at the dead end hall. Renji turned to inspect them, primarily the one with the thick wooden door still closed.
No other sounds came from the door as he paused at it, trying to see more through the small barred window eye level to him.
Inside the cell was dark, the only shadows made from light seeping in from the torches in the main corridor. The room was strewn with dirty straw, his view limited. To the right he heard the sound of breath being held, an eerie sound that he felt more than heard after looking into the chamber for a few moments. In the poorer light he saw what he recognized to be a foot, the slender turn of an ankle as it moved from his view along the floor. Its owner retracted the bare foot.
Renji had seen nearly every part of Rukia Kuchiki at one time or another, and it didn't take him more than a few seconds to know that that foot did not belong to his petite friend. He tried to see better into the cell, only able to see the foot's owner pull her leg completely out of sight. He glanced down to the main corridor, and then turned the heavy latch on the door to find it locked, as he figured it would be.
He didn't rattle the latch, not wanting to draw attention to him. To them.
He peered back through the small window. Between the bars he saw a shadow move, and then the dark silhouette of a girl's head as she dared peek around the stone wall at him.
It was a restricted glimpse, enough for Renji to see a vague outline of her hair, the features of her face shadowed in the lack of light. She caught her breath, which nearly made her choke since she was already holding it.
A sudden cry from the streets above made Renji step back. There was another shout, and then a bell rang, sounding an alarm that sent feet thundering through the merchants and guards in Las Noches.
He looked back through the window, but the girl was gone. He strained to see more, knowing she'd pulled herself out of his sight. This time he did rattle the latch, cursing as it held tight. Down the main hall men were calling, the sound of swords being drawn echoing confusingly through the stone depths of the prison.
He figured it was Ichigo. Which also meant there was a good chance Rukia had been found. With a final glimpse into the dark, empty-looking locked cell, Renji turned and headed for the main corridor.
By the time he wound through the passageway depths to the main grounds where the merchants were pitching tents and raising stalls the merchants were in chaos. The disturbance arose from two heads of the gypsy clans vying for a coveted spot near the residence farther into the interior of the compound. Two very large and very dusty men were wrestling in the midst of a gathering crowd, and each was gaining support from their followers. Before Renji could let his eyes adjust to the bright light from his brief trip to the prison underbelly, the men were joined by two more, and then four more, until a free-for-all was brawling.
Renji looked around for Ichigo in the chaos, but all the scarved heads and hooded capes looked the same. He headed to the tower, skirting the outer edge of the disturbance as Aizen's guards drew swords on the gathering mob. He started circling around the tower's base, mumbling curses as the impenetrable structure offered no unlocked door.
"Up here!" came a harsh whisper.
Renji stopped, taking a step back to look up at the urgent call in the growing noise of the crowds. From a narrow window in the tall structure Ichigo's head protruded. He spied Renji, and then disappeared back inside. Renji gave the crowd and soldiers a quick glance, and barely looked up again before the small form of Rukia came plummeting down at him.
He didn't have time for a curse as the girl dropped. He caught her before she could utter a sound, which he was certain would be a reprimand for both he and Ichigo. Without thinking he crushed her in his arms, pulling her close to his chest as she made a gasp and began to struggle.
"Stop squirming," he told her, his embrace squelching any movement as he quickly dashed to the far side of the tower before anyone had spotted his catch. He held the bundle of tattered dress and thin figure of the girl close, burying her face in his shoulder for a second only to pull her back to look at her.
A mixture of fright and indignation stared back at her, her cheeks smudged with dirt and her hair a tumble of unkemptness. He grinned at her, which changed her pout to a smile.
"Hey, Lady Kuchiki," he said softly, forgetting the fiancé above them. "Are you all right?"
"I...I...so glad to see you two," she said, part of it muffled as she turned her face to his chest, her hand still wearing a broken cuff at the wrist tangling into his robe.
He felt a low sob start as she trembled in his arms. He knelt with her, oblivious to the crowd of turmoil on the other side of the tower. "You're all right. We'll get you out of here."
She nodded, wiping her face on his robe.
True to plan, Renji took Rukia unnoticed through the mobbing mass of gypsies and guards to where he and Ichigo had left the horses. He pushed her onto his horse and climbed up behind her, gathering the reins to head the horse for the gates that were unattended.
"We can't leave Ichigo," Rukia cried, twisting before him as she turned on the horse. She tried to see around him, her elbow digging into his stomach.
He made her face forward, wrapping part of the robe around her as they approached the gate. "He'll find his way out. Stay quiet."
"Renji, we can't —"
Her protests were cut short by his large hand over her mouth and then the excess of his scarf pulled over her head.
He glanced back at the growing melee that was rioting, now tearing down several of the tents the merchants had set up. A shout went up and several figures, these more regally dressed, approached from the residence, swords drawn. Renji had never seen Sousuke Aizen, but he had no doubt one of the men was the owner of Las Noches.
He looked to Ichigo as he approached at a trot from another side of the carts, face nearly hidden by his cowl. "Let's go!" he called as loudly as he dared.
Renji kicked the horse into a run as Rukia fought off the scarf over her head. Ichigo caught up with them as they reached the gate.
Renji didn't slow the horse as they passed through the massive gates, but he felt the pull at his conscious. He kicked the horse's sides harder, sending the mount into a gallop. He knew the five hour ride to the rendezvous town for the Scarlet Reaper would be taxing as dark descended on the desert, but he also knew the gates of Las Noches would likely be locked soon in response to the merchant problems.
The trade road was empty as the two horses and three riders tore across it, leaving sand and dust in their wake.
And also, Renji too well understood, a girl abandoned in the depths of the prison. He shook the misplaced wash of guilt from his mind.
He'd come to Hueco Mundo for Rukia, not some nameless, faceless prisoner who most likely had her own ransom.
Rukia won her way out of the scarf. Her hands were balled tightly in his robe, her eyes on Ichigo behind them as the horses galloped over the heat of the desert.
Besides, the ship had little crew and needed every hand to get it under way back to Merristone, Renji told himself.
Perhaps time for a second trip into the prison later.