An Unexpected Return

Chapter 6: Extemporization

By WarriorsLoverForever

I refuse to die...

I will not fail!

Rukia opened her eyes to blue skies. Water bubbled from a stream nearby, clattering against small pebbles. The sunshine filtered through trees with lush, green leaves. The grass under her was soft, a bright sheet of green blanketing hills in the distance, and landscapes past the horizon. It was...beautiful. But she knew she was dreaming for the third time.

Even then, she wished this were reality at the moment anyway, with these beautiful landscapes and peaceful nature. She knew she was probably unconscious, lying somewhere in that scary forest, as Hisana tried to kill everyone.

No, not Hisana. It was the Hollow that consumed her and made her do that. But if her soul had been consumed, was her soul even alive still?

Could her soul have completely been obliterated?

She shook off that thought. She didn't want to think what had happened to Hisana. What she wanted to know was what she was doing in this strange dream. Sighing, she pushed herself up, her fingers running through a blade of grass. She froze, hearing soft footsteps in the grass. Rukia glanced back, and her eyes widened to find Hisana.

"Hisana...but that Hollow consumed you! How are you even here!"

Her eyes were weary. "Even though the Hollow has possessed me, I still reside in your heart. You must defeat her. Thankfully, my soul is still alive, but my spiritual energy is fading."

"B-but how do we do that? How the hell do I face my own sister's face, when she looks exactly like you!" Rukia flailed wildly. "I'm glad to see that you can contact me through dreams, but reality is terrible. Byakuya-sama is injured, and is near death. There's no physically possible way to defeat her, and save your soul as the same time. Even if we do defeat her, your soul will never rest in peace!"

Hisana just stared at her, a grave expression etched into her face. "Rukia. There is only one way to defeat her. Your sword in defeating her..." She paused to place a soft hand on Rukia's chest. "...will be your heart. Yes, you cannot defeat her with your physical strength, but your internal strength is stronger than hers."

A puzzled look spread across her face. "I don't understand..."

She only frowned in response. "Tell Byakuya to fight with his heart as well. This is a battle only you both can handle. That is all I'm entitled to say, Rukia." She closed her eyes, sighing. "I know you can do it. I believe in you, Rukia, and I'm sure you'll understand at some point of how to fight with your heart." She turned away, her gaze wavering.

Rukia looked down. "Are you that certain, Onee-chan? I don't think I can do it. Why have so much trust in me after all-"

"You have to believe in yourself, Rukia. That's one thing you have to do. Don't get so worried about the details, and just go out there and do it." Hisana suddenly ran into Rukia's arms. Shaken and wide-eyed, she stared as Hisana embraced her in a tight hug.

"You and Byakuya-sama can do it. You have to do it..." Tears spilled down her face. "Please..."

Rukia stared at her sobbing face. "I guess I'll have to try, at least." She forced a smile. "I'll do my best."

Hisana backed away. "Thank you, Rukia-sama. I'll be forever grateful to you. I'm sorry I've been such a burden to you, but I must go now. Byakuya-sama is still alive, I know it, and you need to help him. As much as he conceals his emotions, I know that he stills needs you. Go now, Rukia, and good luck."

"Thank you..." Rukia murmured as Hisana and her surroundings faded into a swirl of blackness.


Her eyes shot open, her breathing shallow. Rukia stood up, coughing blood, as she shook her head. She was back in the forest, where they had been fighting the Hollow.

The Hollow's eyes widened. "Impossible. You can't be alive after that!"

But Rukia's attention wasn't focused on the possessed Hisana, but on Byakuya.

"Nii-sama!" She rushed to Byakuya's side. He wasn't moving. Rukia froze, as a terrible thought flowed through her head.

Was he dead?

Then, she heard his breathing. However, it was rapid, and his eyes were shut tightly with pain. Blood seeped out of an open wound on his shoulder.

"Byakuya-sama! Wake up!" Rukia cried, shaking him vigorously. "We need to defeat her at all costs! Hang in there!"

Hisana had told Rukia that they would be able to defeat the girl, but how could they if he was injured? Were they going to fail?

Your sword in defeating her will be your heart...

Hisana's words swiftly repeated themselves over and over in Rukia's mind, but she couldn't make out a meaning. How do you fight with someone more powerful than you?

Tears began accumulating in her eyes as she bent over Byakuya's crippled body.

"Hisana...she told me to use my heart to battle. But...how do I? How do I do that, Nii-sama..." she sobbed. Her tears began trickling down her chin. "I'm too weak. I can't even...help you. My Zanpakuto is shattered, and I can't fight with my heart. I'm a failure." Her tears wet Byakuya's face, but he didn't notice, his face still contorted in pain.

Meanwhile, the Hollow, recovering from shock, grinned. "Bah, do you think crying will do any good for you? How pathetic. Hisana will never come back. She'll never take back control. Never."

"Why..." Rukia whispered, looking at the horizon distantly.


"Urahara! Thank goodness you're here. We've been searching for you everywhere!"

Renji and Ichigo had finally found Kiske at the beach coast. His eyes were strangely far away, as he fiddled with something with his hands.

As soon as he heard their voices, he turned, his green-striped hat hanging over his eyes. "Oh, you've finally arrived."

"It's an emergency! Byakuya-taicho and Rukia are missing!" Renji yelped, his eyes urgent. "What the hell were you thinking, going on a lunch break like that! Couldn't you sense our spiritual pressure.

He only smirked in response, adjusting his hat. "I already knew about that, so quit staring at me like that."

Ichigo slammed his fist in his palm. "You idiot! If you already knew, then why are you chilling out like that!"

Urahara grinned, as he took out something from behind his back. It was a...

Black teddy bear?

Ichigo and Renji stared blankly at him. He had gone on a lunch break and walked all the way over here with a black teddy bear. What was going on with him?

"Um..." Sweat trickled down Ichigo's face as he faked a grin. Scratching the back of his head, he continued, "It's all fine, with you liking quality time with your teddy bear. You're getting old anyway, and it's time you've been to a mental hospital after a-"

Urahara smacked him in the face with his hat. "No, you idiot, it's not a teddy bear, and for your information, Ichigo, I'm not going mad. It's one of my latest contraptions that I've whipped up, used for detecting spiritual pressure, and aiding us in finding where it is."

Renji stifled his snickers. "Looks like a teddy bear to me."

At the same time, Ichigo interjected, "Can't we all sense spiritual pressure? What's the use of that stupid contraption anyway?"

Urahara restrained the urge to open up his cane and use his Zanpakuto to send them flying into the nearest apartment building. (Though it would have been a good morning exercise...) Instead, he sighed loudly, and then said, "Yes, you can detect spiritual pressure, but only in the world that you are in. Since we are in the world of the living, we can only sense spiritual pressures in this world. You probably can't sense spiritual pressures all the way back in Hueco Mundo, or the Soul Society. You can only sense the spiritual pressures in this world, making you completely unaware of what's happening in another dimension."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Renji questioned.

"Well, Rukia and Byakuya are probably in a different dimension, and it is unknown of what the dimension is, where it is located, and how to open it, making it impossible to track them. However, my invention can penetrate that barrier. Which means we can probably find out where they are."

"The teddy bear can do that?" Renji and Ichigo say in unison, disbelief written on their faces.

"It's not a teddy bear! Now let's get going, shall we? I've located the dimension with my invention. We're heading there right now. I'll open the portal to the dimension right now."

He carefully slipped out his sword from its hidden spot in his cane. Concentrating hard, he pointed the tip of his sword forward, towards the sea. In his left hand, he held the teddy bear. Murmuring a few words under his breath, the teddy bear began glowing. The sword suddenly seemed to tear apart the sky, until there seemed to be a ripped hole between reality.

"Through here is where they're located," Urahara confirmed, while slipping his Zanpakuto back in the cane. "Let's head out, now."

As they followed him through the hole to the other dimension, Renji muttered to Ichigo, "That sure is one wacky contraption for a teddy bear."

"IT'S NOT A TEDDY BEAR!"


Hope you can recommend more...I'm running out of ideas. :P Hope you enjoyed this chapter.