Chapter 7:

It was late when Ichigo decided to go to bed. It had taken forever to get his sisters to their own room. Their father kept traveling from the clinic to the house every few minutes. He managed to coax them into bed around midnight. Ichigo checked on them and hour later and found them both to be asleep in their own beds.

The windows and doors all locked, Ichigo returned to his own room. To be honest with himself, he was less concerned about someone breaking in than he was about his sisters coming down with whatever this was. It was another few minutes until he grew tired enough to fall into bed still dressed in his uniform.

His bed was warm and inviting. He pulled the covers over his head and tried to calm himself from all that had happened today. He convinced himself that everything would be fine and that a cure would be found. After all, this had happened before and everyone was returned to normal. He had nothing to worry about. He poked his head out from under the covers and buried his face in the pillow closing his eyes tightly. Who knew? By morning this might all have been nothing more than a bad dream.

"Ichigo."

A dream. Just a dream.

"Ichigo.

It had to have been a dream. A dream.

"Ichigo."

A very real dream. But a dream.

"Ichigo, wake up."

It couldn't have been morning yet. It wasn't time to get up.

"Wake up, Ichigo."

Not yet. It was too early to get up. He didn't want to.

"It's me. Wake up."

Me who? It didn't sound like Yuzu. It sounded more like…

His eyes opened and he looked around drowsily. Someone was in his window. "Dah!" He scrambled back, hitting his head on the headboard. Gripping his head in pain, he looked back. It was still dark out, but the streetlights provided just enough for him to see Victor's handsome face. "What are you doing here?"

"Kisuke wants you to come back right now."

"Wha..? To the shop?"

"No, the Soul Society."

"Huh?" He looked at his alarm clock. "It's barely after 5:00am. Why now?"

"He can't reach Rukia. Or anyone else for that matter. He's worried. No one is responding."

That sent up a red flag in Ichigo's mind. What if she was infected, too? He looked around in a panic. He couldn't very well leave without saying anything to his sisters. There was no way they would let him leave now anyway. He only had one option. He pulled open a drawer and took out a small green marble. Or at least, that's what it looked like to Victor. Ichigo popped it in his mouth and swallowed.

His soul and his body went their separate ways. Ichigo stood up in full Soul Reaper attire while Kon rolled back onto the bed with a whine. He rolled into a sitting position and started complaining at once.

"Jeez! You leave me in a drawer for two days and now you decide to let me breath fresh air! At least put me in a stuffed animal! What, did you forget about me or something? I get it! You just wanted me to shut up and give you a little private time. That's it, isn't it? You're a real-"

Ichigo threw a hand over his mouth to keep him quiet. "Shh! Want to wake up the whole house? Listen, we have an emergency on our hands and I need you to listen good, alright?"

Kon quieted.

"I have to go to the Soul Society. I think Rukia might be in trouble."

Kon looked worried and pulled Ichigo's hand away. "What's wrong? What happened to my beautiful sister?"

"Shh!" Ichigo looked at the door. No noise. That was close. "Anyway… I don't know. That's what I'm trying to find out, alright? I need you to stay here in my place, but you have listen to me and do exactly what I say. This is very important."

Kon listened, still looking concerned.

"Here's the situation. Something's happened to Karakura Town where the people are starting to act like Hollows. No one's allowed to leave the house. People are attacking each other and my sisters are very scared. If they see me acting out of character, even in the slightest, they'll think I've come down with it, too, and flip out. They might call the police or the hospital, anything. So I need you to act as much like me as you can. I can't have them thinking I've turn into one of them."

"He's right. And not just for his sake." Victor leaned further inside. "Since you're in his body, you'll be the one subjected to whatever the humans want. It could be torture. After all, they don't know what's wrong with you. They'll run all sorts of painful tests. They'll probe you like some sort of alien lab rat. Or, they could throw you into a cell with a whole bunch of those infected people, thinking you're one of them. They don't attack those who have been infected like them. And since you're not infected, they'll attack you in the most violent way imaginable. So it's really in your best interest not to draw attention to yourself in away way possible."

Kon gulped. He looked back at Ichigo, his hands shaking as he gripped his pants tightly. "O- o- ok. I- I- I'll be c- careful…You can count on m- me. N- no problem."

"Just act as much like me as you can, ok? And no going outside. Just stay here, ok?"

"Yeah, you'll be attacked instantly if you do. They're roaming the streets looking for people."

"So just stay here, ok?"

Kon saluted them both. "No problem. I'll do it. I'll stay right here. Don't worry about a thing."

On account of his intense fear, this may have been the one and only time Kon actually listened and did what he was told. Once certain that Kon wasn't going to let them down, Ichigo left out the window with Victor. They jumped from rooftop to rooftop all the way to the Urahara shop. The door opened and Ichigo was pulled inside.

"Finally." Kisuke pulled Ichigo over to the trap door and pushed him down the ladder. "I have no contact with anyone. I'm worried. Something's wrong. I need you to go there and see what's up."

Ichigo reached the bottom and jumped back onto the ladder when he heard a loud growl behind him. Turning, he saw Tessai holding back the army of Hollow people with a kido. Their numbers had increased since the last time he had seen them.

"Hurry up! I can't hold it for long!"

Kisuke pulled on Ichigo's arm, forcing him to follow. He went past the barrier doing a double-take when he saw all the people inside snarling at him like hungry lions. Several of his classmates were behind the orange tinted barrier along with a few of his neighbors. He stopped when he saw someone pounding his head against the wall, trying to get to him. His jaw went stiff. Chad was roaring and scratching at his confines.

"No…" Not Chad, too.

Kisuke tugged on his arm again. "Come on." He pulled him over to the Senkaimon. It was open and waiting for him. "Go and see what's up. Report back as soon as you can."

Ichigo was still looking at Chad.

"There's nothing you can do, Ichigo. We found him like that an hour ago in the street. He doesn't even know who you are anymore."

He refused to turn away.

Kisuke turned him around by his shoulders. "Stay with it, Ichigo. I need you to do this for me, ok? We can't waste time. Here." He handed Ichigo something that looked a lot like a cell phone only it had no screen and only four buttons. "It's like a walkie-talkie. We'll keep in contact this way. Report to me once you find out what happened."

There was a loud crash. The barrier was starting to break apart. Everyone's combined strength was starting to take its toll. Tessai couldn't keep this up for much longer. Ichigo had to move fast.

"What about Linnette?"

"She's still sleeping upstairs. They don't want her to go until they know what's going on. You're on your own."

"Hurry, boss!" Tessai started to slide back. The barrier was falling apart. "I can't hold it much longer!"

Kisuke pushed Ichigo toward the Senkaimon. "There's not a moment to lose! Hurry!"

He nodded to him saying a quick 'thanks' and ran just as the gateway started to close. The last thing he saw was the barrier shatter and the two men running towards the ladder as the Hollow humans chased after them.

Ichigo broke out to the other side, stumbling and falling when the Senkaimon closed. He turned his face up towards the rising sun. It was warm. He got to his feet and looked around. He was surrounded by white buildings and trees. He was in the middle of a courtyard. It seemed like a peaceful morning.

He started walking, trying to get a barring of his surroundings. Where was he and was he close to anything in particular? He tried to think. His first priority was to find Rukia. His best bet was to go to one of three places. She would either be visiting her brother in that cell in the Sixth Division, somewhere in the 13th Division being a part of it, or back at the noble's manor. She was bound to be in one of those three places. If he wanted to find her within a timely manner, he had to start now.

Starting here seemed like a good idea. He traveled down the street heading for the tall building in front of him. It wasn't until a minute later that he realized that something was wrong. In all this time, short as it was, he hadn't seen or heard a single Soul Reaper. It may have been early morning, but still. He found it hard to believe that they were all still in bed after sunrise. Surely he would have passed someone by now. He couldn't even hear voices. As he got closer to the building, that was still the case. So close and yet no sound. It was like a ghost town.

He reached a dead-end and stopped looking from left to right. One of these streets was bound to take him to the building he was trying to reach. He took a chance and went left. The road seemed shorter. It curved right, heading straight for the building. Good. Then he had picked the right street after all. He kept going then stopped. Someone was moving at the other end of the street.

"Ah…" Ichigo stood still and squinted trying to make them out. It was a man and he was dressed all in black. A Soul Reaper. What luck. Maybe he could ask him what was going on or if he had seen Rukia anywhere. He threw up his hand in a wave. "Hey!"

He turned, looking right at Ichigo.

"Hey! Over here! Can you give me some help?"

The man started to come his way.

"Yes, thank you. Where is everybody? There's so few people out here. It's so quiet."

The man picked up speed, walking much faster than he did before.

"I'm trying to find Rukia. Do you know where I can find her? Do you know her..?"

Ichigo cut his sentence short when the man came closer, breaking into a run. His eyes glinted gold, catching the sunlight. Ichigo took a step back. The man jumped the last remaining steps and pounced on Ichigo like a wild cat. He knocked Ichigo backwards onto the ground and pinned him down.

"Gah!"

Roaring, the man snapped at his face, trying to bite him. Flat on his back, Ichigo couldn't reach his sword and was forced to hold him back using only his arms. This guy was strong. He pressed against Ichigo still trying to take a bite out of his face.

"Get off! Get off me!"

With one great push, Ichigo managed to throw him off and rolled to his feet. The Soul Reaper turned and snarled at him. Running on all fours, he chased after Ichigo, foaming at the mouth. The teen ran backwards, stumbling and then turned, bolting down the street. He was followed, the other man getting to his feet and giving chase.

"Get away from me!" Ichigo felt something hit his back, sending him back to the hard unforgiving floor. Something dark flew from inside his kimono and skidded across the ground. It was the device Kisuke had given to him before he left. "Ahh..!" He made a grab for it but couldn't with the man on his back. He scratched at Ichigo's sword, trying to get to his flesh. Ichigo rolled over throwing the man aside and got up running. He had to get away. He had to get away!

Turning a corner, he ran into the same problem. He was cut off by a group of Soul Reaper out looking for blood. Thinking fast, he scrambled up a wall to avoid them and ran across the thin roof to the other side. He jumped onto another roof and from there was able to see the situation for what it was.

The streets were packed with Hollowfying Soul Reapers making it impossible to reach the building. There were even more down the right side of the street. Looking in the windows, he could see that there were others inside, too stupid to find their way outside, which Ichigo was very thankful of. Few streets looked safe from here. There were so many.

This must have been why Kisuke couldn't reach anyone. They were all turned into Hollows. Ichigo could only hope that Rukia didn't suffer the same fate.

A snarl startled him and he looked down. Three Soul Reapers had followed his example and jumped onto the roof with him. Like wolves closing in on their prey, they surrounded him, ready to dig in.

Ichigo reached for his sword, then stopped. They were just sick people. He couldn't kill them. Worst of all, he didn't know how this virus or whatever it was spread. Could he get it from a scratch? A touch? Being drooled on? He had to be careful and keep his distance.

Rather than fight them, he decided to run. They followed to the best of their ability. He zigzagged, trying to lose them. They kept on him not matter what he tried. "Leave me alone! Go away!"

They roared and sped up.

"Crap…" Ichigo landed on another roof and ran to the next one. As he landed on the edge of the next roof, he lost his footing and started to fall…

… right into a street full of other infected Soul Reapers.

"Figures."

They all rounded on him and attacked. He rolled out of the way and ran down another street. It was open and empty. But he now had about twenty Soul Reapers following him. There was no way he could get out of this unscathed.

"Ichigo! Over here!"

Before he could looked, someone grabbed his sleeve and pulled him to the side and around a corner. They planted themselves against the wall and watched the Soul Reapers pass by. Now Ichigo could get a good look at his savior.

"Rukia!"

She put a finger to her lips. "Shh!"

He lowered his voice. "I'm so glad to see you're alright. What happened? Kisuke tried to call you."

"In case you hadn't noticed, we have a bit of a situation on our hands." She looked back out into the street. "We can't stay here long. Let's move."

Keeping close, he followed her. They hurried down different streets as quietly as they could.

"It happened late last night after you left," Rukia explained. "There was a massive outbreak and the Head Captain had to order an emergency lockdown. Suddenly all these Soul Reapers started attacking and more and more people started to get infected. It was pandemonium. People started running in all directions trying to get to a safe place. Others ran to see if their friends were safe. A lot of them got attacked. No one knew where to go. They're everywhere."

"Then where is everyone?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. A lot of people have already turned into Hollow Reapers."

"Hollow Reapers?"

"What else would you call them? Anyway, the ones who survived are all in hiding. A few people from Squad 4 managed to escape into the sewers along with a few other people. Some have barricaded themselves in the barracks somewhere and there's no way of knowing if that's where they still are or if they're safe. A handful of Soul Reapers, mostly from Squad 11, are trying to stand their ground and fight back against them. As for the others, I cannot say. They might be running around like us at the moment."

Ichigo looked over his shoulder to see if they were being followed. "How many people got infected?"

"Too many to count. There are more of them than there are of us now."

"What about the ones they managed to keep in cells?"

"There were too many. Their combined strength snapped the bars and now they're all free."

"Even Byakuya?"

She took her time in answering. "I don't know. I didn't managed to get there yet."

"What about Renji?"

"I haven't seen him since he told me to go on ahead. I have no idea what happened to him."

"Should we go into the sewers ourselves?"

"I was just down there. I came back up to see if I could find more people who survived. I'm trying to find my way back."

"Why can't we just go down any manhole?"

"Do you have any idea how vast it is down there with all those tunnels? I don't know them like Hanataro. I could get us lost. I'm trying to find the hole that I crawled out of. That takes us right to the underground camp we have set up."

Rukia suddenly stopped and turned down another street, Hollow Reapers cutting off their path.

"What makes things even harder is that we have no idea how you get this! It's almost at random! We were advised to keep our distance from them at all times and not to touch them. Since there might be a cure for this, Head Captain Yamamoto has ordered that no one is allowed to kill any of them until we know for sure. Until he gives the order, they are not to be killed."

"Ok, I get that…" After all, the last few times something like this had happened, it was curable. Odds were that would be the case again. "But is anyone working on a cure yet?"

"I thought I told you. No. Without knowing the cause or source, no one can do anything. However, Unohana was working on something when she was running some tests on infected people."

"And..?"

"From what I heard, they were all inconclusive. But you can ask her yourself when we get back. She's in the sewer with a few others."

There was a terrible screech and they stopped. Up ahead, there were at least ten Hollow Reapers waiting for them. Ichigo knew better than to use his sword to get out of this situation. Jumping onto a roof seemed pointless. After all, they could always jump up and run along the roofs like they did before. Just as he was preparing to do just that, an ominous shadow loomed over them, blocking out the sun. They both looked up and saw several Soul Reapers clinging to the walls above them, all snarling and salivating. They couldn't jump without landing into that.

The Hollow Reapers up ahead were starting to close in. Their only chance was back the way they came. But there were an awful lot of growls coming from that direction, too.

"Now what?"


It was early, though the sun had been up for some time. Everyone was kind enough to let her sleep, but now Linnette was restless and wanted to do something. She wished that they had woken her up in time to see Ichigo off. She wanted to follow him but her servants were reluctant to let her go. They wanted to keep her safe.

So far, that was a difficult thing to do. So many people had been transformed by the strange virus and, as vast as the secret room was down below, they were starting to run out of space to put them all. Kisuke and the others wanted to round up as many infected humans as possible before anyone else had the chance and tried to solve this their way. Who knew what a hospital would do to them if they got their hands on them first? At least Kisuke knew what was really going on. Normal humans hadn't a clue about Hollows or any of this. As far as they knew, there were no such things and anyone who said otherwise was suffering from delusions.

Linnette spent much of her morning assisting Kisuke in rounding up yet more human Hollows. A good part of Karakura Town was now locked in their secret room. Her song allowed everyone in the shop to gather them up without a fuss as well as anyone who was beginning to show signs of change. She was happy to help and she was glad that she could sing without holding back now that Ichigo was no longer around, but she still felt apprehensive about the whole thing.

While the adults were talking in the next room, a break between gathering, she crept into the next room to visit the two most evolved Hollows. The curtain was draped over their clear cage. All was quiet. She moved into the carpeted room and reached up. Wrapping her slender fingers around the smooth cloth, she gave it a hard tug and it fell free.

The moment they were exposed to light, they leapt towards its source. They slammed against the barrier hard and Linnette fell back in surprise landing on her tailbone. She looked up, watching them claw at their cage in desperation. They wanted to be free. Free to run amuck and do as they pleased. Free to kill as many as they could, giving in to all their new instincts, whatever they may be. Linnette crawled on her knees over to them, certain that the barrier would hold.

Uryu's hot breath fogged up the glass-like wall. Seeing the movement, he growled, knowing that food was nearby. Linnette moved closer, unafraid. She knew Uryu from before. They never had a very close relationship. They hardly spoke. Then again, they hardly knew each other. She had a more close relationship with Ichigo than she did him or any of his friends.

The boy behind the barrier locked eyes with her growling quietly. He sniffed through the barrier as she got even closer. He pressed his face against the glass, trying to get closer, supporting himself with his hands. Linnette reached up and placed her hand directly over his palm, touching him through the barrier. His hands were bigger than hers. He didn't seem to mind the action.

As they stared into one another's eyes, Uryu's vicious expression started to fade slightly, making him look less threatening. Did he know who she was? Was he coming back to his senses? Or did he just recognize her as the girl whose voice made him feel so wonderful? In time, he lowered his body to the floor and took his hand away. He continued to stare at her for some time, losing some of his hostility. When she did nothing else, he blinked then turned away, losing interest.

Linnette got to her feet, stepping back. He really was gone. This person was no longer the Uryu she knew. He wasn't even human. Feeling saddened by this discovery and depressed that there was nothing she could do to return him to normal, she grabbed the curtain and threw it back over the cage. Being shorter than Kisuke, it took her a few tries to get it to cover the top of the cage and yet it still didn't cover the whole thing. A small corner of the cage was exposed but she couldn't fix the problem without pulling the curtain off again. So she decided to leave it.

After that, she left the room to see what the adults were talking about in the room down the hall.

"I'm starting to worry about Ichigo," Kisuke confessed. "It's been a few hours now and he still hasn't contacted me. Something might have happened to him but there's no way of knowing unless we were to go there ourselves. However, I'm no longer welcome in the Soul Society. So that leaves you three."

"Three?" Cedric repeated curiously. There was a hint of annoyance in his voice though it was kept subtle.

"Well, I happen to know for a fact that you two never go anywhere without Linnette. You three stick together like glue, so I figured that if I were to send either of you or both, you would take her with you."

They looked at each other and then back at the shopkeeper. "You assume too much. Though we are alleys now, I'm afraid there are some things we just cannot do. We have every right to refuse."

"I never said you didn't. But at least explain a bit further."

Cedric gave Kisuke direct eye contact. "We cannot put Linnette's safety at risk. We can't put her in danger."

"As I expected." Kisuke wasn't at all surprised to hear that from her protector. It simply went without saying.

"As such…" said Victor. "If you're asking us to go to a place that is bound to be full of dangers, we will decline. So if you're about to ask us to travel to the Soul Society, we won't do it if we deem it unfitting for her to travel to."

"I see…" He expected this answer from them. However, he was still very disappointed to hear it from them. He really needed their help. "I was only going to suggest it because you two are my only means to get their now. With Ichigo gone and their being no other Soul Reapers around, you're all that's left. And you both seem to be completely immune to the virus on account of your unique anatomy. You would be quite useful in this situation."

"In that case, wouldn't you need us here to assist you in finding more infected people?"

He shook his head. "We have it pretty well covered. The Soul Society needs your help now."

"Perhaps…" Victor looked concerned. "However, you're overlooking one big thing."

"Oh?"

Victor's blue eyes locked with Kisuke's grey ones. "What proof do you have that Linnette herself is also immune to the virus?"

"True. What if she's not and gets infected herself and becomes one of them? We can't risk that." Cedric sighed. "No. Even if Ichigo is in terrible danger, Linnette's safety comes first. We cannot go to the Soul Society to help him if it means putting her at risk."

Linnette who had been listening outside the door for the past minute burst inside. "But there's no guarantee that this world is any safer for me! Humans have transformed here, too. It's not just the Soul Society!"

"Lin-"

"No! I want to go and help Ichigo! If he's in danger and needs help, I want to go!" She looked more toward the two people in the room she had to convince. "Please let me go there! I want to help!"

"You've been helping here," Cedric told her. "Without you, all those people we found-"

"I don't care! I care about what happens to Ichigo! He's all by himself! He needs our help like before! Please!"

She was desperate, but her two guardians seemed less than sympathetic. "Linnette… We can't put you in such danger. And we don't know about the Soul Society. We would get lost without a guide. And we have no idea where to find Ichigo. We would have to search."

Kisuke grinned. "However, she did have a point back there. The is no guarantee that she's in any more danger there than here."

"Are you trying to encourage her?"

Linnette ran to Victor's side and knelt in front of him. "Please let me go to help him. Please?"

He looked away. "I don't think it's such a good idea."

"But I want to help! Help me help him!"

This put them in a tough situation. They couldn't refuse her desires unless they contradicted their protective nature. They would obey her wishes as long as it didn't put her in any harm. She was right in that there was no guarantee either way about being in more danger in one world than the other. Maybe it would be alright. But she was still being put at risk. Then again, wasn't the same true in this world?

"You'll both be there to protect me."

"Yes, but if it's a virus…"

"I've been exposed to all sort of people with it for the past couple of days and nothing happened to me! Maybe my powers make me immune to it or something. Besides…" She had a cleaver loophole. "If I go to help Ichigo, we might discover a cure. Then it wouldn't matter if I was immune or not. We would have a cure either way. You saw all those people working on stuff in that room. All those doctors. And Kisuke, too. If we help find a cure, then there's no problem, right?"

They exchanged looks. She had a very good point. These were all great arguments.

Linnette took Victor's hand and squeezed it tight. Her eyes pleaded with his. She truly and desperately wanted this.

Victor sighed as if he were about to deliver some heartbreaking news. He then turned to Kisuke. "How do we get there on our own?"

Linnette's face lit up with joy. They gave in. She was going to help!

Kisuke took them all down below the shop. Since Tessai was out looking for others around town, they were on their own as far as holding back all the people were concerned. Linnette ended up singing to them as Kisuke explained what they needed to do after opening the Senkaimon a second time in 24 hours.

"Just run fast. Without a Soul Reaper with you or an authorized… well, if you run, there shouldn't be a problem. If anything is following you, don't touch it and just run like hell."

The men looked at one another, already having their doubts about this whole thing. But they agreed anyway. This was all for Linnette. If all went well, it would benefit her in the end. They agreed and called her over.

After a few last minute instructions, Kisuke told them to leave and got a head start back toward the ladder. Without Linnette's song, the human Hollows had no reason to remain calm. Linnette jumped on Cedric's back, wrapping her arms around his neck. Once Kisuke had gotten a good distance from them, she stopped singing. This gave him about another few seconds before they started to come to.

"Ready, sweetie?" asked Victor.

She nodded and they started on toward the Soul Society, running at a fantastic speed.


Trapped in the middle of the street, there was nothing else they could do. They started back the way they came and into a building used for storage. There they waited until the coast was clear again. Rukia kept an eye out for Hollow Reapers while she got Ichigo up to speed.

Unohana had been running tests on all of the infected people and concluded that they didn't get it from eating or drinking anything unnatural or contaminated. This also wasn't something that was injected. However, she doubted that this was some sort of new virus that just happened to appear now. Unfortunately, she couldn't find the source and therefore was unable to come up with a vaccine for it. In order to make a vaccine, you must first identify the virus. Before the emergency lock down order was issued, she managed to transfer all of the data she collected to the Department of Research and Development. What happened after that was anybody's guess. Once the lock down was issued, no one had heard from the 12th Division and therefore got no results back. It was unclear if they were working on the problem or not, or if anyone was still available to do it. Judging from the lack of 12th Division members wondering the street, it was possible that the majority of them were safe.

Rukia pulled Ichigo out of their hiding spot and back into the street. "We're close," she explained. "The manhole I came out of is just past that way." As she pointed, a hand reached out. "Aiieee!"

They both jumped back as a Hollow Reaper made a grab for her arm. He lowered his body with a hiss.

"Over he-"

It was as if they had been waiting for them to do this. One minute, the street was empty, now they were packed with Hollow Reapers.

"Back up!" Rukia warned. "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" Her Zanpakuto was released. "Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"

A beam of light shot out of her blade and stretched across the street to the other side, quickly turning into ice. The ice attack blocked the Hollow Reaper's path making it impossible for them to pursue.

Rukia grabbed Ichigo's arm and pulled him down the street empty of Hollows. "This way!"

They ran down the street and down another. Rukia used her sword's power to block the path of anyone who came their way or tried to follow. Then it was the end of the line.

A dead end. Rukia looked left then right. They turned around. Several Hollow Reapers had managed to find their way over the ice and had cornered them.

Rukia held out her sword in defense.


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