Hey guys, I was a little unsure about uploading right now as the last chapter didn't do so well, but here it is anyway. Thank you to the reviewers shadowgouf, Illidan the Half Demon, hitsugayatoshirou1220 and fuzzibunniez. Everyone, please review, thank you and enjoy :D
Ichigo and the others made their way to the front entrance of Kurotsuchi Mayuri's laboratory. The door was slightly ajar, an ominous, red substance etched into the handle, the remains of said handle snapped off and on the floor. Ichigo stepped up the door and tried to push it open, but something appeared to be blocking it on the other side.
'Damn, it won't budge. We're gonna have to find ano-…' he began but Sado rushed past him, his white and red armoured arm outstretched behind him, his fingers closing into a fist.
'El…' he began, swinging his arm round for a punch. '…Directo!' he roared, his fist connecting with the door. At first there was nothing. It seemed anti-climatic. Ichigo was ready to turn around and go when suddenly there was a splitting sound and he looked closer, Sado removing his fist. Instantly, the man turned round, the door behind him exploding into hundreds of chunks, raining down behind his back, dust swallowing them up, mixed with the green reiatsu that had left Sado's hand. Finally, the dirt whipped away into the sky and Ichigo nodded to Sado, the man taking his place behind Kurosaki's back again. With that, they entered the room. It was pitch black, even with the sunlight now flooding in. Ichigo kicked an over turned table out of the way, the sound of it crashing into a wall echoing across the sky.
'What the hell?' Kurosaki asked, looking around. Uryu found a light switch and flicked, the same, generator powered thunderous noise roaring as the overhead lights exploded into life. Looking around, they gasped in horror, Orihime covering her mouth, the tears almost welling up again. Ichigo stood in shock at the blood dripping from the walls, streaks of red across the floor, as if someone had been strewn along.
'Looks like someone got here first.' Uryu commented, taking another step into the abyss. Taking a glimpse to the side, he saw a white haori and stepped over some broken glass to it, reaching down. Whipping the cloak off, he gagged and covered his mouth, rearranging his glasses as he ran a hand through his blue hair, barely able to open on eye at the sight. It was the skeletal remains of Mayuri, his flesh chewed up as if it had been serrated by something, a purple glow emanating from his body. Beneath him was a pool of blood and Ishida turned to the others as they approached. He held out his hand, shaking his head.
'Kurosaki, keep Inoue over there.' he warned, the girl ready to protest, but Ichigo didn't look back at her.
'Inoue-san, please?' he asked softly, Orihime reluctantly nodding in agreement. Ichigo and Sado made their way over to Uryu, looking down on the sickening sight.
'It's definitely him. Although how we can tell that through this I don't know. It's like he has been cut by a serrated cleaver…and a big one at that.' Ishida whispered, not allowing Orihime to hear. Turning to the smashed desk at the front of the room, Uryu pointed over to it. 'The burlap sack is gone as well…' he added.
'Someone must be on our trail. Either that or they're afraid we're on theirs.' Ichigo agreed, turning to go back to Inoue who was standing by the doorway, looking out at the Seireitei's blue sky, birds flying overhead. She span round to him, looking up at the boy expectantly, but he shook his head.
'You wouldn't want to know.' he said immediately, the girl sighing.
'You make me want to know all the more by saying that.' she replied, turning back to look out again. 'Kurosaki-kun…why is this happening? More deaths? I thought you beat Aizen…' she asked, unsure of what was truly going on.
'I'm just as uncertain as you, Inoue. I thought we did beat him, who knows. So far there are so many unanswered questions.' he then looked up at the sky, leaving the girl on a tantalising cliff hanger. 'I can't tell her, or them about anything I've seen. Ichimaru, that man appearing in the Repentance Cell…was it Aizen? It looked a little like him, and he said it was his sword but…if so, how is he alive, and why does he look like that?' Ichigo thought to himself, shaken out of his thought by Sado's enormous bear like hand crashing down on his shoulder.
'Where to?' he asked bluntly. Ichigo took one last look over at Uryu who was still staring at the body. Something suddenly caught the Quincy's eye, a glass bottle, held tight in the grip of the dead captain's hand. In it, was a fizzing green liquid.
'Yo, Ishida, let's move!' he heard Ichigo call to him. Looking back at them, the group had already left the laboratory, Uryu pocketed the substance and followed the others out of that hellish room. Stepping outside, Ichigo clasped his forehead, choking, Orihime running over to him.
'Kurosaki-kun!' she cried, but he held her off momentarily, letting it flourish.
'Now what're you up to…?' Ichigo said to himself, letting his mind flood with the vision.
Ichimaru Gin stepped out of the Repentance Cell door, looking up into the sky, shielding his eyes from the Sun, chuckling to himself. Reaching to his side, he unsheathed his zanpakuto and prepared to walk along the long, rickety bridge that hung across the highest points of Seireitei.
Ichigo thrust his head up and stood to his feet, gripping the hilt of his zanpakuto in his hands.
'The Repentance Cell. We have to get there, now!' he ordered, the group nodding behind him, preparing to leave.
Gin strode along the bridge, twirling his zanpakuto in his hand. He whistled to himself before stopping suddenly, smirking nastily. In a flash, Ichigo and the others had bounded over the railings of the bridge and landed in front of him, Kurosaki brandishing his sword in front of him. Ichimaru held up his hands in a mock surrender, before lowering them again and advancing menacingly on Ichigo.
'Well now, Kurosaki Ichigo. What are ya kids up to this time?' he chuckled, the group standing their ground.
'I know you know what the hell is going on. Why am I feeling these chest pains?' Ichigo barked, Gin tilting his head patronisingly.
'Chest pains? Well then I guess it is working after all.' he sneered, Ichigo readying his blade, snarling at the man, Gin waving his hand at him flamboyantly. 'Ya know I'm surprised ya can even see me.' he said, scratching his head. 'I suppose Cap'n Aizen is going nice on y'all.' he decided, peering over the side of the bridge, stroking his chin dreamily.
'But I guess Kyoka Suigetsu will come back into effect soon.' he added, Uryu stepping forwards.
'So Aizen is alive.' he exclaimed, Gin shrugging loosely.
'I guess ya could say that. Or not.' the man eyed Ichigo suddenly, vanishing and reappearing in front of the boy, grasping his forearm and throwing the kimono's sleeve off it, the purple markings visible now to everyone. Slowly, Gin opened his blood red eyes, scanning over the letters. Ichigo gasped for breath, the pain shocking him to his core. All he could do was look up in breathless agony at the villain as he read on, Ichigo sinking to his knees, the sky distorting around them as Gin clutched his arm tighter. Suddenly, there was a flash of blue and Ichimaru leapt up into the air, landing softly on the bridge again, Uryu holding out his bow, aiming it at the enemy, Gin's white coat billowing around him furiously in the wind.
'Inoue, please, heal Kurosaki. I'll take care of him.' Uryu asked, the girl looking nervously down at Ichigo, the boy down on one knee, one hand grasping the railings, the other holding his chest, both eyes on their foe.
'I…' she began, looking away from Ichigo, remembering what happened last time.
'Inoue…' came a voice and she looked down, Kurosaki grinning, still facing Uryu. '…I know what you're thinking. Don't worry about it. I'm fine.' he reassured her, standing to his feet.
Meanwhile, Gin faced Uryu, the boy sternly looking down his opponent.
'Hoo…aren't you feisty. Ya know, I can't kill Kurosaki-kun for certain reasons…but you guys are nothin'.' Ichimaru whispered dangerously, the wind picking up around them, the man holding his wakizashi out to the side, looking up at the Quincy, shadows covering his face. In a flash, Gin's sword flew at Uryu, the boy ducking beneath it, vanishing quickly, appearing again on the railings, teetering thousands of metres above Soul Society. He was poised to fire, an arrow aimed straight for Ichimaru's face. However, as he had expected, Gin's zanpakuto came flying back at him and he leapt over it, dashing now to the enemy, his path clear.
'Licht…' he began, a bright blue light building up on his bow as Gin retracted his sword in the blink of an eye. '…Regen!' Ishida cried, unleashing a barrage of arrows into the opponent, Ichimaru disappearing beneath a glow of rapidly increasing blue. Suddenly, Gin's sword burst forth from the light, rocketing towards Uryu, the Quincy diving past it.
'I'm not done…' Uryu growled, but his eyes widened as he cursed his ignorance. The blade screamed towards Inoue, Gin leaping over the Quincy.
'You may not be, but I'm afraid she is.' Ichimaru chuckled, but he came to a screeching halt as his sword was blocked suddenly by Sado's defensive arm. It was cracking slightly at the point of impact, but the man pushed forwards, sweating slightly.
'Sado…' Uryu whispered, looking at the man in shock as Gin's sword retracted, the man turning away from them and making his way back towards the towering Repentance Cell. The sunlight was shimmering from the sides and it cast an enormous shadow down upon them all, Kurosaki standing, his blade gleaming in the light.
'Hold on a sec guys…' Ichigo said, the two turning to look at him as he raised his sword. Gin was walking away, the pathway narrow, the perfect aim as Ichigo stared down at him. Slowly, Ichimaru turned his head, an evil leer on his face as he grinned at the boy. Ichigo snapped and held his sword high above his head. '…Getsuga…' he began, the blue light building up on the blade when, all of a sudden, the wall facing them of the Repentance Cell exploded violently, Gin disappearing in the plume of smoke and dirt that came piling out of it, a red light flashing out of the hole, explosions going off in the small sections next to it. The barrelling smoke ran across the bridge, Ichigo and the others covering their faces, debris flying at them. Orihime held out her hands and summoned a bright, orange shield, the chunks of stone crashing into it and rebounding off and over the bridge, small cracks forming in the light as each hit. Eventually, the torrent of smoke became too much and everyone vanished into it, Ichigo choking, looking around. Suddenly, amidst the chaos, something caught his eye and he looked up, dazed. In the hole created by the explosion, a figure stood, wrapped in a black hooded cloak. Ichigo couldn't make out his face but the shadowy figure grinned.
'Is that…?' Ichigo spluttered.
'You guys…you were fighting someone else…I didn't see their face, they were wearing a hooded cloak…I was too afraid to say anything…' she simpered before beginning to cry again, her head in her hands, her back lurching with every cry.
Waving to him, the figure vanished into thin air, Ichigo reaching out.
'Wait!' the boy cried when he was drowned out by another explosion, the smoke rising into the air, chunks of rock and stone flinging outwards. As the deafening crashes began to wear down, Ichigo removed his arm from over his eyes and looked around at the scene. There were enormous shards of rock and stone littered on the bridge, one section of it smashed in half. Uryu was down on the ground, Sado's arm over him, the shield covering them both. Ichigo looked around and stood up, clicking his arm.
'Is everyone alright?' he asked, Uryu and Sado nodding. 'What about you, Inoue?' he continued, turning round. The girl was gone. Ichigo began to look about frantically, even staring over the edge of the bridge. Then, something twinkled in the corner of his eye. It was one of Orihime's hair pins, lying in a small spatter of blood on the ground. Rushing, he picked it up, looking at it in disbelief in his hand.
'Inoue…?' he whispered, clutching it in his palm and looking up into the sky. 'Inoue!' he roared, sinking to his knees. 'INOUE!'
