Ah. So that was why he needed a Quincy. Ishida frowned, biting his lip and turning his head to the side. He couldn't believe he had let himself be captured. It was foolish of him to storm after the Bounts on his own, but...after last night, he just couldn't get the sight of Yoshino crumbling into dust out of his head. It was horrible.
So he had stormed the place where Kurodo could sense unusual spiritual activity, and the mod-soul had been knocked out on arrival. He had faced Kariya himself, before realizing that there were more Bounts appearing all around him. There was no way he could take them all on at once, though...that didn't seem to be their style, anyway. He made to attack the silver-haired Bount, and before he knew it he was on his knees, breathing unsteadily and struggling to comprehend what had happened to him. And then Kariya proceeded to villain-monologue him into complete and utter boredom. He finally got to his point at the end, saying, "And you, Quincy, will open the gate for us."
And now he was sitting in a room, provided with a bed and adjacent bathroom, silently pondering what the Bount had meant. He didn't know how to open any gates, and he most definitely did not wish to open one to Seireitei. He hated the shinigami, why would he want to invite himself into their territory?
But...he wanted the Bount dead. That much was certain. And if he could only fight the Bounts at their strongest, then he was sure he would get stronger too. Anything to be able to do his job more efficeintly. If he could figure out how to open this...gate, then maybe he would have a chance to take the Bounts down (and maybe Soul Society with it, if he was lucky). He sighed, leaning against the bed and eventually just flopping on it. He would help the Bounts...in order to take them down.
xxx
Urahara tapped his cane against the wall, keeping a steady rythem. The two mod-souls were kneeling in front of him, Ririn biting her lip and Noba keeping his eyes on the ground. He sighed, placing the cane by his side. "You're sure Kurodo went with Ishida-kun to the Bount hide-out?" the blonde girl nodded shortly, holding back tears. "Tch. I told you three to return straight here." his olive eyes were cold and calculating. "So did you two find anything important, then?"
Noba straightened up and looked him in the eye. "It was no problem. We found out that the residue is..different, like you said."
Kisuke nodded, and Ririn handed him a vial of the glowing substance. "This is useful information, and an even more useful sample." the girl let out a visible sigh of relief, and his expression softened. "Go back to Sado-kun and Orihime-chan. I will conduct research on my own, and call for you if I have use of you again."
The two made to get up, sliding back the screen when Urahara called them back, "Oh, and please. Don't try to rescue Ishida-kun." their eyes widened and he shrugged. "He got himself into this mess, he can get himself out. Besides, I think he'll find that the Bounts have need to keep him alive...for now." Ririn frowned, and opened her mouth to speak before Noba put a hand on her shoulder and steered them away.
As the screen closed behind them, Kisuke removed his hat and ruffled his hair. "As much as I don't want to say this...I believe that Soul Society needs a wake-up call." he twirled the vial in his fingers, studying the Bount residue. "And Ishida-kun is just the one to do it."
xxx
Kariya sipped at the liquified soul in his glass, throwing a look towards the taller man leaning against the wall. "What is it?" the man seemed uncomfortable, and Kariya knew that was unusual in itself.
Koga sighed and opened his eyes, focusing on Kariya's glass. "It doesn't seem right. Why push the fight to them when we can continue to survive just fine down here? Why even bother? Shouldn't we be more concerned with the survival of our tribe than-" he stopped, feeling the menace behind Kariay's glare.
"You know as well as I what they did to us. You know even better than I the pain of losing tribe members, especially the young." the silver-haired man growled, setting his glass down on the desk beside him. "The Quincy will open the gate for us, and we will finally show them exactly what we're made of." his eyes glinted in the dying light, and Koga knew better than to argue anymore. Jin was too far gone for that to be of any difference.
XXX
Consistently posting is hard, you know? I digress. Sorry about the shortness of this chapter, I just wasn't feeling it today.
Anyway, this is my first Bleach fic, so pardon me if anything seems OOC or not quite right. I'm still learning. This is also the first fic I've posted to jump around from character to character so much. I really like 3rd person limited POV, and don't care for 3rd person omniscient, so that's why I continue to shift characters.
Please please please review. I know that I sound like I'm begging, but I really am at this point. Only 3 reviews so far? I love reading reviews. I love hearing what you guys have to say. I even take criticism well, as it helps me get better! So please take the time to leave a review, even if it's only a sentence or two. I would love you to death for it.
Ok, so tomorrow! I want to wrap up this mini-arc before we hit the half-way point, so Bounts should be over and done soon!
