Another wave of unconsciousness poured through Rukongai, afflicting many more people now than were previously known. Many, however, were said to have just been unreported in previous assaults, so Mayuri's prediction of its power only affecting those of low personal reiatsu was looking to be more and more correct.
Rukia's eyes were glazed over as the comatosed state set in, leaving her with no mind to even slightly resist the Restraint kidou anymore. Soul Society prepared for the next three day span of silence.
Ichigo and Byakuya were chased straight back into the woods by the demon, trees splintering under its shape as though only toothpicks. It was significantly slower than the two Shinigami were so it wasn't hard to evade it...what made their battle difficult already was the fact that no physical attack seemed to do anything to it. Sword strikes and kicks meant nothing. Even a blast from Getsuga Tenshou didn't seem to slow it down for more than a few seconds. That fact alone made them readilly aware that their Bankai were both, unfortunately, rather useless. Both were physically-based with enhancement from their reiatsu. It was beginning to frustrate them both to know they couldn't stop it using conventional means.
"There has to be something missing here..." Ichigo growled, "Nothing is changing!"
"It's movement is limited, perhaps it can be trapped." Byakuya noted, "My Lieutenant said it ceased its chase on you two when it hit the forest's edge."
"Then maybe it can't leave the forest at all?"
"Possible, but there would be a reason for such a thing."
"Maybe that's the key to beating it then!" Ichigo dodged a wide, though slow sweep from the being. "We need to find its source and beat that, then the bastard thing itself will disappear."
They arced above it and stood in the sky, looking down at its pathetic self far down below. It did seem trapped there...or at least incredibly limited in where it could go.
"This is stupid...how the Hell did that thing beat the shit out of us so bad when it can't even reach us up here?" Ichigo growled.
"It's changed." Byakuya noted, "It was able to rise above the canopy when I fought it earlier."
"Then it's weaker, we should be able to destroy it!" Ichigo shot forward, readying Zangetsu above his head for a powerful forward thrust. Stupidly, he ignored the tentrils floating around it and instead of slicing the creature, ended up being caught in its grip. "Damn it!"
"Stupid boy..." Byakuya dropped to the ground and held his sword out in front of him, letting the blade fall into the earth, "Bankai."
Sword-blades of massive size rose up in lines behind him, shooting forward to engulf the area, beast included. They diverged into four long rows of smaller broad-sword-looking weapons, each turning in a wide circle in the opposite direction of the row above and below it. Ichigo thrashed in the creature's grip but it wasn't easily letting him go, instead swiping at Byakuya as well. Kuchiki dodged with flash-step, but then readied the sword-rows for one massive attack. Massive, glowing white wings and a large halo appeared behind him and the blades converged into one, immensely powerful sword, raised above Byakuya's head and ready for the attack.
"Are you crazy, you'll hit me too!" Ichigo protested, but his words fell on deaf ears. Byakuya looked indifferent, like he always did, but now even moreso, the golden left eye seeming to shimmer slightly. Byakuya swept his right arm down, and the enormous sword quickly flew forward. It drove itself deep within the creature...and then straight out the other side, descending into the earth beneath it and carving a sizeable hole into it. The creature's surprise must have distracted it from its grasp on Ichigo and he freed himself without a moment's thought. A horrible sound attacked their ears as the beast descended into the hole, falling far from earshot in a few seconds. The Bankai effect faded, and the two Shinigami looked into the earth, seeing nothing but darkness far below.
"Sheesh, how far down does this shaft go?"
"A ways."
"Typical." Ichigo put his hands on his hips, "Guess I was wrong then. Whatever this...THING is attached to must be the only thing that can harm it."
"We'll cover more ground if we go seperately."
Ichigo nodded and darted off opposite of Byakuya, heading back south. Byakuya himself headed further north, but not before using Senbonzakura to displace the earth around the hole and covered it in case the entity within tried to crawl out. He glowered at his reflection in the sword, ill impressed by the change in his left eye. It was just as Ichigo's had started, the only difference now being that Ichigo's was black like his Hollow's. Byakuya's eye remained red. It was impossible to know what the difference, or significance, the change meant yet. He grunted low and sheathed the blade, ignoring the situation for the moment and heading off to search for whatever might've given the demon its strength.
Ichigo's mind was on the eye as well, though the difference gave him a light chill. It was good that Byakuya's eye was still red, but his own going black left him with little hope that his Hollow was gone. Even despite the mob and Kurotsuchi's reactions, he still retained a glimmer of it and the blackness was just a result of the demon, though now it was all but gone. Still, it made him wonder. If Byakuya's eye would remain red or turn black later? Was his own eye black now because of his Hollow's presence still lingering despite Konso, or was it simply a different curse on him? Was Ochigi in fact protecting him against something that Byakuya would be affected by later? If a Hollow's strength could ward off whatever was infecting his system, then what would Byakuya face? Ichigo suddenly worried after the older man...pitying the possibility that he would be left to the fate of whatever the demon had afflicted them with, and having no inner Hollow to protect him (even if only out of need to protect itself in turn.)
He shook his head and returned to the issue at hand, wanting to return to the gravemarker where he noticed the reiatsu before it started attacking. He saw it there in the clearing, just where he'd left it, and approached with caution. He didn't sense anything out of the ordinary. The entire area looked just as it had before. He sighed, stepping up to the unmarked stone.
Renji and Yoruichi had managed to easily escape the prison. It would likely be another three hours before Renji's disappearance would be noticed. Yoruichi and he had effectively taken out the few guards that were in the immediate hallway rather quietly, and no others were expected to take their place until after that aforementioned time period. They retrieved Renji's zanpakuto and fled through the unbarred window.
"So why'd you come find me of all people?" Renji asked, following the speedy cat in as much secrecy as was possible.
"You're the only other person who's seen the wraith in the woods, right?"
"You know about that?"
"You're as oblivious as they say..." Yoruichi mused, her voice dark and misleading in cat-form, "Yes, I know about a lot of what's been going on. It wasn't difficult to come across information regarding how bad Ichigo looked when you took him back to Fourth Squad. They've said Byakuya has been missing since then, too."
"Yeah.."
"I'm going to insist that Ichigo had gotten himself into a mess he won't easily be able to crawl out of. He'll need help. Other than me, you're the only one strong enough to be of any use. Anyone else would be getting in the way." They made it to a division wall and leapt across it silently, sneaking along the base on the other side and into another alley. "For now, we'll track down Ichigo. I sensed the use of his Bankai not too long ago in the western forest where you two were before."
"His...he used his Bankai!? That twerp couldn't even get Zangetsu to release!"
"He must have learned something while away, then."
"Feh...from zero to Bankai in a few hours..." Renji was irritably jealous, "After all that fuss."
"He's been through tough times. Give him a break." Yoruichi paused at the corner of a small building, "This is it. From here we won't have to worry too much about SoiFon's forces following us."
"Didn't I hear something about how you and her were on good terms or something?"
"She's still needing a few lumps. Those lessons can only be learned through experience. Unfortunately, at this point, I'll end up looking like the badguy to her again...but I'm sure she'll come around again later."
Renji watched the dark colored critter disappear into the dark night, and after a hesitant moment, followed suit. He didn't like being in this position again, but it seemed he had no choice. People were governed by their fear to such an extent that even something simple can get them excited and pointing fingers. He had to agree to at least as much as the fact that Ichigo was sure taking the brunt of the blame, mostly unfairly at that. Still, he felt a little bit overwhelmed at what he was embarking on.
"So this is what it felt like to him back then." He said to himself, "Taking on all of Soul Society because of one belief."
"Sometimes a person's goals, while seemingly insignificant or forgettable, can be worth more to them than the risks they'd face going through with it." Yoruichi said, her voice different, giving Renji a bit of a start. She emerged from behind a nearby tree, pulling on the last bit of the clothing she'd left there in advance, "At this point, I have to be sure you're willing to help me with this mission. We may encounter impossible enemies and situations...but I need you to be resolved to press on regardless."
Renji nodded, "You have my word. I may not like what's going on, or even understand half of it, but Ichigo is my nakama...a brother in arms. It would be shameful to both my pride as a warrior and my own personal honor to abandon him."
"Good then. Let's get moving. We'll start the search for him under Mount Koifushi, where I last sensed his reiatsu."
"Mount Koifushi..."
Ichigo approached the small grey stone slowly, cautiously. "...I'm sorry, Nell." He whispered, "I let you down." He kept an ear out for movement, but noticed nothing. "I had all the power in the world to save you and then overlooked the danger you faced at the last second...it's my fault you were killed...I was arrogant and stupid, power-thirsty, thinking more about the thrill of fighting Aizen one on one than I was about the people around me."
Thinking himself safe for the moment, he sighed and crouched down in front of the stone, then sitting, his legs crossed.
"I don't know if Hollows like you can still hear me after dying in the afterlife...but if you can, please know that I'm still working on making things right." He put his hand on the stone, smiling at it as though Nell's child-form was there before him again, and his hand was on her silly-looking cartoony skull helmet, "I'll do whatever it takes to avenge you...I'll find where Aizen and Gin ended up and take from them what they took from you. I'll make my own King's Key if I have t-.."
His brow furrowed and he shook his head, "Where did that come from? I'd never say something like that..." He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to shake the thought away, "What I mean to say...is I'll find a way to make it even. I'm going to set it right for Inoue, too. I'm so sorry you both suffered so much for my mistakes.."
He desperately wanted Nell's voice to tell him that it was okay, but nothing came. He dared to miss even the obnoxious infantile squawking she used to do. Thinking about what that Privarron had told him shortly after the Hueco Mundo group split up, to leave his chocolate behind and become a demon, he nodded and stood again. He held out Zangetsu, "Sorry again Nell...I have to make one more mistake before I can make it better..."
The blade rose into the air and then descended in a blink, carving a wedge into the ground where the grave once was. There, to Ichigo's surprise...was nothing but dirt and rock. No sign of some spiritual aggressor that could've spawned the wraith, no artifact, and stranger still...no remains. Not even pieces of Nell's skull-mask were there to be seen.
"...A blank grave marker and an empty grave? What are they trying to pull?"
He shook his head and sighed again, "All for nothing. This is a wild goose chase."
"Ichigo!" He heard in the distance.
"Huh?"
"Ichigo, don't move!"
It was Renji's voice, and Ichigo looked to see him coming. He stanced though, wary of anyone who might be following him...or worse yet, to ward of Renji himself if necessary.
"Whoa whoa...relax...we're here to help you out."
"We?"
"Yes, we." Yoruichi soon appeared as well, flash-stepping not far behind the magenta-haired Shinigami. "We're going to help you regain your good name...and save your butt."
"Mostly to save your butt." Renji added.
"How thoughtful." Ichigo answered, his head slightly tilted and a bemused expression on his face, "I haven't seen YOU in a long time, Yoruichi. Where'd you go?"
"Long story. Maybe I'll tell you some day. You'll have to earn it though."
"Then I guess I'd better get started. You know the situation?"
"Indeed."
"We have no time to waste then. Byakuya and I sealed off an invisible demon up the mountain a ways, on a small plain. We couldn't land a single blow against it physically or with our reiatsu...so we're looking for something that might be responsible for it..some kind of anchor it might be teathered to."
"Your eye looks worse, Ichigo." Renji interrupted, "That a problem?"
Ichigo shook his head, "Hasn't been so far. Byakuya has a similar issue now."
"Huh?" Both of Ichigo's new teammates looked confused.
"I found him nearly dead by a river. His left eye is gold and red now. Renji, your eyes are still fine...what gives?"
"Well, if your eye got messed up because that thing attacked you, and it attacked Captain Kuchiki too, then it's possible it only affects people who've been touched by it. I escaped without a mark on me when we came before."
"Could you see it? Even slightly?"
"No, not a thing. Just what it did to its surroundings."
"...Maybe that's what the eye thing is about, then, because Byakuya and I can sort of see it through our peripheral vision." Ichigo pondered, scratching his head lightly, "Only question now is why mine is black and his isn't."
"We should go find him. Where did Byakuya-boy go? Or did you leave him for dead somewhere?" Yoruichi asked, looking amused.
"He went further north from where, like I said, we sealed the demon off. I came south to see if the anchor point was closer to Rukongai. I've had no luck so fa--...wait...did you feel that?"
"A ping?" Renji asked, noticing the blip as well.
"That's Byakuya, all right." Yoruichi nodded to herself, "He must have found something. As weak as his signal is here, it won't reach much farther. He must be a long distance away from us."
"Then we'll need to move quickly. Let's go!"
Ichigo decided that, for the moment, he would leave the question of Nell's empty grave for later. If Rukia was confidant enough to believe what she'd said before, then it was possible Renji was lead to believe the same as her. The unsettling part, now, was what had really happened to Nell's body after Gin had killed her? Ichigo dismissed the thought of Kurotsuchi having her corpse stuck in a fluid-filled cylinder somewhere, the very IDEA giving him a sickening feeling.
