Alright, a couple of things about this chapter. First, it covers many of the things and people in the seventh season of the Anime. Having not read the manga yet, I'm going to go with the anime as far as the info we know so far. Those of you who haven't seen season seven will probably be confused…so here's a link to an explanation of the speech Anju goes into later in the chapter.
en./wiki/Hollow(Bleach)
As far as Nel goes, I'm also retaining all of the anime info and ignoring the manga info for now. I just read up on Nel, and found out that she has an adult form and was previously an Espada (number 3 to be exact). I'm just gonna ignore that and pretend that I don't know it. The Nel in this story is the tiny, cute, child-like arrancar Nel, not the Espada.
I hope I'm not ruining anything for anybody…
Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! You have no idea how much that helps.
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Anju stood around a corner, secretly looking on at her new squad. She was terribly nervous, and had been up since five that morning preparing. But now that the time had come to introduce herself, she felt terrified. Gathering all of her strength, she stepped out of the shadows and into view of the fifth squad. Silence fell upon the assorted men and women in black, and Anju gulped. She allowed her memorized speech to flow out as she bowed.
"Good morning, everyone. My name is Anju Kuchiki, and I'm your new captain. Thank you all for meeting me so early in the morning." She received a few odd stares, a few shocked faces, and a few mumbles.
Did she say Kuchiki?
She's just a kid!
The commander's gone mad…
Anju held back a scowl, refusing to let them see that they were getting to her. She simply kept her gentle smile, although she could not control the sadness creeping up in her eyes. A young woman stepped foreword and bowed in return.
"Welcome to the fifth squad, Captain Anju. I'm your vice-captain, Hinamori. It's very nice to meet you." Hinamori had been let in on Anju's presence in soul society by none other than Captain Hitsugaya. She'd heard all about the new girl, and was only to happy to welcome a new captain to the squad. The entire group had been losing morale ever since Aizen had left, and things had only gotten worse after the winter war. She hoped that the presence of a new captain would bring the squad back together.
"Thank you Hinamori." Anju had intended to continue her planned speech, but was interrupted when she saw the looks on her squad member's faces. They all appeared to be frozen in space, fear written on their faces. Hinamori's face joined in on the festivities, and Anju turned to see the cause of the commotion.
"Good morning, Captain Anju. I see you've met your squad." Byakuya stood tall, his hands locked behind his back. He looked out at the shocked faces in front of him, giving a stare of his own in return.
"Good morning, Uncle. What are you doing here? It's awfully early…" Anju was almost as surprised as her squad, although she did not display it like the others did.
Byakuya took a single second to look down at Anju before walking around her to stand at the head of the assembled group. "Fifth squad, Anju is in fact your new captain. I trust that you will all respect her, and do as she asks. Anyone that steps out of line…will have to deal with me. Enjoy your training." Byakuya loved intimidating people like this. If he wasn't trying to maintain his cold demeanor, he'd have smiled at the joy he felt. He turned back to Anju and spoke one last time. "Thank you for breakfast this morning. Do your best." And with that, he left.
Anju was used to Byakuya protecting her in the future, but she had expected him to take at least a few years to adjust to her presence here. Confused, she turned to look at her squad. They stood in a large clump, their attention entirely devoted to her. She took advantage of their new-found respect, and decided to go ahead with her plans for the day. "Okay. Well then…is everyone ready to get started?" She received many nods from across the sea of faces, and smiled, grateful for her uncle's interference. At least this might not be as difficult as I thought now. "Alright. If everyone would follow me, we've got a bit of a walk." Hinamori fell into line behind Anju and the rest of the squad followed suit. Together, they traveled to their unknown destination.
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Hmm, Ichigo thought in his sleep, so warm and comfortable. How could I have lived without this for so long? Wait, where is the warm going? The change in peace stirred him from his slumber, and he opened one eye to give Rukia a questioning stare. He managed a slight scowl with a hint of annoyance in his half-asleep state, and couldn't even get out a full question before Rukia squirmed her way out of his arms. "Where are you go…"
"Someone's knocking." She was slightly panicked, but glad that whomever it was at the door had had the decency to knock. She made her way to the door, adjusting her pj's into their proper position. Taking one last look back at Ichigo to insure his consciousness, she took a breath, and opened the door. "Brother?"
"Good morning Rukia. I need to have a word with you…and Kurosaki." Although his voice contained hints of hostility, his face betrayed the amusement he felt in his heart at seeing his nemesis sprawled out, mouth open, tangled in blankets. Upon hearing his name, Ichigo opened both eyes and sat up, finally aware of Byakuya's presence. "What are your plans for this morning, boy?"
Ichigo took a moment to blink his tired eyes clear and stare at Rukia, silently asking her for help. He received no answer, and decided that the truth was best. "I don't have any plans."
"Good. Anju is in need of your assistance. West of the 5th squad headquarters you will find a dirt path. Follow it out about a mile and you will find her." Byakuya turned to Rukia. "And you? Have you any plans this morning?" His voice changed from ice to simply nonchalance.
"Yes, brother. I have a meeting with my squad at ten." Rukia had no idea where any of this was coming from, but at least Byakuya had not become enraged at Ichigo's presence in her room.
"Very well." Byakuya gave Rukia a second-long glance and left.
"What was all that about?" Ichigo said grumpily from his place on the bed. Byakuya had just ordered him to do something, but it had almost sounded like a request. Ichigo knew that Byakuya had probably never requested anything in his life, and shook the nonsense from his head, turning his attention back to Rukia as she sat back down on the bed.
"I have no idea." Her brother had been far more civil than she had expected upon seeing him at the door. He rarely came to her room for anything. "The fact that he came over here to talk to us means that whatever he wanted was important. Are you going to help Anju?"
"Well, I guess so. It's almost time for you to go isn't it?" The disappointment in his voice mirrored the same emotion in hers.
"Yeah. We should probably get ready. I'll walk you out to the place brother talked about." Rukia got up and moved to her closet, removing a clean set of robes. After changing in the bathroom, she came back into the room to see a fully dressed and ready Ichigo fiddling with something on her desk.
"You ready to go?" It seems her words had shaken him out of deep thought, and he turned with a red face toward her.
"Yeah. Where exactly are we going?" He didn't like the idea of spending the morning with a squad he knew nothing about without Rukia. Heck, if he'd have had a choice in the matter, he'd have taken Rukia and run off to some secluded location. As much as he was not looking foreword to having a complicated talk with her, her presence would undoubtedly make up for the discomfort.
"Out to the fifth squad headquarters. Weren't you listening?" She let a tiny bit of annoyance into her voice, her only natural defense from his adorably blushing face. She'd obviously caught him unaware with her entrance. The embarrassed look she'd received warmed her heart, and she had to physically shake the attraction she felt aside. For the moment at least.
It took less than five minutes to make it to the dirt road Byakuya had described. Ichigo stood with his arms crossed, wishing that Rukia could accompany him. At least I have some time to plan what I'm going to say now. His thoughts were interrupted by the feel of her hands in his hair. Concentration covered her face as she re-arranged the orange mess atop his head, pulling and twisting to try to find a decent shape. The entire move had caught him off guard, and it took him a while to recover. By the time he had, she'd already taken a few steps back and was on her way toward her own destination.
"Hey, wait up." Ichigo stepped foreword, catching her in a few steps thanks to his long strides. He grabbed her arm gently and spun her around to see the disappointment clear on her face. He thought he knew what was causing it, and corrected his mood to account for the situation. "Rukia…I promised we'd talk. And we will. Let's just get through lunch, and then…" He paused to think of something that would cheer her up. "We'll go out to that lake, okay? And…we'll talk. I promise." Her blush and smile convinced him that he'd accomplished his goal. He bent down and left a light kiss on her cheek. "I'll see you in a few hours." He backed up, already envying the ground she stood on. He left her with a hopeful smile and proceeded out toward his destination.
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"Itsugo! Itsugo!" A tiny solid mass had just rammed itself into Ichigo's stomach, followed by something very soft around his waist and two very different girly giggles. "You're really here Itsugo! Nel missed you!"
No way. It can't be…Ichigo thought to himself. But his hopes were shattered when he looked down. There, attached to his front, was none other than Nel, tears falling down her face, and her crooked arrancar mask pressed into his stomach.
"Nel, what are you doing here?" Ichigo feared the worst. Had Nel come here to find him? If so, how had she done it? And how had she not been killed already?
"I can explain that." Anju stepped up next to Ichigo and smiled. "I brought Nel here from Hueco Mundo to help with the demonstrations." At Ichigo's confused face, she added, "Well everyone needs to know exactly what they're going up against. Few of them have the advantage of having been to Hueco Mundo themselves. It's part of my job to teach them about everything that place has to offer." Anju smiled at how happy Nel was to be back with Ichigo, and continued what she was doing before Ichigo showed up.
"As I was saying, this is Nel. She's an arrancar from Hueco Mundo. She knows more about that place than any of us since she's lived there for…a long time." Anju didn't know how old Nel was, but knew that she couldn't be terribly new at being an arrancar with all of the information she held. "Before any of you get freaked out, she's not a bad guy. She helped Ichigo and his friends rescue a companion that was kidnapped by Aizen. Together, I'm pretty sure the three of us can give you a fairly good idea of what we're up against."
"What are you talking about, Anju?" Although Ichigo was happy to see Nel again, he was getting annoyed at being surprised like this. Why hadn't Anju asked him about this first?
"You've got a lot of first hand experience fighting with the…things…in Hueco Mundo. I mean, I've been there too, but even I haven't been inside Las Noches like you have. Commander Yamamoto is having me go through training sessions with all of the squads to tell them all of the nitty gritty on the arrancar, menos, and those freaky espada." Anju made a face that produced a giggle from Nel, who had just now emerged from Ichigo's stomach.
"Thanks for bringing me here, Juju! Nel is so happy to see Itsugo again!" Nel released her hold on Ichigo and walked over to Anju, joining hands.
"Wait, how did this happen? How do you know Nel? And why aren't there people out here trying to kill her? This is soul society after all…" Ichigo was feeling better, but his fears had still not been abated.
"I told commander Yama all about how Nel helped you in Hueco Mundo. As far as being an Arrancar…we're just overlooking that. She's an ally, and the commander knows that. And I just told you, I've been to Hueco Mundo myself. With daddy and a few others. We went to gather intel…reading riatsu levels, taking measurements, that kind of stuff. Nel found us almost as soon as we got there. She and I were instant friends." Anju hoped that this was a good enough explanation for Ichigo, as she did have a job to do. Her squad was waiting, and Ichigo was just being his normal impatient self. "Now could you just sit there and be quiet while I try to get through this stuff?" She threw an almost threatening glance at Ichigo and he obeyed.
"Good. Thank you. Okay, fifth squad, time to begin the demonstration." Anju grabbed her sword, and released it in a flash. "Everyone stand still, and please do not be frightened at what you're about to see. You're in absolutely no danger." She brought her sword around to her front and held it vertically, as close to the ground as she could get it without touching it. Closing her eyes, she began a chant under her breath.
The nearby lake began to tremble, causing everyone within range to lose their balance. In an instant, the water in the lake drained into a floating puddle in the sky, and separated into three masses. Anju began, "There are three types of Menos. The Gillian, Adjuchas, and Vasto Lordes." As she spoke each of the names, the three puddles each turned into a different type, mirroring the common image of the menos. Anju went on to explain the differences between each, and gave descriptions of their powers. Nel interjected a few times to add information that Anju did not know, or had forgotten.
After this, Anju went on to explain the arrancar, from the Espada to the Numeros and everything in between. She asked Ichigo to explain the Privaron Espada since he and his friends had quite a bit of experience in dealing with them. Nel added her bits of information in this segment as well, giving the squad an overall grand picture of the residents of Hueco Mundo. Before they knew it, the clock reached noon, and Anju dismissed everyone for the day.
"Thank you for coming all this way, Nel. I'm so glad to have your input, it's been such a help." Anju hugged Nel and allowed her to say goodbye to Ichigo before opening the gate to Hueco Mundo with a Garganta-type technique she obtained from the Bureau of Technology in her time. She and Ichigo walked back to the main part of Seireitei in silence.
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