Hello! Yes, I am back. Sorry once again for the long hiatus - new job, new city, new challenges associated with moving and all that = no time for story writing. Hopefully things are settling down a little. This one is short, but I have the next chapter tentatively planned out... after that, well, I'll have to do some brain storming!
Meanwhile, yay! Over 100 comments! That makes me very happy :o). Thanks so much everyone - I love hearing the feedback and the thoughts and guesses people have with the updates. And yes, some of you definitely give me good ideas that I occasionally try to pull in if it really works with the storyline (which they often do). So, keep them coming! And speaking of coming... do you think it might be time for someone we're all missing to finally make an appearance?
Chapter 20: Transference
Nanao returned to the edge of Karakura with the air of satisfactorily brushing her hands before her. They were in considerable danger at this point, but she had a vague plan that could at least temporarily provide a modicum of support… if it worked. Nemu arrived soon after with the Ikkanzaka brothers lumbering behind her. Each supported a magnificent slab of sekkiseki bound with red rope as thick as Nanao's frame strapped over their shoulders. The strain was still noticeable, but it was clear that the red rope, whatever it was, somehow lightened the stone's considerable weight.
"You understand your orders?" she asked crisply. The giant men moaned in response. Even with the assistance of their ropes, their faces were bright red and veins were protruding along their foreheads and necks. Their legs shook with the weight on their backs and it was clear that their effectiveness was limited.
"Well then," Nanao continued, a little disconcerted by their clear discomfort, "Let's start immediately. I will take you into Karakura as far as the two towns intersect and direct you from there. Madame President?"
"Hrm?" Yachiru replied from her crouched position as she keenly watched the town before her, a suspiciously innocent smile playing on her lips.
"You understand your orders? Do not allow anyone, including shinigami, to return without my express permission."
"Hai!" she replied merrily. There was something unsettling in her cheeriness, but Nanao brushed the feeling aside. That was simply Yachiru's way. She turned to the groaning men and beckoned that they follow her.
Nanao had considered several different ways of getting the brothers to the real world, but the sekkiseki provided a considerable challenge. The stone's reiatsu-negating powers threatened to destroy all of the normal means of transit between the worlds, leaving the dual Karakuras the only practical option left. However, just as the stones could theoretically force the fiber of senkaimon gates apart, it could as easily destabilize the real Karakura town. Therefore, Nanao had to bring the brothers in via the fake Karakura town, as there were far fewer spirit particles there.
Nanao felt almost a chill go through her as she walked through the deserted city streets. No one had ever lived in those buildings, and although the traffic lights changed, no one had ever heeded them. This was no more real than the little village displays built around miniature train sets she sometimes saw in storefronts in the winter. The real Karakura with its real inhabitants was stuck suspended between the real world and Soul Society. Nanao allowed a portion of her brain to ponder over the physics of stretching buildings and bodies between two worlds before snapping her mind back to attention. They had a long way to go and she needed to be focused.
The walk to the central intersection of the two Karakuras was several kilometers beyond the point where they entered. Unfortunately, the sekkiseki made shunpō impossible, leaving the three the only option of walking. The strain became more and more apparent as they neared the intersection of the two towns. There was one particularly stressful moment when a section of Jidanbō's rope started to fray. He valiantly held on, but he was clearly close to panicking. Without the red rope supplied by Nemu, the stone could very well crush him. Nanao hoisted herself up on his knee and, acting on impulse, whipped her fukutaichō insignia off of her arm and wrapped the cloth band tightly around the loosening rope. It was an odd effect, her small insignia on such a giant man, and she felt a pang go through her heart. The vice-captain badge was simply part of her uniform – like her shoe or sock. And yet, seeing that position of authority with the bird of paradise symbol upon on somebody else gave her a moment of sadness and jealousy. She waved it away almost as soon as it appeared, but nonetheless she felt a strange feeling of foreboding. Did this signify that she would not return to her role as the eighth division's fukutaichō? Did this perhaps suggest that henceforth she would find herself separated from the eighth division entirely? Nanao dismissed these thoughts as baseless and fruitless, but they nagged at her nonetheless. She simply had a slightly strange feeling that would not go away. Regardless, they needed to move on.
The going became longer and longer. With only a half-kilometer left to go, the Ikkanzaka brothers were faltering. Their steps had reduced to heavy shuffles across the fake Karakura pavement. Time seemed to go on achingly slowly. Nanao did not know what she was likely to see when they arrived. The sekkiseki's proximity kept her from being able to adequately use her ability to zoom in to see battles. She would probably be more or less blind to what was happening in the real world until after she deposited the brothers and the stone slabs and was on the real Karakura side preparing to return to Soul Society.
At long last, the shimmering intersection of the Karakuras lay before them. There was a slight overlapping that would allow them to descend the fake Karakura hopefully without disturbing the real Karakura too much. The brothers gained momentum as they approached the intersection and breathed heavily as they started their descent. Nanao stood to one side and held her breath as she watched them go. The further down they went, the less she could see. Just before they were out of sight, Jirōbō began to speed up. The two Karakuras were still close enough that the overhanging original town began bobbing with the unevenness between the slabs of sekkiseki. Roads began to split and Nanao feared the town would be rendered in half in the process of trying to protect it. She ventured down the slope to watch their descent. They cleared the real Karakura overhang without further problem and continued down into the real world. Compared with how long it took to reach the first half of the town, it took them only a little while to reach the real world and cross over into the real Karakura. Nanao watched them, looked at the towns, and instantly saw approaching disaster.
Both brothers were now in the part of the original Karakura that had returned to the real world. With their sekkiseki slabs, they were disturbing the spirit particles around them and sending them flying against buildings and streets. While some destruction of this sort was to be expected, the problem came from their unevenness. Jirōbō, having the most to prove, charged ahead of his brother in the desire to be first to reach his corner of the town. As they separated to go to opposite ends of town, they could not see that they were so uneven. Parts of the two Karakuras were starting to exchange and Nanao was thrown to the ground in the resulting earthquake. She stabilized herself to keep from rolling further down the slope, but as she started to make her way back up, she saw Jirōbō triumphantly reach his place and deftly settle his stone into place. That end of Karakura lurched violently upwards as it was repelled by the sekkiseki. Nanao could no longer keep her balance or control as the road swayed beneath her. Once Jidanbō reached his place and positioned his slab, the counter shock sent Nanao flying down and directly into where she was not supposed to be: straight into the real world itself.
While she spread out her kidō and attempted to stabilize herself, the Karakuras did the same. With the real Karakura no longer firmly planted on the ground, the fake Karakura returned to its prior setting. The half they had been concerned about faded upwards. It probably was not entirely back in Soul Society, but it was out of immediate danger, which is what Nanao was primarily concerned about. Unfortunately, both she and the Ikkanzaka brothers were now very much in the middle of battle. Some extremely unprofessional words, the type that could make even her captain raise an eyebrow, shot through Nanao's mind as she considered her situation. Baba had been correct – if Nanao had a skill that could neutralize Aizen's primary weapon, ultimate hypnosis, then she was in extreme danger of either being killed or kidnapped with the purpose of serving Aizen himself. This was the worst possible place for her, and she had no immediately apparent way out.