"Renji's Confrontation"
Sorry for the wait. For those who are wondering, the digimon will be making an appearance, but not too soon. Please enjoy and review!
Hanataro had shown us an entrance to the tunnels that were under the Sereitei and we were currently walking under and I couldn't sense the reishi of anyone other than the three boys with me.
"I have to admit, I wouldn't have thought of using the sewer system." Ganju commented.
"Yes, since it runs underground throughout the Sereitei, we can use it to go anyplace we want safely without running in to any trouble." Hanataro explained.
"I don't get how something so big can be kept a secret from everyone. It wasn't even hid very well under that flagstone." Ganju said.
"Everybody knows that it exists, but they don't use it. No one will ever think of looking for us down here." Hanataro said.
"How do you know that?" Ichigo asked.
"Only a small number of Squad 4 relief and aid workers know the layout of these tunnels, so besides me, there really aren't very many people who know their way around down here." Hanataro explained.
"I'd say it's an advantage for us. These tunnel walls are so thick that I can't sense anyone outside, so I doubt they can sense us." I commented.
"Oh, I get it. You Squad 4 guys have to know your way around these tunnels 'cause it's a supply route for delivering relief and aid to every different units." Ganju theorized as Hanataro laughed nervously.
"Well, it's not so much that it's a supply route, but rather that we're the ones that have to keep these tunnels cleaned up. Actually, Squad 4 does seem to end up with more of its share of the menial chores." Hanataro rubbed his head.
"You know, he's actually got me feeling sorry for these Squad 4 losers." Ganju commented.
"Oh, but it isn't all bad. There's some advantages too." Hanataro laughed.
"Hanataro," Ichigo spoke up.
"Yeah?" the boy asked.
"Why are you doing this for us? Why should our mission be any of your concern? After all, we're still your enemies. Instead of the white tower, you could be leading us into a trap." Ichigo accused.
"Ichigo." I scolded.
"Before we follow you any further, I want to know why you're helping us." Ichigo demanded
"I know more about you than you think. From listening to Rukia. She talked a lot about Ichigo Kurosaki." Hanataro said making Ichigo, Ganju and I gasp in surprise.
He then turned to us, sadness in his eyes.
"Please save her. You've got to. Please rescue Miss Rukia." He begged.
"Don't worry, Hanataro. We'll save her." I assured with a soft smile making him grin back.
Nodding, he then continued to lead us down the tunnels until we found a space in the wall we could hide in and we sat down to rest.
"After Rukia was captured and before she was transferred to the repentant cell or the white tower as you call it, she was held in a cell within the Squad 6 barracks. At the time, I was assigned to cleaning duties there, so I saw her when she was brought in." Hanataro explained.
"To be honest, I was scared of her at first. I mean, she is nobility after all. But then I…" he trailed off.
"Then what?" Ganju asked.
"On that first day, when I spoke to her, I…Her voice was so gentle. She was so much kinder than I expected her to be. It was such a relief to me. From that day on, my cleaning chores at the barracks stopped being something I dreaded and turned into something I actually look forward to. And little by little, Rukia started telling me all kinds of things. She told me a lot about the World of the Living. But almost all the stories Rukia told me had one thing in common. It seemed there was always mention of this one person in particular, someone she could trust with her life. Until one day, an official execution order came for her. She then told me that she gave her powers to you and she didn't deserve any forgiveness for twisting your destiny. Rukia sounded so sad as she said those words." Hanataro looked down sadly.
Everyone was silent at that, Ichigo looking a bit tense, so I placed my hand over his and he twined our fingers, taking comfort in my presence.
"Sounds to me like this Rukia's one strange Soul Reaper, don't you think?" Ganju looked off to the side, not caring.
"Yeah, she's something else." Ichigo then stood up, pulling me with him.
"And that's why we're gonna rescue her." He said as he started walking.
"Hey, stop! Where you taking off too? Wait for me, Ichigo!" Ganju chased after him.
"Did I say something wrong?" Hanataro asked.
"Ichigo, don't walk around like an idiot. You're gonna get us lost." I called flash stepping over to his side.
"She was wrong. All of this is my fault." Ichigo said as he started running and I ran behind him since the path was too narrow to run side by side.
"There's no way I'm gonna let her die!" he growled.
"Why do you always have to be this way?" I muttered in annoyance.
Jumping up, I landed in front of him, making him stop his running as Hanataro and Ganju caught up to us.
"Hanataro, show us the way out of here." I told him.
"O-Of course." He nodded.
We followed him as he lead up to a ladder and he went up first, pushing the flag stone up and he peered around for any other people.
"Okay, the coast is clear. You two can come up now. This is the closest opening to the white tower." Hanataro pushed the flag stone back and crawled out into the courtyard.
"About time, too. I breathed enough sewer air to gag a hippo." Ganju stuck his head up while Ichigo climbed out.
I jumped up and looked around the foggy area and froze as I sensed a familiar reishi coming our way as I looked over.
"There it is, up there. That's the white tower." Hanataro pointed.
There was a mountain top that looked more like a building while there were various buildings around a tall white tower that reached up to the sky.
"This may be the closest sewer opening, but we still got a long way to go. You know, I got a bad feeling. This isn't going to be an easy job." Ganju said.
"The mist is starting to clear. Time to move." Ichigo announced.
He then started moving off to the steps, Hanataro and Ganju following when I sensed that familiar reishi again, giving a small spike to let us know he was there, but it was tiny so the others may not have noticed.
"Um, I wouldn't go that way." I said making them stop as they turned to me.
"Why not?' Ganju asked.
"There's someone over there by the stairs." Ichigo narrowed his eyes.
Everyone stayed quiet as the mist moved away and revealed Renji was on the stairs, his visor covering his eyes.
"It's been a while. I wonder if you still remember my face." Renji said as he lifted his visor over his head.
"Oh, you'll be gone and forgotten soon enough. But first I've got a whole mountain of payback that I'm gonna extract from you. Renji Abarai." Ichigo glared.
Renji then started walking down the stairs as Hanataro shook in fear at the sight of the redhead while Ganju stared at him in confusion.
I on the other hand was worried about Renji and Ichigo.
They were my friend and my cousin; I couldn't stand the thought of them trying to kill each other.
"So you remember my face, but my name as well. You're full of surprises." Renji smirked.
"Thanks for the compliment." Ichigo said.
"Whoa, who is this guy? His spiritual pressure is on a completely different level than the guys we were tangling with before." Ganju exclaimed.
"No. I can't believe it. That's Renji Abarai. He's the Lieutenant of Squad 6!" Hanataro stepped back fearfully.
"Lieutenant?" Ganju asked.
"I'm surprised to see you. I was certain you'd be a dead man after I saw Captain Kuchiki attack you like that." Renji said as he continued walking forward.
"Hey, wait! Don't go rushing in, Ichigo!" Ganju called as my cousin started walking forward.
"I don't know how you even managed to survive that, but it would seem that there is more to you than I first believed. But as I told you, I'm going to kill the one who stole Rukia's powers and this is as far as you go." Renji pulled his sword from his sheath.
Ichigo reached up and placed his hand on the hilt of the sword on his back as I watched in anticipation, hearing Zabimaru and Zangetsu stirring for the battle.
"Because as long as you're still alive, Rukia can never regain her powers." Renji started moving faster.
"Why do you care about that when you've just sentenced her to death?" Ichigo asked as the gauze fell away from around his sword.
"I'm gonna cut you to pieces!" he yelled as he ran at him.
"Go ahead and try!" Renji yelled as they clashed blades.
"Ooh, this'll be an interesting fight." Kiseki said as she appeared beside me, arms crossed.
Standing back, we watched as the two males clashed blades with each other, their reishi whipping around wildly.
"Now he's doomed. No matter how strong Ichigo might have become, there's no way he can hope to defeat a lieutenant." Ganju stated.
"Hold on. I wouldn't bet any money against him just yet. Take another look. Something's happening." Hanataro observed.
It looked like Renji was gaining the upper hand as he pushed Ichigo back, but Ichigo pushed back making Renji skid slightly.
Pushing him back, Ichigo had Renji rammed into the mountain as we watched.
"Oh, wow. Ichigo just pinned Lieutenant Abarai right up against the wall. Ganju, this Ichigo guy, what kind of a human being is he?" Hanataro asked.
"Watching this fight, I'm beginning to wonder that myself. Hey, Daisuke, you're related to him. Why don't you tell us?" Ganju suggested.
"He's stubborn. When you have someone to protect, your power grows. Ichigo came here to save Rukia and he's not gonna stop until he succeeds." I said with my arms crossed.
"So, tell me the truth, Ichigo. Do you actually believe you're going to be able to rescue Rukia?" Renji asked as he pushed back.
"I do." Ichigo answered.
Their blades were beginning to shake as they tried to push each other back and regain the upper hand, but they were both at a deadlock.
"Even if somehow you were able to defeat me, there are still eleven more lieutenants left. And then of course above them are thirteen full-fledged squad captains. You would have to utterly defeat every single one of us to even have a chance of reaching the tower." Renji informed.
Then his eyes moved over to me and I looked at him with what I assumed would be puppy dog eyes and his crimson eyes softened before they hardened back to one of the warrior he was.
"Even with Daisuke's help, you can't possibly believe that you can pull that off." Renji said.
Ichigo gritted his teeth as he pushed back again, the sound of the blades clinking and the Zanpaktou spirits roaring filling my ears.
"I don't care about the odds. I don't care about how many captains or lieutenants there are. I'll defeat them all! Every one of them! I'll defeat anyone who makes the mistake of getting in my way!" Ichigo growled.
"Where does that come from? You know this confidence of yours borders on the insane. Such a quality would almost be admirable if it were rational. You Zanpaktou had changed has it? It's a mistake to think you're stronger just because of that. Just like it's a mistake to get too conceited." Renji said.
He twisted his blade and it shone making Ichigo stare at it as I felt the power rise and Renji pushed Ichigo back making him airborne for a few seconds as he stared at the redhead in surprise.
"Now Roar; Zabimaru!" Renji called as he ran his hand over his blade as he released his Shikai.
Swinging his blade down, it slithered at Ichigo like a snake about to strike and my cousin held his blade in front of himself to black the attack as his fete landed on the ground.
He skidded back trying to stop it, but Renji made Zabimaru extend more and Ichigo went skidding back faster as he struggled to stop the attack.
Hanataro, Ganju and I moved away as Ichigo was thrown into the shack behind us, the wall breaking down as he was thrown inside.
"Ichigo!" Ganju called.
"Is he dead?" Hanataro asked.
"No, but his pride might be." I commented.
Zabimaru then retracted back to Renji.
"You seem to think just because you've fought me once before back in the World of the Living that you know my true power. Well, let me tell you something, you amateur." Renji said.
He held his blade out as he started walking over to the shack where Ichigo had been thrown inside of.
"Whenever captains or lieutenants ranked Soul Reapers are sent outside, severe limits were set on our powers so that we won't adversely affect the World of the Living. My strength right now is five times what it was when we first met. So no matter how confident you are, how strong you become, there's still no way you can defeat me." Renji informed.
"I see." Ichigo's voice echoed from inside the shack.
This made everyone look at it in surprise or relief in my case.
"And I suppose that means that last attack of yours was your best shot." Ichigo spoke.
I could hear him grunting as he stood up and walked outside, pulling his sword out of the ground and slung it over his shoulder.
He stepped out of the shack, blood covering the right side of his head and dripped down his face.
"Because that didn't have any effect on me at all." Ichigo said as he stood up proudly.
"So thank you. If all I have to worry about is 11 more like that one, then I think I'm gonna be just fine, Renji." He said.
Renji glared at him while Ichigo scoffed, but then the redhead smirks viciously, showing off his teeth.
"I'm going to enjoy this." He said.
Looking up at the tower as the sun began to set, I wondered if Rukia could sense the fight going on or if she could see.
To be continued…